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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173 Items found Print
Active Filters: Historical Fiction, 9th grade (Ages 14-15), Trade Paperback
Admiral Hornblower in the West Indies
Hornblower Series #11
by C. S. Forester
from Little, Brown & Company
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Anna and the King of Siam
by Margaret Landon
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At Aboukir and Acre
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Balloon Boy of San Francisco
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Battle of Seattle
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Beckoning Road
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Bonnie Prince Charlie
by G. A. Henty
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Book Thief
by Markus Zusak
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Boy in the Alamo
by Margaret Cousins
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Boy in the Alamo
by Margaret Cousins
from Veritas Press
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$19.00
Boys in the Boat adapted for Young Readers
by Daniel James Brown, adapted by Gregory Mone
from Penguin Putnam
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By England's Aid
by G. A. Henty
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By Far Euphrates
by Deborah Alcock
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By Right of Conquest
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By Sheer Pluck
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Calico Captive
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Captain Bayley's Heir
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Captain, My Captain
by Deborah Meroff
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Carry On, Mr. Bowditch
by Jean Lee Latham
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1956 Newbery Medal winner
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Christy
by Catherine Marshall
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Code Name Verity
by Elizabeth Wein
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Colonel Thorndyke's Secret
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Come On, Seabiscuit!
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Condemned as a Nihilist
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Cornet of Horse
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Coronation of Glory
Reformation Trail Series #12
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Czar, The
by Deborah Alcock
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Dash for Khartoum
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Day of Pleasure
by Isaac Bashevis Singer
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Defender of the Faith
William and Mary Trilogy Volume 2
by Marjorie Bowen
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Doctor Adrian
Reformation Trail Series #13
by Deborah Alcock
from Inheritance Publications
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$15.95
Done and Dared in Old France
Huguenot Inheritance Series #7
by Deborah Alcock
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Doomed Queen Anne
A Young Royals Book
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Dorothy's Double
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Driven into Exile
Huguenot Inheritance Series #5
by Charlotte Maria Tucker
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Duncan's War
Crown & Covenant Series #1
by Douglas Bond
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Escape
Huguenot Inheritance Series #1
by A. Van der Jagt
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Facing Death
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Faith and Freedom Trilogy
Faith and Freedom
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False Coin, True Coin
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Farewell to Manzanar
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Fever 1793
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Fiddler's Gun
by A. S. Peterson
1st edition from Rabbit Room Press
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For God and the King
William and Mary Trilogy Volume 3
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For Name and Fame
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Fortune of War
Aubrey/Maturin #6
by Patrick O'Brian
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Friends Though Divided
by G. A. Henty
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From Glencoe to Stirling
Tales of a Scottish Grandfather Volume 3
by Sir Walter Scott
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Historical Non-Fiction for 6th-9th grade
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God's Mountain Man
by Esther Vogt
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Gunner's Run
by Rick Barry
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Guns of Thunder
Faith and Freedom Trilogy #1
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Held Fast for England
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Hero of Spionkop
The Louis Wessels Commando #2
by Lawrence Penning
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Horatio Hornblower Saga - Complete Collection
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Historical Fiction for 8th-Adult
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Hornblower and the Atropos
Hornblower Series #5
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from Little, Brown & Company
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Hornblower and the Hotspur
Hornblower Series #3
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Hornblower Companion
by C. S. Forester
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Hornblower During the Crisis
Hornblower Series #4
by C. S. Forester
from Little, Brown & Company
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How They Kept the Faith
Huguenot Inheritance Series #3
by Grace Raymond
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I Will Maintain
William and Mary Trilogy Volume 1
by Marjorie Bowen
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In Greek Waters
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In the Hands of the Cave Dwellers
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In the Heart of the Rockies
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In the Reign of Terror
by G. A. Henty
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In This Hour
by Rudolf Van Reest
from Inheritance Publications
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In Times of Peril
by G. A. Henty
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Jack Archer
by G. A. Henty
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Jar of Dreams
by Yoshiko Uchida
2nd edition from Aladdin Paperbacks
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$6.99
John Treegate's Musket
Treegate Series Book 1
by Leonard Wibberly
from Bethlehem Books
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Journey Through the Night
by Anne De Vries
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Journeyman
by Elizabeth Yates
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$6.99
Kenilworth
Penguin Classics
by Sir Walter Scott
from Penguin Classics
Historical Fiction for 9th-Adult
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King's Arrow
Crown & Covenant Series #2
by Doug Bond & Matthew Bird
from P&R Publishing
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King's Service
Reformation Trail Series #18
by Deborah Alcock
from Inheritance Publications
Historical Fiction for 6th-10th grade
in Reformation Trail Series (Location: FIC-WH06)
Kitchen Boy
by Robert Alexander
Reprint from Penguin Press
for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Les Miserables
Modern Library
by Victor Hugo, translated by Julie Rose
from Modern Library
Realistic Fiction for 9th-Adult
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$20.00
Les Miserables
Modern Library
by Victor Hugo, translated by Norman Denny
from Penguin Classics
Realistic Fiction for 9th-Adult
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Letter Writer
by Ann Rinaldi
Reprint from HMH Books for Young Readers
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$4.00 (1 in stock)
Lieutenant Hornblower
Hornblower Series #2
by C. S. Forester
from Little, Brown & Company
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Life and Times of Horatio Hornblower
by C. S. Forester (based on the works of), C. Northcote Parkinson
from Sutton Publishing
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$6.00 (1 in stock)
Lion of Modderspruit
The Louis Wessels Commando #1
by Lawrence Penning
from Inheritance Publications
Historical Fiction for 5th-9th grade
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$10.95
Lion of the North
by G. A. Henty
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List
by C. D. Baker
from Preston Speed
Historical Fiction for 8th-10th grade
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$10.00 (1 in stock)
Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy
by Gary D. Schmidt
from Clarion Books
for 7th-9th grade
2005 Newbery Honor Book
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$7.99
Louis Wessels Command Series
by Lawrence Penning
from Inheritance Publications
Historical Fiction for 5th-9th grade
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Loyal Huguenot Maid
Huguenot Inheritance Series #8
by Margaret S. Comrie
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Historical Fiction for 7th-10th grade
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Lysbeth
by H. Rider Haggard
from Christian Liberty Press
Historical Fiction for 8th-Adult
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Marie's Home
by Caroline Austin
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Martyr of Kolin
Young Burning Hearts Series
by H. O. Ward
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Midshipman Bolitho
by Alexander Kent
from McBooks Press
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$4.00 (1 in stock)
Moon Over Manifest
by Clare Vanderpool
from Yearling
for 6th-10th grade
2011 Newbery Medal Winner
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Mr. Midshipman Hornblower
Hornblower Series #1
by C. S. Forester
from Little, Brown & Company
Nautical fiction for 8th-Adult
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$17.99
My Name Is Not Angelica
by Scott O'Dell
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Night Divided
by Jennifer A. Nielsen
from Scholastic Press
Historical Fiction for 7th-10th grade
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$8.99
No Surrender!
by G. A. Henty
from Robinson Curriculum
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Not for Crown or Sceptre
Reformation Trail Series #15
by Deborah Alcock
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$25.95
Ocean-Born Mary
by Lois Lenski
1st Edition Thus from Purple House Press
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$17.99
One of the 28th
by G. A. Henty
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Historical Fiction for 6th-10th grade
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Orange and Green
by G. A. Henty
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Historical Fiction for 6th-10th grade
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Out on the Pampas
by G. A. Henty
from Robinson Curriculum
Historical Fiction for 6th-10th grade
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