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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Active Filters: Historical Fiction, 7th grade (Ages 12-13)
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by Scott O'Dell
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Land of the Free Series
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Blood on the River: James Town, 1607
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Breadwinner, The
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Breaking Stalin's Nose
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Bull Run
by Paul Fleischman, David Frampton (Woodcuts)
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Bull Run
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By England's Aid
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By Sheer Pluck
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Captain Bayley's Heir
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Captain Blood
Penguin Classics
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Caravan to Oregon
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Carry On, Mr. Bowditch
by Jean Lee Latham
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1956 Newbery Medal winner
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Carry On, Mr. Bowditch
by Jean Lee Latham, illustrated by John O'Hara Cosgrave II
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Chariot in the Sky
Land of the Free Series
by Arna Bontemps, illustrated by Cyrus Le Roy Baldridge
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Child Star
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Children of the New Forest
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Cleared for Action!
by Stephen W. Meader
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Climb a Lofty Ladder
by Marion & Walter Havighurst, illustrated by Jill Elgin
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Colonel Thorndyke's Secret
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Colonel Thorndyke's Secret
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Come on Seabiscuit
by Ralph Moody
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Come On, Seabiscuit!
by Ralph Moody
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Condemned as a Nihilist
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Condemned as a Nihilist
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Cornet of Horse
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Countdown
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Cromwell's Head
by Olivia Coolidge, illustrated by Edward A. Wilson
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Historical Fiction for 4th-8th grade
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Historical Fiction for 6th-9th grade
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Czar, The
by Deborah Alcock
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Historical Fiction for 6th-10th grade
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$19.95
Daniel Boone, Wilderness Scout
Junior Deluxe Editions
by Stewart Edward White, illustrated by Henry C. Pitz
from Grosset & Dunlap
Biography for 4th-7th grade
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Daniel Boone, Wilderness Scout
by Stewart Edward White, illustrated by James Daugherty
from Garden City Books
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Dark and Bloody Ground
by Phyllis R. Fenner, ed.
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Dark Venture
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Dark Year of Dundee
Reformation Trail Series #06
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