The gospel has definitely spread much further since the earliest days, which is not surprising.
Not only so, but it victoriously overcome and assimilated every competing worldview it encountered. It did so with various times of ebb and flo and, imo, there is no reason to think any current waning is permanent or will continue in perpetuity.
Slavery and sex-trading are still rampant today.
Irrelevant. Their existence is not the point of dispute. The premise the world is worse of is the point in dispute and if slavery and sex-trading are two measures of that claim then the world remains markedly better off than at any time in written history, and if there is a current increase there is nothing in scripture or secular news report to prove this is a permanent condition.
The main difference being that these things are not so commonly approved of today, so they are often hidden from sight.
Which is evidence on the side of proving the world has improved and is not in decline, and improved because of the gospel.
Nowadays, war is not so often fought with guns and bombs (although there is still quite a lot of that!) but with psychology, propaganda, corruption, control of food, medicine, fuel, information, etc..
Yes, it is the human condition, but the point is that war wasn't just normal; it was desired and anticipated. That's no longer the norm and the fact it's not the norm is evidence of an improved world.
Many evolutionists still believe in spontaneous generation (the non-creationist ones, which is most of them), they call it "abiogenesis".
LOL!
Yes, of course, but that's not the same as believing flies were birthed from meat left out too long.
Let me add another observation to all in attendance. While eschatology is considered by most a lesser doctrine, the fact is it matters because
the way a person thinks the world will end has a great deal of influence on how they live now, and where there are inconsistencies between the two there is evidence of either bad eschatology, bad Christian living, or both. Any Christian who believes the world is going to hell in a handbasket and will be raptured off the planet any day now ought to live in a manner consistent with that belief. Likewise, any Christian believing the "Cultural Mandate," and "Great Commission" still apply ought to live in a manner consistent with that belief.
Everyone read through the thread now, and again in five days, and see how well this happens.
