These days we take progress for granted.
We automatically assume that as a civilisation we are on a journey of self-improvement where technology keeps getting better while people have easier lives and get to live longer.
Is this a true or false picture and what would God have to say about it? In the last three centuries we have witnessed unprecedented "improvements" in every area of human endeavour.
The industrial revolution of the eighteenth century improved the way we work; the financial revolution of the nineteenth century improved methods of capitalisation; and the culture and entertainment revolutions of the twentieth century improved the way we play and relax.
Partly as a correlation of these movements following the resulting benefits to human health and longevity we have also seen a massive population growth on the planet.
On the surface, these seem like good, positive achievements which as a species should make us proud.
But there are warning signals that indicate with every step forward comes also a price to pay.
If we try and see these things from God´s perspective, which we can by extrapolating from our knowledge of the scriptures, what do we find? Certainly God´s earliest instruction to man was to go forth and populate the earth.
He also wanted us from the start to enjoy the abundance of His creation.
The gospels promoted Jesus´philosophy to all the four corners of the earth.
Clearly we were not meant to stay in the Garden of Eden.
The story of the Israelites is one of progression from servitude to being masters of their own land.
The land flowing with milk and honey is God´s reward for obedience, but on the way, there were many distractions and many setbacks.
They had to go round the same mountain many times before they finally "got it.
" So, in the light of this, we can say that change, progress, experimentation, using the land for our benefit, are all in keeping with God´s will for his children.
So why is it when we examine the condition of the world today at the end of this unprecedented chain of progress, we find so many people who are lacking in joy, in sufficiency and still far from the abundance promised? The answer is that progress in itself is not an evil.
Christians have nothing to fear from stem cell technology or flights to the moon.
But we ought to fear those who idolise progress.
If we make our scientific achievement our god, then we struggle with our divine heritage and set ourselves apart from God´s will.
Scripture says "build nothing that does not have God as the builder".
Any advance, development, discovery which is not accredited to the Lord will sooner or later be cursed and used for evil.
Instead of helping those who could most benefit from it, it benefits only those who covet it.
Faith and progress must go hand in hand in order to achieve God´s perfect will.
We automatically assume that as a civilisation we are on a journey of self-improvement where technology keeps getting better while people have easier lives and get to live longer.
Is this a true or false picture and what would God have to say about it? In the last three centuries we have witnessed unprecedented "improvements" in every area of human endeavour.
The industrial revolution of the eighteenth century improved the way we work; the financial revolution of the nineteenth century improved methods of capitalisation; and the culture and entertainment revolutions of the twentieth century improved the way we play and relax.
Partly as a correlation of these movements following the resulting benefits to human health and longevity we have also seen a massive population growth on the planet.
On the surface, these seem like good, positive achievements which as a species should make us proud.
But there are warning signals that indicate with every step forward comes also a price to pay.
If we try and see these things from God´s perspective, which we can by extrapolating from our knowledge of the scriptures, what do we find? Certainly God´s earliest instruction to man was to go forth and populate the earth.
He also wanted us from the start to enjoy the abundance of His creation.
The gospels promoted Jesus´philosophy to all the four corners of the earth.
Clearly we were not meant to stay in the Garden of Eden.
The story of the Israelites is one of progression from servitude to being masters of their own land.
The land flowing with milk and honey is God´s reward for obedience, but on the way, there were many distractions and many setbacks.
They had to go round the same mountain many times before they finally "got it.
" So, in the light of this, we can say that change, progress, experimentation, using the land for our benefit, are all in keeping with God´s will for his children.
So why is it when we examine the condition of the world today at the end of this unprecedented chain of progress, we find so many people who are lacking in joy, in sufficiency and still far from the abundance promised? The answer is that progress in itself is not an evil.
Christians have nothing to fear from stem cell technology or flights to the moon.
But we ought to fear those who idolise progress.
If we make our scientific achievement our god, then we struggle with our divine heritage and set ourselves apart from God´s will.
Scripture says "build nothing that does not have God as the builder".
Any advance, development, discovery which is not accredited to the Lord will sooner or later be cursed and used for evil.
Instead of helping those who could most benefit from it, it benefits only those who covet it.
Faith and progress must go hand in hand in order to achieve God´s perfect will.