Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin (photo from trekearth.com)
Good news: I am as of tonight beginning work on my last PhD dissertation chapter, the Introduction.
The world is becoming more evil.
Within my doctoral problem of evil survey results, 52.1% of respondents within Christian churches supported this proposition. Are individuals and institutions becoming more evil, making the world more evil, and/or are incidents of evil simply being reported in greater numbers due to more television stations and the internet? It would take a dissertation beyond the scope of my PhD, and certainly beyond this blog article, to answer the first part of the question, but the answer to the second part is ‘yes’ in my view. News networks such as CNN, which was founded in 1980 by Ted Turner, provide a worldwide perspective on the problem of evil to local markets, whereas in the 1960’s and 1970’s, local stations primarily provided local news with a secondary emphasis on national, and international news. In the Western world there are commercially far more television stations available today than in the 1970s.The internet and the worldwide web also provide worldwide coverage of events and therefore the problem of evil on a global scale can be digested by persons in local markets, and evil can appear to be greater in amount than it was thirty to forty years ago.
From a Biblical Christian world-view there has been some negative trends in the world, including within Western society and the Christian Church itself. Those within the Christian Church, which hold to a Biblical world-view, may tend to see the world, the Western world, at least, as becoming more evil as many tend to reject Christian concepts. Hal N. Ostrander, Chair of the Religion & Philosophy Division at Brewton-Parker College in Washington State, explains that in today’s post-Christian era and society, Christians will face cultural and intellectual challenges to the faith. Ostrander (2004: 1). The Church is in a defensive position where it needs to defend a faith, not accepted by most in Western society. Ostrander (2004: 1). From those within very liberal Christianity, several of these changes may be viewed in a positive way. Elaine Graham writes that in a post-modern age of uncertainty, many of the foundations of Western society are dissolving. Graham (2000)(2007: 105). Graham reasons there needs to be new ways of looking at Christian practice and the understanding of Divine reality, which feature the use of empathy and solidarity with others. Graham (2000)(2007: 106). I reason that God is adequately supernaturally revealed and explained in Scripture and what is needed is for Christian churches to take historical, contextual study of Scripture seriously. Although I agree with Graham that those within the Church should seek to empathize and have solidarity with others, I do not think that this should take place by abandoning Biblical theology. Harold Lindsell provides the opinion that many Christian institutions have slowly over time moved away from orthodox, Biblical theology and have gone astray. Lindsell (1976: 185). If Biblical theology is rejected within very liberal theology, then what occurs is that Biblical Christianity is replaced by a human made religion. This religion is not of God, but rather represents the attempts of certain religious persons to make God palatable for 21st century consumption.
GRAHAM, ELAINE (2000)(2007) ‘Practical Theology as Transforming Practice’ in James Woodward and Stephen Pattison (eds.), The Blackwell Reader in Pastoral and Practical Theology, Oxford, Blackwell Publishing.
LINDSELL, HAROLD (1976) The Battle for the Bible, Grand Rapids, Zondervan Publishing House.
OSTRANDER, HAL N. (2004) ‘Defending the faith in a post-Christian era’, The Christian Index, Duluth, Georgia, The Christian Index.
http://www.christianindex.org/206.article
TURNER, TED (2007) Turner-A Time Warner Company, Atlanta, Time Warner Company.
http://www.turner.com/about/corporate_history.html
http://satireandtheology.blogspot.com/2007/10/thekingpin68-in-tuxedo-at-cousin-buffs.html
