A Commentary on: Mankind

One thing I have been thinking about a lot lately and observing is our culture. Our society. Our civilization. Mankind as I see and know it. Another thing that's been on my mind a lot is the comment left on the Facebook Group Wall of Truth Be Told (Christian group on campus) by this guy named Zach Ryan. He is a self proclaimed "anti-theist" (which I interpret as not only denying God's existence, but strongly opinionated in that regard) and is also a strong proponent of Communism. He's a smart guy and he has made me think about things because he is so different. Though those two things may seem a bit unrelated, my thoughts on both intertwine and come together. It's a revelation I've explored before but here I go once again...

It's easy to see why faith is gradually disappearing from our culture/society. It's a trend that I think has been a positive-feedback loop in the sense that it is growing exponentially with time and technology and "advancement". It grows exponentially because the more we feel empowered by our knowledge and power, the more we turn away from God (there is no concept of dependence on Him). And the more we turn away from God, the more we need to fill that void (with material pleasures and distractions). The more we fill that void with other things, the more and more godless our society becomes, and the harder it becomes on a whole to believe in a higher being.

To put it in context, America in its baby days was very much a religiously centered entity. It's all over our monuments, founding documents, and in the language of the forefathers. Today, religious topics have become virtually "out-of-bounds" in many social environments because of the fear of offending people and being politically correct.

It's ironic, really. The same desire for religious freedom (of Christians escaping Catholic oppression) that served as a catalyst in the growth of America has now become the very reason for rampant godlessness in America. The desire to freely be religious has become a desire to be free OF religion.

Because of the religious freedoms we have, we have made it so much easier for people to not choose God. Of course, the innate human heart has not changed at all since. We all do not want to submit to God. But historically, people often didn't have the freedom to openly be "anti-theists". I'm not saying religious freedoms are necessarily bad, but generally, it has put America on the track to continue to become a more and more godless nation. It has leaked into the media and the culture of America as well. Just watch an episode of the Simpsons, which mocks the next door neighbors (the Flanders) who are devout Christians. As a result, America has become more and more like the dysfunctional (yet humorous) Simpsons, instead of the Flanders (who enjoy loving compassion within their family). This same cultural phenomenon can be observed over many communications mediums (not just TV).

This notion that humans are of some great stature in this world is further perpetuated by the expansion of our very civilization. This idea that we are the most powerful and more intelligent beings that exist; the concept of a world completely devoid of purpose and order and design; the consensus that humans are infinitely powerful and capable of much destruction and creation.

I don't blame proponents of those beliefs though. It's easy to fall into that way of thinking. After all, man has paved over much of nature, eradicated thousands of species, dried up oceans, burned away forests, and vomits its wastes into the air and sea and ground. To someone who lives in the city, surrounded by skyscrapers and concrete, it's difficult to refute the idea that man is pretty powerful. It would have been much easier if that same person had been living hundreds of years ago when things like cars, skyscrapers, and freeways did not exist, surrounded instead by expanses of nature, the sounds and sights of animals of various kinds, and unadulterated views of the starry skies. It's a lot easier to deny that a Creator exists when less and less of His creations remain visible.

But really, all of our technology and advancement has gotten us nowhere. If anything, the onset of advanced technologies have only distracted us from the things that matter.

Grandmaster Flash said it best,
"And the foolish attempt to conquer the skies
Lost in space, and what is it worth, huh?
The president just forgot about Earth
Spending multi billions, and maybe even trillions
The cost of weapons ran into zillions...
And the children in Africa don’t even eat
Flies on their faces, they’re living like mice
And the houses even make the ghetto look nice, Huh!"

He's talking about President John F. Kennedy's attempts to land an American on the moon, and asking basically, "Aren't there better things to spend that money on? Such as the starving children of Africa? The people who live in the ghettos of America? Why must the President and the elite look towards the skies with ambition when behind them people suffer?"

Likewise, pretty much every other creation or invention or advancement of man has really only "advanced" us backwards in many ways. Of course, this is debatable but I do feel like I can refute any rebuttal that challenges this observation.

You see, the way I see it, mankind lives in a never-ending Catch-22. Virtually everything we do ( even if it is motivated largely by goodwill) has negative results. Think about it, and it's true.

Mankind is absolutely depraved.

God is different.

God is the antonym of Man. Everything we are He isn't, and everything He is, we aren't. God is good, Man is evil. God is loving, Man hates. God is great, we are so weak, so small, and so meaningless. Even so, He loves us. Even so, He forgives. Even so, He strengthens us and provides hope and refuge.

Isn't God amazing?