This the most important book I’ve read all year—quite possibly, the most important book I’ve read since graduating from university in 2010. In some ways, it’s the antithesis of Saul Alinsky’s Rules for Radicals, or at least it provides a useful and practical counterpoint to it. In other ways, it’s a history of the parts of the 20th century that are most directly relevant to our situation know, which we already seem to have forgotten.
The message is basically this: the culture wars are over. Christians and conservatives lost. We have entered a new era of soft totalitarianism where you may not be thrown in a literal gulag for your religious or political beliefs, but you will be marginalized, shamed, and punished for not submitting to the woke progressive agenda that has taken over our society. But all of this has happened before, most recently under Communism in the 20th century. By learning from the Christian dissidents of Eastern Europe, we too can resist and ultimately overcome the progressive totalitarianism that has taken over our society, just as they did.
This book is full of amazing stories of Christian dissidents who resisted communism and won. The similarities between what they lived through and what we are living through are chilling, but the lessons and example that their stories provide are absolutely invaluable. There were times when I was brought to tears listening to this book. But it’s not just a collection of inspirational stories: it’s a practical handbook for how we can—and indeed, must—resist the progressive totalitarianism of our age, and overcome it.
I think this is a book that I will return to often in the coming years. The print and ebook editions are kind of pricey, but I do plan to acquire it in all three formats (I listened to it first in audiobook). There are a lot of conservative books out there that paint a bleak picture of our culture, but this one also provides some much needed hope, as well as guidance. I cannot recommend it highly enough.
Live Not By Lies by Rod Dreher
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, émigrés 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 hasten 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.
