The way that fads rise and fall has always fascinated me. Seemingly springing up out of nowhere, there seems to be an exhaustible procession of the next new thing, some gadget or toy or idea that seizes hold of the public imagination and becomes all anyone can talk about.
From being the stuff of mere rumours, there will be a distinct moment where some critical mass is achieved and it will suddenly be everywhere you look, inescapable and impossible to ignore.
In the midst of life there is boredom
But, at the very moment it seems that its influence knows no bounds, and nothing could ever come along and surpass its cultural dominance, it is already beginning the inevitable decline to oblivion. Quicker than could possibly be imagined, its only legacy will be when people look back on the past through nostalgia tinged eyes, or when it is the answer to trivia question.
There will always be something new to take its place, filling the gap so seamlessly that there is no reason to feel its absence. After all, the cycle has already moving to the next step, and this to shall pass, and be replaced, and be replaced again.
Sic transit gloria mundi
This cycle of transience applies on a larger scale, too. Scientific theories or philosophical schools of thought or ways of predicted human progress will flare brightly for a time, becoming the final word on the matter leaving no room for improvement.
Until one day they become objects of scorn, avoided like the plague by every other than conspiracy theorist and internet trolls, professional death by association. By then, everyone who matters has moved on to the next unarguable argument.
The overflowing ash heap of history
If you wait long enough the same thing happens to political systems. Communism was meant to conquer all the decadent systems that came before, but has gone from threatening to swallow the world to an historical footnote barely hanging on in a few backwaters, its only sizeable foothold made possible by allowing pockets of capitalism to keep the cash flow coming.
And one doesn’t need to be a mathematician to know that the thousand year Reich didn’t even threaten to notch up its half century. Every experiment in power imaginable has come and gone, the only variation being how long they can stave off entropy. Democracy only seems so robust because even its doom will be plagued by inefficiency.
From age to age still the same
Only one thing has endured since the very beginning, as old as our ability to look beyond the needs of the present moment like food and procreation, and grasp concepts bigger than ourselves. Whatever flavour it comes in, the belief in a higher power and that there is a spiritual dimension beyond the physical world we perceive, is universal…and eternal.
Regardless of the obstacles set in its path, or the challenges the universe throws at it, it just continues its inexorable march onwards year after year, century after century, millennia after millennia. People have tried to expunge it, emasculate it, ignore it, but long after its would be conquerors are dust it endures.
Takes a lickin’ and keeps on tickin’
Every year there is another pronouncement of its death, or proof offered of its irrelevance, or the latest advance or discovery that will see it finally lose its hold on hearts and minds forever. But, its presence is still felt in every aspect of society with even those who reject it utterly unable to escape its influence.
So what makes it the exception to the universal truth that all things must pass? When I was confronted with this question I could see no other reason than that, alone of all the others, it is based on the idea of something outside ourselves, more than human. Because of human nature, anything that makes us its foundation eventually runs up against our limitations and, just as we do, falls short.
Winnowing for the truth
Once I had reached that conclusion I found hard to believe that such power could come from something non existent. I was forced to accept that there must be something more to the world, beyond ourselves. Once I had arrived at the point, I had to decide what it was, just like millions had before me, and as a result creating almost as many conflicting systems of belief.
But, while each person has to decide which one is the truth for themselves, I don’t believe that anyone who is willing to put aside their preconceptions and weigh up the evidence before them must inevitably find it impossible to deny that there is more to the universe than what we can perceive.
Whatcha gonna do about it, huh?
Thats’s when we need to make a choice about how we respond when faced with this knowledge. We can try and pretend it doesn’t make any difference and that it has no power of us, but live in fear that we will find out in the end that we were wrong.
Or, we can examine all the other religions that have gone before and decide which one makes sense of the world for us, or create our own, and then try and live accordingly. For me, once I knew there must be more, reason led me inexorably to Christ because it was the only thing that actually held up when tested against the real world.
One small step for man
But, the first step for us all is to look at the universe around us with open eyes and be willing to test what we think we know with impartial vigour. I believe if we do so we will find ourselves in different world, but just only at the beginning of a new path. I hope that you will have the courage to follow it to its end….because I think you may find something amazing waiting for you.
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David Goodwin is the former Editor of The Salvation Army’s magazine,War Cry. He is also a cricket tragic, and an unapologetic geek.
David Goodwin archive of articles may be viewed at http://www.pressserviceinternational.org/david-goodwin.html
David Goodwin is the former Editor of The Salvation Army’s magazine,War Cry. He is also a cricket tragic, and an unapologetic geek.
David Goodwin archive of articles may be viewed at http://www.pressserviceinternational.org/david-goodwin.html