The condition of the world

That which has been is that which will be, and that which has been done is that which will be done. So, there is nothing new under the sun. Ecclesiastes 1:9

The nations: In the United States of America, we have been blessed with relatively good governance. Historically, among most of the nations, most people do not have liberty, and the rule of law is not present. Whether ruled by a king, a dictator, a sultan, or a small ruling group, most people are oppressed, and this has always been true. The citizens of some nations benefit from the rule of law, and they have liberty. But even in those nations, there is a tendency for politicians to promise security if people will trust them and surrender their liberty. Too many people believe it, only to be fooled. The most popular current civic religion is Statism, in which a supposedly fair, disinterested administrative state manages everything and assures equity to all. The result is always the rule of the few at the expense of the many. Two forms of Statism are Marxism and Fascism. Under Marxism, the “working class” supposedly controls the government to redistribute wealth by taking from those that own property and giving it to those who don’t. Under Fascism, the most powerful industry, labor union, and government leaders combine to control the economy and political system. In either case, the result is that a select group of corrupt, authoritarian leaders rule over the many. It does not end well.

Within most nations, the strong exploit the weak, people of one group hate the other group, and lawlessness frequently prevails. People are prone to anger, envy, hatred, brutal excesses, and cruelty. Where fair laws are not enforced, chaos reigns in the streets. Where rights to self-defense do not exist, the weak are vulnerable. Where property rights do not exist, poverty is the result; hunger and homelessness are a constant threat.

In the world at large, the nations frequently wage war against each other. The wicked ruler of one nation wants to dominate another nation, or the entire world, and the rulers of the other nations oppose this. To stop the frequent wars, some have proposed to end national identities and borders. They propose the establishment of a single, one-world government. This will result in a one-world totalitarian government that will be worse than anything the world has ever seen. No group of people is both wise enough and virtuous enough to govern all the world fairly and effectively. The rulers will be tempted to exploit their power, to the ruin of all. This fact has been proven multiple times in the course of history.

The people: You have probably noticed that all people eventually die. You have probably also noticed that even though there is great beauty in the world, and life is generally pleasant and worthwhile, there is also great suffering, violence, and injustice as well. Why are these things true? Nearly all people eventually notice these things, and over the centuries many have tried to answer these questions: Why do all people die, and why, despite the beauty of creation and the joy of life, does life include so much hardship, suffering and injustice? Is there any meaning to life? What happens to us after we die? It is in our nature to try to understand these things, and to try to answer all these questions.

Man’s attempts to answer the questions of life: In the course of history, people have created their own answers to these questions. These have all been speculative in nature, based either on man’s reason alone, myths and legends, pure superstition, or the ecstatic revelations of pagan shamans. Some have worshipped nature in various forms. Some have worshipped the “inner man;” believing that there is a “god within.” Some have created gods of their own making; gods who will approve whatever the individual believes in. Some have said that life is absurd; there is no meaning. Some have said that since we cannot know everything, we can know nothing. Man’s ability to speculate about eternal matters is only limited by his capacity for self-deception, which is unlimited. The fruit of many of these worldviews includes a fascination with magic and the occult, the devaluation of the individual, and the denial of individual responsibility.

There is only one source of answers to the questions of life that claims to be revelation from God, the creator. Only one source that is based on revelations given over many centuries to many different people, accurately preserved, and with a consistent message. Furthermore, there is only one source that has foretold events of the future with perfect accuracy. That source is the Bible. It is to the Bible that we must go for answers to the questions of life; the Bible is our source of truth.