It seems like for as long as I can remember I've heard people talk about the "good ole' days" of the past. Whatever is happening now is worse than the past and somewhere else, at some time in the past, days were so much better than right now. Christians are particularly prone to this nonsense. They act as if history did not happen, humans are not mortal and the church never made a mistake, at least a serious one. Protestants romanticize the sixteenth century and Catholics romanticize about the days before Vatican II. Almost everyone acts like the Middle Ages were entirely bereft of anything positive and after 1900 Western civilization began a downward high slide from which it cannot recover.
All of this kind of nonsense reminds me of a great quote from St. Augustine: "If you believe that former times are better than today, it is because you are not living in those times." Amen.
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Good reminder, John.
Ecclesiastes 7:10 — Say not, “Why were the former days better than these?” For it is not from wisdom that you ask this.
Who was St Augustine? Why are you worried about what he says? What does it take to be a saint? I mean a true real saint, without sin? Who ordains men/women into sainthood? Has this man repented of all of his lies? All of his lusts, murder/hatred, theft, idolatry, greed, covetousness, even more importantly has he taught others false doctrines?
It troubles me when men turn toward man for advice. It also troubles me when men do this while teaching others to do the same, especially men of renown as it is done in the attempt to represent this as truth, especially from those which represent themselves as Christian leaders, and mentors.
God alone is the way, the truth, and the life (meaning life eternal, which is all that matters truly). We are to worship Christ Jesus, whom is God, was God in the flesh, who lived a perfect example for all men to follow, to look towards, to revere, to worship, learn from, cling to, ET all.
It is a sin to place idols above God, it can also be a damnable sin to even look to man for truth regarding Biblical doctrine and truth as God represents it. I just thought you might want to know this…
You, I and every Christian soul to ever confess Christ only do so because men, fallen men, told us about him. We know nothing of Jesus except what his witnesses passed on about him. How beautiful the feet of those who preach good news!
We learn of Christ by what his Apostles passed on. Those men weren’t perfect, but neither are we! Augustine was a gift to the Church (Ephesians 4) along with all the other pastor-teachers. Anyway, the Lord bless his body, the Church. Amen.
Alex, good quote. I was thinking of a line from an old Billy Joel song: “The good old days weren’t always good and tomorrow ain’t as bad as it seems.”