Immanuel Lutheran Church Study Forum

There is an underlying tendency to believe mankind is progressing toward perfection. This theme is emphasized in evolution theory. I’m smarter than my parents because I could program the VCR. My kids are smarter than me because they are fluent in Snapchat and Twitter. It’s interesting, then, that I find Job so hard to read. I must be smarter than these goat herders from 4000 years ago. I’ve evolved! These people were able to speak in poetic verses and express their complex thoughts in tangible Ideas without any help from the internet while many today struggle to come up with, “OMG” without any concept of “G.”

As I read these ancient writings, I conclude that mankind hasn’t really changed at all. We have advanced technology to make our lives more comfortable and convenient, but fundamentally we are the same. We have the same thoughts, concerns, problems, and issues with faith and sin. The only change I see is in the things we use to, and the ways we distract ourselves from our relationship with our creator.

Wonderfully put! I think often, especially in the United States, there is a confusion between the ideas of the Bible and the ideas of the Enlightenment. The entire notion of "progress" most definitely is in the latter category. After all, our nation was founded on these ideas, and while we may disagree about whether this modernist thought is an effective model in the civil realm, as Christians we must conclude that despite our best intentions, our sin problem is ultimately the same as it has always been since the fall itself.

No, we will never outgrow the need for the Savior. Just look at the way humankind abuses new technology as soon as it comes out. The use of guns and other weapons is at the top of the list, but cyber-crime is a big problem as well. I shudder to think what the new AI technology will unleash, but then remind myself that God is still in charge! Whereas there is a kernel of good in all of us, the pale ghost of the image of God within us, I believe we will never be GOOD other than through Jesus' atonement.