Kidnapped" by Robert Lewis Stevenson,

¶ … Kidnapped" by Robert Lewis Stevenson, "All Quiet on the Western Front" by Erich Maria Remarque, and "Dynamics of Faith" by Paul Tillich. Specifically, it will describe Western Civilization's progress toward modernism. Each of these books looks at modernity in divergent ways. However, they all seem to have a dim view of a society that often embraces evil at the expense of faith and humanity. Both of these novels take place at crucial times in history, when the world was changing in many ways.

In "Kidnapped," David's life alters because of his parent's death and his circumstances change dramatically. He begins to see a side of life that can only be described as more "modern" than he was used to - filled with dangerous men with little faith or goodness in them. Stevenson seems to be saying there is great evil in the world of the 1750s - murder, slavery, arranged kidnappings, and more, and it is due to a lack of faith and Godliness in many people.

David is a good soul, and retains his faith, and so, he is not a part of the evil of the story. At one point he says, "I thought I should have died, and made my peace with God, forgiving all men, even my uncle and the fishers; and as soon as I had thus made up my mind to the worst, clearness came upon me" (Stevenson 86).

Thus, David can forgive even those who have done him evil, and this seems to be lacking in many of the characters in the novel. This, Stevenson seems to be saying, is one of the troubles with the modern world of the time, there was too little faith and too much evil accepted by society. For example, the ship's captain, Hoseason, is a "church-goer" when he is on shore, but he is the one who kidnaps David for money.

Thus, Stevenson sees the modern world as growing more corrupt, and relying on false faith rather than real belief to rationalize evil and unfair actions. All Quiet on the Western Front" takes place during World War I, and if anything, offers an even bleaker assessment of the evils of the modern world. The novel is a memoir of a young fictional character fighting with the German Army during World War I.

At first, he and his friends are patriots who join the war to serve their country, but they are soon disillusioned with all the evils of war. They see constant death, mismanagement, and disinterest all around them, and it represents the modern, cold, and uncaring world. The modern world of the early 20th century included technological advances that made war even more ghastly than it had been. Society seemed to be turning into uncaring war mongers who fight for the wrong things.

Early in the novel, one of Paul's friends thinks there is a better way to fight wars. He says, "Then in the arena the ministers and generals of the two countries, dressed in bathing-drawers and armed with clubs, can have it out among themselves. Whoever survives, his country wins. That would be much simpler and more just than this arrangement, where the wrong people do the fighting" (Remarque 40).

"All Quiet on the Western Front" has always been seen as an anti-war novel, but it is also a treatise on the callousness of the modern world. In the end, Paul dies, and no one even notices. The tanks and guns go on shooting, the wars still go on being fought, and humankind seems lost and pathetic, somehow. The modern world is a world that changes so fast it is hard to keep up and motivations are not always honest or even good.

Society has become even more corrupt and corrupted, and death does not matter in the big picture. While "Kidnapped" paints a more positive view of the future, "All Quiet on the Western Front" paints a depressing view of the world that is turning into a modernized fighting machine that no longer cares about humans or humanity. On the other hand, author Paul Tillich maintains faith cannot be distorted by time, science, or modernity, because faith stands separately from all these things.

He believes the modern world has not lost faith, as many maintain, but today there is a secular faith, but he maintains it is faith, and not "unbelief," and so faith still exists in the modern world (Tillich 79-80). He also believes faith should not interfere with science, and this supports scientific achievement and advancement that can create modern worlds (Tillich 94). Thus, Tillich comes to grip with the modern world by blending faith, science, and discovery, and showing how they can combine in harmony.

He has a much more optimistic view of the modern world and modernity, and it is because his faith sees him through, but does not replace his good sense or morality. Unlike Hoseason, he lives according to his faith, and knows the difference between right and wrong. He does not use his faith as a crutch to.