Christianity & moral progress.

I found William Pfaff's careful analysis of the conflict between Western modernity and the "values, assumptions, and ways of life of the nonmodern world" quite insightful. I was seriously disappointed, however, by his conclusion that humanity has made no moral progress over the millennia, and that we should expect no such improvement this side of the Final Judgment. Pfaff's conviction that salvation is only available in the next world is, to be sure, shared by many believers, yet this notion fails to grasp the full significance of Christ's redeeming love. As his disciples, we are called to follow him, not simply to await his final coming. Christ inaugurated a new earth, not just a new heaven. Our hope bears on not just what lies beyond, but on what we can make of this world, too. Our modern world has made much progress, moral as well as scientific. In order to fulfill its potential and to minimize the kind of distortions Pfaff laments, our world needs the inspired and hopeful commitment of believers.

PAUL DALY, OMI 

St. Paul, Minn.