Are Secular History Text Books Trustworthy?
How Secular History Textbooks Corrupt Our Children’s Minds and Faith
In today’s fast-paced, rapid-fire political and social environment, we often find ourselves either focused on what is happening right now or looking to the future. After all, with so many breaking news headlines and current trends constantly blasting us in the face, who has time to think about last week, let alone what happened years or centuries ago? Still, understanding the past is crucial to making sense of our world today.
For instance, as we face uncertainties in our economy and society, it would be good to know what economic and moral choices worked in the past and which didn’t. But before you crack open your old history textbook or start searching Wikipedia, it is critical to think about who wrote the book or article you’re about to learn from. Think about it—we probably all took some sort of history class in high school or college, but did you ever think about whose version of history you were being told? What were the professor’s philosophic leanings, and what were the biases of the author?
Today, the world is full of distrust. News agencies, AI, government officials, social media influencers—we could all list dozens of people and entities that we don’t trust. But what about in the classroom? What lessons from the past are our children being taught? After all, some of the same worldviews and agendas that shape the actions of pastors, politicians, and influencers also can be found entrenched in the history that our children read. And while a history textbook is an essential part of any history class, we rarely consider if the “facts” in that textbook are accurate.
Where did this information come from? Who chose to include these specific details? Would we agree that these “facts” are being presented accurately?
We cannot necessarily trust a textbook unless we can also trust the authors. And when godless writers are at the helm, philosophies like Marxism, the LGBTQ+ agenda, and evolution can be found scattered throughout history coursework, warping traditional accounts of history and shaping how our children perceive the past. To better illustrate this, let’s take a look at some of the topics presented in
Part 1—The Opening Chapters: The Prehistory of Man and Civilization
As would be expected in most public school curricula, secular history textbooks ignore how God created man as a unique being. From the beginning of Genesis, we see that man is the crowning achievement of God’s creation. In those first two chapters, God creates man in his likeness (1:27), designs a special place for him (2:8), and gives him both responsibility (2:15) and purpose (1:28). In contrast, it is no surprise that most secular history textbooks, influenced by Darwinian evolution, present a lesser view of man. Rather than highlighting the uniqueness of man or his God-given purpose, secular textbooks suggest that both man and civilizations are simply the result of evolutionary pressures, with no credit given to God. Though God bestowed man with many blessings, including dexterity and intelligence, secular textbooks instead credit these abilities to evolutionary chance.
As one history textbook, World History: Patterns of Interaction, explains, “Early hominids had already developed the opposable thumb,” which “was crucial for tasks such as picking up small objects and making tools.”1 The book further emphasizes that “the invention of tools, mastery over fire, and the development of language are some of the most impressive achievements in human history.”2 This clearly contradicts the Bible, for not only was Adam able to speak immediately after being created, but he was intelligent (Genesis 2:19–20), and his descendants were rapidly building cities, practicing husbandry, creating musical instruments, and working with metal (Genesis 4:17, 20–22).
Secular history textbooks not only ignore man’s uniqueness, but they also fail to acknowledge God’s guiding hand on history, instead insisting that civilization came about haphazardly. Patterns of Interaction, after detailing how humans evolved from early hominids in Africa, explains that as mankind’s agricultural prowess gradually became more advanced, man “began dwelling in larger, more organized communities, such as farming villages and towns. From some of these settlements, cities gradually emerged, forming the backdrop of a more complex way of life—civilization.”3 While some of this explanation accurately describes how a society grows, it ignores how God formed and shaped the nations of the world. After resetting civilization with the flood (Genesis 6–8), God provided the groundwork for government (Genesis 9:5) and intervened in the building of the tower of Babel (Genesis 11). These are a few early examples of how God guided civilization. In contrast, rather than acknowledging the power of God to work in the lives of men, secular textbooks emphasize that man alone slowly built civilization over time.
Without the solid foundation of the Bible, there is no governing plan for the world, and the rise and fall of nations and empires is not the work of providence but instead the mere happenstance of history. This stands in sharp contrast to a Christian worldview, which emphasizes that God has moved mightily throughout history. There is a purposeful direction in which all of world history has been guided, and it helps us make sense of the world around us. When we see how God shaped the world when looking at history from a Christian perspective, we can see so many miraculous and wondrous things. Joseph was providentially sold into slavery to save his family from famine. Moses was providentially saved from a premature death to lead the Israelites out of Egypt. Christ providentially died on the cross to save the world from damnation. And the fires of persecution providentially spread Christianity throughout the world.4 God clearly had a guiding hand on history, and when we look to the past, we can see the endless miracles that he instituted to further his kingdom. That’s something you won’t find in a secular history textbook, which demonstrates why the underlying philosophies found in history textbooks matter.
by Cory Von Eiff on January 28, 2026
Featured in Answers in Depth
Part 2 coming up.
In today’s fast-paced, rapid-fire political and social environment, we often find ourselves either focused on what is happening right now or looking to the future. After all, with so many breaking news headlines and current trends constantly blasting us in the face, who has time to think about last week, let alone what happened years or centuries ago? Still, understanding the past is crucial to making sense of our world today.
For instance, as we face uncertainties in our economy and society, it would be good to know what economic and moral choices worked in the past and which didn’t. But before you crack open your old history textbook or start searching Wikipedia, it is critical to think about who wrote the book or article you’re about to learn from. Think about it—we probably all took some sort of history class in high school or college, but did you ever think about whose version of history you were being told? What were the professor’s philosophic leanings, and what were the biases of the author?
Today, the world is full of distrust. News agencies, AI, government officials, social media influencers—we could all list dozens of people and entities that we don’t trust. But what about in the classroom? What lessons from the past are our children being taught? After all, some of the same worldviews and agendas that shape the actions of pastors, politicians, and influencers also can be found entrenched in the history that our children read. And while a history textbook is an essential part of any history class, we rarely consider if the “facts” in that textbook are accurate.
Where did this information come from? Who chose to include these specific details? Would we agree that these “facts” are being presented accurately?
We cannot necessarily trust a textbook unless we can also trust the authors. And when godless writers are at the helm, philosophies like Marxism, the LGBTQ+ agenda, and evolution can be found scattered throughout history coursework, warping traditional accounts of history and shaping how our children perceive the past. To better illustrate this, let’s take a look at some of the topics presented in
Part 1—The Opening Chapters: The Prehistory of Man and Civilization
As would be expected in most public school curricula, secular history textbooks ignore how God created man as a unique being. From the beginning of Genesis, we see that man is the crowning achievement of God’s creation. In those first two chapters, God creates man in his likeness (1:27), designs a special place for him (2:8), and gives him both responsibility (2:15) and purpose (1:28). In contrast, it is no surprise that most secular history textbooks, influenced by Darwinian evolution, present a lesser view of man. Rather than highlighting the uniqueness of man or his God-given purpose, secular textbooks suggest that both man and civilizations are simply the result of evolutionary pressures, with no credit given to God. Though God bestowed man with many blessings, including dexterity and intelligence, secular textbooks instead credit these abilities to evolutionary chance.
As one history textbook, World History: Patterns of Interaction, explains, “Early hominids had already developed the opposable thumb,” which “was crucial for tasks such as picking up small objects and making tools.”1 The book further emphasizes that “the invention of tools, mastery over fire, and the development of language are some of the most impressive achievements in human history.”2 This clearly contradicts the Bible, for not only was Adam able to speak immediately after being created, but he was intelligent (Genesis 2:19–20), and his descendants were rapidly building cities, practicing husbandry, creating musical instruments, and working with metal (Genesis 4:17, 20–22).
Secular history textbooks not only ignore man’s uniqueness, but they also fail to acknowledge God’s guiding hand on history, instead insisting that civilization came about haphazardly. Patterns of Interaction, after detailing how humans evolved from early hominids in Africa, explains that as mankind’s agricultural prowess gradually became more advanced, man “began dwelling in larger, more organized communities, such as farming villages and towns. From some of these settlements, cities gradually emerged, forming the backdrop of a more complex way of life—civilization.”3 While some of this explanation accurately describes how a society grows, it ignores how God formed and shaped the nations of the world. After resetting civilization with the flood (Genesis 6–8), God provided the groundwork for government (Genesis 9:5) and intervened in the building of the tower of Babel (Genesis 11). These are a few early examples of how God guided civilization. In contrast, rather than acknowledging the power of God to work in the lives of men, secular textbooks emphasize that man alone slowly built civilization over time.
Without the solid foundation of the Bible, there is no governing plan for the world, and the rise and fall of nations and empires is not the work of providence but instead the mere happenstance of history. This stands in sharp contrast to a Christian worldview, which emphasizes that God has moved mightily throughout history. There is a purposeful direction in which all of world history has been guided, and it helps us make sense of the world around us. When we see how God shaped the world when looking at history from a Christian perspective, we can see so many miraculous and wondrous things. Joseph was providentially sold into slavery to save his family from famine. Moses was providentially saved from a premature death to lead the Israelites out of Egypt. Christ providentially died on the cross to save the world from damnation. And the fires of persecution providentially spread Christianity throughout the world.4 God clearly had a guiding hand on history, and when we look to the past, we can see the endless miracles that he instituted to further his kingdom. That’s something you won’t find in a secular history textbook, which demonstrates why the underlying philosophies found in history textbooks matter.
by Cory Von Eiff on January 28, 2026
Featured in Answers in Depth
Part 2 coming up.
70-79, M
