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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253 Items found Print
Active Filters: Historical Fiction, 3rd grade (Ages 8-9)
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Stepping Stone: Totally True Adventures!
by Lori Haskins Houran
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Aaron and the Green Mountain Boys
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Africa Is My Home
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AIO Imagination Station Book #14
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Allen Jay and the Underground Railroad
On My Own History
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Almost Home
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Amelia & Eleanor Go For a Ride
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American Army of Two
On My Own History
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American Twins of the Revolution
by Lucy Fitch Perkins
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Andie's Moon
Historical House: 1969
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Angel Knew Papa and the Dog
by Douglas Kaine McKelvey
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Adventures of the American Revolution
by Susan Olasky
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Aquila's Drinking Gourd
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Arctic Son
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Arrow Over the Door
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Ballad of Lucy Whipple
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Bay of the North
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Ben and Me
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Benjamin West and His Cat Grimalkin
by Marguerite Henry & Wesley Dennis
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Benjamin West and His Cat Grimalkin
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Blazing West: The Journal of Augustus Pelletier
by Kathryn Lasky
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By the Shores of Silver Lake
Little House Series #5
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1940 Newbery Honor Book
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Little House Series #5
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1940 Newbery Honor Book
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Little House Series #5
by Laura Ingalls Wilder; illustrated by Garth Williams
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1940 Newbery Honor Book
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Little House Series #5
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Captives of the Senecas
by John Brick
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Carolina's Courage
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Cecily's Portrait
Historical House: 1895
by Adele Geras
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Children of the Covered Wagon
by Mary Jane Carr
2nd edition from Christian Liberty Press
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Clearing Weather
by Cornelia Meigs
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1929 Newbery Honor Book
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Colonial America: An Interactive History Adventure
You Choose Books
by Allison Lassieur
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Conquista!
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Cornstalks and Cannonballs
by Barbara Mitchell
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Courage of Sarah Noble
by Alice Dalgliesh
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by Ernest E. Tucker
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Dan Morgan, Rifleman
by Ernest E. Tucker
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Daria Solves a Mystery
by Norma Jean Lutz
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Day It Rained Forever
Once Upon America
by Virginia T. Gross, illustrated by Ronald Himler
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Drinking Gourd
An I Can Read Book Level 3
by F. N. Monjo
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An I Can Read Book Level 3
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Earthquake!
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Earthquake!
by Kate Wilson
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Echo Mountain
by Lauren Wolk
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Elin's Amerika
by Marguerite de Angeli
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F is for Freedom
by Roni Schotter
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Farmer Boy
Little House Series #3
by Laura Ingalls Wilder
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Farmer Boy
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by Laura Ingalls Wilder
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Farmer Boy
Little House Series #3
by Laura Ingalls Wilder
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Farmer Boy
Little House Series #3
by Laura Ingalls Wilder, illustrated by Helen Sewell
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Little House Series #3
by Laura Ingalls Wilder
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Little House Series #3
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Finding Providence
An I Can Read Chapter Book
by Avi
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Fire at the Triangle Factory
by Holly Littlefield, illustrated by Mary O'Keefe Young
from Carolrhoda Books, Inc.
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First Four Years
Little House Series #9
by Laura Ingalls Wilder
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First Four Years
by Laura Ingalls Wilder
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by Laura Ingalls Wilder; illustrated by Garth Williams
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by Laura Ingalls Wilder
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Flaming Arrows
by William O. Steele, Illustrated by Paul Galdone
1st edition from Harcourt
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Forty-Acre Swindle
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George the Drummer Boy
An I Can Read Book Level 3
by Nathaniel Benchley
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Giant
by Judith McQuoid
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Going West
by Jean Van Leeuwen
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Historical fiction for 2nd-4th grade
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Going West
by Jean Van Leeuwen, illustrated by Thomas Allen
from Dial Books for Young Readers
Historical fiction for 2nd-4th grade
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Grand Papa and Ellen Aroon
by F. N. Monjo, illustrated by Richard Cuffari
1st edition from Holt, Rinehart and Winston
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Grandfather's Dance
by Patricia MacLachlan
from HarperCollins
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Grandfather's Dance
by Patricia MacLachlan
from HarperCollins
Realistic Fiction for 3rd-6th grade
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Green Glass Sea
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
Guests
by Michael Dorris
from Hyperion/Madison Press
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$2.79 (1 in stock)
Happy Birthday, Samantha!
American Girl
by Valerie Tripp
from American Girl
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$3.00 (1 in stock)
He Went with Champlain
by Louise Andrews Kent
2022 Reprint from Living Book Press
for 3rd-6th grade
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$13.59
He Went with Christopher Columbus
by Louise Andrews Kent
2022 Reprint from Living Book Press
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He Went with Drake
by Louise Andrews Kent
2022 Reprint from Living Book Press
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He Went with John Paul Jones
by Louise Andrews Kent
2022 Reprint from Living Book Press
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He Went with Magellan
by Louise Andrews Kent
2022 Reprint from Living Book Press
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He Went with Marco Polo
by Louise Andrews Kent
2022 Reprint from Living Book Press
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He Went with Vasco da Gama
by Louise Andrews Kent
2022 Reprint from Living Book Press
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$13.59
Hero Over Here
by Kathleen V. Kudlinski
from Sonlight Curriculum, Ltd.
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Hiroshima
by Laurence Yep
from Scholastic Inc.
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House on Stink Alley
by F. N. Monjo
First Edition from Holt, Rinehart and Winston
for 3rd-5th grade
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I Am David
by Anne Holm
from Harcourt
Realistic Fiction for 3rd-8th grade
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$8.49
I Survived the American Revolution, 1776
I Survived #15
by Lauren Tarshis
from Scholastic Inc.
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I Survived the Sinking of the Titanic, 1912
by Lauren Tarshis
from Scholastic Inc.
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I Survived the Sinking of the Titanic, 1912 - Graphic Novel
by Lauren Tarshis, art by Haus Studio
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Jazz Man
by Mary Hays Weik
2nd edition from Aladdin Paperbacks
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Newbery Honor Book 1967
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John Billington, Friend of Squanto
by Clyde Robert Bulla
from Thomas Crowell
for 3rd-5th grade
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Keep the Lights Burning, Abbie
by Peter & Connie Roop
from Carolrhoda Books, Inc.
Historical Fiction for 1st-3rd grade
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$6.79
Kidnapped Prince
by Olaudah Equiano
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Kirsten and the New Girl
American Girls Short Stories
by Janet Shaw
First Edition, First Printing from American Girl
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Lacemaker and the Princess
by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley
from Margaret K. McElderry Books
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$7.64
Lantern in the Window
by Aileen Fisher
from Country Library & Variety
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Letter to Mrs. Roosevelt
by C. Coco De Young
from Yearling
Historical fiction for 3rd-8th grade
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Letters from Rifka
by Karen Hesse
from Square Fish Publishing
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Liam's Watch
by Pamela Dell
from Tradition Books
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Lion to Guard Us
by Clyde Robert Bulla
from HarperCollins
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Listen for the Whippoorwill
Trailblazer Books
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