Looking at the world as it appears today, it is hard not to be seized by an eschatological terror. As we enter a new phase of the 'information age', one that may be dominated by A1, the hype about the potential for human progress is counterpointed by what looks, to a keen observer, like a new age of decline.

I have written before about the most obvious areas of concern - climate change and it's uncertain consequences, nuclear arms, the breakdown of the post-war consensus, the demise of social mores and so forth. 

Never let it be said that I am a prophet of doom - for I am not - but if you add all the natural disasters that are upon us - earthquakes, volcanoes, tsunami, bushfires, floods ( I could go on) - then it would take a true Panglossian to make a case for long-term human thriving. There are tipping points as far as the eye can see.

From a Christian point of view, this was all foreshadowed in Scripture. The exact nature and timing of 'the end' is a mystery, entirely in the hands of God. But we are told to watch out for the signs. They seem to be plentiful, though one should be careful not to be self-deceiving.