Progressivism, Secular Morality, Millenials, Societal Evolution, Big Brother, Chronological Snobbery

12/18/19      Rolan    (see video HERE)

Are we humans morally progressing as society becomes secularized?  If so does that mean the only way we can make progress is to leave religion behind?

Or, are we regressing morally as we become more secular, using technology and the fear of man to replace our moral conscience and the fear of the Lord?

Those were two opposite views that stood out to me during a conversation with Rolan, a self-described millennial and aspiring movie director.  Although, like many his age, Rolan believes in a general spirituality, he has given up on organized religion, believing it to be unnecessary and outdated.  Along with a belief in physical evolution, Rolan believes in the moral evolution of mankind.  He is like many “progressives” who believe in the basic goodness of man and our ability as a species to adapt and overcome the cave-man morality of the past.  Evil, they would say, comes from society itself, and evil people are then seen as relics from the past or innocent victims of an evil society.

As a Christian I would say that we as individuals are basically evil, and that as a society we are regressing morally (and physically) as we become more and more removed from the image of God by which we were created.  I would agree with Paul, who gave this dismal view of the future of mankind without the influence of God-fearing people:  “There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God— having a form of godliness but denying its power.”  (2 Timothy 3)

This isn’t to say everything associated with progress is a bad thing.  But any moral progress we make is not because of our inherent goodness, but because of many factors, such as our accumulation of knowledge through education; through our technology that can hold us more accountable to one another; and, more importantly, because of our God-given moral conscience and God’s constant revelation of Himself through biblical history and culminating in the person of Jesus Christ who is “the image of the invisible God”.  (Colossians 1)

In Christ we have the freedom to overcome the moral degeneration of society as we seek to regain the image of God in which we were created.  We can become more like Christ in our character: “Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.”   (Colossians 3)

It’s easy to be fooled by changes in society that appear to be morally virtuous.  We all know that “big brother is watching” through technology, and that we could be called out for shaming at any moment, but is that moral progress?  We may fear our fellow man but what happens when no one is watching?  Do we fear God?  What would happen if the power went out on a massive scale for an extended period of time?  No security cameras, no alarms, no police communication, no internet, no public record of our activities.  Wouldn’t society simply fall apart like “Lord of the Flies”?

And what is the standard by which we measure moral progress?  The chronological snobbery of those who would judge people of the past by today’s “enlightened” standards assumes we are the arbiters of morality.  But are we really, or are we just becoming so extremely desensitized to God’s standards that we would presume to judge God Himself for even having standards that He holds us accountable to?

Rolan and I agreed that we all have a moral compass.  This is different from moral relativism because it always points north no matter what context we find ourselves in.  As a millennial, Rolan has been born into a different context, but there are still some basic questions we all need to answer.  Are we humans evil by nature or basically good?  Should we fear God or fear man?  How can we answer for our moral failings?  And, outdated as it may sound to today’s “morality”, how will we fare on Judgement Day?

 Thanks Rolan, for allowing me to record our conversation.  It can be seen on my Youtube Channel HERE  at
 
  https://youtu.be/I45Dl-NFRTo