I enjoy responding to Tony Jones’ blog series “Questions That Haunt Christianity.” Recently he posted a question from a reader named Jesse. Below is Jesse’s question and my response.

Jesse asks:
Is the trajectory of our human culture/world/society positive or negative? In other words, are we fighting the long defeat until Christ returns to set things right or are we participating in an ever-advancing Kingdom of The Heavens (Willard) which will someday culminate with Christ’s return?

Jesse (nice name btw),

I like to think about this question in evolutionary terms–I think it provides the best insights. And in that case, evolution (cosmological, biological and psycho-social) shows us that its trajectory is in fact both positive and negative.

Here’s what I mean.

Evolution does have a trajectory–in fact you could call it a vertical trajectory–although it’s not linear, it’s more like a spawning bush, with no main trunk or obvious tip. Evolution is governed by indestructible polarities (positive/negative, male/female, competition/corporation) which serve as portals for synthesis. This is how evolution advances. Think of this dialectical process in terms of how a sail boat navigates the wind–it does not sail directly into the wind, it tacks back and forth in order to make progress.

You seem to be specifically concerned with cultural evolution. In this case, Whitehead’s consciousness-centric definition of evolution is pertinent: Evolution is the “increase in the ability to experience what is intrinsically valuable.” As organisms evolve, they become more complex. Eventually, as we see in humans, consciousness appears–what many call the third big bang.

Here’s the thing to remember:

With every step forward (to paraphrase S. McIntosh), new categories of problems arise that are intimately related to the positive features of that same developmental advance. And perhaps equally important is the fact that although emergent stages of cultural evolution result in improvements, some of the benefits conferred by previous stages are often lost in the process. However, when one begins to see how consciousness evolves—how new stages emerge as a result of the dialectical tension of thesis and antithesis—one can begin to detect authentic progress in cultural evolution, despite the appearance of new challenges and set backs that inevitably accompany the process.

So, theologically speaking, if I had to pick between the either/or you posed in your question, I’d go with Willard’s ever-advancing Kingdom of Heaven.

Great question!

Tags:emergenceevolutionevolutionary christianityphilosophyscienceSteve McIntoshtony joneswhitehead