I can't tell you how many times I've heard people say that our American culture is falling apart because "they took prayer out of the schools". But the reality is that's just a side-effect of the 800 hundred years of shifting in philosophical thinking from a Christian worldview to a Humanist world view. Kevin Swanson, author of Apostate: The Men who Destroyed the Christian West has done the extensive research to show how men of great influence have left us with such a depraved culture.
From Thomas Aquinas to Jean-Paul Sartre and William Shakespeare to John Steinbeck, Swanson gives clear historical evidence of how 16 of the "greatest thinkers" left the Christian faith in favor of Secular Humanism, or self-worship and influenced generation after generation to follow in their steps.
I appreciate that Swanson does a consistent job of using the Bible to disprove the philosophies of these men, allowing the Word of God to shine the light of truth on these dark, twisted minds of men.
I was slightly disappointed in his conclusion, though. His solution seems to suggest that, as Christians, we should just remove ourselves as much as possible from the culture as it collapses and then rebuild. My question is, where's the mission mindset of rescuing people from this dangerous way of thinking with the power of the gospel?
For those wondering how the cultures got like this or who think removing prayer from school was the cause, this book is a must read. For those who admire or highly esteem the "great thinkers", this book will challenge your comfort zone, but is worth reading considering the obvious detrimental results of their work.
*Special thanks to Generations with Vision and Cross Focused Reviews for providing this book, free of charge, in exchange for an honest review.
