2006.07.27
It seems the recent escalation of violence in the middle east has caused rapture-freaks to start drooling in anticipation of Armageddon. Of course psychic or divine foresight doesn't really exist, but I know they will be doing their best to push along a self fulfilling prophecy. They are a large group of people with significant political power who want to end the world in order for their saviour to renew it. Unfortunately for the rest of us there won't be anyone left to say "I told you so" when nothing arises from the nuclear slag.
Besides this real danger of people wanting to make their fantastic interpretations of John's gospel become a reality, there are numerous other psychic and religious nuts predicting the world will end any day. I'm sure if you dig around on the Internet you can find someone saying the world will end next month, another claiming it will happen next year, or maybe in 2012. You could probably find predictions for almost any year to come. The twist is that one of these kooks is going to be right through sheer coincidence.
Consider the large scale extinctions of the past. The dinosaurs were probably killed off by a large asteroid. Another asteroid will hit the Earth again someday. Maybe next year, or maybe in a million years. It is inevitable. Besides asteroids there are numerous other ways for life to end on Earth, including the definite final end in 5 billion years when the sun swells up into a red giant.
Hopefully we will have heeded the advice of people like Stephen Hawking and start spreading out so our species isn't so vulnerable to planetary disasters. But if we don't, at some point there will be that nutty prophet yelling "I told you so!" as fire sweeps across the sky.
--Old blog comments:
July 28th, 2006 at 9:21 am
jer Says:
I’ve been kind of planning for the 2012 end as noted in that ancient Mayan Palm Pilot we found.
Those Mayans were doing amazing things with the mapping and prediction of movement of heavenly bodies back then, it wouldn’t surprise me if they knew when they’d all collide into goo during the Coming of the Great White Hankerchief.
Plus, I love the irony in heeding the message of doom left by an extinct peoples.
-July 28th, 2006 at 3:05 pm
GNBenson Says:
Some say they went extinct, but I say they flew away in that golden condor.