We face today an unprecendented set of problems relating to The Environment, The Coming One World Order and the ongoing process of Spiritual Decline. We stand at the Abyss, at the steadily approaching threshold of unimaginable chaos, calamity, death and destruction.

This section is about the problems that we, together as the human race, face in present times. It concerns some of the ominous circumstances of the current age that threaten not only the well being of collective humanity but also, perhaps, the very environmental and ecological systems that support life on Earth as we know it today. In another section of the website called 'The Ultimate Solution to the Problems of the World Today', I discuss some of the major inter-dependencies that exist between the problems of the World, and show that there is a central critical problem which if solved, makes possible lasting solutions to all the other problems. But here, we merely summarize and give an overview of the major problems facing humanity and the planet today.

So what are these most significant problems of the World? I find it useful to group these very major issues into three broad categories. We'll here list them in outline and then elaborate upon them more fully. They are firstly, the problems relating to the environment which includes issues relating to ecological destruction, resource depletion and atmospheric change, i.e. Global warming. I also include in this category the problem of over population which exacerbates these environmental issues. Secondly there are the problems relating to the 'Coming One World Order', that is the issues relating to the ongoing integration of humanity into a cohesive whole. We live in a
World of conspiracy, corruption, oppression, exploitation and injustice. A world where the strong and the rich benefit from unfair advantages over the weak and the poor. And a World riddled with division, conflict, terrorism and mutual distrust. The third and last category concerns the spiritual problems of present times. This relates to the issues surrounding the process of secularization and the reaction of religion in the face of the rise of scientific rationalism, i.e. its falling away into Secular Humanism and degeneration into Religious Fundamentalism. We'll now examine each of these categories in more detail.

A Planet in Peril

It is generally acknowledged that in the World today there are potentially calamitous problems relating to environmental destruction, resource depletion, global warming and over population. The natural resources of this planet, its forests, fisheries and crop lands are already being used at such a rate that is unsustainable. We are already using the planets renewable resources faster than what the planet can replenish. This trend is related to the ongoing and accelerating process of species extinction and the destruction of natural habitats such as the tropical rainforests, whole ocean ecosystems, rivers and coastal wet lands. This gradual destruction of the Earths biosphere, its animal and plant species together with their complex webs of self sustenance, is certainly set to continue as human population growth and increased economic activity imposes more pressures on the planetary ecosystem. The Worlds population at an estimated 6 billion people today, is projected to approach 9 billion people as early as 2050. This is coupled with massive growth in economic activity lead by the surging economies of China and India and further boosted by economic growth in the rest of the World as well. If the Planet is already struggling to cope with the demands placed on it by the human race currently, when if we factor in these other considerations, then certainly we are heading for some interesting times. The United Nations Environment Programme and the World Wildlife Fund for Nature issued a joint report in 2000 that said, 'The World's seas, freshwaters, forests and croplands are being exploited at such a rate that nothing will be left by 2075'.

Global Warming

Another major problem that looms on the horizon and one that probably already upon us and exerting it effects, is phenomenon of Global Warming. It can be argued endlessly whether Global Warming is man made or whether it's a naturally occurring phenomenon, however the empirical evidence certainly shows that Global Warming is indeed occurring. This is made manifest in the melting glaciers and polar ice caps, the increase in hurricane activity (with category 4 and 5 hurricanes, the most intense, doubling in frequency over the past 50 years), changing rainfall patterns and of course the actual increases in measured surface temperatures.

The majority verdict of the scientific community points towards the notion that Global Warming is at least partly man made and brought about through the emissions of so called green house gases such as methane and carbon dioxide, which cause the Earths atmosphere to retain more heat. Also based on computer climate models, it is projected that Global Warming while continue with potentially dire consequences for vast numbers of people living on this planet. These predictions vary with the best case scenarios describing temperatures rises of 1 or 2 degrees centigrade coupled with sea level rises of 80cm or so. Other models predict temperature rises of 3 to 5 degrees centigrade coupled with sea level rises of 7m! At the extreme end we find truly doomsday scenarios where the Earth's atmosphere is changed to such an extent that it becomes similar to that of the planet Venus, with surface temperatures above the boiling point of water 100 degrees together with and sulfuric acid rain. Though seemingly far fetched, the World reknowned scientist Stephen Hawking cited this scenario as a distinct future possibility.

Even without considering these future predictions we are already being affected by climate change in way that is detrimental to human life and well being. It is estimated that over 27,000 died as a direct result of the 2003 freak heat wave that was experienced over Western Europe. The deaths that have resulted from crop failures in The Third World brought about as an indirect consequence of climate change may number into the millions.

Water Scarcity

A problem that is related to Global Warming concerns the availability of waters resources to the Worlds people. It has been estimated by the United Nations that due to population growth, pollution and Global Warming the average person's water supply will be cut by a third over the next 20 years. This would be a major inconvenience in the developed and industrialized countries but in the Third World where 90% of the water supply is used for agriculture, this trend is disastrous. Even in Australia which at the time of writing, is in a drought that has lasted 6 years, is facing the ruin of large swathes of its agricultural industry. It has been said by strategists that in the future wars will be fought over water, this most essential of requirements for sustaining life. For instance, King Abdullah of Jordan has said ‘future potential conflict in our area is not over land, it is over water.' It is a certainty that the problems deriving from water scarcity will increase sharply over the years to come.

Problems of the Coming One World Order

Without a doubt, like no time before in recorded history, the World is becoming one place. This phenomenon is variously labeled the Global Village, the process of Globalization or the Coming One World Order. It is characterized by an integration and coming together of all the spheres of human activity around the World through trade, economic integration, political union and cultural exchange. This process of the coming together of humanity is facilitated by modern technologies such as the Internet, the Jumbo Jet and the other facets of the World logistical transport and communication system, which is gradually making into a single entity the entire human race.

However this coming togetherness of humanity is accompanied by a host of difficulties and seemingly intractable problems that derive partly from cultural, ideological and religious differences, but also from the perceived injustices of this World, its iniquity and the exploitative nature of some international relationships. Though humanity is coming together, we still live in World of ideological and religious differences, mutual distrust and enmity. A World of racial and ethnic disharmony and one characterized by massive disparities in wealth and availability or access to the basic resources needed to sustain human life. These are the roots that give rise to some of the problems of the Coming One World Order.

Global Terrorism

So for instance we have the problem of Global Terrorism which has been called the shadow of the process of Globalization. As the World is becoming one place, so it is that the effects of Terrorism have global effects. Also it may be understood that the causes of this Global Terrorism are likewise Global in nature, with disaffected individuals and groups caught up in ideologies of global scope and participating in causes that transcend international and even inter-continental barriers. We see this particularly in the Muslim world, where issues in Palestine, Bosnia, Afghanistan or Iraq can mobilize people on the other side of the World to want to make interventions. This process is followed by international powers such as the United States, which in order to protect its people and economic interests, is compelled to make its own global interventions to counteract perceived threats and in the process perhaps exacerbating the problems these measures were designed to remedy in the first place.

Globalization and Problems of Economic Integration

A major facet of Globalization is the massive increases in international trade that we have witnessed in recent years. This process has been encouraged by institutions such as the World Trade Organization, boosted by regional trading blocks such as the European Union, the North American Free Trade Agreement, the ASEAN(Association of South East Asian Nations) and further facilitated by trade agreements between individual nations. The benefits of international trade are many, i.e. competition, lower consumer prices, increased consumer choice and the increased availability of goods and services.

So generally speaking international free trade is a good thing. There are however problems which accompany this increased global flow of goods, services, ideas and people. Even though international trade benefits the vast majority of people in this World overall, there will at the same time be winners and losers. In a globally competitive market place some firms, those that have the most attractive products and services, will see an increase in business. While those with products and services that are less appealing to the consumer will see decreases in demand for their output and will be forced to improve, diversify or else go under. Also the same is true for entire nations. Countries which have established entire industries in for example coal mining, car manufacture or certain types of agricultural produce, may find these sectors of their economies under threat in a World market. Other nations may enjoy competitive advantages in these industries which allow them to produce more efficiently, more cheaply or to a higher standard, thus enabling them to win out in the market place. This competitive pressure is often cited as one of the benefits as firms and corporations focus their efforts on making their products and services better. The winner of this process is the consumer on a local, national and international level. However there are limits to how far individual firms and certain industries of specific nations are able to compete and so inevitably firms will go bankrupt and countries may have entire industrial sectors decimated. This results in painful transitions and people losing their jobs. Sometimes the effects can be severe causing mass unemployment and serious social upheaval.

One of the direct results of globalization and the international market is the flow of labour around the world as people migrate to find work. This mass migration of people is made up of those people going to countries where their skills are most in demand and those people who are escaping poverty and countries with high unemployment. This is accompanied by problems of labour exploitation and difficulties arising from the integration of guest workers into foreign lands. Also friction can emerge from the competition for jobs and resources such as housing, between local populations and the migrants.

There are many other problems relating to the planet wide economic integration. But it is beyond the scope of this article to going all of these in any depth. A brief list of these issues might include things like unfair trade practices, tariffs, quotas and government subsides.

The Global Conspiracy

We'll now talk about another major issue in relation to the Coming One World Order. It concerns the distinct possibility that all of humanity is being brought together into an all encompassing and planet wide tyranny. This is a serious problem if the entire human race is brought under the control of a tiny self serving minority at the expense of individual freedoms and the greater good of the majority. The modern economic system is one where the rich tend to become even richer and further consolidate and extend their economic power through the exercising of political power. In a World where political power is increasingly self serving, gained through financial power and used for financial gain. Then certainly it is true that economic power also buys political power. It would seem that we are perhaps heading towards a corrupt One World tyranny. headed by a dynastic elite, who may one day have total control over the political, judicial, economic, law enforcement and military institutions of the World; perhaps even key religious ones as well.

This may seem the stuff of conspiracy theories but without a doubt economic and political advantage is gained through unscrupulous and devious means which have to kept secret from the wider public. For example through the creation of wars accompanied by sale of arms and/or financing of these conflicts; through the over throw of foreign governments followed by the installation of 'friendly' regimes and also through the formation of secret societies and cabals which serve the interests of its members at the expense of the common good. However it is true that part of the human make up is a certain fixation on power, influence and status. And certainly humans spend a lot of time, energy and resource to come up with ways and means to gain power of over other humans. So if we take this human tendency, extrapolate it to a global scale and take it to its logical conclusion, then it is not unreasonable to conjecture that there are those who, if given the opportunity, would like to rule the World. Also given that the World is gradually becoming one economically and politically integrated unit, together with all the ingenious, corrupt and conspiratorial means through which power made be obtained, extended and consolidated; then an evil self serving World tyranny is definitely a distinct possibility.

The Spiritual Problems of the World

We turn now to consider some of the difficulties of this World relating to matters of religion and spirituality. Of course all through history there have always been problems associated with religion. What makes the present situation unique are the unprecedented conditions which have come about through the equally unprecedented rise of Scientific Rationalism over the past few centuries, accompanied by emergence of the modern technological age. Taken together with the Coming One World Order and the environmental/ecological problems of this World, these then are circumstances in which the Religions of this World find themselves. So we'll be talking about the spiritual problems that have arisen from this overall context.

Secularization

The rise of Scientific Rationalism and the emergence of the modern technological age have in turn instigated a process that sociologists call Secularization. This is characterized by a falling away from religion and an increased tendency towards Atheism and Agnosticism, i.e. an increase in the number of people who no longer believe in God or else don't know one way or the other. So in various parts of the World we have seen a decrease in the numbers of people who would consider themselves religious in any sense of the word. The rise of Scientific Rationalism can be seen as a challenge to traditionally held assumptions about life, the World, existence and even morality. This has lead to a state of affairs sometimes referred to as the Postmodern Condition, which is characterized by a sense of uncertainty, nihilism ,meaninglessness, doubt in traditional values and also a certain feeling of malaise. The age of reason and the advancement of science has led to the abandonment of many of the beliefs and tacit assumptions that made life meaningful and gave a sense of purpose to a lot of people. Some of these beliefs especially in the religious context also gave people a sense of security and a certain comfort. At the same time, while these existing beliefs became discarded, nothing satisfactory came along to replace them. Science gave us a cold and sterile clockwork Universe and the loving creator God was replaced by Darwin's Theory of Evolution working through the process of Natural Selection with nature all red in tooth and claw. Ourselves the chance outcome of a long series of cumulative changes brought about through random mutations in our genetic material. The scientific world view is one devoid of purpose, ultimate meaning and one with no room for traditional ideas about God.

Spiritual Longing and the 'God shaped hole'

It was the French Existentialist philosopher Sartre who coined the term 'The God shaped hole'. It describes an essential aspect of our being that demands some sort of relationship and understanding of the eternal and transcendent. It cannot satisfied with worldly success, material possessions or Scientific Rationalism. When this need isn't met then we are left with a feeling of incompleteness, unease and lack of fulfillment. Religion was famously described as the 'opium of the people' by Karl Marx, but it is also perhaps a very necessary balm for easing some of the pain, anxiety and suffering of the human condition.

In recent times, study after study has demonstrated the power that religion has to help people cope with stress and adversity. Many psychiatrists and psychologists have come to accept that having a religious belief is one of the best predictors for people making a full recovery from clinical depression. Furthermore it is recognized that being actively involved in a religious faith is also an important factor that help prevent people from becoming clinically depressed in the first place. The celebrated psycho-analyst Carl Gustav Jung once said that the primary cause at the heart of many of his patient's mental problems was a lack of a religious outlook. The World Health Organization estimated a few years back that in a world of 6 billion people, perhaps 1.2 billion or so were suffering from a diagnosable psychiatric problem at any one time. Most of these will be stress and anxiety related. Could this be partly symptomatic of the the process of secularization and the malaise of the post modern condition? In years to come when the people of the World are faced with the accumulating problems of this planet then surely the need to fill the 'God shaped hole' will become more and more apparent. And here lies the cause of another spiritual problem of the present age. It has to do with all the alternatives that humankind has dreamed up to satisfy our spiritual longing.

The New age and Occult

With the abandonment of many of the tradition religious beliefs held by a great many of the people it is natural, considering the spiritual needs humans have, that new ideas should emerge to take their place. The past few centuries have witnessed a rapid proliferation in the number of new religious movements, sects and cults. The weakening hold that traditional religious institutions have had over people as a direct result of the challenge of Scientific Rationalism, has led to opportunities for new world views and beliefs to flourish. While from the time of the Enlightenment onwards, many have opted for an Atheistic Secular Humanist outlook, at the same time many others have rejected this world view absent of spirit and devoid of God. Instead this longing for an alternative spirituality has led to the popularity of the New Age, the Occult and other spiritual movements in the form of fringe Cults. There is diversity here that is myriad and would comprise things like Theosophy, Swedenborgianism, Scientology, Moonies, Witchcraft, Wicca, UFO cults, Satanism to Magic, Fairies and Crystals energies. While benefit may be derived by some of the adherents of these sorts of beliefs at the same time all that glitters isn't gold. While religion and the spiritual outlook has always involved a degree of suspension of disbelief and an openness to unexplained mysteries taken on faith, some of ideas making the rounds on the New Age circuit or the world of Cults, lend credence to statement by the writer G. K. Chesterton who famously said that, 'When a man stops believing in God then he doesn't believe in nothing, he believes in anything'.

Religious Fundamentalism

Another of the spiritual problems of the modern age I'd like to discuss now is something of an opposing response to the process of Secularization brought about by the rise of Scientific Rationalism. We are talking about the rise of Religious Fundamentalism particularly in Christianity in the West and in Islam in the Middle East. If the New Age and the rise of various Cults is characterized by a search for alternatives then Religious Fundamentalism may be seen as a retrenchment and an attempt to maintain the status quo, indeed to preserve the past. If the discoveries of science and the onset of the age of reason forced a reassessment of religion, its ideas, institutions, rituals and beliefs; then Religious Fundamentalism is a total denial that there is anything amiss with existing assumptions and long held articles of faith. It is reaffirmation of traditional dogma and an unwillingness the question existing tenets, in resistence to the progression of modernity and the steady advancement of human understanding.

Indeed Religious Fundamentalism goes much further than merely insisting on the preservation of existing religious doctrines. In many cases Religious Fundamentalism asserts a literal reading of scripture as the absolute truth without any room for flexibility of interpretation. So for instance a Fundamentalist Christian will more often than not believe in the idea that the World was literally created in 6 days and that there was literally a Garden of Eden where lived Adam and Eve and from whom every human being alive today is descended. It is a view of religious scripture which does not recognize the usage of allegory or metaphor in the conveying spiritual and metaphysical ideas, and certainly not in the respective texts of the Fundamentalists i.e. Bible, Koran etc. This Literalism is also combined with a belief in the infallibility of canonical religious writings. The Religious Fundamentalist sees books like the Bible or Koran as the direct words of God without any recognition of human mediation and therefore unaffected by human imperfection. This Literalism, the literal interpretation of religious scripture as the infallible word of God, because of its denial of allegorical or hidden meanings, is therefore also a denial of the higher truths contained within the World's religions. Instead put in the place of higher truth are the fantasies and fairy tales which were really invented to suggest indirectly these transcendent truths about ourselves and God. This situation is akin to an unwavering fixation on the finger instead of the object towards which the finger is pointing. In this way the Religious Fundamentalist may be ever hearing but never understanding and ever seeing but never perceiving.

It has been suggested that the rise of Religious Fundamentalism derives from a need in people for certainty in reaction to the metaphysical doubts, moral uncertainties and questions raised by the rise of scientific rationalism. So instead of a questioning of faith and revision of dogma in the response to scientific discoveries and a rational analysis of religion, we find in Religious Fundamentalism a strict adherence to what are believed to be certain and infallible views derived from religious scripture. This is as discussed earlier. Religious Fundamentalism is therefore characterized by a complete rejection of any revisionism. In fact quite the opposite, we see a desire to return to the 'Fundamentals' of a religion, those ideas, customs and moral percepts which are deemed by the Religious Fundamentalists to form the original basis of their religion as they see it. What is more, sometimes in its extreme form, Religious Fundamentalism manifests itself as a backward retrogression, which seeks to turn back time and to practice a certain religion as it is imagined to have been practiced at around the time of the original Founder. So a case in point is the Fundamentalist movement in Islam called Wahabi'ism. This highly puritanical sect in it tenets and codes of behaviour, tries to recreate Islam as it was at the time of Muhammad, rejecting all innovations and later additions to the faith. The irony here is that to a large degree, the teachings of Muhammad were progressive and forward looking as it is generally the case for all the great spiritual teachers. Seen in this light Religious Fundamentalism can therefore be the very antithesis of what is one of the purposes of religion, i.e. the advancement of humankind towards perfection. Also where true religion is characterized by tolerance, compassion and peace, all too often Religious Fundamentalism is characterized by intolerance, enmity and conflict. So it is that Religious Fundamentalism, while giving some of its adherents a sense of certainty, purpose and reassurance, at the same time can work against the ideals of progress, harmony and integration.

Taken together these spiritual problems of the present age, i.e the falling away from religion into Atheism, the emergence of Religious Fundamentalism and the degeneration of spirituality into certain aspects of the New Age and the world of Cults, can be seen as a general decline in World religion. The age of reason and the rise of secular humanism has brought with it an age of spiritual darkness, as characterized by the process of Secularization, the rise of Religious Fundamentalism, Cults and fringe Sects; along with the superficiality, not to mention the crass commercialism, of the New Age.

This concludes our survey in outline, of the major problems of the World today. I continue related discussions on this subject matter in a section of the website titled, 'The Ultimate Solution to the Problems of the World today', click link to see.

The Worlds problems in relation to the Prophecies contained in Worlds major Religions

We have just presented a survey of some of the major problems of this World today. We have so far discussed problems that fit into three broad categories, firstly the problems relating to the environment and World ecosystem, secondly the problems concerning the coming One World Order and thirdly the spiritual problems of the current age. Of course it would be quite an undertaking to present a exhaustive list of the Worlds problems. What we have tried to do is to describe some of those problems which are most global in scope. We could also include issues such as Nuclear Proliferation or the emergence of super viruses and the their potential for causing pandemics that could kill many millions of people.

However there is a reason why I have chosen to concentrate on the topics just covered. It has to do with the fact that the problems we have discussed earlier are also unprecedented conditions of the World. i.e. The coming One World Order, a planet in peril and the state of World Religion, are all special and unique to present times. Obviously the process of globalization is unprecedented and quite a phenomenon of the age. And no time before in recorded history has the planet's environment and ecosystem hung in such a threatened or depleted state. And the situation we find today in the state of World religion is unprecedented because its cause, i.e. the rise of scientific rationalism, is likewise unprecedented. Sure enough, all through human history, the Worlds religions have had their ups and downs but never before has the downer been so universal.

So the three categories into which we have placed some of the major problems of the World are also the special, unique and unprecedented issues of the age. But it is also a highly uncanny coincidence that these special circumstances also have a great degree of correspondence with certain prophecies contained in just about all the great religions of the World, from Christianity to Islam and from Hinduism to Buddhism. That is it seems as if the unique and unprecendented conditions of the World today, the coming One World Order, A Planet in peril and the universal decline of true religion, have been foretold in the prophecies of the major religions. This subject is explored systematically and in much more detail, in the section of this website called 'The Prophecies are now'.