In an earlier article, “Who’s Winning,” I discussed the significance of the latest national poll on worldview in America. I delved into what that poll tells us about the rampant hopelessness that has resulted from the continuing destructive secular teachings of our universities, public schools, mainline media, and other cultural institutions. As a result of this indoctrination we have been given a large number of young people who have no hope. If, as secularism teaches, people are the result of evolutionary changes from a rock or from pond scum, then it follows that they have no reason to look for the Creator and Redeemer that brings hope. The secular outlook teaches that only the here and now really counts. The secular “long-term” view is that the best a person can do is to pass on his wealth or his genes to the next generation. Then, he gets to look forward to becoming nothing but worm-food. This is a devastatingly hopeless outlook especially whenever a person is in a low point of their life.
Another result of this hopelessness is the reversal of life expectancy in the United States. Yes, your read that correctly. Between 1959 and 2016, the life expectancy in the USA rose from 69.9 to 78.9 years. A new study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association shows that the average life expectancy has declined for the last three years in a row!
The earlier increase of life expectancy has been attributed to the development of antibiotics, antiviral drugs, and improved health and sanitation measures that we now take mostly for granted. But, the cause for this decrease in life expectancy is not about medical science or technology. It is the result of the detrimental life activities and decisions of a large number of (mostly younger) Americans.
Specifically, a recent Washington Post article describes the causes behind this alarming shift as things like “suicide, drug overdoses, liver disease, and dozens of other causes.” Researchers Anne Case and Angus Deaton describe these causes with the phrase “death from despair.” A public health expert told the Washington Post that, “people are feeling worse about themselves and their futures and that is leading them to do things that are self-destructive and not promoting health.”
As I have written before, I believe the secular worldview based on evolutionary naturalism is a primary cause of all this despair. Those in the Church who accept secular ideas tend to destroy the ability of their individual churches to be of much help in alleviating this despair. Theistic evolution is no different from atheistic evolution so far as the resulting worldview a person in the American culture will be influenced to accept. Every important aspect of the secular worldview is completely opposite of the Biblical Christian worldview.
I am not saying the Church can solve this problem by itself, but an acceptance of the teaching of the Bible beginning with the very first verse can contribute much to the effectiveness of the church in combatting this culture of hopelessness that is gripping the American culture today. A Christian worker who actually believes all of God’s Word can be very effective in reaching and helping the hopelessly lost. On the other hand, one who is compromised by worldly ideas is not likely to be effective in the worldview battle in any way at all.
J.D. Mitchell
