Sorry this is so long, I probably could have left out half of it. I just felt like typing today.
The sign of the times.
I was having a semi conversation with someone who’s very close to me on this subject after the 911 tragedies. Apparently some congregations were talking about it being the worst thing that has ever happened, thus being a sign of the times. I wasn’t even going to argue if it was or not. The look of extreme concern for my salvation left me feeling tired. But I did agree that it was the worst thing that we ever witnessed.
More recently, another friend of mine stopped by with her field service partner to say hello and she was sharing with me some of the conversations she was having with people door to door using examples such as kids murdering each other and murdering their patents and how perverted people are all over the world and how society this day and age is so twisted that it is now openly embracing same sex marriages yadda yadda yadda.
Her point was that we’ve have become so de-sensitized to violence and perverse things that we don’t even realize as a society just how horrible things are in the world.
I can remember thinking that way and believing it.
She told me in order to get people to realize just how bad society has become she likes to have her ‘prospect’ (I threw prospect in) imagine just how shocked and horrified our ancestors would be if suddenly exposed to our society.
How homosexuals walk hand in hand in public no longer hiding in closets.
Was she trying to impress me?
I was in a pissy mood but I was trying not to be.
I asked her “Does that really work?” She said “Oh yeh! It really gets them thinking about how horrible society has become.
“Yep” I said, it sure aint like the good old days.”
“Back then the biggest events some of our ancestors got to see, at least in the more populated and modern towns and cities, was a good old fashioned hangin’.” “ All the shops would close up, people would travel several miles to meet at the town square, children and all”. Hotel’s, all two or three of them, were full up”.
“And their puny little ride by shootings on horseback, ha!”
“But in all fairness they probably did kill more people percentage wise then our modern day drive bys.”
They both just looked at me with these blank expressions.
It seemed like a whole minute went by before we started talking again.
I think we started talking about the weather.
I had the feeling they both thought, “She’s lost her mind.”
I don’t know if either one of them had the slightest idea what I was talking about. I had a big smile on my face and they looked confused.
Well no real harm done and it was funny, the look on their faces was priceless. I am going to tuck that memory away in my ‘I need to cheer up file’.
I do remember sincerely believing that civilized people today were far worse then civilized people were throughout history.
It must be conditioning. If all the bad stuff that’s happening around you is the only thing your being fed then eventually that’s all you see.
It’s no wonder that so many of us suffer from depression and anxiety.
I mean Really! Our ancestors and ancient peoples experienced the most extreme violence!
The kind of violence that would weaken the knees of our toughest soldiers.
I’m not Even suggesting that our soldiers are 7ussies, but they do have a big advantage in war. They don’t have to dress up in armor and fight each other with axes and steel balls on chains with spikes on foot or even horse back.
And war hasn’t been a way of life for us for many years.
Not to mention the practice of human sacrifices. That is no longer socially acceptable. Not here anyway.
And, it wasn’t That long ago that it was common for a child to be given in marriage or even traded.
The average life span for a woman was around 30.
In order to have lived an average of thirty years and leave a family behind they had to start pretty young and life was HARD.
It’s very true that still in many parts of the world there is still extreme cruelty and many people are still suffering. But the difference is that these things are known and there is a great deal of effort going on to change this.
It won’t happen over night but I believe that it will happen. Maybe another decade maybe two but at some point in our near future there probably won’t be people starving anywhere
Not because of Devine intervention but because that is the direction we are going in.
Ending violence, that will take Devine intervention.
Does anyone disagree and believe that civilization today is in fact the worse? And if there is, would you please explain why you believe that? What makes this century worse then any other? I just don’t see it.
Any comments pro or con are welcome.
plm