Islam, Evangelicals, and the Virtues of the Historical Method

The historical method inevitably moves us toward greater degrees of critical awareness not only about societies of the past, but of the present as well.

It teaches us to deconstruct, to question, to be skeptical. It requires us to be ruthless in the search for truth. More than this, if we’re honest, the historical method invites us to be self-critical as well. I’m not talking about this in the popular sense – of constantly getting down on oneself. Rather, this means that we allow ourselves to ruthlessly apply the same sense of skepticism and critical thinking to ourselves and our own history – one might call it self-deconstructing. While this might sound negative, its actually quite liberating. In fact, its required if we are to fruitfully engage our own society in helpful and appropriate ways. This is why I find Thomas Kidd’s (Baylor University) new book, American Christians and Islam: Evangelical Culture and Muslims from the Colonial Period to the Age of Terrorism, so absolutely essential. Kidd’s analysis does not argue how American Christians should respond to Muslims. Rather, he describes the historical reasons why they respond to Islam in the way they do. In short, Kidd’s book is a valuable tool that can help us practice the healthy kind of self-criticism. That is, the understanding we need to be reflective individuals, mindful of how we approach the “other” (in this case Muslims) and the historical reasons for why we often respond the way we do.