Tonight, while I was packing and sorting, my parents were watching the Olympics (at least on and off). The last time I passed through that room they told me that the Jamaican relay team had just set a new world record. This, of course, started me thinking...
I find it rather amazing that new records of that sort are being set. Have humans changed? Are we as a race (no pun intended) getting faster? Or are we just getting better at finding the fastest? Or perhaps improving training techniques to get the most out of our fastest?
I don't know that there's any evidence for any of those options. Perhaps there is, but barring that evidence, I think the way people would answer that dilemma is based on how they would answer the following question: "Is the world getting better or worse?"
Most evolutionists, of course, would probably say that the world is getting better. At least they hope it is, for their world-view to be true. If survival of the fittest is true, then one would expect humans to be becoming slowly more "fit" (on average) over time. Since speed is likely part of being "fit", it would makes sense that humans are also becoming faster with time, thus accounting for more world records.
I suppose, though that there might be some evolutionists who would disagree. Perhaps they would say that humans are destroying the world, becoming more unfit, and will eventually become extinct. Thus they would supply a different answer for the new world records.
Also in the area of "science" (if I am including theories of origin in science, which is iffy at best) there is the evidence of genetics. Mutations in humans seem to be happening at an increasing rate, and most (if not all) of these mutations are actually harmful. Which would seem to be evidence on the side of the world getting worse.
Then, of course, there are all the natural disasters: volcanoes, floods, storms, earthquakes, even global warming. Are these really getting worse, and if so, does that mean the world in general is getting worse?
To a Christian (whatever he or she might believe about the origin of the world) this question has some pretty big theological implications involving eschatology and the "end of the world."
Most of the Christians I know look around and shake their heads and say things like, "How the world has decayed in the last few years. When I was younger things were so much better. People were moral....etc." Since I wasn't alive that long ago, I can't really say if they are right or now. Perhaps things were better then. That doesn't necessarily mean that things have continually gotten worse. What about the world at the time of Noah? So wicked that God had to destroy it. Or the tower of Babel where God confused their languages. What about some of the world empires? Syria, Rome, etc. There are many times of great evil in the world. Are we staying the same (on average) or spiraling up or down? I think many would say we are spiraling down, and they use this downward spiral to predict that Christ will soon return.
Other Christians I know say that it is our job as followers of God to help the world become better (as a whole). They may not think that the world is improving, but that it should be if Christians were doing their job. They might say that there is a lot of work to be done before the world will be ready for Christ's return.
I find the different views very interesting, though I think there are things I would disagree with from all sides. At any rate, whether the spiral is upward, downward, or just staying the same, whether athletes are getting faster or not, I figure my job is about the same: glorify God and make disciples. Lord help me do that!
At the airport in Tel Aviv. Nice celing decorations.
My new roommate (I'll have to get a better picture eventually).
