Why Can't We Heed the Human Calling? "Human beings are in danger of being devastated by the monster of human ability. They are not able to close the Pandora's box they opened with the combination of the market system and modern technology.".

• Author: He, Daofeng
• Position: MIND & BODY

FOR ALMOST the last 200 years, the cult of science and technology has pitted science against faith in God. The majority of those who promote this cult are people with no scientific achievements. They explain everything in human life through their fragmented understandings of technology and gradually abandon belief in God's reason because of problems with certain religious organizations. In their view, humans are no different from a toxoplasma or even bacteria, just a result of biological mutation and the law of the jungle. In so-called evolution, "We are all mutants."

This extreme materialism brings human civilization down to a despicable level, sapping people of their respect for human life and resulting in general suspicion and the decline of spiritual understanding of God's absolute truth and infinite authority. As a result, human thought and behavior are caught up in the tidal wave of absolute individualism and utilitarian secularism, with the bombardment of media advertising and the pressure of market competition. They value themselves not because they are part of humankind in its uniqueness, but simply because their body wants to keep living. The purpose and meaning of life do not matter.

This extreme individualism led by extreme materialism ultimately brings about confusion and loss of the human calling. People lose their self-discipline, self-motivation, and self-affirmation when they lose their spiritual direction.

On the surface, it may seem that people are growing more and more knowledgeable about technology. Yet, we are obsessed with constant communication and interaction with others over smartphones. Solely considering the amount of information, an adult can store no more than 10% of what an iPhone stores. This fragmented information occupies almost every second of people's lives--they do not have a moment of silence in order to be still and immerse themselves in the divine light. They lose their ability to think logically about the meaning of life, as well as their original connection with God, depriving them of the ability to distinguish between right and wrong.

When relationships lack the guidance of the sacred and authoritative relationship between humanity and God, more people stop exercising self-discipline, self-motivation, and self-affirmation through the human calling, and the constraint on human duty by collective morality as advocated by ethicists weakens. Some governments try to act as moral exemplars for society, but their grand attempts only expose the hypocrisy and corruption of social morality. In the end, they are trampled by their lower desires and instincts.

In such a society, everyone claims to work scientifically and live morally. Everyone...