Atheists and believers: is the world getting 'better' or 'worse'?

Neither getting better nor worse in some respects. Why?

1. Wars still plague the planet.

2. There is still poverty.

3. There is still disease.

4. There is still pestilence.

5. There is still famine.

6. There is still drought.

7. There is still natural disasters.

Improvements have come with a price:

1. There has been vast industrialization which has led to an improvement in technologies.

2. The wheel is still round.

3. There is pollution.

4. There is the possibility of thermonuclear warfare.

5. People are still at heart selfish, greedy, and abusive.

Regression has occurred here:

1. People are dumbing down.

2. There is a trend towards the least common denominator.

3. There is another trend towards a new form of feudalism -- oligarchy.

4. Oligarchy prefers globalism which makes it easier to exploit the masses.

5. True democracy and republican forms of government in tandem exist in theory but in practice they are extensions of globalism and oligarchy.

6. Capitalism does not exist the way it should because oligarchy runs the world and therefore, oligarchs manipulate supply and demand.

7. Local economies have suffered at the hands of global economies.

8. Barter is no longer a way of life.

9. Gold and Silver as base metals have been replaced by paper money which is backed by paper figures called a GDP or GNP depending. And paper money has been subjected to speculation far worse than base metals.

10. There is a trend by speculators to hoard vital commodities, thus driving prices up beyond the reach of average people, which causes a bubble to burst, which in turn increases real-time poverty by fifty percent while the oligarchs continue to consolidate ownership of the resources such that the top 1 percent control 40 percent of all the wealth.

This was the case during Babylon, Ancient Egypt, Rome, and all the eras of empire building. So we are regressing back to the age of empires, but in a slightly different way. Instead of gold, silver and slavery being the means to control, it is now paper money and poverty as a means to control.

I noticed something very interesting when I read through the replies. This is completely based on my observation in this post; that Believers tend to think the world more as something negative and Atheists tend to think it's more positive. Most of the world is based on how we see it, and our beliefs can hold a big part of that.

For example, the current topic in the US and also many places around the world is gay marriage. While many see this as a step in the right direction in society, others think it is a step in the wrong direction. So a lot of it is what people think is good and what people think is bad. Personally I think the world is getting better.

I'm not an atheists, but I'm also not a Believer in the sense you would think of. I think that we are all equals. I believe in the after-life but not in the sense that there is some ruler that is better then everyone else that judges others. So I don't believe in God in the definition as a ruler or supreme being.

Though there are a lot of deviations, I'd say that overall the world is getting better. Technology and medical knowledge has advanced incredibly quickly. Economically the world is improving. We are on the verge of expansion into space and exploration of our galaxy. We've discovered new elements and cleaner ways to run our entire planet. I'd say that this shows we've dramatically improved as a species

I'm an atheist.

I'm an atheist.

The world is going far better because now people have better mind, there is less racism, segregation, bullies, etc..

And this is good, and now we take care of planet/animals.

I think the world is going better each day :)

When people say this is going worse, they think people are mean, etc... But if we go back in the 60s', people were just asshole all around the world...

I'm a believer and I think its getting worse. I think the fight over religion and laws,based on religion/non religion will eventually create a civil war in America and religion will either be made illegal or we will be forced to follow one religion. As for the rest of the world, they are already having battles and such over religion.

Worse with Wars, Unsustainability, Overpopulation, Pollution, Land Degradation that is what will be the Earths Downfall and the Comments of those who say it "Will not bother them all this as they Won't be Here" then proceed to go home to their Children ?

Here is an example of "things getting worse" referenced from 2005. I am sure you will agree in the past 8 years, alone, things have gotten even worse from then.

"Nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom.” (Matthew 24:7) Millions of people have been killed in wars during the past century. One British historian wrote: “The 20th century was the most murderous in recorded history.…It was a century of almost unbroken war, with few and brief periods without organised armed conflict somewhere.” A report from the Worldwatch Institute states: “Three times as many people fell victim to war in [the 20th] century as in all the wars from the first century AD to 1899.” More than 100 million people have died as a result of wars since 1914. Even if we know the sorrow of losing one loved one in warfare, we can only imagine such misery and pain multiplied millions of times over.

“There will be food shortages.” (Matthew 24:7) Researchers say that food production has increased greatly during the past 30 years. Nevertheless, food shortages continue because many people do not have enough money to buy food or land on which to raise crops. In developing countries, well over a billion people have to live on an income of a dollar or less a day. The majority of these suffer from chronic hunger. The World Health Organization estimates that malnutrition plays a major role in the deaths of more than five million children each year.

“There will be great earthquakes.” (Luke 21:11) According to the U.S. Geological Survey, since 1990 alone an average of 17 earthquakes per year have been powerful enough to damage buildings and crack the ground. And on an average, earthquakes strong enough to cause total destruction of buildings have occurred yearly. Another source states: “Earthquakes have claimed hundreds of thousands of lives in the last 100 years and improvements in technology have only slightly reduced the death toll.”

“There will be…pestilences.” (Luke 21:11) Despite medical advances, old and new diseases plague mankind. One report says that 20 well-known diseases—including tuberculosis, malaria, and cholera—have become more common in recent decades, and some types of disease are increasingly difficult to cure by means of drugs. In fact, at least 30 new diseases have appeared. Some of them have no known cure and are fatal.

Aside from identifying certain world developments, the Bible foretold that the last days would be marked by a change in human society. The apostle Paul described what people in general would be like. At 2 Timothy 3:1-5, we read: “In the last days critical times hard to deal with will be here.” In part, Paul said that people would be

-lovers of themselves

-lovers of money

-disobedient to parents

-disloyal

-having no natural affection

-without self-control

-fierce

-lovers of pleasures rather than lovers of God

-having a form of godly devotion but proving false to its power

Have people become like that in your community? No doubt they have. There are people everywhere who have bad traits. This shows that God will soon act, for the Bible says: “When the wicked ones sprout as the vegetation and all the practicers of what is hurtful blossom forth, it is that they may be annihilated forever.”—Psalm 92:7."

The world is getting worse. The Bible states that in the last days perilous times shall come.

1 This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come.

2 For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,

3 Without natural affection, truce breakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good,

4 Traitors, heady, high minded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God;

5Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away. (2 Timothy 3:1).

Jesus said that the world will be so bad, if things continued that no flesh would be left. But for the sake of the elect those day will be shortened.

In antiquity we did not have the means to destroy the whole world so that there would have been total self-annihilation. Today we have nuclear weapons that can destroy the world many times over.

There is also HARP in Alaska that can control the weather, control man's mind, create earthquakes and probably destroy the world.

Jesus was right, he wants you to be prepared for his coming. That is why he has given signs. The key to being prepared for the Rapture is holiness and repentance.

What you consider evil, someone else could easily consider good. I would stay that it has stayed the same. From a Christian perspective many here in American are pulling away from the faith. We would view this as bad. However, many in other countries like China are hungry for the gospel and the faith is growing rather quickly. This is good.

Worse. Evidence?

Look around at the world you live in, there is not enough room to list it all here!