"Progress is not a conveyor belt fueled by time." -- C.R. Wiley, Man of the House
Things do not get better merely by being left alone. In fact, it is the opposite: things left to themselves get worse. The Rule of Rust and Decay faithfully keeps its promises and the Law of Entropy wears everything out. Drift only runs in the direction of decay and destruction.
Going forward in time does not produce forward motion. Going ahead is not getting ahead. Progressing in time does not progress achieve.
We are often encouraged or consoled by the fact of our progress. But one must stop to ask, "Progressing toward what?" and "Progressing out of what?"
Time is merely a measurement; it is not a catalyst. In other words, time accomplishes nothing.
"Mark Twain is reported to have said, 'History doesn't repeat itself, but it does rhyme.' Here's the promise of this book: If our problems rhyme with problems faced by people in the past, maybe the solutions do too." -- C.R. Wiley, Man of the House
Things do not usually happen exactly the same way a second time, but they do share many similar traits as the first time around. If Twain's observation is correct, the past provides data points from which we can decipher the present and predict the future.
Postmillennialism contends that things are getting better, but not by mere happenstance. It does not ignorantly assume that time passing produces better results. It is not optimistic about the future because time heals all wounds, but because a living God is actively accomplishing His purposes in perpetuating His kingdom to increasing degrees. He not only overcomes the Rule of Rust and Decay and the Law of Entropy, He usurps them, and creates real forward momentum despite a sin-soaked world clamoring for the contrary.
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