C.S. Lewis used the term “chronological snobbery” to refer to the assumption that whatever has gone out of date is thereby discredited.[1] It was one of his obstacles in coming to faith when considering a 2,000-year-old religion like Christianity. But what about when considering the beliefs and convictions of one or two generations ago?

In Christianity, we tend to judge previous generations as though we today have a more enlightened spirituality and can easily identify their faults, narrow-mindedness, or legalisms—all things our forebears could not see in their time. We feel like our generational hindsight is clear, but we may be guilty of judging them by our present-day convictions or standards, without understanding the context of their practices and the spiritual battles they were dealing with.

Believers in every generation are flawed, for none of us achieves Christlikeness on this side of the eternal generation to come. Yes, we must learn from the past mistakes of Christians, but we must also remember that future generations will judge us for the things we cannot see for ourselves.

So what do we do about this? The apostle Peter may have had this in mind when he wrote as an elder statesman toward the end of his life to the budding Christian movement, then several decades old. His final written words are these:

Grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory, both now and to the day of eternity. Amen. (2 Pet. 3:18)

Let us not be guilty of chronology snobbery as we think about how Christians before us lived out their sanctification, sang their music, worked out their convictions, expressed their worship, and preached their Gospel truths. We have so much to learn from those who lived before us! Let our view of Christian history be seasoned with grace, just as we hope for those who come after us.

[1] https://www.cslewisinstitute.org/resources/c-s-lewis-seven-key-ideas/