opvoedingsproblemen - gedragsproblemen - jeugdcriminaliteit - orthopedagogiek - politiek voor de 21ste eeuw   

How should we live in 2022 and beyond and what awaits us in the 21st century?

To know what awaits us in this 21st century if we don't change our behavior, we should look to the Middle East because with the massive arrival of Muslims, already around a hundred million, Europe will suffer the same fate. Why is there so much misery in the Middle East? The Muslims have largely exterminated and expelled the Christians who had been settled there for 2000 years. They also hate the Jews and want to destroy Israel. God therefore punishes the Muslims: they kill each other without Israel having to fire a shot; they destroy their own cultural heritage and the masses remain dead poor.

We owe the prosperity in Europe to our Judeo-Christian roots. That threatens to be lost through the mass immigration of Muslims, the secularization of the masses, the self-loathing of the left and the extreme form of materialism and consumerism, a modern form of unprecedented idolatry. What the consequences of this will be, which will become more and more visible, is easy to guess. The pandemic, the successive natural disasters, the enormous pollution of the air, the extinction of animal and plant species, the threat of war are obvious signs of the punishment we inflict on ourselves (for those who do not believe in God). We are headed for a man-made apocalypse.

For that reason, it is good to reflect on what is meant by the Judeo-Christian roots of European civilization. Even for those who do not believe in God, it becomes clear that Judaism and Christianity offer an unsurpassed ethic that can make the world an earthly paradise, a heaven on earth or the ' Kingdom of God'. Man was created in the image and likeness of God (!). The latter means neither more nor less that we must not submit to God, that each person is personally responsible and each person is completely free, even not to believe in God at all. For Judaism and Christianity put love for one's neighbor above all else. Love can be translated as behaving responsibly for the Other (the fellow human beings) and for the creation or nature. On the contrary, anyone who tortures or kills people in the name of a religion, who hates apostates and disbelievers, has been taken hostage by Satan.

I am not concerned here with the conversion of the people. Most of us who deny the existence of God adhere to fundamental ethical standards. What matters is that we are open to a wisdom 'that comes from elsewhere', in which the Bible and especially the Gospel are a sublime source of wisdom. It matters that we reflect on the meaning and purpose of our life or that we follow the voice of our conscience and the appeal of our neighbors to do good for them. More is not necessary. Rituals and worship may be there, provided they do not distract us from our true vocation. Beautiful cathedrals are a good thing, provided they invite people to come and contemplate and are not experienced solely as a tourist attraction.

Man is called to continue and perfect His creation, because like ethics, creation is given to us and not invented and created by people themselves . What does the fact mean that creation has been 'given' to us? I'll be brief and limit myself here to four essential commands :

1. Starting a family continues creation and transmits ethics or essential values . Family life should take center stage again in 2022 and beyond, with marital fidelity and raising at least two children as the foundation.

2. Good stewardship of nature, so that what was good from the beginning is not destroyed. Here everyone must take responsibility. So don't do anything or buy anything that could cause damage to nature. In 2022 and beyond we will have to learn to live very frugally; eventually we will experience this as a huge liberation from the compulsion of consumerism in all its forms, from entertainment to hypes. In place of the Golden Calf, the great God of love comes again in our midst.

3. To perfect creation means that no human beings should live in undignified conditions. Economy is therefore not intended for self-enrichment, but to eradicate poverty and misery. As the 'Parable of the Rich Youth' shows, what we have in excess must be reserved for the poor. I mean by this an equitable distribution of wealth throughout the world. Who can die in peace of mind at the thought that during his lifetime so many people had to live in abject poverty and so many children did not have a happy childhood? We are dealing here with the essence of Christianity and that has been the reason for spreading the Good News of Christianity all over the world. Now that is called neo-colonialism and that is very stupid. Everything I say here is a plea for Europe to live up to its vocation again. It's just a shame that in the 21st century hundreds of millions of people still live in extreme poverty and children don't get a good education. I know it provokes a lot of resistance, but rich people don't belong in a Judeo-Christian civilization. That the disparities between rich and poor have increased exponentially in recent years is a shame and was the cause of the Flood in biblical times. So we know what to expect. In 2022 and beyond, the poor everywhere in the world and the children who have so few opportunities to develop their talents will know that we from Europe want to do everything we can to improve their lot. The sovereign states of Europe must therefore build strong armies to liberate the world's poor and oppressed from their tyrants and exploiters. Muslims can improve the lot of their co-religionists if they return en masse to their countries of origin to contribute to peace, well-being and prosperity.

4. I know that many don't want to hear about God or about religion anymore. I don't care about that and remember the first commandment from the Bible: 'You shall not worship idols, but only worship Me and love above all else'. Following this commandment is the only way to prevent the apocalypse and to free us from all the misery that already befalls us. Concretely, this commandment means that we make time for God, think about what He expects of us, pray for His grace that we may do good. That time is indeed the Sunday now devoted to the idol of consumerism. In 2022 and beyond we will have to come together again in the churches, also together with the unbelievers, to reflect on how to live in truth.

Many will find what I have written here ridiculous, until they are confronted with the facts and it just keeps getting worse. That is strange because it concerns four assignments that can make the 21st century the best century ever. I envision a future world without industry, clean air, ecological agriculture, healthy food for all, networks of solidarity to provide aid where it is needed, with people who love the land of their ancestors, restore the landscapes of the past and who enjoy being together in the family, the wider family, the neighborhood and the land they are building together.

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