The Media and the Apocalypse (Earth, America, Revelation, prophecy)

[finalfrogo]

The Daily Show recently showed how so many news stations are talking about the Apocalypse and how Christians are asking if the Apocalypse is coming. It's formulating the idea that lots of Christians think the Apocalypse is coming soon. Why is the media focusing on the Apocalypse? How many people actually believe the Apocalypse is coming soon? Do you personally believe the Apocalypse will be arriving soon?

I think this site is ridiculous: http://www.raptureready.com/rap2.html

It's funny how the site includes Liberalism. Yes, Liberalism will bring the end of days.

[Krie]

even if it did it would just lead to a new begining. even if you destroy the world you can not destroy the energies that the world holds. the energy would gradually repair what has been lost. and the world will be reborn in all of it's beauty.

[Krie]

and yeah, it is rediculous

[egroen]

I think the world has gone through much more troubled times than the present. Put into the context of any of the world wars, the global depression, the dark ages, mongol invasions, crusades, black plague, etc... seems we are experiencing pretty smooth sailing.

-Erin

[finalfrogo]

Originally Posted by egroen

I think the world has gone through much more troubled times than the present. Put into the context of any of the world wars, the global depression, the dark ages, mongol invasions, crusades, black plague, etc... seems we are experiencing pretty smooth sailing.

-Erin

I agree. Plus, there's all this stufs not happening. Nukes aren't falling from the sky. A giant rock isn't headed towards Earth (except that one that will swing by in 2030, but we'll be fine... I hope). It would suck if smallpox was still around. I guess people are worried just because they are more aware of all the suffering than before, what with the media spreading all the negative situations in the world... not that there is a fundamental problem with that. People should be aware of the suffering in the world, but they shouldn't freak out about it and think "Oh my God, this is the end!"

[MidnightBlue]

Originally Posted by finalfrogo

The Daily Show recently showed how so many news stations are talking about the Apocalypse and how Christians are asking if the Apocalypse is coming.

I saw that. It's amazing what passes for news.

Originally Posted by finalfrogo

Why is the media focusing on the Apocalypse?

They have no sense of responsibility; the news has become a package designed to sell to a target audience.

Originally Posted by finalfrogo

How many people actually believe the Apocalypse is coming soon? Do you personally believe the Apocalypse will be arriving soon?

I don't believe in the Apocalypse as such, so all this prophecy hysteria just strikes me as absolute nonsense. That said, there's no telling how disastrously world leaders -- and especially the religious fundamentalists among them -- may misuse technology.

Originally Posted by finalfrogo

I think this site is ridiculous: http://www.raptureready.com/rap2.html

When I was a Christian, I found that kind of think even more offensive than I do now. I agree, it's ridiculous.

[Sunstone]

The notion that the world is ending soon seems to satisfy some deep need in some people for their lives to be more exciting than, say, their nine to five jobs. The notion gives them a sense of purpose and meaning, and so they don't want to loose that sense of meaning merely because reason would strongly suggest the end of the world stuff is a bunch of crock.

When discussing this, it is also worth taking into account the Surgeon General's report that found a quarter of all Americans suffer from some form of mental or emotional illness. And people who suffer from some form of mental or emotional illness are especially prone to think of the world as coming to an end. This is so much the case, so typical of some forms of mental illness, that it could possibly be argued Revelations was written by someone who suffered from psychosis.

Please note: I am not suggesting that everyone who believes the world is soon coming to an end suffers from some sort of mental or emotional illness. There are sane people who believe the world is soon coming to an end. But the Surgeon General's report and the experience of clinical psychologists should not be discounted either.

IMHO, the greater threat to humanity than the supernaturally induced end of the world are the threats we've created for ourselves. Nuclear war, environmental catastrophe, overpopulation, and so forth.

[finalfrogo]

Originally Posted by Sunstone

The notion that the world is ending soon seems to satisfy some deep need in some people for their lives to be more exciting than, say, their nine to five jobs. The notion gives them a sense of purpose and meaning, and so they don't want to loose that sense of meaning merely because reason would strongly suggest the end of the world stuff is a bunch of crock.

I have to admit, the prospect of being part of the generation which will witness the end of the world is appealing, despite the... well... ending.

[MysticSang'ha]

It isn't just Christians who believe that we are witnessing the coming of the end of days. The Mayan calendar is set to end completely on December 21, 2012. On this date, our sun and the center of the Milky Way is to align with each other, AND the Earth is supposed to complete it's "wobble" around it's axis.........both of which takes 26,000 years, so this is a rare cosmic event.




I'm with you, frogo, that witnessing the end of the world seems appealing. It'd be rather spectacular to watch it happen, since we're all going to meet our end one way or another - why not with a bang?




Peace,
Mystic

[Ramacharaka]

This is the absolute depths of human stupidity. social psychology is the most base and crude thing that can be imagined...psychoanalysis is based in nonmathematical observations and its abstraction from the truth multiplies when more people are involved and this whole thing will become stupider and more prone to the invasive analysis by people who have no idea what they are doing. That all of "this", if it could be suggested to be thought of as anything technically semireal, is the supersitious idiocy that will be the downfall of the human race. Hitler already proved any mellenial anything wrong. We had electric lights, immunizations, nice philosophy, and synthetic chemistry at the turn of the last century, and now we are pretty far into the new one, and it looks like earth was a failure.