Live Not by Lies

A Manual for Christian Dissidents

By: Rod Dreher

Narrated by: Adam Verner

Length: 6 hrs and 9 mins

Publisher's summary

The New York Times best-selling 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.

©2020 Rod Dreher (P)2020 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

“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)

calling the new 2020 Christian...

Not a new faith, but a new era for the American Christian. We are looking around us and wondering why we aren't all responding to the soft totalitarianism that we see the same way. Frustrated, but trying really hard to live out Christ's love and grace around us. we know what our job is in the world, but now we're really having a hard time fulfilling this calling. This struggle is what made me leap into this book when I heard about it. Not a conspiracy theory, but a history lesson ans a practical comparison. The author gives us sensible suggestions for what we can do right now. I'm thankful this book was written, God continues his work to educate me and prepare me for what he sees will come my way. to him be the glory.

He who has ears, let him hear

We must open our eyes while there is still time. This is such an important message for our times and a people being slowly simmered as the proverbial frog in the pot.

MOST IMPORTANT BOOK YOU WILL READ

CAN NOT STRESS JUST HOW IMPORTANT THIS BOOK IS!!! IT IS A MUST READ IF THERE HAS EVER BEEN ONE!

Good primer. Good reminder.

Timely review of Eastern European and Chinese totalitarianism, and the subtle (“soft”) but nonetheless tragically real and manifold ways it is manifesting in our contemporary Western milieu. While Dreher here helps Christians and other believers recognize the times, and even provides helpful recommendations to live dissenting lives in smaller supportive communities (similar to his perhaps better “Benedict Option”), the book should not be read in isolation from other compelling works (Taylor, McIntyre, Truman, Bartholomew, James K. A. Smith, Kuyper, Bavinck, and let’s not forget Augustine, and many other older and newer, etc) that broaden the context and hence balance our understanding and response.

Every American should this Before it’s too Late

Everyone should read this, while you still can. A stunning and harrowing account of history as it is on the precipice of repeating itself.

Wow! So inspiring!

I love all the stories of folks that walked faithfully through persecution. I found the constructive criticism of the church acutely accurate, appreciating the exhortation to actually live as Followers. Lastly I loved the excellent thread of fighting the “therapeutic” way of life and belief that life is supposed to be easy, comfortable and that we are to run away from all suffering.

excellent book for perspective on today

very much enjoyed this book. I drew a lot of courage and encouragement from it.

Eye opener

I’m an Orthodox Christian and this book, I found, to be truly eye opening. I don’t think I would’ve understood it pre-COVID-19. I’m grateful for having listened to this and I hold all of the experiences the author guides us through with utter reverence and awe. May we be ready when our turn to stand arrives, which is essentially the day after tomorrow. Every person who claims to be a follower of Christ needs to read this book.

The Case for The Benedict Option

If you have read his book The Benedict Option, you may at first feel this book seems like a rehash. It is not. It builds the case with real, flesh and blood examples in the last century that show the progression of totalitarianism and it's ultimate goals. However, it is much more than just that.

If The Benedict Option is the answer, Live Not By Lies was the case and the dire warning. I would recommend this book be read before The Benedict Option.

A Bitterly Necessary Book

This is required reading for anyone who cares about Christ, culture, family, the Church, and society.