Philosopher John Gray started his 2007 book “Black Mass” with this declaration: “Modern politics is a chapter in the history of religion.” Now, Gray is an atheist, but he realized that so much of modern politics is an attempt to re-inspire a world originally inspired by religion, especially Christianity.
I make this point today because you and I live in an age of such technological advancement that we can delude ourselves into thinking we’re more powerful than we really are.
Hurricane Florence, a powerful Category 4 storm, is less than 48 hours out from making landfall in the Carolinas.
Seismologists say we’re overdue for such a disaster. One states, “There is a 99.9% chance that there will be a damaging quake (magnitude greater than or equal to 6.7) somewhere in California in the next 30 years.”
Within weeks of each other, stories of two destructive volcanoes have hit the news.
Most of us cannot imagine choosing to live near the world’s most active volcano. We can shake our heads at the foolishness of such people. Or we can learn an important lesson from their intrepid courage.
As the Rwandan government continues to shut down houses of worship it deems unsafe and dissenters charge it with trampling on religious rights, lightning struck and killed 15 worshippers in the country’s south.
The news consistently reminds us that we are not the captains of our fate.
We are already nearly at the end of 2017. It has been a year packed full of events, both good and bad. The world has rejoiced and also mourned. Donald Trump was inaugurated as the 45th president of the United States, ISIS lost control of key territory, and senseless violence left us reeling more than once. Read these 21 newsworthy stories to refresh your memory on the major events of 2017.
Looking back on this eventful year will hopefully give us greater clarity for the future and instill in us the desire to move forward with renewed energy in 2018.
Photo courtesy: ©Thinkstock/seb_ra
Wildfires continue to cause destruction in California’s wine region. The death toll from the fires is also rising.
