As Lewis points out, prehistoric man is only known to us by his gathering and hunting. But to him, the first civilizations that made artifacts seem superior. Our society, in turn, would look superior to the first civilizations because of the things we make. Lewis calls this the “idolatry of artifacts.”
But what we consider virtue becomes only what science terms the “herd instinct” of man, wherein we watch after our brother. Prehistoric man sins only against society. But the traditional concept of sin became that which is only against God.
God gave man a new consciousness wherein we became rational and aware of things like time passing and were first like Christ. But man became proud when he set himself as separate, falling when he turned from God to man and became a “spoiled species.” Today the fact we are “vermin” (Lewis) is legal fiction.
It’s easy to place our time as above the past, but sin in its essence has not changed since man gained consciousness. All the agendas in error today look on the past as inferior. This in itself is sin. We try to set ourselves apart as something more pure. Pride changes in its details, but not in its essence.
The problem is how to express adherence to the goodness of God in spite of our prideful rebellion.