THE INFLUENCE OF CHRISTIANITY ON EARLY TEXAS HISTORY Texans love their history and celebrate it regularly and enthusiastically. They study it and talk about it and remember it and are proud of it. But we haven’t thought all that much about how God might have been involved in all that history. And the truth is God was there the whole time implementing a master plan for development of the New World. The fact is God was intimately involved in the answers to all of the usual history questions: Where did the Indians come from and how did they get here? Or were they always here? But if not, when did they start arriving? Can you connect the Indians to the Bible? How did the Spanish wind up getting the original European foothold in the New World? When did the Spanish explorers come to Texas and why did they come? Which one of the explorers had the greatest impact on Texas history but NEVER set foot in the Texas territory? Why did the Franciscans come to Texas and for what purpose? How did Mexico take over from Spain and how did that figure into the settling of Texas? How did the Texas Declaration of Independence deal with the subject of religion and what was the main issue? When Texas became the 28th State in the Union in 1845, it created social and political upheaval across the U.S. What was the issue that caused that upheaval and how did the Christian Church deal with it? Why is there such an independent, can-do attitude and how did it develop? How did Texas become so prosperous and where was God in that process? These are just a few of the questions this book answers for the curious reader/Christian/historian. It doesn’t get into a lot of historical detail but focuses instead on highlighting the connections of our history all along the way to the influence of God. It’s also not overly religious; all you need to do is try looking at our history with a Christian world view and the evidence of God becomes obvious. This book is a must for Texas home school kids in 7th to 8th grade curricula or high school for a Christian view of Texas history you won’t be able to find at any other place. Question and answer tests and discussion topics are listed at the end of the book for each chapter focusing on the key points covered in each of the ten distinctive segments of Texas history. The history of Texas is not accidental and it’s not random, nor is it a series of coincidences. It is indeed a part of a master plan carried out by Creator God to accomplish His purposes in this special place in bringing about the development of the New World. When you decide to look at it His way, you see the evidence of His work all over our state. His special finger prints are everywhere and you are sure to enjoy this special perspective of Texas history. Enjoy finding out how God got us all to where we are today! ADDITIONAL DESCRIPTION OF THE CONTENTS: This book contains ten chapters with nine of them pertaining to the influence of Christianity on the most important times of development during the course of Texas history from the very beginning until the year 1900. It is neither a history book nor a theological discourse but a connector book that shows how Texas history was a major part of God’s plan for the New World. You will enjoy all the historical photographs portraying the following key stages of development: The coming of the Indians The discovery by the Europeans The search of the Conquistadores The influence of the Franciscans The explosion of the Protestant Settlers The time of the Republic The annexation into the U.S. and the Civil War The emergence of the cattle industry that changes everything The discovery of oil brings prosperity This book also contains a section with test questions and answers related to each of the chapters so that it can be used as teaching material. It is suitable for ages starting at approximately 13 and above. Have fun with this book and learn some new info about Texas history.