First version of this post published on Tuesday, January 25, 2011. It has a few slight 2021 edits.
Now the earth had gone to ruin before God, the earth was filled with wrongdoing.
Go in the narrow door; because the door is wide and the road is broad leading off to destruction, and many people are going that way.
The idea, that humanity tends to create disorder out of God's ordered universe, goes back to the very beginning of Scripture, and reappears again and again. It is, perhaps, one of the key themes of the Bible.
Do the people that are wrecking the earth, or "ruining" it, realize how wrong they are? Of course not! Nobody goes about to do wrong. We do not deliberately concoct "evil schemes" and visit them upon innocent victims! This only happens in comic books, where the evil people come out and say "I'm an evil scientist," or an "evil villain."
Hitler himself believed in the rightness of his cause. Yes, crazy as it seems, he saw himself as a savior of the earth. Even the wickedness that he did was viewed as right, fair, and just, in his own eyes. And this is perhaps the most unsettling concept of all: that evildoers never intend to do evil! They have redefined "good" and "evil" so that they are on the side of "good." And we do the same, although perhaps at a much more benign level.
It is only when we begin to realize our own sinfulness, and can re-examine ourselves according to God's standards, that we can move towards righteousness. Only by seeing that we need to change, can we begin to change. Our tendency is toward chaos. But God calls us toward Him. When we are moving in His direction, we suddenly become righteous. It's like, the process itself is as important as the destination.
So if something feels good, we consider it "good." If we can make some good happen, through foul means (like ruthless tycoons that hurt people on their way up, but become lavish benefactors after they have become wealthy) we convince ourselves that we are "good." If we can invent some religious ritual that we may follow, we deem ourselves "good." If we can create virtue "signals," outward signs of clothes to wear, signs to post, bumper-stickers, music to listen to, politicians to support, policies to endorse, words to say . . . that the Greater Society deems "good," then it makes us "good" to follow those practices, even if everything else about us is bad.
And if the vast majority is doing something, it must be good and right - for it's majority rule, and the majority must always be right!
But this does not move us in the direction of God.
Even though generations come and go, and humanity keeps moving creation further away from God and more into chaos (are all of the choices available to people today, in terms of lifestyle, careers, hobbies, mates, residences, etc., really improving things?), still God finds one person that got it right.
Enter Noah.
Go in the narrow door; because the door is wide and the road is broad leading off to destruction, and many people are going that way.
The idea, that humanity tends to create disorder out of God's ordered universe, goes back to the very beginning of Scripture, and reappears again and again. It is, perhaps, one of the key themes of the Bible.
Do the people that are wrecking the earth, or "ruining" it, realize how wrong they are? Of course not! Nobody goes about to do wrong. We do not deliberately concoct "evil schemes" and visit them upon innocent victims! This only happens in comic books, where the evil people come out and say "I'm an evil scientist," or an "evil villain."
Hitler himself believed in the rightness of his cause. Yes, crazy as it seems, he saw himself as a savior of the earth. Even the wickedness that he did was viewed as right, fair, and just, in his own eyes. And this is perhaps the most unsettling concept of all: that evildoers never intend to do evil! They have redefined "good" and "evil" so that they are on the side of "good." And we do the same, although perhaps at a much more benign level.
It is only when we begin to realize our own sinfulness, and can re-examine ourselves according to God's standards, that we can move towards righteousness. Only by seeing that we need to change, can we begin to change. Our tendency is toward chaos. But God calls us toward Him. When we are moving in His direction, we suddenly become righteous. It's like, the process itself is as important as the destination.
So if something feels good, we consider it "good." If we can make some good happen, through foul means (like ruthless tycoons that hurt people on their way up, but become lavish benefactors after they have become wealthy) we convince ourselves that we are "good." If we can invent some religious ritual that we may follow, we deem ourselves "good." If we can create virtue "signals," outward signs of clothes to wear, signs to post, bumper-stickers, music to listen to, politicians to support, policies to endorse, words to say . . . that the Greater Society deems "good," then it makes us "good" to follow those practices, even if everything else about us is bad.
And if the vast majority is doing something, it must be good and right - for it's majority rule, and the majority must always be right!
But this does not move us in the direction of God.
Even though generations come and go, and humanity keeps moving creation further away from God and more into chaos (are all of the choices available to people today, in terms of lifestyle, careers, hobbies, mates, residences, etc., really improving things?), still God finds one person that got it right.
Enter Noah.
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