Did you ever sit and watch ants scurrying about? They are tiny creatures and most of us regard them as nothing but pests. We certainly do not invite them to our picnics or into our homes. Did these tiny insects evolve, or were they created by a brilliant Designer?

I still remember once seeing a cartoon that summed up an interesting trend in Western society. It showed four children playing on a park bench with their tablets and devices, with a desolate playground in the background. The caption read, “children playing.” This satire illustrates a stark and troubling phenomenon. In our desire to virtually connect through technology, it seems as we are going offline to reality.

An October 16, 2015 The Week magazine article titled, “Smartphones: Changing us for the worse?” describes this phenomenon:

“For the first time in EU history, defence ministers unanimously decided to activate the ‘mutual defence clause’ of the EU treaty. ‘France is requesting help and assistance from Europe. And today all Europe, united, answers yes’... ‘The European Union expressed its strongest, full support and readiness to provide all the aid and assistance asked for and needed.’ French president Francois Hollande had invoked article 42.7 of the EU treaty in an address to the parliament Monday.

In the wake of the Paris attacks, Pope Francis referred to the actions of terrorists as “a piece…of a Third World War” (The Washington Examiner, November 14, 2015).

Last weekend’s carnage in Paris was devastating and sobering. Watching people suffer who are made in the image of the Almighty God (Genesis 1:26) should sadden everyone. The day after the attacks, the Islamic State (IS) redistributed a video that contained threats against France and “called on French Muslims to carry out attacks” (Reuters, November 14, 2015). The message to France was, “As long as you keep bombing you will not live in peace.