In the Year of Our Lord: Reflections on Twenty Centuries of Church History

by Sinclair B. Ferguson

Hegel’s Lament

As the philosopher Hegel once lamented, we learn from history that we learn nothing from history.

Readers were asked to name the most significant man and the most significant woman of the previous millennium, AD 1000–2000. The winners? Male: Nelson Mandela. Female: Princess Diana. Doubtless, reactions to these names differ widely. Perhaps, indeed, they were the two most “celebrated” or iconic figures of the second half of the twentieth century. But what of the 950 preceding years?

Duncan understood what we will see again and again in these pages: that it is possible to have hearts that have been washed cleaner than our heads. Sometimes it will be hard for us to appreciate why Christians did not better understand the gospel.

My Song Is Love Unknown