Difficult histories : Christian memory and historic injustice by John Coffey
Cambridge Papers vol. 29 no. 4 December 2020 6 pages ISSN 1361-7710
The full paper can be downloaded to read by clicking this link
John Coffey is Professor of History at the University of Leicester and has written a topical paper relating to ‘contested legacy’, perhaps readily understood by the toppling of the statue of Edward Colston in Bristol in June 2020 amongst many similar iconoclastic acts.
Opposing reaction to the widespread movement has been termed ‘patriotic history’.
The opposing attitudes to the understanding and interpretation of historical events has given rise to the title of this paper but is given added value by the author suggesting how Christians might respond to the controversy. He argues that Christian memory should be shaped by the difficult history we find in Scripture. To quote “we must develop a less selective and more Biblical memory.”
One of the useful and compelling attractions of such papers is not merely the articulation of a Christian perspective on topical matters but the wide-ranging and authoritative collation of personalities and movements on both sides of the controversy.
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