2011 - a wish list

My world in 2011 will hopefully show quite a few signs of improvement. Albeit omens readers and political pundits have lots of things to worry about, I continually remind myself that this world, the universe even, is subject to the will of the One who set this 'train' of creation in motion.

No, not all will be bright and promising. I expect more trouble, more earthquakes, more financial meltdowns and upheavals, more political scandals, more religiously motivated terror and violence. And yet:


1. I wish that the major economies of Europe will get back on track, and that the debacles of this and previous years will, somehow, be sorted out. Due to its abortion policies, many European countries are facing grave problems in terms of labour force shortages - both in the short and the long term. But although the governments and politicians in question will have to be held accountable to both God and the various electorates for their sinfulness and crimes against the unborn, I sincerely hope that businesses will boom, and not bust, in 2011.


For all their shortcomings and vanities, the perpetrators of and contributors to the grand social project called the European Union, have secured peace for an hitherto unprecendented period of time. With the exception of the Balkan war in the late 1990s, Europe has not witnessed any major armed conflict on the continent proper since the end of World War 2. That has allowed for stunning growth rates in exceptionally diverse fields of human activity, which in turn e.g. has allowed fo many of the social benefits enjoyed in the present welfare systems around Europe.


EU may yet be facing its worst crises, but I hope and pray that countries, or even the relative tranquility and amicability among former enemies, will not suffer lethal blows in the year to come. Social or military tensions have caused untold misery before when triggered beyond remedy  . We should not want any of that to make an exploding comeback.


2. I wish that agencies, both human and non-human(!), will increasingly be able to successfully forestall and thwart acts of terrorism in the name of Allah or any other god. The carnage and bloodshed in Madrid and London a few years back, present worst case scenarios that, in many ways, are still chillingly plausible as outcomes of the strenuous, perverted efforts of the fanatic few. I can never fully grasp why seemingly well-educated men, and precious few women, will ever want to achieve fame or renown through something as heinous as a suicide attack on innocent bystanders and casual passers-by, but then, again, I have to confess next to total ignorance as to the ideas and forces that motivate them and fuel their hatred.


The growing Muslim populations in Europe and the ever more apparent  failure to integrate them into their various communities, constitute very real challenges. The poisoning suspicion that already lingers in the minds of e.g. ethnic Norwegians and Belgians as to where the loyalties of their Muslim neighbours lie, will hardly be remedied by more bombs being blown up in city centres by people named Hassan or Abdullah. 


It is my conviction, until proven wrong, that the vast majority of Muslims are both politically and religously moderates, and since their presence must be expected to remain indefinitely, it is to be hoped that we can learn to coexist even more smoothly without mutual ignorance and bigotry being erected as insurmountable Berlin walls between us.


3. I wish that the present minority in Europe known as evangelical, or Bible-believing Christians, may learn to both meaningfully interpret, respectfully critique, creatively engage in and persistently contribute towards remedying, the popular cultures around us. For too long have we been hatefully pointing fingers, for too long have we nonsensically rejected works of art that we have not even bothered to understand or acquaint ourselves with. For much too long have we been erecting walls between the things of God and the things of this world, horrifyingly failing to recognise that even the creative arts are both legitimate expressions and logical extensions of the cultural mandate God gave humans.


We were lovingly made in the image of God to subcreate, in the paraphrased words of John Ronald Reuel Tolkien. We possess immense poential and skill to bring into existence wonderful, breath-taking artefacts and artistic expressions. And even if these were not brought into being in the name of God, or with direct, overt references to Jesus, they may still have tremendous value in being able to lift the grieving soul, rejuvenate the lifeless and stagnant heart, and - somehow - bring a certain level of unity into societies burdened with social discord or ethnic antagonism.


Art is not such a bad thing. So why don't we start by taking a closer look in 2011?