ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the view that moral judgments should not enter into historical narrative or study; to suggest ways in which moral judgments do appear in history. It reviews that there are strong reasons for supposing that these are likely to be more important and frequent in school history. Butterfield suggests that the historian has only a professional job to do, which is to build up a narrative and explanation of past events, and that this does not involve the making of moral judgments, but only descriptions and analysis in terms of what the evidence may lead him to believe. As a Christian apologist Butterfield takes the view that ultimately only God can judge on moral issues; since man's knowledge is limited, his judgments are always incomplete and often incorrect. Butterfield would maintain that the historian should only describe and explain phenomena such as religious persecution' or military atrocities', but should not judge them.
