Live Not by Lies

A Manual for Christian Dissidents

By: Rod Dreher

Narrated by: Adam Verner

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.

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 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

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.

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.