One of the main differences between the ancient and the modern world is the attitude toward the past. In the ancient world the past was better than the present. The good old days were the ideal toward which we should aspire. In the modern world the past is, well, past. “That was then, this is now.” Moderns think in terms of progress, in terms of the new thing. Contemporary Christians are caught in the tension between these two visions. On the one hand the Bible and the traditions that we inherited serve as a guide for living. On the other, as modern people we trust that improvement is possible, that the future can be better than the past. It is not either/or but both/and.
JUNE172020
By Church Staff
