The World is not Getting Worse

One of the things I constantly hear from other conservative leaning Christians is that the world is getting worse and it's quite possibly worse now than it ever has been and "oh but surely these are the end times." There's a Syrian refugee crisis, ISIS is beheading Christians in the Middle East, North America has forsaken God, Israel is about to be destroyed, terrorists have nuclear missiles, young people love sex and violence, the economy is about to collapse, Gays are marrying, and Miley Cyrus twerked on national television. It's just an indisputable fact that they all inherently know; the world is getting worse.

But it's not.

The world is not getting worse. It is really bad in some places and I want to fully acknowledge the very real suffering inflicted upon many but the world is not nearly as bad as we conservative Christians make it out to be. Yes, terrorism and wars are horrible, famine and plague kill millions, Israel is indeed surrounded, and we have indeed moved away from Christian morals in the west but a brief look at history will show us that, despite all of these things, the world is doing comparatively well.

Don't believe me? Let me ask you, are things really worse now than they were when the pagan emperors of Rome openly persecuted the early Church by shutting down businesses, looting homes, and murdering Christians in the streets (crucifixion and human torch style) and arena to the tumultuous cheers of the rest of the known world? Are things really as bad now as they were when Rome, after being transformed into the locus of Christianity and moral civilization, fell? Are things really as bad today as they were during the invasions of the Muslims, Mongols, and Huns or the Black Death that ravaged entire continents? Is the world really more precarious now than it was doing the Hundred Years War when Christians openly fought and killed each other? Are we really in more dire straights than during the The Civil War, the World Wars, and the Cold War when a palpable dread hung over every nation that the entire world might be consumed by fire and blood? I stamp my foot in defiance and say "no!"

Things are pretty good today when compared to the rest of our history. War is still terrible but it is isolated and there are counter measures and alliances in place to ensure that it doesn't get out of hand. We don't have to fear the Black Plague or Polio or any of the diseases that used to kill entire families and lay waste to cities. Persecution of Christians still exists in different parts of the world but not to the extent or approval of what the early Church suffered at the hands of Nero, Domitian, Trajan, Diocletian and others. The world as a global whole has become safer, kinder, healthier, more Christian (nearly everywhere outside North America) and more cozy today than its ever been before. So I ask by what metric is it worse?

The world is not teetering on the edge of self-destruction, the evils we see and hear about are the same evils that have always been with us. Human kind, apart from Christ, is morally destitute and that will always manifest in immoral behavior and anti-Christian philosophies that each generation of the Church has to deal with in their time. The world and the forces of the world are the same as they have ever been; fallen and rebellious but ultimately subservient to King Jesus. The devil has been defeated and no power or authority exists unless it be under Christ so what's all the fuss about?

Why do we believe that the world is getting worse? There are a few reasons. We are more aware of what is going on in the world due to communication technology (TV, Internet, Newspapers). Our North American culture thrives on sensationalism which brings 'sensational things' to the forefront of every media outlet. Various denominations within Evangelical Christianity lean towards an over-realized eschatology where it is cool to predict the end times and the widespread death and devastation after The Rapture as predicted in a literal reading of Revelation is cause for excitement and celebration. The older generations have a difficult time processing the rapid change and information overload that has only been getting faster and bigger every year. The biggest factor though probably the cultural shift away from Constantinian Christendom into Humanist Secularism. When conservative Christians firmly believe that the world is getting worse I think what we really mean is that North American culture no longer recognizes the Bible understood by Christian principles to be an authority to live by. In the past this has lead to a culture of fear, specifically in the United States, and moral panic that brought about the prohibition, a crackdown on creative license, literal witch hunts, and blaming popular entertainment (from movies to tabletop to video games) as morally corrupting our youth, encouraging Satanism, and, among other things, bringing about the immanent apocalypse.

I don't like this sort of pious perturbedness because it leads to a stunted spirituality. It often misses the mark by passing judgement upon the world, passing false judgement upon ourselves, fear mongering, and using up energy and resources where they are spent in vain.

Passing Judgment upon the World

As Christians we are not supposed to judge the world, that is God's business, we are to judge each other in love in order that we may know Christ more fully. (1 Cor 5:9-13) That the world is corrupt is no reason to be upset because the world has been corrupt since humankind ate the forbidden fruit in the garden of Eden and will continue to be corrupt until Christ reforms it anew. To lament the state of the world is to share in God's heart, to be weary of the world is part of your citizenship in God's kingdom, but to judge the world is to act in the place of God which neither you nor I were not created for.

Passing False Judgement upon Ourselves

When we spend time grumbling among each other about how bad the world is and how evil the days are it becomes easy to forget that we also do bad things and are sinful. We can fall into feeling morally superior in a feigned holy helplessness and the root of pride is nourished by our watering it. In a strange spiritual paradox it is possible that in despising the world one becomes more worldly and looks to his own self righteousness instead of Christ's righteousness imputed to you. In this way being piously perturbed can lead falsely judging ourselves.

Fear Mongering

The Kingdom of God is built not built upon fear, but when we become obsessed with pronouncing evil the world is we are often trying to bolster the Kingdom through fear tactics. There is a godly fear which is vital to faith and is brought about as a conviction of the Holy Spirit but there is also plenty of common fear which, even though it may be steeped in Biblical language, is just fear mongering. What benefit is there in getting everyone all worked up about how you believe we're all going to Hell in a hand basket? This sort of fear spreading is inappropriate for a Christian because "God has not given us a spirit of fear but of power and love and a sound mind," (2 Tim 1:7). It damages a brother or sister's soul to be in fear of the world. The natural growth of a Christian is towards Christ in faith but fear distracts and redirects growth away from Christ. Fear tactics do not work in God's Kingdom because fear tactics are of this world and God's Kingdom is not of this world. It is by faith in Christ that we overcome trials and fears because Christ is the one who has overcome the world. So there is a better way of dealing with the evils of the world, it is to walk humbly with your God, casting all your fears upon him because he cares for you, and in every situation, by prayer and petition and thanksgiving, present your requests to God. (John 16:33; Micah 6:8 1 Peter 5:7; Phil 4:6)

Resources Spent in Vain

Much ink, breath, sweat, blood, and tears have been spent upon trying to legislate morality or spread the word about whatever new travesty threatened Christian society. Even if these methods were effective (and they are not) those who are piously perturbed would never be satisfied because as soon as one travesty has been abolished three more take its place. For the complainer there is always something to complain about, even if there is really nothing to complain about. The sort of pious perterbedness I am writing about works the same way. It is not possible to remove the darkness by attempting to stomp on it or point a finger at it or shovel it out one bucket at a time. We have been called into God's work of being the light of the world and it is only in living by faith in Christ that this light shines.

So in conclusion let all Christians look to Christ in humble faith not fearing the world though it be fearsome. The world and all that is in it are subject to Christ. He allows some things to happen and forbids others. Things will never get out of control because he is in control of all things. What is more, though God be almighty and transcendent he is available, nay, imminently involved in the lives of his people, from the life and death scenarios around the world to the common and mundane things.

Thoughts? Please voice them in the comments below.

Greg Out.