Change is an inevitability of life. It is what provides life with the energy that most people seek in their days, their experiences and their memories. Change is a fundamental reality of everyone’s life that keeps the world in motion (Bishop & Hines, 2012). Though social change does not garner the same attention as social structures (Bishop & Hines, 2012), it impacts every individual on a daily basis in regards to how they see their world, make decisions, and interpret the result of those decisions. Though it may not be recognizable in modern times, the roots of understanding social change come from a deep Biblical worldview (Fraser & Campolo, 1992).
So, it would be fitting to try and understand the 10 social theories from a Christian perspective rather than simply a secular one. For instance, the Progress Theory views social change from the perspective that today’s society is better than past societies and the future will be an improvement of the present (Bishop & Hines, 2012), however, a biblical worldview understands that the nature of fallen man guarantees that mankind will deteriorate outside of a relationship with God over time leading to a decline of society as a whole. On the other hand, Culture Theory assumes that society is a result of the culture of the people and that as the ideas of the people evolve or devolve, then culture reflects those ideas and impacts how society operates (Bishop and Hines, 2012). At the core of a biblical worldview is the perspective that it is the changing of one’s mind that steers one’s life (Rom. 12:2) and impacts the world around it (Jn. 3:16).
Change is inevitable, but what kind of change is optional. The more our choices are understood in regards to the change we experience, the more meaningful our choices can become.
References
Bishop, P., & Hines, A. (2012). Social change. In Teaching about the future. New York, N.Y: Palgrave Macmillan.
Fraser, D. A., & Campolo, A. (1992). Sociology through the eyes of faith (1st ed). San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco.
Field Notes 