HUMAN PERFECTIBILITY OR INABILITY?

The philosophies of today tend to agree that humanity is basically good (or at least neutral) and perfectible. Why then the many human ills? Well, if we are basically good, the problems do not arise from us but from our institutions.

These philosophies find encouragement from the theory of evolution. If we have evolved from ape-like creatures to enlightened, creative, and ever-progressing beings, it would seem the even the sky is not the limit.

One progressive intellectual had explained:

• A hundred years ago, we could not imagine radio, TVs, let alone the internet and AI. We therefore need to dream big and to leave behind the answers and institutions of the past, even family and marriage.

Does this mean that all of the wisdom of the past has to be jettisoned like worn-out clothing? Are there some truths and principles that are unchanging? It would seem so. Without the unchanging laws of science, TVs, radios, and computers would never have been possible.

So is humanity perfectible? Nicodemus, a religious leader, came secretly to Jesus, who knew what was on his mind - attaining to heaven:

• Jesus answered, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water [first naturally] and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, 'You must be born again.' The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit." (John 3:5-8)

Jesus answered that we are perfectible, but only by God. Without Him, we are sheep which go astray without their Shepherd, like branches, which cannot bear any fruit without the Branch (John 15:4-5). All of our efforts and worry are unable to add an inch to our structure. Therefore, Jesus rhetorically asked:

• “And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?” (Matthew 6:27)

Nor can we even begin to make ourselves morally acceptable before God (John 3:19-20). Instead, it should be obvious that we are very limited.

However, you may ask, Is it wise to be telling people that they are so limited without God? Won’t this de-motivate them? Instead, is it possible that we are burdening them with the belief that they are able to perfect themselves?

It seems that with the growth of secularism and the belief of our perfectibility without God, depression has become a fearsome stalker:

• The total estimated number of people living with depression worldwide increased by 18.4% between 2005 and 2015 to 322 million, according to the latest report on depression and anxiety, issued this week by the World Health Organization. Nearly half of people living with depression live in the more highly-populated global areas...

Another study (2013) reported similar findings:

• ...depressive illness is the disease with the second heaviest burden on society, with around one in 20 people suffering...[This] burden increased by 37.5% between 1990 and 2010...(The Guardian)

Another warning sign emerges from our universities, where a great number of students have set aside their Christian faith. In a Psychology Today article, “Declining Student Resilience: A Serious Problem for Colleges,” Peter Gray had written:

• ...emergency calls to Counseling had more than doubled over the past five years. Students are increasingly seeking help for, and apparently having emotional crises over, problems of everyday life. (September, 2015)

The article quotes the head of counseling services at a major university:

• “Our students are no different from what is being reported across the country on the state of late adolescence/early adulthood. There has been an increase in diagnosable mental health problems, but there has also been a decrease in the ability of many young people to manage the everyday bumps in the road of life. Whether we want it or not, these students are bringing their struggles to their teachers and others on campus who deal with students on a day-to-day basis. The lack of resilience is interfering with the academic mission of the University and is thwarting the emotional and personal development of students.”

How does this decline in the lack of student resilience interfere with the academic mission of the university? This unnamed clinician cites the fact that students can no longer take failure. Consequently, their plight pressures professors to lower standards:

• Less resilient and needy students have shaped the landscape for faculty in that they are expected to do more handholding, lower their academic standards, and not challenge students too much.

Others cite the same problems. “The Chronicle of Higher Education” recently ran an article by Robin Wilson entitled, “An Epidemic of Anguish: Overwhelmed by Demand for Mental-Health Care, Colleges Face Conflicts in Choosing How to Respond" (Aug. 31, 2015):

• “Students, too, want colleges to give them the help they need, when they need it. And they need a lot. Rates of anxiety and depression among American college students have soared in the last decade, and many more students than in the past come to campus already on medication for such illnesses. The number of students with suicidal thoughts has risen as well. Some are dealing with serious issues, such as psychosis, which typically presents itself in young adulthood, just when students are going off to college. Many others, though, are struggling with what campus counselors say are the usual stresses of college life: bad grades, breakups, being on their own for the first time. And they are putting a strain on counseling centers.

Ironically, today’s students have been raised on the expectation that they have the resources to accomplish whatever they set their heart upon. However, when they discover that they are severely limited, they become discouraged with nothing to sustain them.

When we trust in Jesus, we believe that each failure and every rejection are being used for our good by the Savior (Romans 8:28). While we too will be struck down, as are others, we also know that our Savior will life us up (Psalms 34:19). Therefore, Jesus has invited us to become His sheep:

• “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." (Matthew 11:28-30)

In this life, we are not perfectible but pitiable. However, in our humbled and broken estate, we can learn compassion and dependence upon our only Source of unlimited strength.