Commentary: Making a Culture of Creation, Not Consumption

Painter

Throughout history, humankind has excelled in being creative. I’d argue that we still do! Unfortunately, in our modern times, this natural creativity is being pushed aside in favor of our need to consume. This need is just as instinctual, of course; how could we survive if we didn’t consume water, food, sleep, or shelter? We simply have to consume the basic necessities before we can be free to produce anything else. This dichotomy of creativity and consumption is designed as a balance, and generally, it works very well.

We have a modern problem, however. Our natural need to consume has turned into a full-on culture and lifestyle, and it is being systematically progressed by sellers of all sorts. Politics, media, industry, technology, agriculture, and business advertisers everywhere have capitalized on offering us more, more, and more if we only buy their “thing.”

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Commentary: The Resurrection of Jesus Is the Most Important Event in History

Jesus Christ

Christians around the world will commemorate the most important event in our faith’s history this Sunday, but the Resurrection of Jesus isn’t just important to those who believe a Nazarene who walked the earth 2,000 years ago is the Son of God. The secular world’s history also turns on this pivotal event, which inspired so much progress that we take for granted today.

Christianity turned the values of the Pagan Roman world upside-down. The Romans considered the early Christians subversives—many called them “atheists” because they didn’t worship any pagan gods—and put them to death for refusing to worship the emperor. After some emperors adopted the faith, Emperor Julian attempted to revive paganism, but lamented that the Christian ethic had transformed the empire.

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