A ‘new’ paradigm of thought and faith.

The recovery of a world that is “without end, Amen” is an idea whose time has come. Its power to influence the human psyche and thus the future course of history cannot be overestimated. In this author’s opinion, the unleashing of this truth is destined to change the cultural and theological landscape. Entire schemes of religious and non-religious teaching focusing on a future end of the world have run their course; their prophecies have not come true. Instead of striving to hang on till the end, we can have a strong reason to undertake dynamic roles in the present, both individually and corporately, for a better future and for the benefit of current and coming generations.

Pioneering a new idea, however, is rarely a popular work, at least at first. Historically, the “powers that be” usually reacted angrily whenever confronted with an upsetting truth. Voltaire, the 18th-century French philosopher, hit it on the head when he surmised, “Our wretched species is so made that those who walk on the well-trodden path always throw stones at those who are showing a new road.”

Our road is really not new, but so old and so neglected that it seems new. Thus, it will likely suffer the usual reactions of anger and disbelief. Admittedly, the idea of a world without end is a threat to the status quo, which is dominated by a traditional termination futurism, be it Roman Catholics or Protestants. They view “evil” as simply too much for God to overturn and transform. Therefore, God “must” destroy the planet before He makes it “anew.” But after a reformational idea bursts onto the public scene and awareness spreads, a paradigm shift begins to take place as people at the grassroots level begin to realize how much the value of the new outweighs the detriments of the old.

Our paradigm answers our most basic question: what is real? If one’s paradigm is the correct way of seeing the world, then one’s judgments, decisions, and actions will be correlated and productive. If it’s distorted or incorrect, they will be skewed. Our view of the world and the future is a paradigm. As we’ve seen, millions have been programmed into believing in an end-of-the-world paradigm. But this new, open-ended paradigm will force us to reexamine and rethink other end-time assumptions, prophecies, and beliefs, and our role in an unending world. If, indeed, this world is a world without end, and eternally established by a Creator God, isn’t our role in taking care of it, and of each other, even more significant? Doesn’t this provide more reason, motivation, and responsibility to pass it along to future generations in a better condition than we found it? continue reading…

Sources:

1The Perfect Ending for the World by John Noe