There's a group in the United States led by Harold Camping who believes that the world will come to an end this weekend, on May 21st and the faithful will be swept up to heaven in rapture >>>>>
As the group says on its website: JUDGMENT DAY is feared by the world and is the day that God will destroy the world because of the sins of mankind. The world is correct in believing that Judgment Day will come. The Bible gives us the correct and accurate information about that Day.
The Bible is the Holy Book written by Holy God who is the Creator of this beautiful world. The Holy Bible is without question a very ancient book, having been completed about 1,900 years ago. In its original languages (mostly Hebrew and Greek) it has never been changed, and each and every word in the original languages is from the mouth of God
Now I don't believe a word of it. The same guy predicted the same thing in 1994. It's all too easy to make fun of this sort of person. Nevertheless, millions of people to believe it. In fact, around two and a half years ago at a time when I was feeling particularly anxious, I came pretty close to taking seriously similar "end of days" talk by a sincere and kindly Bible literalist.
So we may chuckle as the day passes and nothing happens. But supposing a major seismic event occurs, such as the Yellowstone supervolcano starts erupting this weekend. They've happened in the past and geologists say it's about due again, give or take a few thousand years. Would even resolute sceptics wonder whether there was maybe something in the doomsday talk?
The time in which we humans have evolved has been an unusually stable period in the turbulent geological history of the Earth. There's plenty of evidence that a whole range of events could happen at any time and snuff out most if not all of human life. It's pretty terrifying stuff, way beyond the imagination let alone the comprehension of ancient prophets.
Given each individual's human tendency to put oneself at the middle of everything and the tendency of human groups to put themselves at the centre of everything, I guess it's par for the course to interpret massive geological and cosmic events as divine punishment for the sins of human beings. And it's certainly par for the course to regard the current era as more sinful than any other.
Will humanity ever get over this childish perspective? Assuming of course that we aren't wiped out next weekend ;-)
