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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174 Items found Print
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Across Five Aprils
by Irene Hunt
from Berkley Books
Historical Fiction for 6th-9th grade
1965 Newbery Honor Book
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Across Five Aprils
by Irene Hunt
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1965 Newbery Honor Book
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Admiral Hornblower in the West Indies
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Admiral Hornblower in the West Indies
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After the Dancing Days
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Anna and the King of Siam
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Black Falcon
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Blowing-Wand
Land of the Free Series
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Bonanza Girl
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Bonnie Prince Charlie
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Borrowed House
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Boy in the Alamo
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Boys in the Boat adapted for Young Readers
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Boys in the Boat adapted for Young Readers
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By England's Aid
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By Pike and Dyke - Unit Study Guide
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By Right of Conquest - MP3 CD
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Calico Captive
by Elizabeth George Speare
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Captain Blood
Penguin Classics
by Rafael Sabatini
from Penguin Classics
Historical Romance for 7th-Adult
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$16.00
Captain, My Captain
by Deborah Meroff
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Carry On, Mr. Bowditch
by Jean Lee Latham
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1956 Newbery Medal winner
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Chariot in the Sky
Land of the Free Series
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Code Name Verity
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1937 Newbery Honor Book
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Come On, Seabiscuit!
by Ralph Moody
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Commodore Hornblower
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Coronation of Glory
Reformation Trail Series #12
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Countdown
by Deborah Wiles
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Czar, The
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Dark Year of Dundee
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Day of Pleasure
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Defender of the Faith
William and Mary Trilogy Volume 2
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Doctor Adrian
Reformation Trail Series #13
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Done and Dared in Old France
Huguenot Inheritance Series #7
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Doomed Queen Anne
A Young Royals Book
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Driven into Exile
Huguenot Inheritance Series #5
by Charlotte Maria Tucker
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Drums
by James Boyd
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Duncan's War
Crown & Covenant Series #1
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Escape
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Faith and Freedom Trilogy
Faith and Freedom
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False Coin, True Coin
by Lois Hoadley Dick
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Farewell to Manzanar
by Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston
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Farewell to Manzanar
by Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston
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Fever 1793
by Laurie Halse Anderson
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Fiddler's Gun
by A. S. Peterson
1st edition from Rabbit Room Press
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For God and the King
William and Mary Trilogy Volume 3
by Marjorie Bowen
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Fortune of War
Aubrey/Maturin #6
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Gods and Generals
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Gunner's Run
by Rick Barry
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Guns of Thunder
Faith and Freedom Trilogy #1
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Hero of Spionkop
The Louis Wessels Commando #2
by Lawrence Penning
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Horatio Hornblower Saga - Complete Collection
by C. S. Forester
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Historical Fiction for 8th-Adult
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Hornblower and the Atropos
Hornblower Series #5
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Hornblower and the Hotspur
Hornblower Series #3
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Hornblower During the Crisis
Hornblower Series #4
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Horses of Anger
by James Forman
2nd Printing from Farrar, Straus and Giroux
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How They Kept the Faith
Huguenot Inheritance Series #3
by Grace Raymond
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Huguenot Inheritance Series
by Various Authors
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Historical Fiction for 7th-10th grade
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I Will Maintain
William and Mary Trilogy Volume 1
by Marjorie Bowen
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In This Hour
by Rudolf Van Reest
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Jacobite Exile
by G. A. Henty
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Historical Fiction for 6th-10th grade
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$20.00
Jar of Dreams
by Yoshiko Uchida
2nd edition from Aladdin Paperbacks
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$6.99
Johnny Tremain
by Esther Forbes
Reprint from Sandpiper Books
Historical Fiction/Adventure for 5th-9th grade
1944 Newbery Medal winner
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$9.99
Journey Through the Night
by Anne De Vries
from Inheritance Publications
Historical fiction for 8th-10th grade
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$29.95
Journeyman
by Elizabeth Yates
from Bob Jones University Press
Realistic Fiction for 6th-9th grade
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Killer Angels
by Michael Shaara
from Ballantine Books
Historical Fiction for 9th-Adult
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Killer Angels
by Michael Shaara
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Historical Fiction for 9th-Adult
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$9.99
King's Arrow
Crown & Covenant Series #2
by Doug Bond & Matthew Bird
from P&R Publishing
Historical Fiction for 6th-9th grade
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Kitchen Boy
by Robert Alexander
Reprint from Penguin Press
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$8.00 (1 in stock)
Lady of Arlington
by Harnett T. Kane
from Doubleday & Company
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$5.00 (1 in stock)
Les Miserables
Signet Classics
by Victor Hugo, translated by Lee Fahnestock & Norman MacAfee
from Signet Classics
Realistic Fiction for 9th-Adult
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$11.99
Les Miserables
Modern Library
by Victor Hugo, translated by Julie Rose
from Modern Library
Realistic Fiction for 9th-Adult
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$20.00
Les Miserables
by Victor Hugo, translated by Charles Wilbour
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
Realistic Fiction for 9th-Adult
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$42.00
Letter Writer
by Ann Rinaldi
Reprint from HMH Books for Young Readers
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$4.00 (1 in stock)
Lieutenant Hornblower
Hornblower Series #2
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Life and Times of Horatio Hornblower
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Lion of Modderspruit
The Louis Wessels Commando #1
by Lawrence Penning
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Historical Fiction for 5th-9th grade
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$10.95
Lion of the North
by G. A. Henty
from Robinson Curriculum
Historical Fiction for 6th-10th grade
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$20.00
List
by C. D. Baker
from Preston Speed
Historical Fiction for 8th-10th grade
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Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy
by Gary D. Schmidt
from Clarion Books
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2005 Newbery Honor Book
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$7.99
Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy
by Gary D. Schmidt
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2005 Newbery Honor Book
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Lord Hornblower
by C. S. Forester
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Louis Wessels Command Series
by Lawrence Penning
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Historical Fiction for 5th-9th grade
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Lysbeth
by H. Rider Haggard
from Christian Liberty Press
Historical Fiction for 8th-Adult
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Mary, Bloody Mary
A Young Royals Book
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Midshipman Bolitho
by Alexander Kent
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Moonshiner's Son
by Carolyn Reeder
from Aladdin Paperbacks
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Mr. Midshipman Hornblower
Hornblower Series #1
by C. S. Forester
from Little, Brown & Company
Nautical fiction for 8th-Adult
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Never Dies the Dream
by Margaret Landon
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$5.00 (1 in stock)
Night Divided
by Jennifer A. Nielsen
from Scholastic Press
Historical Fiction for 7th-10th grade
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$8.99
No Promises in the Wind
by Irene Hunt
from Berkley Books
Historical Fiction for 6th-9th grade
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$7.99 $4.50 (2 in stock)
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