“In the year 2525, if man is still alive, if woman can survive, they may find …….”
The opening lyrics of this song by Zager and Evans have stuck with me for years. “In the Year 2525” is a song about the journey of mankind over a 10,000-year span. It foretells how man’s thoughts, relationships and bodies might be impacted.
The song was released in 1969 (yes! 56 years ago) – and became a one-hit-wonder, number 1 single. Like all good songs, the lyrics are thought provoking; will we need our teeth when all our food becomes processed or in tablet form, will machines replace what we do with our arms and legs, will our children be produced in a test tube? And, if God is coming, will He be pleased where man has been “or tear it down and start again”?
Here we are in January 2025 – 500 years short of 2525.
What do you think life will be like then? Will events which are taking place during our tenure, affect others in years to come? What should we be doing with our currently knowledge and technology now to protect the future.
A quick look backwards 500 years might help us to reflect.
It’s 1525! Viewers of Wolf Hall on BBC will know where this puts us in England! Henry VIII was on the throne, and he is coming towards the end of his marriage to Catherine of Aragon. Anne Boleyn will shortly be in his sights.
Life in Tudor England was hard: disease and starvation were daily risks, Infant mortality was high, and, at 40, people were considered to have reached a ripe old age. The cloth trade was dominant and over 80% of exports were thought to have been wool. Many people worked on the land and used horses and carts for transport. Food was mainly wheat and dairy based.
In the following 500 years to current day, do you think that people at that time would have predicted our technological advances?
Steam power, the Industrial Revolution, electricity, fuel powered vehicles, diet, hygiene and medicines, computers, a man on the moon, mobile phones ………
What a ride we have been on!
Looking forward into 2025, how can we develop and apply technology to the important questions of our day? Some say tackle global warming, others eradicate poverty; human rights and justice, an end to warfare, are yet other opportunities.
The answer is that we just don’t know but we can work towards a better future in small steps, with God’s guidance.
“For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope” – Jeremiah 29:11
Have a happy and joyful new year!