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Lies We are Told, the Truth We Must Hold: Worldviews and Their Consequences
We are surrounded by lies. They are incorporated into the worldview of our culture. We daily absorb them, and these lies can have deadly effects on individuals, societies and whole civilisations. Sharon James investigates the origins of some of these lies and looks at how we have got to the point where ‘my truth’ is as valid as ‘your truth’, and absolute truth is an outdated way of thinking. In examining the evidence of history, she highlights the consequences of applying dangerous untruths. She also looks at how Christians often respond to the culture’s lies – in silence, acquiescence or celebration of them – and why these responses can be as harmful as the lies themselves. In the second part she turns to the truth which leads to real liberation and justice. She shows why we don’t need to be ashamed of Christ, or intimidated by the claims of those who are militantly opposed to the Bible. This book aims to equip Christians to navigate the minefield of current claims. To understand our inherent human significance, to know genuine freedom, and to work for real justice, we need to know the truth. Chapter headings Part The Lies We Are Told 1. There is no God and no Absolute Morality · Ludwig Feuerbach (1804–72): God is Just a Comfort Blanket · Charles Darwin (1809–82): Made Atheism Intellectually Possible · Karl Marx (1818–83): Overthrow the Old Society · From Dream to Nightmare 2. ‘No God’: From Atheism to Death Camps · Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1908): No Transcendent Morality · Sigmund Freud (1856–1939): To be Human is to be Sexual · Wilhelm Reich (1897–1957): Father of the Sexual Revolution · Margaret Sanger (1879–1966): Sex as Salvation · Sexual Triumph or Tragedy? 3. ‘No Absolute Morality’: From Relativism to Fatherlessness · Five Ways to Destabilize Society 4. ‘No Universal Truth’: The Death of Common Sense 5. ‘No Universal Humanity’: Divided We Fall 6. False The Compromised Church Part The Truth We Must Hold 7. The Biblical Foundation of Truth, Freedom and Dignity · God the Creator · Created in His Image · We Are All Sinners · We Can All be Forgiven 8. The Biblical Foundation of Human Flourishing · God’s Good Family · God’s Good Work · God’s Good Communities · God’s Good Nations 9. The Biblical Christ is King – Hope for the Future 10. What Should I Do Now?
- GenresChristian
304 pages, Paperback
Published January 14, 2022
22 people are currently reading
97 people want to read
About the author
Sharon James
21 books27 followersSharon James studied history at Cambridge University, theology at Toronto Baptist Seminary, and has a doctorate from the University of Wales. She is married to Bill, who is Principal of London Seminary. They have two grown up children and six grandchildren. Sharon works as Social Policy Analyst for The Christian Institute, UK, and has travelled to many countries as a Conference speaker.
Her webpage includes articles, interviews and talks and information about her latest books.
https://www.sharonjames.org/
Her webpage includes articles, interviews and talks and information about her latest books.
https://www.sharonjames.org/
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
April 21, 2022
An accessible expose on truth.
This book beautifully undermines the “cartoon history” that poorly attempts to justify wokeism and the ongoing secularisation of the west.
This concise canon of apologia begins with the naturalistic world view that gave academic kudos to the atheist myth, allegedly liberating humanity from the fear of God.
The book names and shames “saviours” such as Nietzsche, Freud and Marx who today have left the masses in a wasteland of no uniting absolutes, struggling to find purpose, wailing in the confusion of their gender pronouns. (I say this not in mockery but in the deepest compassion, sympathy and love to victims of this flawed and destabilising idealogy that this book rightly critiques).
As history progressed we see that the void of wisdom left behind by the societal removal of the Bible, giving opportunity for critical theory (or radical doubt) to corrupt western academia. Radicalised it poisoned our institutions, media and culture, polluting the psyche of the masses birthing todays identity politics. Divided we fall.
What has the church done about this? The book details.
The false prophets absorb and entertain the lie.
The faithful cry “Do not be afraid” - and continue to proclaim Biblical truth.
There is meaning, there is purpose, there is good and evil. We are human beings! We matter! Infinitely loved, united in our brokenness - Jesus is our eternal King!
A great read, excellently referenced with helpful tables and summary sections.
This book beautifully undermines the “cartoon history” that poorly attempts to justify wokeism and the ongoing secularisation of the west.
This concise canon of apologia begins with the naturalistic world view that gave academic kudos to the atheist myth, allegedly liberating humanity from the fear of God.
The book names and shames “saviours” such as Nietzsche, Freud and Marx who today have left the masses in a wasteland of no uniting absolutes, struggling to find purpose, wailing in the confusion of their gender pronouns. (I say this not in mockery but in the deepest compassion, sympathy and love to victims of this flawed and destabilising idealogy that this book rightly critiques).
As history progressed we see that the void of wisdom left behind by the societal removal of the Bible, giving opportunity for critical theory (or radical doubt) to corrupt western academia. Radicalised it poisoned our institutions, media and culture, polluting the psyche of the masses birthing todays identity politics. Divided we fall.
What has the church done about this? The book details.
The false prophets absorb and entertain the lie.
The faithful cry “Do not be afraid” - and continue to proclaim Biblical truth.
There is meaning, there is purpose, there is good and evil. We are human beings! We matter! Infinitely loved, united in our brokenness - Jesus is our eternal King!
A great read, excellently referenced with helpful tables and summary sections.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 20, 2023
Very interesting and detailed book, Sharon James essentially traces a history of what went wrong since Eden, how different world views were introduced and how the Bible refutes them.
The first part of this book could really be quite discouraging if we didn't have the second part!
With lots of detail I'd need to read this again to take more in but the chapters are broken into bite size pieces with a summary at the end of each. The charts included as well as the extensive footnotes and recommended reading make this an excellent resource.
The first part of this book could really be quite discouraging if we didn't have the second part!
With lots of detail I'd need to read this again to take more in but the chapters are broken into bite size pieces with a summary at the end of each. The charts included as well as the extensive footnotes and recommended reading make this an excellent resource.
August 19, 2023
Very well written and has a lot of information!
June 4, 2022
One of the best primer books written on worldview out there today! Strong look at recent history and current trends that are lies from Satan, leading us away from truth and the Lord. Even stronger look at a Biblical worldview that leads us towards truth and Christ our Savior. Very accessible and easy read that I would recommend for all people to read!
August 29, 2022
Hard to follow at times due to all the worldviews examined.
June 24, 2023
Excellently written book. Well done Sharon James.
Read
March 1, 2024very clear very compelling and very informative
November 30, 2024
Shows the true nature of the worldly lies we're told and how we, as christians, are to respond to those in a biblical manner to best help our churches but also non Christians.
October 3, 2022
Like another reviewer, I also found this difficult to follow. The amount of information is a bit overwhelming, and the organization of the material does not seem to flow well. I purchased multiple copies of the book as gifts before its release because the author’s biography of Ann Judson is one of my very favourite books. The high recommendations from prominent men that are listed on the back of Lies We Are Told lead me to believe that the challenges I found in trying to read and understand the book are my own problem rather than the author’s! Honestly, I was unable to finish reading it.
November 24, 2025
The lie: government authorities are bad and must be torn down (p126) The truth: authorities are instituted by God and we should obey them (p247). But when they impose lockdowns to fulfill their mandate to "protect citizens from... epidemics" (p248) they are somehow doing so "at the cost of other aspects of human flourishing." (p256).
This example gives a good insight into where Ms James is coming from. You're either going to come from a very similar, if not identical place and find her teaching you to suck eggs or you're not and going to think her a right wing loon.
For the record, I firmly believe said eggs do need to be sucked. But I also firmly believe that this book could have been better written and better argued.
For example, as someone who has not only actually studied and worked in the field of linguistics, I was amused at her insistence that "words do relate to objective truth" (p117). That is so demonstrably false it's laughable... in fact it made me feel gay just thinking about it. See what I did there? 😉
Perhaps I've misunderstood her, but if so, she's just illustrated that when she says that it is "nonsense" that language is "a series of linguistic signs to be interpreted by the reader", she is ... er ... talking nonsense.
It doesn't stop there. She counters the socialist "lie" of goods held in common with the argument that "when property is held in common, incentive is removed, and work is often badly done" (p234). Er... this seems oddly in conflict with the early church holding property in common as a sign that the Kingdom of God was present (Acts 2:44).
She goes on. As the Bible is inerrant and "without mistake", Paul was not wrong to think of Adam as a historical individual. Presumably then he was also not wrong when he said that ""Cretans are always liars, evil brutes, lazy gluttons.” This saying is true." Titus 1:12-13.
For a book that's written to help you stand firm in the face of non Christian criticism, it's frustrating to find it so easy to pick holes in. Sadly the book is full of such inconsistencies.
If you're a Christian who needs to be encouraged to stand up for the truth against the lies of the world, give this a miss and pick up a copy of the much better written Biblical Critical Theory by Christopher Watkin instead.
This example gives a good insight into where Ms James is coming from. You're either going to come from a very similar, if not identical place and find her teaching you to suck eggs or you're not and going to think her a right wing loon.
For the record, I firmly believe said eggs do need to be sucked. But I also firmly believe that this book could have been better written and better argued.
For example, as someone who has not only actually studied and worked in the field of linguistics, I was amused at her insistence that "words do relate to objective truth" (p117). That is so demonstrably false it's laughable... in fact it made me feel gay just thinking about it. See what I did there? 😉
Perhaps I've misunderstood her, but if so, she's just illustrated that when she says that it is "nonsense" that language is "a series of linguistic signs to be interpreted by the reader", she is ... er ... talking nonsense.
It doesn't stop there. She counters the socialist "lie" of goods held in common with the argument that "when property is held in common, incentive is removed, and work is often badly done" (p234). Er... this seems oddly in conflict with the early church holding property in common as a sign that the Kingdom of God was present (Acts 2:44).
She goes on. As the Bible is inerrant and "without mistake", Paul was not wrong to think of Adam as a historical individual. Presumably then he was also not wrong when he said that ""Cretans are always liars, evil brutes, lazy gluttons.” This saying is true." Titus 1:12-13.
For a book that's written to help you stand firm in the face of non Christian criticism, it's frustrating to find it so easy to pick holes in. Sadly the book is full of such inconsistencies.
If you're a Christian who needs to be encouraged to stand up for the truth against the lies of the world, give this a miss and pick up a copy of the much better written Biblical Critical Theory by Christopher Watkin instead.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews