Once again, we have to parse the problem with our question before we can answer it. Do you see the premise that’s implied? Because humanity is progressing… the need for God is diminishing.

Can we see progress in human history? Certainly! No question that people alive today enjoy more comfort, security, and entertainment than at any other point in history. Progress in scientific understanding and innovation – progress in medicine, in technology, in transportation, in agriculture – progress even in artificial intelligence and space exploration is obvious.

Evaluating Progress

But… has all this progress really brought humanity greater health, freedom, and happiness? A glance at statistics on ever-increasing prevalence of addictions, suicides, and mental illnesses suggests otherwise – as do statistics on violent crime and social fragmentation. And that’s just looking at wealthy, first world statistics. Start evaluating where the third world is in terms of infant mortality, literacy, and life expectancy, and “progress” is not such an automatic assumption to make about our historic trajectory.

As I write this, in April of 2021, the global pandemic of COVID 19 still has much of the world in a death grip. The inability of human “progress” to contain or mitigate this massive loss of life and productivity surely makes the case for re-thinking humanity’s need for God.

A troubling historical angle: claims of inexorable historical progress and the perfectibility of human society were behind all the great totalitarian movements of the 20^th century, from the Nazis to the Chinese Communists. Hitler, Stalin, and Mao Zedong were all ruthless “optimists”, bent on “perfecting” civilization and achieving their versions of “Heaven on earth”. Clearly, relying on human ingenuity / human “progress” to achieve utopian results has a truly sinister track record!

One could also argue that while humanity is making positive progress in many areas, it is progressing equally powerfully in its destructive capacities. (In the twentieth century, this dichotomy can be clearly traced in the millions of lives saved via antibiotics and vaccines vs. the millions of lives lost to war and genocide.)

Results are Mixed

So, while a statement about human progress is not totally inaccurate, it is misleading to characterize human progress as wholly positive. We can see human tendencies toward self-destruction progressing, too.

For a Christian, the inevitable conclusion that humanity cannot ever “save itself” through “progress” alone points us, in hope, to Jesus. For Christians, the truth of God and humanity revealed in scripture explains our predicament and offers us a way out (the way – Jesus – the One who simply invites us to “follow” Him). And for non-Christians on quests for meaning and purpose, the insufficiency of human progress can be a catalyst for exploring Jesus’s claims.