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Live Not by Lies: A Manual for Christian Dissidents Hardcover – 19 October 2021

by Rod Dreher (Author)
4.8 4.8 out of 5 stars 4,636 ratings
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The New York Times bestselling author of The Benedict Option draws on the wisdom of Christian survivors of Soviet persecution to warn American Christians of approaching dangers.

For years, emigres from the former Soviet bloc have been telling Rod Dreher they see telltale signs of "soft" totalitarianism cropping up in America-something more Brave New World than Nineteen Eighty-Four. Identity politics are beginning to encroach on every aspect of life. Civil liberties are increasingly seen as a threat to "safety". Progressives marginalize conservative, traditional Christians, and other dissenters. Technology and consumerism hastens the possibility of a corporate surveillance state. And the pandemic, having put millions out of work, leaves our country especially vulnerable to demagogic manipulation.

In Live Not By Lies, Dreher amplifies the alarm sounded by the brave men and women who fought totalitarianism. He explains how the totalitarianism facing us today is based less on overt violence and more on psychological manipulation. He tells the stories of modern-day dissidents-clergy, laity, martyrs, and confessors from the Soviet Union and the captive nations of Europe-who offer practical advice for how to identify and resist totalitarianism in our time. Following the model offered by a prophetic World War II-era pastor who prepared believers in his Eastern European to endure the coming of communism, Live Not By Lies teaches American Christians a method for resistance-

SEE- Acknowledge the reality of the situation.

JUDGE- Assess reality in the light of what we as Christians know to be true.

ACT- Take action to protect truth.

Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn famously said that one of the biggest mistakes people make is assuming totalitarianism can't happen in their country. Many American Christians are making that mistake today, sleepwalking through the erosion of our freedoms. Live Not By Lies will wake them and equip them for the long resistance.
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  1. Print length
    256 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Sentinel
  4. Publication date
    19 October 2021
  5. Dimensions
    15.85 x 2.29 x 23.55 cm
  6. ISBN-10
    0593087399
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0593087398
  8. See all details
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  1. Relatively few contemporary Christians are prepared to suffer for the faith, because the therapeutic society that has formed them denies the purpose of suffering in the first place, and the idea of bearing pain for the sake of truth seems ridiculous.
    Highlighted by 3,302 Kindle readers
  2. As part of its quest to define reality, a totalitarian state seeks not just to control your actions but also your thoughts and emotions. The ideal subject of a totalitarian state is someone who has learned to love Big Brother.
    Highlighted by 2,303 Kindle readers
  3. The old, hard totalitarianism had a vision for the world that required the eradication of Christianity. The new, soft totalitarianism does too, and we are not equipped to resist its sneakier attack.
    Highlighted by 1,870 Kindle readers
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"As a new cultural revolution aims to institutionalize a tyranny of ideological clichés, Dreher renews Solzhenitsyn's great call to 'live not by lies.' I cannot imagine a more timely and urgent book, or one with a more enduring spiritual, political, and cultural message."--Daniel J. Mahoney, coeditor of The Solzhenitsyn Reader

"In this remarkably prescient book, Dreher sets Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn's timeless appeal to 'live not by lies' as the cornerstone of his own bold warning. His suggestion of a dawning post-Christian, 'pre-totalitarian' society is impossible to dismiss in light of the patient case he builds for his passionate, if provocative, thesis."--Ignat Solzhenitsyn, conductor and pianist

"With characteristic foresight, Rod Dreher has written an invaluable compendium of how to live fearlessly under totalitarianisms, old and new. Better still, the book is a counsel of hope and joy for even the bleakest days--and an encouragement we need, especially today in this time of cascading crises."--Patrick Deneen, author of Why Liberalism Failed

"Live Not By Lies will cement Rod Dreher's reputation as the most important Christian thinker of our age."--Crisis Magazine

"Christians who care about the future of the gospel in America should give heed to Dreher's manual. Live Not by Lies is a timely, perhaps even prophetic book."--Touchstone Magazine

About the Author

Rod Dreher is a senior editor at The American Conservative. He has written and edited for the New York Post, The Dallas Morning News, and National Review, and his commentary has been published in The Wall Street Journal and the Weekly Standard. He is the bestselling author of The Benedict Option, The Little Way of Ruthie Leming, Crunchy Cons, and How Dante Can Save Your Life.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Sentinel; 1st edition (19 October 2021)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 256 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0593087399
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0593087398
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 15.85 x 2.29 x 23.55 cm
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.8 4.8 out of 5 stars 4,636 ratings

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Rod Dreher

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5.0 out of 5 stars EXCELENTE
Reviewed in Mexico on 22 July 2023
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Que el subtitulo no te engañe, sin duda hay un lugar y un tiempo para hacer lo que el autor propone, y este parece ser uno de esos momentos. Que Dios te dirección en el contexto en el que vives!!
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5.0 out of 5 stars A tremendously important and timeless read
Reviewed in Canada on 10 October 2021
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I cannot think of a more timely topic. This book is thought-provoking. It’s a sobering but encouraging look at the trials Christians faced under past tyrannies, with a strong call to stand firm in the face of a softer, therapeutic totalitarianism that is quickly rising around us today.
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5.0 out of 5 stars Very good book!
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Michaelo El Grando
5.0 out of 5 stars Very good book!
Reviewed in Germany on 27 March 2024

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Het is te hopen dat dit boek heel snel in het Nederelands vertaald zal worden (grote kans, is mijn inschatting), want dit zou iedereeen moeten lezen: met alle recente ontwikkelingen in onze cultuur en alles wat gezegd en beweerd wordt, geeft dit boek een stevig fundament voor wat we kunnen leren van degenen die iets hebben meegemaakt dat - misschien niet voor het oog, maar zeker wat betreft achterliggende principes - cruciaal is om te begrijpen!
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When Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn was annexed from the country he loved, he published a parting message to the Russian people. “Live Not by Lies” was a bold challenge to the brutal totalitarian system that raved countless thousands of people.

Rod Dreher picks up where Solzhenitsyn left off in his new book, Live Not By Lies: A Manual for Christian Dissidents. This riveting work helps readers discover what it means to live not by lies. The author interviews Christians who endured the days of totalitarianism behind the Iron Curtain and gains a wealth of information that both inform and inspire us today.

Part One: Understanding Soft Totalitarianism

Part one explores the underbelly of what Dreher refers to as soft totalitarianism. “A totalitarian state,” according to Hannah Arendt, “is one that aspires to nothing less than defining and controlling reality. Truth is whatever the rules decide it is.” Mussolini defined totalitarianism as, “Everything within the state, nothing outside the sate, nothing against the state.” Wherever this worldview reigns, mankind declines, and decays.

The author explains the essence of soft totalitarianism:

"Today’s totalitarianism demands allegiance to a set of progressive beliefs, many of which are incompatible with logic – and certainly with Christianity. Compliance is forced less by the state than by elites who form public opinion, and by private corporations that, thanks to technology, control our lives far more than we would like to admit."

A cursory glance at culture reveals the rise of social justice, the “woke revolution,” radical environmentalism, acceptance of sexual deviancy, reverse racism, and identity politics. Soft totalitarianism includes educational propaganda like the “1619 Project,” an attempt to brainwash students and cause them to abandon the principles that help birth the United States of America. The list goes on and on. Yet more and more people are willing to accept this radical ideology for the sake of convenience.

Dreher adds, “And this is the thing about soft totalitarianism: It seduces those – even Christians – who have lost the capacity to love enduringly, for better or for worse. They think love, but they merely desire. They think they follow Jesus, but in fact, they merely admire him.”

The author warns that Christians who refuse to speak up and resist soft totalitarianism will pay a heavy price. Literary critic and poet, Czeslaw Milosz agrees: “Their silence will not save them and will instead corrode them.”

Part Two: How to Live in Truth

Part two helps readers respond biblically and decisively. It shows them how to “live in truth.” The principles that Dreher shares are invaluable and will be a great encouragement as Christians navigate their way through the social sludge.

Dreher encourages readers to fight for and defend free speech. “To grow indifferent, even hostile to free speech is suicidal for a free people,” writes the author. He encourages truth-telling that is wisdom-based and prudent.

Dreher admonishes readers to foster cultural memory. He says, “Everything about modern society is designed to make memory – historical, social, and cultural – hard to cultivate. Christians must understand this not only to resist soft totalitarianism but also to transmit the faith to the coming generations.”

The author urges Christians to cultivate strong family units. “Christian parents”, writes Dreher, “must be intentionally countercultural in their approach to family dynamics. The days of living like everybody else and hoping our children turn out for the best are over.” Fathers, in particular, must lead their families and help them exercise biblical discernment. They must fight for the truth.

Dreher promotes religion as the “bedrock of resistance.” He continues, “This is the uncompromising rival religion that the post-Christian world will not long tolerate. If you are not rock-solid in your commitment to traditional Christianity, then the world will break you. But if you are, then this is the solid rock in which that world will be broken. And if those solid rocks are joined together, they form a wall of solidarity that is very hard for the enemy to breach.”

We must stand in solidarity. “Only in solidarity with others can we find the spiritual and communal strength to resist,” says Dreher. He adds:

"And this is the thing about soft totalitarianism: it seduces those – even Christians – who have lost the capacity to love enduringly, for better or for worse. They think they love, but they merely desire. They think they follow Jesus, but in fact, they merely admire him."

"Each of us thinks we would be like that. But if we have accepted the great lie of our therapeutic culture, which tells us that personal happiness is the greatest good of all, then we will surrender at the first sign of trouble."

Conclusion

There is much more to explore in this fascinating book. I challenge readers to dig deeply into this “treasure chest.” In the end, both varieties of totalitarianism enslave people. Dreher reminds us, “Hard totalitarianism depends on terrorizing us into surrendering our free consciences; soft totalitarianism uses fear as well, but mostly it bewitches us with therapeutic promises of entertainment, pleasure, and comfort.” It is to this end that we must resist soft totalitarianism with all our might or we, along with the proverbial frog in the kettle will slowly boil in a kettle that appears safe but will, in the final analysis, result in a grizzly death.

Live Not By Lies delivers a powerful and unforgettable message. The price of liberty is costly. This much is true. “There is no escape from the struggle,” writes Dreher. “The price of liberty is eternal vigilance – first of all, over our own hearts.” Live Not By Lies is a must-read book for freedom-loving Christians. To ignore the principles that Dreher sets forth would be foolhardy at best. Heeding the warning of the author will help pave the way for fruitful discussion and greater liberty in the coming days.
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