Against the Night: Living in the New Dark Ages [Paperback]

Charles W. Colson (Author), Ellen Santilli Vaughn (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1999

Ten years ago when Charles Colson's top-selling Against the Night appeared, he described the demise of Western culture as the "new dark ages." The book describes in particular the ominous shadows that have engulfed politics, family life and education. Today as we face the new millennium, the book is still pertinent, as the darkness has not lifted. It seems in many ways to have thickened. Against the Night, however, is not pessimistic. It gives Christians hope that as we regain our vision of living in God's kingdom and being God's people, we will be a light in the darkness.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

"A crisis of immense proportion is upon us": the erosion of traditional values in the institutions of family, state, and church. This is Colson's premise in this spiritual call-to-arms, whose ideas were first presented as lectures at Wheaton College. He starts with a critique of Enlightenment assumptions, exposes the relativism and decadence he finds to be rampant today, and closes with a challenge to Christians to stem the tide. This resembles Dee Jepsen's What's Happening to My World ? ( LJ 4/1/89) in its stress on attitudinal change rather than practical strategies, but differs in its intellectual rigor and strong, persuasive style. Recommended for general and church/theological libraries.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

Charles Colson, former aide to President Nixon, founded Prison Fellowship Ministries in 1976, after doing a prison term himself. It has since become the world's largest outreach to prisoners, ex-prisoners, and their families. Colson is also a popular speaker and author, having written 23 books, which collectively have sold more than five million copies. His radio feature "BreakPoint" is aired daily on some 1,000 outlets nationwide.

Product Details

• Paperback: 221 pages
• Publisher: Vine Books (June 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0830733779
• ISBN-13: 978-0830733774
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.2 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,092,600 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

25 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good motivational text everybody/Christian needs to hear!, October 28, 1996

By A Customer

This review is from: Against the Night: Living in the New Dark Ages (Paperback)

I've always enjoyed Chuck Colson's writings. The style is easy to read and clear, like you would be having a conversation with the author. When he was with President Nixon's Cabinet, he was going the way of all politians - POWER. But some humbling time in jail gave him time to think about the important things in life. Family, God, and his spiritual condition. He turned his life around and changed the way he was headed by receiving Jesus Christ as Savior, Lord, and Life. Making a new committment to serve Jesus and others, especially fellow prisoners. His work with justice, jails, and Jesus are very well acknowledged now. (search: colson, prison fellowship)
In his book Against the Night, you are shown what the darkness looks like and how to compare it to the Light. Quickly you are given practical examples and stories of how insignificant people, in the world's eyes, made a change in their life and the lives of others by caring about what was happening around them, to others, and shown that a little caring followed by a little action can make big changes for the betterment of all of us.
I would recommend this book highly to anyone and to everyone who wants to come Against the Night.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Insightful Analysis, May 15, 2007

By 

Dr. W. G. Covington, Jr. (Edinboro, Pennsylvania) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Against the Night: Living in the New Dark Ages (Paperback)

While the barbarians who pillaged the Roman empire could be identified by their physical appearance, today's barbarians have no such distinguishing marks. The warfare is mental and spiritual. It is an insidiuous mindset that is at work destroying individuals, families, communities, churches, universities, and nations. In essence that mindset could be summarized as "selfish materialism," i.e., the assumption that one lives for oneself and this life is all there is to existence.

The tentacles of this monster extend to every area of modern life, including the church. Colson gives convincing examples in presenting his case. Christians of previous generations knew they were living for something greater than "self." That reality is not so apparent anymore. One has to cultivate it.

In the concluding section, he argues that Christians must fight the good fight regardless of the outcome. Being in the world, but not of the world, Christians of earlier generations preserved culture, not because that was their primary goal, but as a side-effect of seeking to obey God. He concludes the same is expected of this generation.

5.0 out of 5 stars A Light in the Night, February 4, 2012

By 

Bradley P. Hayton - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Against the Night: Living in the New Dark Ages (Paperback)

Against the Night is destined to become a classic. To me, everything that Chuck Colson has written previously or since pales by comparison. Something happened to Colson in this book. He is becoming less typically fundamentalist or even evangelical and becoming more catholic in the broadest sense. (Maybe that is why he wrote the introduction to Evangelical Catholics the previous year.) Maybe it is because the book began as lectures at Wheaton College for the annual Allies for Faith and Renewal Conference that brings together Protestants, Roman Catholics, and Orthodox traditions. Or maybe it is due to the influence of Wheaton grad Michael Gerson, who provided the "intellectual grist" and research for the book. I don't know, but I do know that this book will stay in print for generations to come.

Colson describes a culture in decay. He traces the intellectual, social, cultural, and spiritual roots to this decay, making an analogy to Roman society. He examines the relativism, intolerance, immorality, will to power, hedonism, and welfare statism of both Roman and modern society. The modern barbarians have enetered the classroom, our political institutions, and our pews. Colson then outlines a plan to transform both the church and the culture.

Against the Night is not outlinish, not does it prescribe trite techniques to plug the dike of cultural decay. His solutions are moral and spiritual, rather than political. His mentors in the book are Kirk, Dawson, Chesterton, Elliot, and a host of traditional Catholics. His faith is rooted in a Christian tradition that has transformed all of Western society. Every Christian should read this book, if not once, several times.

Note: this review is about the first edition.