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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498 Items found Print
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Stepping Stone: Totally True Adventures!
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A is for Abigail
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Abe Lincoln Gets His Chance
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Initial Biography
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Africa Is My Home
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Albert Einstein: Young Thinker
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Childhood of Famous Americans
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Alexander Hamilton: The Outsider
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Amelia Earhart: Kansas Girl
Childhood of Famous Americans
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Childhood of Famous Americans
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America in the Time of George Washington
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America's Paul Revere
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America's Robert E. Lee
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Heroes for Young Readers
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And the Word Came With Power
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And Then What Happened, Paul Revere?
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Angel of Mercy
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Around the World in a Hundred Years
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Assassination of John F. Kennedy: November 22, 1963
24 Hour History
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Beethoven
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Once Upon a Masterpiece
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See and Read: Beginning to Read Biography
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Benjamin Franklin
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Benjamin Franklin
Makers of America
by Ruth Cromer Weir, illustrated by Rus Anderson
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Benjamin Franklin: Young Printer
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Benjamin West and His Cat Grimalkin
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Benjamin West and His Cat Grimalkin
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Betsy Ross
Leaders of the American Revolution
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Betsy Ross: Designer of our Flag
Childhood of Famous Americans
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Betsy Ross: Girl of Old Philadelphia
Childhood of Famous Americans
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Black Courage
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Bold Composer
Creative Minds Biographies
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Book About Christopher Columbus
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Book of Famous Explorers
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Brave Clara Barton
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Brothers at Bat
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Buffalo Bill
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Buffalo Bill: Boy of the Plains
Childhood of Famous Americans
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Buffalo Bill: Frontier Daredevil
Childhood of Famous Americans
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Cabin Boy to Advent Crusader
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Calamity Jane
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Captain Cook: Pacific Explorer
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Carl Linnaeus
Great Minds of Science
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Carl Sandburg: Young Singing Poet
Childhood of Famous Americans
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Chasing Space for Young Readers
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Chief Joseph: Leader of Destiny
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Chief Seattle
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Choosing Brave
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Christopher Columbus
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Christopher Columbus and His Brothers
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Clara Barton
Discovery Book
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Clara Barton: Amazing Civil War Nurse
Amazing Americans
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Clara Barton: Civil War Nurse
Historical American Biographies
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Clara Barton: Girl Nurse
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Columbus
by Edgar & Ingri D'Aulaire
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Columbus
by Edgar & Ingri D'Aulaire
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Columbus and the Renaissance Explorers
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Columbus: The Triumphant Failure
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Cook: Captain James Cook Charts the Pacific Ocean
by Jean Kinney Williams
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Cora Frear
by Susan E. Goodman
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$2.80 (2 in stock)
Coronado and His Captains
by Camilla Campbell, illustrated by Harve Stein
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Corrie Ten Boom: Shining in the Darkness
Heroes for Young Readers
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Biography for 2nd-4th grade
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$3.60 (1 in stock)
Country Artist
by David R. Collins
from First Avenue Editions
Biography for Preschool-3rd Grade
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Courage to Run
Daughters of the Faith
by Wendy G. Lawton
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$7.64 $4.00 (2 in stock)
Crazy Horse
by John R. Milton
Second Printing 1975 from Dillon Press
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Crispus Attucks: Black Leader of Colonial Patriots
Childhood of Famous Americans
by Dharathula H. Millender
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$6.79
Crispus Attucks: Boy of Valor
Childhood of Famous Americans
by Dharathula H. Millender
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Cruise of Mr. Christopher Columbus
A Really Truly Story
by Sadyebeth & Anson Lowitz
from Lerner Publishing Group
Biography for Kindergarten-3rd grade
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D. L. Moody: God's Salesman
by Sandy Dengler
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Dan Morgan
Childhood of Famous Americans
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Biography for 3rd-6th grade
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Daniel Boone
Sterling Point Books
by John Mason Brown
from Sterling Publishing Co.
Biography for 3rd-7th
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Daniel Boone: Boy Hunter
Childhood of Famous Americans
by Augusta Stevenson
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Daniel Boone: Young Hunter and Tracker
Childhood of Famous Americans
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David Glasgow Farragut
by Jean Lee Latham, illustrated by Paul Frame
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David Livingstone: Courageous Explorer
by Renee Meloche, illustrated by Bryan Pollard
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Davy Crockett
by George Edward Stanley
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Davy Crockett: Young Rifleman
Childhood of Famous Americans
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Davy Crockett: Young Rifleman
Childhood of Famous Americans
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Biography for 3rd-6th grade
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