Yesterday a friend of mine told me about an appointment she had with her doctor last week. As she entered the office the doctor said, “have you come for an anti-depressant too?” My friend was perplexed and quietly said, “well…no…” at which point the doctor told her that in just that week she had over 100 patients come in [for a prescription]. The state of the world is getting to all of us I think! Isaiah’s words about God wiping away the tears from every cheek, removing the mourning veil from all peoples and the shroud covering all nations touches something inside each of us, I’d guess, that desperately looks for relief. On one hand, we believe in this God—the God of Israel, the God of our ancestors the God of Jesus and the apostles. We want to trust those ancient promises and some, if not most of us, long for the world Isaiah describes. But I think many have given up hope humans can actually get there—or that it makes sense to even have that as a goal anymore.
The political philosopher John Gray, a critic of utopian thinking, said “destructive behavior…flows from inherent human flaws. “These defects are not only or even mainly intellectual,” he wrote, then continued: “No advance in human knowledge can stop humans attacking and persecuting others.” And on the level of knowledge alone, I’m sure he’s right. FACTS don’t change people’s minds as we are clearly seeing today. People make decisions based mostly on feelings and attitudes. (more…)
