The Rise of the Age of Cynicism
Let no one deceive himself. If anyone among you thinks that he is wise in this age, let him become a fool that he may become wise. For the wisdom of this world is folly with God. (1 Corinthians 3:18)
Let’s face it, cynicism is winning. The only other competitor still in the running is despair. Optimism has long been left in the dust.
Most of us can still recall a time back when only the most eccentric and colourful of our acquaintances claimed that governments were conspiring against their population, that the justice system was corrupt and biased, that scientist were part of a cult, that the media was lying, even that movie studios were pushing ideological messages to children and the refs were paid off to rule against their favourite team. These days? These views are not exactly hard to come by.
So what has changed? Is everyone we know more paranoid or has the world gotten a lot darker? Here’s my theory: Neither.
I do not believe that everyone I know is all of a sudden more paranoid.
I know it is popular to argue that social media has rotted the brain of most of the population, and they are now misinformed, unwittingly manipulated by Chinese bot farms and Russian propaganda agents.
But this narrative is becoming harder and harder to maintain as many of these fantastical conspiracy theories turn out to be true: The Canadian government has embraced the art of wedge politics and actively turned one part of the population against another (famously they pit the Vaccinated vs. the Unvaccinated, but also Urban vs. Rural, pro-Palestinian vs. Jewish, Pro-abortion vs. Churches, even Rich vs. Poor lately…). The Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada was fired for not influencing the courts to minimize the judicial consequences against Quebec-based engineering firm SNC Lavalin over their egregious bribing schemes. Hospitals have demanded full endorsement by their doctors of puberty blockers for children under threat of excommunication. The media in Canada wildly and recklessly carried false reports of mass graves at old residential school sites leading to the cancellation of Canada Day celebrations. Disney has publicly shared their goal to promote DEI in their productions. And the onslaught of sports gambling has embroiled athletes’ betting schemes across all the major leagues.
What then shall we say? That the world is becoming a darker place? By no means!
What from the list above can we say is new? There are no innovations here. Perhaps western democracies were spared some of these for a brief interlude in the last century, but we cannot point to a single time in world history where these were not present somewhere around the globe. In fact each of these subversions by evil forces are recorded in the Bible, and Christians are expressly warned to expect them.
Oppressive leaders are found throughout the Bible, both Old and New Testaments: From Pharaoh to Nebuchadnezzar and Herod, the biblical accounts of evil rulers abound. In fact, at no point does the Bible teach the Christian to expect democratic representation. The modern west has been steeped in the values of democracy since the end of the Second World War, leading us to take its virtues for granted. But these are far from universal. There was a broad expectation in the west that as China opened up their markets to the world, they would naturally gravitate toward democracy. The last decade has proved otherwise.
Our source of hope is not in the righteousness of our rulers. Psalm 94 is great reminder of where we can anchor our hope:
Can wicked rulers be allied with you, those who frame injustice by statute?
They band together against the life of the righteous and condemn the innocent to death.
But the Lord has become my stronghold, and my God the rock of my refuge.
He will bring back on them their iniquity and wipe them out for their wickedness; the Lord our God will wipe them out.
(Psalm 94:20-23)
The Bible does not promise righteous rulers, nor does it promise righteous judges. In fact it teaches us to not despair in their absence. Nonetheless, God’s word decries man’s perverted justice, bias towards the rich and powerful, and against the downtrodden. But the only biblical promise of justice will come when divine justice is rendered. But the Psalmist encourages the believer:
Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; fret not yourself over the one who prospers in his way, over the man who carries out evil devices!
Refrain from anger, and forsake wrath! Fret not yourself; it tends only to evil.
For the evildoers shall be cut off, but those who wait for the Lord shall inherit the land.
(Psalm 37:7-9)
And of course, the Bible abounds with accounts of false reports and slanderous fake news being reported about Jesus. The Gospels give clear examples of this:
Now the chief priests and the whole council were seeking testimony against Jesus to put him to death, but they found none. For many bore false witness against him, but their testimony did not agree. (Mark 14:55-56)
And Paul explicitly paints a picture of leading intellectuals being foolish in his first letter to the Corinthians:
Let no one deceive himself. If anyone among you thinks that he is wise in this age, let him become a fool that he may become wise. For the wisdom of this world is folly with God. For it is written, “He catches the wise in their craftiness,” and again, “The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise, that they are futile.” (1 Corinthians 3:18-20)
The Bible clearly describes the world as always having been the way it currently is. There is nothing new under the sun!
So if we are not all becoming crazier and the world is not darker, then why the rise in cynicism?
Because of what we forgot.
While the Bible clearly records that the world has always been as dark a place as it is, and even teaches us to expect darkness, to not give into the darkness but to overcome darkness with light… sadly too many have neglected to read this wisdom inspired by the very Spirit of God.
And as our societies have become more Bible illiterate, we not only have relegated its wisdom, but we replaced God with modern day idols. And so we no longer give thanks for God’s provision, but demand government programs. We no longer expect God’s justice, but hope for the overtaxed court system to deliver true justice. We no longer anchor our hope in God’s promises but in the promises of scientific discoveries and advancements. We no longer find our joy in God’s creation and gifts, but turn to the distractions of sports and entertainment.
These idols were never going to deliver the promises we projected onto them. We are now slowly realizing that these idols make lousy gods.
Of course the Bible warned us of this! The prophet Isaiah exposes the ludicrousness of our man-made idols:
He cuts down cedars, or he chooses a cypress tree or an oak and lets it grow strong among the trees of the forest. He plants a cedar and the rain nourishes it. Then it becomes fuel for a man. He takes a part of it and warms himself; he kindles a fire and bakes bread. Also he makes a god and worships it; he makes it an idol and falls down before it. Half of it he burns in the fire. Over the half he eats meat; he roasts it and is satisfied. Also he warms himself and says, “Aha, I am warm, I have seen the fire!” And the rest of it he makes into a god, his idol, and falls down to it and worships it. He prays to it and says, “Deliver me, for you are my god!”
(Isaiah 44:14-17)
It is time to strip our idols of their status, they were never meant to replace God. Governments, science, the courts of law, the media, even our favourite hockey team… It is time to put them back in their proper place. They are perhaps the best we can hope for as far as the curse is found. But there is a greater hope beyond the curse! And while we await the dawn of God's new Heavens, for Him to restore all things in His righteousness, justice, wisdom and love, we can open up the ancient wisdom of His word, and follow His son as he leads us home. That is the cure for cynicism: not despair, not optimism, but faith.
You want to defeat cynicism: Read the Bible. Live for Christ. Await His return with patience and in hope.