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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A is for Abigail
by Lynne Cheney
1st edition from Simon and Schuster
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A Weed Is a Flower
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ABC Book of Early Americana
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Abraham Lincoln
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Apples to Oregon
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Bad River Boys
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Baseball Saved Us
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Once Upon a Masterpiece
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Boy Who Loved Math
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Courage of Sarah Noble
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Draw Write Now Book 3
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Early American History for Primary Grades - Guide
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Emperor's Egg
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Emperor's Egg
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Enemies of Slavery
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Famous Figures of the American Revolution
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Finding Winnie
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First Step
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First Thanksgiving
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First Thanksgiving
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First Thanksgiving Feast
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Flight
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1992 NCTE Orbis Pictus Award
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Freedom on the Menu
by Carole Boston Weatherford
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Going West!
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Golden Book of Space Exploration
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Hanna's Cold Winter
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Happy Birthday, Dr. King!
by Kathryn Jones, Illustrated by Floyd Cooper
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Happy Birthday, Martin Luther King
by Jean Marzollo, illustrated by J. Brian Pinkney
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Picture Book Biography for Kindergarten-3rd grade
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Harriet Tubman: Freedom Fighter
I Can Read! Level 2
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Hatmaker's Sign: A Story by Benjamin Franklin
by Candace Fleming (reteller), illustrated by Robert Andrew Parker
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Henry's Freedom Box
by Ellen Levine
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2008 Caldecott Honor Book
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Home in the Woods
by Eliza Wheeler
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Hot Air
by Marjorie Priceman
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2006 Caldecott Honor Book
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I Have a Dream
by Martin Luther King, Jr.
from Scholastic Inc.
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If You Were a Kid in the Thirteen Colonies
by Wil Mara, illustrated by Lluis Farre
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Jamestown
Adventures in Colonial America
by James Knight
from Beautiful Feet Books
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John, Paul, George & Ben
by Lane Smith
1st edition from Hyperion/Madison Press
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$7.20 (1 in stock)
Johnny Appleseed
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Poetry for Kindergarten-2nd grade
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Johnny Appleseed
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Johnny Appleseed: The Story of a Legend
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Joke's on George
by Michael O. Tunnell; illustrated by Kathy Osborn
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Last Princess
by Fay Stanley; illustrated by Diane Stanley
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Picture Book Biographies for Kindergarten-3rd grade
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Liberty!
by Lucille Recht Penner
from Random House
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Little Polar Bear
by Hans de Beer
from NorthSouth
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Living in Space
by Katie Daynes, illustrated by Zoe Wray
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Lost and Found
by Oliver Jeffers
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Lotus Seed
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Mama Went to Jail for the Vote
by Kathleen Karr, illustrated by Malene Laugesen
from Hyperion Books for Children
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$4.80 (1 in stock)
Mama, Do You Love Me?
by Barbara M. Joosse
Reprint from Chronicle Books
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$6.79
Mama, Do You Love Me?
by Barbara M. Joosse, Illustrated by Barbara Lavallee
from Scholastic Inc.
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$1.60 (4 in stock)
Martin Luther King, Jr
by Carol Hilgartner Schlank, Barbara Metzger, illustrated by John Kastner
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$3.20 (1 in stock)
Meet Thomas Jefferson
by Marvin Barrett
from Random House
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$1.20 (3 in stock)
Mesmerized
by Mara Rockliff, illustrated by Iacopo Bruno
from Candlewick Press
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in Colonial America (1690-1765) (Location: HISA-17COL)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Mighty Jackie
by Marissa Moss
1st edition from Simon & Schuster Macmillan
in Clearance: Picture Books (Location: ZCLE-PIC)
$15.29 $6.40 (1 in stock)
Molly's Pilgrim
A Bantam First Skylark
by Barbara Cohen, illustrated by Daniel Mark Duffy
from HarperTrophy
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$1.60 (4 in stock)
Moses
by Carole Boston Weatherford
1st edition from Hyperion/Madison Press
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2007 Caldecott Honor Book
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$16.14
Mousetronaut Goes to Mars
by Mark Kelly, illustrated by C. F. Payne
from Simon and Schuster
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$6.40 (1 in stock)
Moving the Millers’ Minnie Moore Mine Mansion
by Dave Eggers, illustrated by Julia Sarda
from Candlewick Press
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$16.99
Mr. Emerson's Cook
by Judy Schachner
from Purple House Press
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$12.74
My Brothers' Flying Machine
by Jane Yolen
from Little, Brown & Company
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$3.20 (1 in stock)
My Name is York
by Elizabeth Van Steenwyk, illustrated by Bill Farnsworth
from Rising Moon Books
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$3.20 (1 in stock)
N.C. Wyeth's Pilgrims
by Robert D. San Souci
from Chronicle Books
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$8.00 (1 in stock)
Not Regina
by Christmas Carol Kauffman
Fourth Printing from Pathway Publishers
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$6.40 (1 in stock)
Peter the Great
by Diane Stanley
from William Morrow & Company
Biography for Preschool-3rd grade
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$9.60 (1 in stock)
Picture Book of Florence Nightingale
by David A. Adler, illustrated by John & Alexandra Wallner
Repackaged from Holiday House
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$3.60 (1 in stock)
Picture Book of George Washington
by David A. Adler
1st edition from Holiday House
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$6.00 (1 in stock)
Pilgrims' Party
A Really Truly Story
by Sadybeth & Anson Lowitz
from Lerner Publishing Group
for Preschool-2nd grade
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$15.00 (1 in stock)
Plymouth Thanksgiving
by Leonard Weisgard
Reprint from Doubleday Book For Young Readers
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$5.00 (1 in stock)
Pocahontas: A Little Indian Girl of Jamestown
Tip Top Elf Books
by Frances Cavanah, illustrated by Manning de V. Lee
from Rand McNally
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$4.80 (1 in stock)
Polar Bear Night
by Lauren Thompson
from Scholastic Press
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$4.80 (1 in stock)
R is for Railway
by Greg Paprocki
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$8.49
Rare Treasure
by Don Brown
from Houghton Mifflin
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$12.80 (1 in stock)
Riding the Pony Express
by Clyde Robert Bulla
from Avyx, Inc.
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$4.00 (2 in stock)
Sailing the Unknown
by Michael Rosen, Illustrated by Maria Cristina Pritelli
from Creative Editions
for Kindergarten-2nd grade
in Ships, Boats & Submarines (Location: HISV-SHIP)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Sailing to America
Adventures in Colonial America
by James Knight, illustrated by George Guzzi
from Troll Associates
Non-fiction for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Colonial America (1690-1765) (Location: HISA-17COL)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Samuel Eaton's Day
by Kate Waters
from Scholastic Inc.
Non-fiction for Nursery-2nd grade
in Pilgrims at Plymouth (Location: HISA-17PIL)
$4.50 (2 in stock)
Sarah Morton's Day
by Kate Waters
from Scholastic Inc.
Non-fiction for Nursery-3rd grade
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