Is the world getting better or worse

[apothanein kerdos]

Though some of us have been around longer than others, I'm interested in what people have to say.

For myself, though I am young, I still put that things are far worse and that we are quickly moving away from Jesus. Even when I worked in a high school and was only 5 years removed from the oldest students, there was a night and day difference in morality and thinking than when I was in high school.

[Candi770]

WORSE

[Guest]

The world in general and society in particular have been getting worse since I was a kid. Not sure how old you are, but I'm in my 40's. I remember when we really did leave the doors unlocked and the windows open on cool summer nights, and nothing bad happened. There was also a time when the worst fight at High School might involve someone showing up with a chain, bat, or at worst, a knife. Now the kids use automatic weapons the military should probably have. Don't get me started on the school massacres.

Some things have gotten better. Technology is one, but I think in some cases it comes at a price that's too high. A good example is with all the toys (computes, ipods, cd players, etc.) people don't really talk face to face as much as in the past. I hate to say this, but I've had better face-to-face conversations while living in a halfway house than in some churches. There can be a definite lack of the fellowship we all need to grow as believers. BTW, I left that church and found another.

Just my two cents.....

[Leonard]

Technologically far better, and morally far worse.

[Wingwalker]

Would that make technology evil?

[Carol R]

Hi,

i think things have gotten far worse since I was young. Im in my late 40s and like others I can remember times when you didnt need to lock your doors or car and it was safe for kids to play out. I am lucky the place I live is still safe for kids to play out. But there are not many of these places in the world left.

Carol R

[traveller]

I go back and forth on this one. Overall, I'd say worse based on materialism, what's shown on public medias, violence. But, I also wonder about what was going on back in "my day" when we didn't have the internet and satellite dish to keep us informed? I mean, today we have more access into everyone's lives than ever before. Child abusers are registered now so we know where they live. Back in "my day" they could have been right next door for all we knew. There were teen pregnancies back then; the girls disappeared for a semester - all going away to visit sick aunts or something. We had a whole generation of girls that were more or less forced to give away their children.

We also had the Vietnam war, which had its own gamut of issues. With it came a great influx of lsd, heroin, hash. Rumors of atrocities. Of course, that wasn't so long after WWII, with it's own atrocities and inhumanities.

I wonder if each generation looks back and says, "those were the days." I figure they do. My age group remembers when school dresses had to be 2 inches below the knee. No pants at school either. And when no one except "thugs" smoked; cigarettes or pot. Cars were never locked, even if you left things in them. There were no police at schools except for the days they gave talks about how great a profession it was. And, they were though of highly, even by the kids.

Certainly we had crime. There were horrific serial killers. We had the Hollywood Ten; when actors were accused of communistic ties. We struggled through desegregation. I lived in a really small town, so it wasn't much of a problem. I ws never taught about color differences. However, we saw other parts of the country having great difficulties with it.

Still, even though we had our crimes, wars, and lusts - I'd have to vote that yes, today is worse. Why? Because there is a greater avenue teaching our children that all those things are not so bad. We are assaulted daily with such temptations that we are quickly (not slowly) being conditioned to accept that up is down and right is wrong. Our children are being targeted to dress and act like adults. (I use that term loosely)

The world used to be bigger. One of the biggest changes from back then to now is the worldview. When I was a kid, a great dream was to be able to travel the world, see the marvelous creation that God made. Now, we have to be careful of our destination, get checked at airports.

Still - I look at my community and still see God's children, taking care of the sick, the aged. I still see compassion. I still see loving, caring people. I still see them praising God.

[Scarletprayers]

I went with things are far worse today than they were when I was growing up, on the 2nd question I went with things are moving away from the Christian faith but I don't think its happening quickly, I think its a slow rot. Most people still claim Christianity without the actual knowledge or belief of what exactly that is, this attitude that all road lead to heaven seems to be becoming rampant and the strange off shoots who claim Christ but show absolutely no evidence of Him in their teachings.

[hmh]

I can remember the days stores were closed on Sunday. I can remember the days when stores were closed by 9pm. Now you have stores open 24/7 and on holidays like Christmas and Thanksgiving.

[buckthesystem]

There seem to be far more problems in the world now than there was when I was a young adult and taking notice of the ways of the world.

Technology is the biggest hurdle, privacy is the big problem or rather lack thereof. There is now a far greater ability for young people to get themselves into debt. When I was young credit wasn't "pushed down our throats" so much, credit cards were not so readily available, there was no such thing as "student debt" and people weren't "fined" a "week's wages" for minor infractions of "the law". Now technology ensures that electronic records of minor law breaking (things like driving "dodgy" cars that was just considered "youthful exuberance" when I was young) are now on file forever ruining young peoples' lives and careers. We didn't have much, but then we didn't worry about it either because we didn't expect to have new things and the latest technology all the time. Not many people had TV sets, stereos, the latest clothes, carpets, new cars, but we did have personal freedom. We made do with what we had and we were happy to "make our own fun". Now young people feel deprived if they don't have the "latest of everything".

Most advances in technology were originally developed to help us in some way, but somehow their users have turned against us.

I voted that the world is "slowly turning to Christianity" because I get the impression that there is far more knowledge of it around now. People seem to understand Christianity. Maybe it is just my perception, but I remember when shops and bars were shut on Sundays, but I don't think that people really understood why that was.