Comments on: Is the World Getting Worse? http://www.livingmartyrs.com/wordpress/?p=208 paradoxes in tension Sat, 14 Aug 2010 01:54:52 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.1 By: bradj http://www.livingmartyrs.com/wordpress/?p=208&cpage=1#comment-923 bradj Fri, 08 Feb 2008 22:23:21 +0000 http://www.livingmartyrs.com/wordpress/?p=208#comment-923 Aha, you've nailed it! It's very much a perception issue. Crime rates are generally diminishing per capita, but perception of crime rates continue to rise. And that's just the news, not entertainment. (CSI, are you listening? Nah, I didn't think so...) Let's take the "cult of Oprah". Say what you want about her, she's pretty much the only positive thing on TV. When that's the vacuum you're filling, you're bound to be pretty influential. When everything around you is preaching doom and gloom, from the environmentalists to your Sunday School teachers, it's very hard to keep your bearings. As you say, we need to be vigilant with our spiritual vision. It would be really cool if rather than just have our world tinted by God-coloured lenses, if we could instead shine light out through them to show the world what God-colour looks like! Aha, you’ve nailed it! It’s very much a perception issue. Crime rates are generally diminishing per capita, but perception of crime rates continue to rise. And that’s just the news, not entertainment. (CSI, are you listening? Nah, I didn’t think so…)

Let’s take the “cult of Oprah”. Say what you want about her, she’s pretty much the only positive thing on TV. When that’s the vacuum you’re filling, you’re bound to be pretty influential.

When everything around you is preaching doom and gloom, from the environmentalists to your Sunday School teachers, it’s very hard to keep your bearings. As you say, we need to be vigilant with our spiritual vision. It would be really cool if rather than just have our world tinted by God-coloured lenses, if we could instead shine light out through them to show the world what God-colour looks like!

]]> By: Rudy W. Ouwehand http://www.livingmartyrs.com/wordpress/?p=208&cpage=1#comment-921 Rudy W. Ouwehand Fri, 08 Feb 2008 19:49:23 +0000 http://www.livingmartyrs.com/wordpress/?p=208#comment-921 Yes, evil is increasing in the world. Who can deny it? Yet, at the same time, the harder the devil works to make things worse, God's Spirit is at work making things better. However, those stories - of the Spirit's work in so many youth today, for example - do not make the tv news or front pages (or any pages most often) of our newspapers. We need spiritual eyes to see his work and to maintain our firm grip on the hope and the assurance that God is still in control and Jesus is Lord! Yes, evil is increasing in the world. Who can deny it? Yet, at the same time, the harder the devil works to make things worse, God’s Spirit is at work making things better. However, those stories – of the Spirit’s work in so many youth today, for example – do not make the tv news or front pages (or any pages most often) of our newspapers. We need spiritual eyes to see his work and to maintain our firm grip on the hope and the assurance that God is still in control and Jesus is Lord!

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