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Jim McCrory

Oh, What a Tangled Web We have Made For Ourselves

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As we age, our priorities change. What were issues yesterday, such as Brexit, the economy, Covid, and the election of Donald Trump, will have little consequence in the life of future generations, albeit, we do not have complete freedom?

As Karl Marx wisely said,

‘Men make their own history, but they do not make it as they please; they make it under self-selected circumstances, but under circumstances existing already, given and transmitted from the past.’

Yes, endeavours of past generations visit upon us now for good or bad. It is a sociological fact.

Take as an example The Enlightenment. Since that period, man has slowly endeavoured to bury God. Now in this 21st century, the Christian is the minority. But with what consequences? Our laws, and by extension, our conduct, was governed by the laws of Biblical morality.

We mostly agreed that it was wrong to commit adultery, to steal, to lie, to covet and to love your neighbour, and the greatest principle, to hold God in high esteem. However, we have slowly erased God out the picture like some subtle conjuring trick. With what consequences? Family life has eroded. Greed has caused companies to exploit. Man has become selfish to the point of ruining the planet. We have lost trust in each other. Narcissism is at an all-time high as the “I” stands up like a meercat. And humankind, rather than forming social bonds are drifting into lonesome cyber-hives as each child has a computer and tv in their bedrooms. Resulting in painful loneliness and depression.

We are a lost generation. As Nietzsche proclaimed, ‘We have killed God…How shall we comfort ourselves, the murderers of murderers.’

We are deep in a period of existential angst. We are on a planet that provides evidence of a loving God. Think of the beauty of our landscapes and how we can enjoy it in colour with eyes to see. And there is the variety of wildlife above and below. There are stars and a moon to light the night and a sun to illuminate the day.

We have rich inner lives by means of consciousness. We can enjoy music, the sounds of birds, the formation of words into poetry and a rich variety of food.

So, what do we tell future generations? We tell them about God and what he has done. 

‘When I consider your heavens,

The work of your finger

The moon and the stars,

Which you have set in place,

What is mankind that you are mindful of them,

human beings that you take care of them?

Psalm 8:3,4 (BSB).

 


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