Chapter 8 Lesson

Today we explored how Susan Wise Bauer describes the earliest written records in ancient Sumer—and how writing was first used to shape what people remembered about kings, wars, and truth. We compared mythic stories like Enmerkar and the Lord of Aratta and The Epic of Gilgamesh with factual king lists and records to see how writing could both reveal and conceal truth.

Students discussed what it means to “write history well,” using examples from the text and modern Christian writers who valued truth over glory—such as St. Augustine, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, and Corrie ten Boom. We ended by reflecting on how our own words can honor truth rather than pride, guided by Proverbs 12:19: “Truthful lips endure forever, but a lying tongue lasts only a moment.”