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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American Revolution
Revolution!
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Bad News for Outlaws
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Triangle Histories: The Revolutionary War
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Great Journeys
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Clara Barton: Civil War Nurse
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Colonial Places
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Confederate Girl: The Diary of Carrie Berry, 1864
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Dear Levi
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Let Freedom Ring
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Earthquake!
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Weekly Reader Heroes of the Revolution
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Explorers of the Arctic and Antarctic
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Francisco Coronado and the Exploration of the American Southwest
Explorers of New Worlds
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Latinos in American History
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How America Became America
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Grand Papa and Ellen Aroon
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Library of Explorers and Exploration
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How Men Discovered the World
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Hunters Blaze the Trails
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Isaac Newton and Gravity
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Island Far From Home
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Triangle Histories: The Civil War
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Triangle Histories: The Civil War
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John and Sebastian Cabot
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John Charles Frémont
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John Hancock: A Signature Life
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Joseph E. Johnston
Famous Figures of the Civil War Era
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Journal of One Davey Wyatt
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Juan Ponce de Leon and the Search for the Fountain of Youth
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Lewis and Clark Expedition
We the People
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Liberty Bell
Primary Sources of American Symbols
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Magellan
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Magic of Spices
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Maryland Colony: Lord Baltimore
Building America
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Master George's People
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Paradox of Jamestown (1585-1700)
The Drama of American History
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Patrick Henry
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Patrick Henry
The Founding Fathers
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Picture Book of John Hancock
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Pioneer Traders
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Pizarro, Orellana, and the Exploration of the Amazon
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Pony Express
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Colonial American Craftsmen
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Quilt-Block History of Pioneer Days
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R My Name is Rachel
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Risking it All
Moments in American History
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Rockets to the Moon
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Science in Colonial America
by Brendan January
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$7.00 (2 in stock)
Seeds of a Nation - Massachusetts
by Don Nardo
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Seneca Falls Women's Rights Convention
Events That Shaped America
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Settlers on a Strange Shore
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Sir Francis Drake
Library of Explorers and Exploration
by Joy Paige
1st edition from Rosen Central
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South Town
by Lorenz Graham
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Story of the California Gold Rush
Cornerstones of Freedom series
by R. Conrad Stein
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Take a Trip to Antarctica
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Texas War of Independence
Hispanic America
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They Put Out to Sea: The Story of the Map
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Timeline of Congress
Timelines of American History
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Timeline of the Abolitionist Movement
Timelines of American History
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Traveling the Missouri
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Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire
Events That Shaped America
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Triangle Histories: The Civil War
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Ulysses S. Grant and the Strategy of Victory
History of the Civil War
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United States in the 20th Century
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Vasco de Gama and the Portuguese Explorers
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Victoria and Her Court
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We the People: The Assassination of Abraham Lincoln
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We'll Race You, Henry
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Wildcat Under Glass
by Alki Zei, translated by Edward Fenton
1969 second printing from Holt, Rinehart and Winston
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Wilderness Wife
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Will Rogers
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William Bradford of Plymouth Colony
by W.J. Jacobs
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William Henry Seward
Famous Figures of the Civil War Era
by Michael Burgan
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William Howe
Revolutionary War Leaders
by Bruce Adelson
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World at War: Fighter Planes
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Wright Brothers
by Shelia Wyborny
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$2.00 (1 in stock)