Modern History

There isn't more history in the last five centuries than all the previous millennia, we just have more plentiful records of it. In all honesty, sometimes the plethora of detail isn't only overwhelming, it obscures the whole point of the story. As humans, we're all too susceptible to the lure of obscurity, to the desire for darkness where there ought to be light.

In many ways, this is the chief characteristic of modern history. Mankind seems to have accepted Enlightenment ideals en masse, and the result is the non-stop acquisition of knowledge, as though information could shut us off from the eye of a just and jealous God. Evolutionary theory, psychology, existentialism and postmodernism, public education, Communism—all these ideas are intended to put man at a further remove from God.

During the Renaissance, thinkers and artists decided that if man was going to make himself great, he'd have to replicate the glory of the Classical Era, with its enduring artifacts and intellectual produce. Enlightenment thinkers took this one step further, insisting that man could only know what he could deduce using reason alone, and consequently amassing knowledge in order to have a more thorough basis for such reasonable inquiry.

Since then, philosophers and scientists have devoted themselves to interpreting the facts from a purely human perspective, creating a picture of the universe that is mechanistic and godless. Meaning is dead, God is dead, and hope is dead, but the Enlightenment ideal of human progress (repackaged as Darwinian naturalism) is alive and well, the phantom idol of countless millions.

Even a brief survey of the last century would seem to demolish the possibility of any such idea, but it continues to inform nearly every element of our culture, from pop music to public policy debates. Atrocities like the Holocaust, racism in America, abortion, and totalitarian rule in Asian countries are reinterpreted or explained away to fit the overarching rubrik of sustained forward progress.

Christians understand things a bit differently. We aren't pessimists by any means, but we aren't blind optimists, either. God's plan entails one thing: His ultimate glory, and for those who believe His promises and trust Him for salvation, that's the most hopeful doctrine conceivable. At the same time, we also understand that man's efforts cannot be responsible for whatever good befalls us, that "progress" is only a gift of the Most High, and that only through the Holy Spirit is evil overcome by good.

The modern world is increasingly secular. Even in the Church, men and women stray from biblical truth in favor of appealing arguments on behalf of man, substituting a Christ-centered Gospel with one that is primarily focused on mankind and our individual salvation. We must counter these attitudes with God's truth, but we can only do so with an understanding of where those ideas come from and why they've taken root. A thorough study of modern history can and will provide those answers, and teach us how to stand firm in the truth we hold dear.

Review by C. Hollis Crossman
C. Hollis Crossman used to be a child. Now he's a husband and father who loves church, good food, and weird stuff. He might be a mythical creature, but he's definitely not a centaur. Read more of his reviews here.
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104 Items found Print
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Admiral Hornblower in the West Indies
Hornblower Series #11
by C. S. Forester
from Little, Brown & Company
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At the Seven Stars
by John & Patricia Beatty, illustrated by Douglas Gorsline
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Beckoning Hills
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Historical fiction for 6th-10th grade
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Black Falcon
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Blowing-Wand
Land of the Free Series
by Elsie Reif Ziegler, illustrated by Jacob Landau
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Historical fiction for 6th-10th grade
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Bonnie Dundee
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By England's Aid
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Chariot in the Sky
Land of the Free Series
by Arna Bontemps, illustrated by Cyrus Le Roy Baldridge
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Climb a Lofty Ladder
by Marion & Walter Havighurst, illustrated by Jill Elgin
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Codfish Musket
by Agnes Hewes, illustrated by Armstrong Sperry
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1937 Newbery Honor Book
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Colonel Thorndyke's Secret
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Commodore Hornblower
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Condemned as a Nihilist
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Daughter of the Seine
by Jeanette Eaton
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1930 Newbery Honor Book
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Deep Treasure
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Desert Harvest
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Doctor Dogbody's Leg
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Door to the North
Land of the Free Series
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Dorothy's Double
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Drums
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Facing Death
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For Name and Fame
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Fourth Gift
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George Alfred Henty
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Held Fast for England
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High Towers
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House Divided
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I Heard of a River
Land of the Free Series
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Impossible Escape
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In Greek Waters
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James Herriot's Favorite Dog Stories
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Land of the Free Series
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Last Love
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Lost King
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My Heart Lies South
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Never Dies the Dream
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Oak's Long Shadow
by Olive W. Burt, illustrated by Frederick T. Chapman
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Out of the Flame
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Peter Treegate's War
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Popinjay Stairs
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Power and the Glory
by Gilbert Parker
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Pran of Albania
by Elizabeth Miller, illustrated by Maud & Miska Petersham
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Pran of Albania
by Elizabeth Miller, illustrated by Maud & Miska Petersham
1930s printing from Doubleday, Doran & Company Inc.
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1930 Newbery Honor Book
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Prince and the Pauper
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Queen Victoria
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Queen's Cup
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Rabble in Arms
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$6.50 (1 in stock)
Red Badge of Courage
Reader's Digest World's Best Reading
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Red Badge of Courage
Portland House Illustrated Classics
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Red Badge of Courage
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Red Badge of Courage
Reader's Digest World's Best Reading
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Redskin and Cowboy
by G. A. Henty
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Historical Fiction for 6th-10th grade
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Ride With Me
by Thomas B. Costain
1944 Edition from Nelson Doubleday, Inc.
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Runner in the Sun
Land of the Free Series
by D'Arcy McNickle, illustrated by Allan Houser
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Historical fiction for 6th-10th grade
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Sea Captain from Salem
Treegate Series Book 3
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Search for a Secret
by G. A. Henty
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Seek the Dark Gold
Land of the Free series
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Historical fiction for 6th-10th grade
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Seven Beaver Skins
Land of the Free Series
by Erick Berry
1st edition from John C. Winston
Historical fiction for 6th-10th grade
Junior Literary Guild
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Sign of the Golden Fish
Land of the Free Series
by Gertrude Robinson, illustrated by Frederick T. Chapman
1st edition from John C. Winston
Historical fiction for 6th-10th grade
Junior Literary Guild
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Silver Fleece
Land of the Free Series
by Florence Crannell Means & Carl Means, illustrated by Edwin Schmidt
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Historical fiction for 6th-10th grade
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Sing in the Dark
Land of the Free Series
by Maude Morgan Thomas, illustrated by Clifford H. Schule
1st edition from John C. Winston
Historical fiction for 6th-10th grade
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Slave Dancer
by Paula Fox
from Simon and Schuster
Historical Fiction for 6th-10th grade
1974 Newbery Medal winner
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$8.00 (1 in stock)
Slave Dancer
by Paula Fox
from Simon and Schuster
Historical Fiction for 6th-10th grade
1974 Newbery Medal winner
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Slave Dancer
by Paula Fox, illustrated by Eros Keith
from Bradbury Press
Historical Fiction for 6th-10th grade
1974 Newbery Medal winner
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$12.00 (1 in stock)
Snow Goose
by Paul Gallico
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$19.95 $14.00 (2 in stock)
South By Java Head
by Alistair MacLean
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Sovereign Reader
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from Robinson Curriculum
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Spanish Brothers
by Deborah Alcock
from Lamplighter Publishing
Historical Fiction for 9th-12th grade
in Lamplighter Rare Collector Series (Location: FIC-WH04)
Spice and the Devil's Cave
by Agnes Hewes, illustrated by Lynd Ward
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1931 Newbery Honor Book
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Story of Yorktown as told by Conrad Shultz
by W. Walter Van Baman
from Privately printed
History in Verse for 10th-Adult
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$16.00 (1 in stock)
Sturdy & Strong
by G. A. Henty
from Robinson Curriculum
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Swords of Steel
by Elsie Singmaster, illustrated by David Hendrickson
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Historical Fiction for 7th-10th grade
1934 Newbery Honor Book
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Tale of Two Cities (adapted)
by Charles Dickens, adapted by Grace A. Benscotter & Merrill Howe and illustrated by Bernice Oehler
1923 printing from Longmans, Green & Co.
Victorian Novel for 9th-Adult
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$12.00 (1 in stock)
The Trees
Awakening Land #1
by Conrad Richter
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Through the Fray
by G. A. Henty
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Through Three Campaigns
by G. A. Henty
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Tidewater Valley
Land of the Free Series
by Jo Evalin Lundy, illustrated by Margaret Ayer
1st edition from John C. Winston
Historical fiction for 6th-10th grade
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Tiger of Mysore
by G. A. Henty
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Historical Fiction for 6th-10th grade
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Under Wellington's Command
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Historical Fiction for 6th-10th grade
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Watergate
Land of the Free Series
by Herbert Best, illustrated by Erick Berry
1st edition from John C. Winston
Historical fiction for 6th-10th grade
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Westward Ho!
by Charles Kingsley
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Historical Fiction for 8th-12th grade
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Westward Ho! (abridged)
by Charles Kingsley, abridged by Elizabeth C. Moore and illustrated by Henry Pitz
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Historical Fiction for 8th-12th grade
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What the Night Sings
by Vesper Stamper
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
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$19.99
With the British Legion
by G. A. Henty
from Robinson Curriculum
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