The hopeful church in a hopeless world

We live in a hopeless world. Or at least a world full of false hopes which are quickly dashed.

In the West we seem to be going through what Os Guinness calls ‘a civilisational moment’ – a time when the foundations are being destroyed. Reading of the four horsemen of the apocalypse from Revelation at times feels like reading a news bulletin – death, war, civil strife, famine and plague no longer seem the stuff of ages past. The fears that people have about climate change, racism, economic depression or gender confusion only add to the growing sense of hopelessness and gloom.

Secular prophets like Jordan Peterson, Douglas Murray, Lionel Shriver and others have been pointing out for years where we are going, and giving a largely cogent and perceptive analysis of the culture. I am thankful for them. They have been saying what the church should have been saying. But it appears that it is only now that we are jumping on the ‘what’s wrong with the world’ bandwagon. As has been the case for far too long, the church often ends up being a pale imitation of the world, as we follow in its footsteps.