“In the beginning when God created the the heavens and earth, … and God saw that it was good,….. and God saw that it was good,…. and God saw that it was good, …. And God saw that it was good “ Genesis 1:1,8,12, 18, 25.
In the Jewish/Christian/Muslim traditions the above story is about the goodness of creation. The six days, according to the story, God “worked” at creating everything in nature and in humanity . And the author of the story tells us at least five times that everything was good.
Some people in the world today think the world is a great place. Steven Pinker, a Harvard professor, writes a lot about how the world is much better place than in earlier centuries.. He writes that violence and cruelty has declined over the years. We live much longer and healthier lives than before. The amount of wars has steadily declined . He is a humanist and a scientist , and believes in the progress of the world. He is hopeful that humanity can overcome climate change and feeding the world in more equitable ways. He is an optimist.
Then there are other people in our world who are more pessimistic . David Suzuki, a Canadian scientist, has has pointed out the dangers of fossil fuels, the destruction of the rainforest and the extinction of many plant and animal species. On his T. V. show, The Nature of Things, Suzuki point out many problem areas of the planet . I believe, he tries to inspire us to make better uses of our resources , to save the planet.
Both Pinker and Suzuki are scientists, and want to see the plant, plants, animals and people thrive and survive . They see the planets woes very differently. Every year in December Margaret Wente writes a column in the Globe and Mail about the world becoming a better place. Every year she has positives statistics about wars being reduced, poverty being overcome. She is a good journalist, who usually writes about problems, but in this late in the year column, she is more than positive.
The agency I work for, Mennonite Central Committee, works in far less countries than we used to. We only work in countries that invite us to come, and so some countries do not need our help or resources. Though, we have recently have committed almost $50 million to the Syrian civil war, in Syria, Jordan, Turkey and Lebanon. This is our largest relief effort in our history.
Then there are Second Coming Christians who try to scare us that the world must be destroyed before Jesus returns. The world is supposed to end tomorrow ( July 27) because there is a blood moon in the sky. And tomorrow is our youngest son’s Golden Birthday, he will be 27 on the 27th. Not tomorrow please. These people tend to be more negative in their outlook of the planet,
I believe that we should continue to work at making our world a better place. The Earth has gone through many changes over the years, and I believe it is our task to take care of it, so that we can say at the end of the day, “ that, it is good “ Amen. Fred Redekop
Ponder Anew 