Is There Any Good News?
Let’s face it, the news has been pretty depressing over the past couple of years…
We’ve lived through a global pandemic, which has claimed the lives of nearly six and a half million people. [1]
We’ve seen moral failure, on an unprecedented level, by political leaders on both sides of the Atlantic. [2], [3], [4]
For the first time in generations, two large European nations are at war.
Record temperatures in the UK have been widely attributed to the effects of climate change [5], with more extreme weather effects observed around the world.
Knife crime in England and Wales is up 40% relative to levels 5 years ago. [6]
One in four adults living in the UK experience mental health issues every single year. [7]
It is estimated that 1.3 million people in the UK will be living in “absolute poverty” during 2022/2023, as the cost of living continues to soar [8].
You no longer need to leave your home to be the victim of a hate crime, you just have to own a smart phone [9].
Not only is there a lot of bad news around, but some of these headlines highlight ways in which the very fabric of our society is fraying. It’s no surprise that so many people stopped watching the news during lockdown. But if I’m honest, it’s not just 24-hour news bulletins that have sometimes got me down over these last years. In a previous blog, I wrote about the way in which an honest self-assessment reminds me that my everyday moral failures matter. We all seem to have this constant inability to live up to our own standard of right and wrong – an inescapable pre-disposition to screw up morally. If we are honest, we need to remember these bad news stories alongside what we see on the TV as well. The big picture becomes even more gloomy.
And so, with so much bad news in the world right now, I think there’s a question many in the west are starting to ask. No-one is admitting it. No one is articulating it. But many of us are asking it. In the midst of so much bad news: “IS THERE HOPE?”
There are a range of ways of responding to this question…
One approach is to say: “Not really.”
This is the approach traditionally offered by Atheism – “don’t try to place your hope in an eternal destiny. Heaven isn’t real.”
“Don’t try to figure out some sense of purpose behind everything. There isn’t one. Make one up if you really need to, but accept that there’s no underlying reason for any of this.”
For me, an atheistic world-view (being lived out consistently) is best summed up in the words of legendary Scottish rally driver Colin McRae: “We are here for a good time, not for a long time.”
That’s one approach, though personally I’m not convinced that anyone really lives without a bigger sense of purpose one hundred percent of the time.
Another approach is to say: “Maybe. Maybe there is hope.”
This is the approach traditionally offered by religion – “If I do the right stuff, keep the right rituals, have a good enough moral record, then maybe I can have hope of an afterlife
However, fascinatingly to me, this is now the approach favoured by our secular society:
“If I have a positive self-image, love myself, see myself the right way, then I can place my hope in self-image.”
“If we are all woke enough, then we can identify all that is wrong with society simply by educating ourselves, and work together to fix it. I’ll place my hope in being woke.”
Don’t get me wrong, I’d strongly advocate that we all look after our mental health. I just don’t think any amount of positive self-image will save us from the reality, that sometimes we screw up in life.
And please understand, I think it’s really important that we invest effort in understanding one another, empathising with each other well, actively working to heal issues in society. But I’d also suggest that, even if we do get rid of all the “isms, biases, and phobias” in the world today, history suggests we’ll then come up with innovative new ways of hurting one another, creating division, and failing morally.
It’s just my opinion, but I think that’s the way we may end up seeing things five, ten, twenty years from now.
However, there is a third option.
Christianity.
You see, Christianity is not a religion. It’s not an ideology. It’s not a self-improvement project.
Christianity is news.
It’s news about an event in history. It’s details of something which has happened. It’s the proclamation of a true story, which has consequences today.
Christianity is the good news, that in the midst of all our bad news, there is hope.
This is the first post in a series of four blogs taking slightly different looks at the resurrection of Jesus Christ and asking the question “is there any hope?”
See ‘Is There Hope For My brokenness?’ to read the next in the series.
References
[1]
World Health Organisation, "WHO Coronavirus (COVID-19 Dashboard)," 27th August 2022. [Online]. Available: https://covid19.who.int/.
[2]
Various, "Boris Johnson – the moral vacuum who lies at the heart of government," The Guardian, 20th April 2022. [Online]. Available: https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2022/apr/20/boris-johnson-the-moral-vacuum-who-lies-at-the-heart-of-government. [Accessed 27th August 2022].
[3]
H. Stewart and R. Partington, "‘No ethics at No 10’: Boris Johnson considers scrapping Lord Geidt’s role," The Guardian, 16th June 2022. [Online]. Available: https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2022/jun/16/no-ethics-at-no-10-boris-johnson-considers-scrapping-lord-geidts-role. [Accessed 27th August 2022].
[4]
J. Harwood, "Trump's historical place defined by his amorality," CNN Politics, 12th February 2020. [Online]. Available: https://edition.cnn.com/2020/02/12/politics/amorality-presidency-donald-trump/index.html. [Accessed 27th August 2022].
[5]
The Met Office, "A milestone in UK climate history," The Met Office, 22nd July 2022. [Online]. Available: https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/about-us/press-office/news/weather-and-climate/2022/july-heat-review#:~:text=A%20UK%20national%20record%20highest,of%20human%2Dinduced%20climate%20change.. [Accessed 27th August 2022].
[6]
G. Allen and M. Harding, "Knife Crime in England and Wales," House of Commons Library, 2021.
[7]
Mind, "Mental health facts and statistics," Mind, [Online]. Available: https://www.mind.org.uk/information-support/types-of-mental-health-problems/statistics-and-facts-about-mental-health/how-common-are-mental-health-problems/#References. [Accessed 27th August 2022].
[8]
B. Francis-Devine, "Poverty in the UK: Statistics," House of Commons Library, 2022.
[9]
Stop Hate UK, "About Hate Crime," Stop Hate UK, [Online]. Available: https://www.stophateuk.org/about-hate-crime/what-is-online-hate-crime/. [Accessed 27th August 2022].
Matt Brydon
Matt is an Aerospace Engineer based in Bristol. He's passionate about building a church which is authentic and seeker friendly. He's also a fan of distance running and hiking.