work in progress
Well-Known Member
NO! Because God did not write the books of the Bible...they are claimed to be "inspired by" but they are not from the pen of the creator of the universe, and since they were written over a span of many centuries by several different authors, it's disingenuous to go leafing back and forth through the Bible, pulling out verses to try to build a doctrine. That's the main reason why there are thousands of different Christian sects and churches in the world today.
When it comes to the Book of Acts, it is apparent that the writers considered the time too short to worry about other concerns besides evangelism throughout the Roman Empire. Acts ch.4 describes a socialist cooperative community that has been emulated by the Amish and other small sects, and was the model for the first Puritan colonies established in North America. Whether it's good or not, it is what it is! Sure Ananias and Sapphira were slain for lying, but why did they lie in the first place? Because they disagreed with the community's 100% tax rate apparently.
That's an arguable point, but there is a long history of Christian movements who did conclude that Christians being "no part of this world" meant abstaining from a system run by Satan. I think they have more scriptural authority than the theocratic government movements do these days.
From my experiences in political parties from left to right, the majority of people who are successful enough to get re-elected to office, are shallow, self-centered narcissists, who are addicted to being the center of attention. That's their primary attraction to the job, as especially in the early stages of their political careers, they have to take a step down in income from what they would normally be earning as lawyers or business owners.
If Satan is ruling the modern political system it is through money. As candidates require more and more money to buy advertising, and look for bigger payouts from business at the end of their political careers, the system cannot possibly work for the interests of the majority of people. The average candidate wants the votes of the majority, but has to balance it against the wishes of the big campaign contributors.
The way I see it, I don't see salvation from above saving this world, largely because it keeps getting recycled with each new generation. The problem today is that the world is reaching a limit to what it can provide for the human race. The planet is overcrowded with a 7 billion global population that is using increasing amounts of energy and natural resources.
When animal species on isolated islands with no predators use up all of the available food, the collapse in population in sudden and often leads to complete extinction of the species through the ravages of disease and other stresses that weaken the survivors.
I hate to consider that this world is getting very close (at least within decades) to experience a collapse of the human population on a global scale, but that is the obvious downside with our present globalization and interconnectedness, and whether it's short-sighted thinking or blind optimism, few people seem to actually realize that young people are coming into a world that is going to get worse as the years go on.
When world agriculture really begins to fail, as it will be bound to because of soil depletion and loss of available fresh water - the collapse will impact on everyone who is not able to grow their own food. And unfortunately, past examples indicate that many people who think they are safe out in the country will find roaming mobs from cities looking for food, and not willing to take no for an answer. I would feel less pessimistic about the future if people could reign in their blind faith in technological progress, but the first step towards survival has to start with the sober realization of the state of the modern world today.
