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)

Live Not By Lies

A must read for every Christian. Experience explains what is happening in the US and if we are not careful we will become a communist country. We are already becoming, excellent book and can’t wait for the docuseries.

We Are On The Verge Of Soft Totalitarianism

Rod does a great job of explaining the mechanics of how Totalitarianism came to pass in modern history and how it will happen (is already happening) in our society today.

Every Christian needs to read/listen to this book!

Alisa Childers interviewed the author on her YouTube channel and recommended this book as the most important book a Christian could read in 2021. I cannot guarantee it will prove to be the most important book I read in 2021, but it will take something very significant to beat this one. This book is eye-opening and has helped me understand quite a few things I did not even realize I *needed* to understand. I sincerely hope that the prayers of Christians can prevent this information from proving as valuable as I fear it might.

Few books are this good. I

You will be inspired. you will be challenged. your heart will break in places.

Great Book

As someone who was born in the Soviet Union, I really enjoyed this book and the lessons it brings.

Amazing Book

This book is one of the most informative and moving books of truth I’ve read besides the Bible. I would recommend this book to anyone searching for truth.

SUCH an important resource for our times

I can't say enough about how important I feel this book is. Alert believers can all see we're in a revolution, but we haven't known what to DO about it. This is a guide which I now plan to purchase the hard copy of because I want to take notes, mark it up, and use it actively as a reference. We must lean in and listen close to what he shares through these stories, insights and warnings and, then, follow the sage and sober advice. Soft totalitarianism has indeed come, may we be wise as serpents and innocent as doves.

Life changing

Every Christian or believer in God needs to listen to this life changing book, especially in the day and age we are living in today.

It’s chilling how history repeats itself…unless we are vigilant

This is both a sobering set of accounts of how the quicksand of totalitarianism craftily pervades culture and why it is so important to combat it, even when it seems hopeless. While it feels a bit depressing as the stage is being set by all of the background given for the point of this book, it definitely makes one think and evaluate so much of life.

One of the main points I appreciate in this work is the idea that you never know how the truth you share and the bold stand you take can encourage others to do the same, and thus stem the tide.

One key is to understand that suffering, while not something we seek after, is indeed a part of life in this fallen world. To think we can totally escape it is a dangerous mindset that makes us susceptible to unwittingly accepting the lies totalitarianism sneaks in in order to usher in, under the guise of a level playing field, what actually enslaves us.

As was wisely stated many generations ago, “The price of liberty is eternal vigilance.” It is our job to safeguard liberty by remaining aware of how quickly it can be lost and taking stands for it with the bigger picture in mind. Perspective changes everything.

excellent

a great book, full of thought provoking insights. well written and well read. worth the time.