Is evil increasing in the world?
I had friends over the other evening for dinner. One subject led to another until we reached the topic of evil. The question was asked, “Is evil more prevalent today? Is its intensity more pronounced? Is the Enemy stepping up the pace? Is the Enemy increasing his efforts to undermine God’s redemptive purposes?” Two camps of opinion quickly formed. I should say I believed one thing and the others held a different opinion.
I have sensed for some time that the stakes are getting higher, that the Enemy is indeed increasing his efforts and stirring the pot of evil with ever increasing intensity. The increase of wars around the world, the increase of henious crimes against mankind, the arrival of more and more despots on the political landscapes of many countries, the rise of secularism in opposition to anything Christian, the threats to the survival of mankind looming on the horizon and on and on and on leave me to conclude things are getting worse and evil is becoming more widespread.
The other position suggest that nothing has changed over time just our awareness of evil. In other words we are more aware of it through the wide variety of communication technologies. We know what’s going on around the world more quickly and more comprehensively than ever before. Evil has existed in all the forms we see today since the beginning of time. So evil and the efforts of the Enemy haven’t changed–just our awareness of that evil has increased.
Rationally and logically more people live on this globe than ever before. The population of the world has almost doubled in the last 26 years. In 1950 the world population was 2,556,517,137. In 2006 it is estimated to be 6,525,486,603. By 2050 it is estimated to exceed 9,224,375,956. That being the case evil itself has increased in proportion to the increases in population. There are simply more people who are prone to evil than in the past. It may be true that the depth of depravity of evil was just as awful in the early eras of mankind as it is today. In other words who could argue with the terrible evils perpetrated by the tormentors of the 6,000,000 Jews during the Holocaust?
Yet, I firmly believe that the Enemy is stepping up his efforts to undercut God’s redemptive plans. The intensity, comprehensiveness, and extensiveness seems to be on the upswing. All of which makes our commitment to God’s purposes all the more important and critical in these times.
What say you? Do you believe evil is the same today as it has been in the past–we are just more aware of it now? Or do you believe that evil is increasing not just because the population of the world is increasing but because the Enemy is becoming more bold, more open, more brazen in this day and age? How is our commitment to the Gospel of Jesus Christ impacted as a result of either position? I am really interested in hearing from you. Please enter your comments on this issue.