Outlining a Better World

Introduction. The following outline of a better world is the result of a recent reading binge of over 130 books (mostly non-fiction classics) and years of studying ancient and contemporary China. It is not good to flail through life without thinking deeply about what we should be moving towards. I find it personally necessary to outline something of what I believe God wants for humanity. Of course, it could be argued that the best possible world is the world as it currently exists because it demonstrates God's will in history. However, can that perspective provide actionable knowledge? I think we, as beings with agency, have an obligation to contemplate better worlds.

Christianity 1. Everyone should act as though God exists. Unbelievers cannot prove God does not exist. We need him to exist as a transcendent grounding for human value and morality. God's existence is reasonable, and every traditional society has assumed it. According to a 2015 Pew Research study, over 80% of the world's population believes in God or gods. We should, therefore, assume God's existence as a foundational pillar of global order.

Christianity 2. Christianity is the world's largest religion and the most widely distributed across geographical regions. There are Christian nations on every continent and significant Christian populations in nearly every country on earth. Islam is the second largest religion, and Mohamed himself claimed Jesus and the Gospels were inspired by God. Christianity has withstood centuries of criticism from the best secular minds. The Christian religion is the best positioned foundation for a common global order. 

Christianity 3. Human beings, our condition, and our societies should be interpreted through a Christian worldview. The meaning of human existence, therefore, is the cultivation of the spirit towards an eternal relationship with God (theosis). Our societies should view this cultivation as the priority around which they revolve. 

Christianity 4. The Church should honor Jesus' prayer for unity in the Gospel of John. Christians should end our 1,000-year civil war by uniting around a mutually respected creed. Or we should at least exhibit an ecumenical spirit in which all major branches of the Church agree to share communion with each other. A united global Church could better lead the world. 

Universalism 1. All beings are created by a single God. Our differences are secondary to our unity through this relationship with deity. The Church is a global institutional community under a single King. All cultural and national identities are of less importance than the identity we share as creatures of God and subjects of Jesus. There is one Creator, one set of truths, and one divine law. Throughout history, many have dreamed of a golden age in which a benevolent philosopher king unites humanity. That dream is being fulfilled through Jesus and his Church. 

Universalism 2. The global order should be organized as a meritocracy of morality, wisdom, and ability. This ideal is supported by the Bible's description of elders and the aspirations of both Western and Eastern philosophers throughout history. Our leaders should be chosen from among the worthy. 

Universalism 3. There should be no legal partiality. We should strive to imitate God, and he is no respecter of persons. The law should apply without partiality regardless of factors related to individual identity. God demands justice, and the rule of law is a basic component of civilization. 

Universalism 4. War should be reinterpreted as policing. The global community under Christ should not conduct war in the old understanding of nations destroying each other in zero-sum competition. We are all children of God. War is justified when crimes against humanity have been committed (as interpreted through Christianity). This understanding of just war was also elaborated by ancient Chinese philosophers within their tianxia world order. 

Sustainability 1. God created man to live in harmony with nature and cultivate it. Nature should not be viewed as something to be exhausted and destroyed to further mankind's Promethean ambitions. Humans should not seek to remove ourselves from nature by creating artificial sterile environments. Studies have shown that interaction with nature is necessary for our psychological well being. 

Sustainability 2. Human society should seek to maintain a fertility rate of at least 2.1. A slightly expanding population fulfills our God given obligation to fill the earth while avoiding the social instability that usually has a negative impact on spiritual development.

Sustainability 3. The Bible, and most ancient literature, assumes the average human lifespan ranges from 70 to 80 years. We should aim for a life expectancy of around 75. Perhaps this is the optimal average length for spiritual development. This range might provide a guideline for the application of financial and medical aid. 

Sustainability 4. The most radical idealistic values are unsustainable. We should accept the limitations of our fallen era and work within them. We should be realistic and use wisdom when applying principles to broad populations. Philosophical liberalism's more extreme expressions of freedom and equality are unsustainable and destructive. The more extreme expressions of freedom undermine the possibility of human cooperation and relationship. The more extreme expressions of equality inspire social paranoia by spreading unattainable expectations. 

Conclusion. The world we should be building might be summed up as a global Church community collectively cultivating a closer relationship with God while caring for his creation. This worldview is largely compatible with a moderate understanding of our liberal world order's values of freedom and equality. What is needed is the reorientation of our present order towards a Christian foundation (rebuilding on a rock). Perhaps the greatest contemporary threat we now face is the spread of philosophical materialism and the closely related consumerist mentality it encourages. This materialism, especially when combined with totalitarian social control, denies humanity the possibility of thinking about God and spiritual development.