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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157 Items found Print
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A is for Abigail
by Lynne Cheney
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Abe Lincoln Gets His Chance
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Abraham Lincoln
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Abraham Lincoln
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Adoniram Judson: A Grand Purpose
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African Traveler
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Childhood of Famous Americans
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Amelia Earhart: Kansas Girl
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America in the Time of George Washington
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America's Robert E. Lee
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Amerigo Vespucci
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Angel of Mercy
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Beethoven
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Benjamin West and His Cat Grimalkin
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Betsy Ross: Girl of Old Philadelphia
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Book of Famous Explorers
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Brothers at Bat
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Buffalo Bill: Boy of the Plains
Childhood of Famous Americans
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Cabin Boy to Advent Crusader
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Chief Seattle
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Choosing Brave
by Angela Joy, illustrated by Janelle Washington
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2023 Robert F. Sibert Honor Book
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Christopher Columbus
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Christopher Columbus and His Brothers
by Amy Hogeboom
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Clara Barton: Amazing Civil War Nurse
Amazing Americans
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Columbus: The Triumphant Failure
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Corrie Ten Boom: Shining in the Darkness
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Cruise of Mr. Christopher Columbus
A Really Truly Story
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Daniel Boone: Boy Hunter
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Drawing America: Sacajawea
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Enemies of Slavery
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Exploration and Conquest
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Flight
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1992 NCTE Orbis Pictus Award
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For You They Signed
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Forging Freedom
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George Muller: Faith to Feed Ten Thousand
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George Rogers Clark: War in the West
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George Washington Carver: America's Scientist
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George Washington: America's Patriot
Heroes of History for Young Readers
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Girl From the Tar Paper School
by Teri Kanefield
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Girl Who Drew Butterflies
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2019 Robert F. Sibert Medal winner
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Golden Book History of the United States
by Earl Schenck Miers, illustrated by Alton S. Tobey and Richard P. Kluga
from Golden Press
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Golden Book History of the United States - 12 Volume Set
by Earl Schenck Miers, illustrated by Alton S. Tobey and Richard P. Kluga
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Golden Book History of the United States Volume 1
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Good Queen Bess
by Diane Stanley & Peter Vennema
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How Ben Franklin Stole the Lightning
by Rosalyn Schanzer
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How I Learned Geography
by Uri Shulevitz
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Caldecott Honor Book
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$21.99
How Sweet the Sound
by Carole Boston Weatherford, Illustrated by Frank Morrison
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Hudson Taylor
by Ben Alex,
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I am Sacagawea
Ordinary People Change the World
by Brad Meltzer, illustrated by Christopher Eliopoulos
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I, Matthew Henson
by Carole Boston Weatherford
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James Clerk Maxwell and Electromagnetism
Immortals of Science
by Charles Paul May
from Franklin Watts
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James J. Hill: Young Empire Builder
by Mildred Comfort
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Jane Addams
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by Helen Stone Peterson
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Jeb Stuart
Historical American Biographies
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Jed Smith, Young Western Explorer
by Olive W. Burt
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Jim Bowie: Boy with a Hunting Knife
Childhood of Famous Americans
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John Alden
by Olive W. Burt
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John Brown: One Man Against Slavery
by Gwen Everett, Illustrated by Jacob Lawrence
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John Jacob Aster: Boy Trader
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John Marshall: Boy of Young America
Childhood of Famous Americans
by Helen Albee Monsell
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John Paul Jones
A Discovery Book
by Stewart Graff, illustrated by William Hutchinson
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John Paul Jones
Heroes of the Revolution
by Susan & John Lee, illustrated by Tom Dunnington
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John Wesley
by May McNeer, illustrated by Lynd Ward
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John, Paul, George & Ben
by Lane Smith
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Juan Ponce de Leon
by Tamara Green
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Kate Douglas Wiggin
Childhood of Famous Americans
by Dharathula H. Millender
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King's Day
by Aliki
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$15.00 (1 in stock)
Kit Carson
by Shannon Garst
from Julian Messner
Biography for 1st-3rd grade
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Kit Carson
A Discovery Book
by Nardi Reeder Campion, illustrated by Shannon Stirnweis
from Garrard Publishing Company
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Lafayette, Friend of America
Makers of America
by Alberta Powell Graham
1st edition from Abingdon Press
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Last Princess
by Fay Stanley; illustrated by Diane Stanley
from HarperCollins
Picture Book Biographies for Kindergarten-3rd grade
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Legends of the Wild West
by James A. Crutchfield, Bill O'Neal, Dale L. Walker
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$5.00 (1 in stock)
Liberty Letters: The Story of Pocahontas, 1613
Liberty Letters
by Nancy LeSourd
1st edition from Zondervan
Historical Fiction for 3rd-6th grade
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$6.00 (1 in stock)
Lotta Crabtree
by Lois V. Harris
from Pelican Publishing Company
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Make Way for Sam Houston
by Jean Fritz; illustrated by Elise Primavera
First Edition from G.P. Putnam's Sons
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Mary Slessor: Courage in Africa
Heroes for Young Readers
by Renee Meloche
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Meet Christopher Columbus
by James de Kay
from Random House
Biography for 3rd-6th grade
in Step Up Books (Location: VIN-STEP)
Meet Christopher Columbus
by James de Kay
from Random House
Biography for 3rd-6th grade
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$2.00 (2 in stock)
Meet John F. Kennedy
by Nancy Bean White
from Random House
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$5.00 (1 in stock)
Meet the Men who Sailed the Seas
by John Dyment, Illustrated by Victor Mays
from Random House
Biography for 3rd-6th grade
in Step Up Books (Location: VIN-STEP)
Mighty Jackie
by Marissa Moss
1st edition from Simon & Schuster Macmillan
$11.00 $96.00 (1 in stock)
Moses
by Carole Boston Weatherford
1st edition from Hyperion/Madison Press
for Preschool-3rd grade
2007 Caldecott Honor Book
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$18.99
My Brothers' Flying Machine
by Jane Yolen
from Little, Brown & Company
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$4.00 (1 in stock)
Nathanael Greene
by Howard Peckham
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O Captain, My Captain
by Robert Burleigh; illustrated by Sterling Hundley
from Harry N. Abrams, Inc.
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$19.99
Patrick Henry: Boy Spokesman
Childhood of Famous Americans
by Thomas Frank Barton, Illustrated by Mel Bolden
from Bobbs-Merril Co
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in Childhood of Famous Americans (Location: BIO-COFA)
Patrol
by Walter Dean Myers, illustrated by Ann Grifalconi
from HarperCollins
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$8.00 (1 in stock)
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