"The more the believing person makes his very own the event that absolutely substantiates optimism namely, Christ's Resurrection all the more can he summon up the realism, the clarity, and the courage to call problems by their real name so as to tackle them without closing his eyes or viewing them through rose-colored glasses." - Joseph Ratzinger when he was Cardinal Prefect for the Catholic Church, before he became Pope Benedict XVI
There are many strong evidences for the Resurrection of Christ, which I wrote about in the September 27, 2024, blog post Would Christ's Resurrection be Provable in a Court of Law? And the above statement is tremendous advice for understanding our world and for maintaining “realism” together with “optimism”. Christians are exhorted to think on good things (Philippians 4:8), but does that mean ignoring negative news? No, because “the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding” (Proverbs 9:10).
By describing the world as “cursed because of sin” (a foundational biblical truth), Christians are sometimes accused of being “negative”. Calling attention to sin is “negative” and therefore politically incorrect. Doom and gloom for the world as we know it is politically incorrect. Yet the truth is we are part of a world dying in trespasses and sins. We can quickly despair if we think that our work will convince everyone of the truth or solve the world’s problems, whether they be sociological, ecological, moral, or otherwise.
Thus, Ratzinger also writes, “It is no wonder if our society is disintegrating when Holy Scripture sharply warns us that ‘the whole world is under the power of the evil one’ who is called ‘the prince of this world’”. The key is to stand in biblical truth, which is to balance absolute realism about our world with ultimate optimism! And that is the Resurrection of Jesus Christ – the “first of many brethren” (Romans 8:29) - and therefore a glorious Resurrection which can include us through trust in Him!
- Mark Cadwallader, Board Chairman of Creation Moments
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