Of Prophecies and Humbug

It is incredible that in an age with so much genuine knowledge, verifiable science fact, so many are drawn to outlandish nonsense and humbug. This ranges from astrology, to water divining, to the latest gibberish about a Mayan-forecast disaster in the year 2012 which will herald the "end of the world". The basis, as presented in one History Channel program, was the the Sun will be aligned with the dark rift in the Milky Way galaxy and somehow that aligned darkness will be amplified a million times (as through a giant lens) on our planet, leading to catastrophe.

While it is easy to laugh at the gullibility of people that swallow such crap, it defies imagination that we mostly give them a pass in the religious sphere. In that arena, all manner of moronic foretellings, described as "prophecies" are awarded some aura of exceptional gravitas....and an 'Ooooooo....' factor. But why? Have any actually come true? There isn't a scintilla of evidence.

By comparison, the technical science of celestial mechanics can make a prediction of exactly where Mars will be on the date of July 22, 2044. It is so good a prediction, than one can actually take a telescope out (or even basic binoculars) and verify it. There is no ambiguity, and we don't have to rely on some dead person's words. It is right there, in front of our eyes!

The latest rage in extremist Christian Right circles is to make bald claims about also being "in the last days" and there will soon be an "Antichrist". One would think they'd have learned their lessons after Hal Lindsey's humiliation - from his book, The Late, Great Planet Earth. For those who don't know, Lindsey predicted the onset of the Great Tribulation (to last seven years in all) beginning in 1988.

His basis was from a biblical claim or "prophecy" that "this generation" (starting with the birth of Israel) shall not pass, before the Tribulation begins. So, using the definition of a "generation" = 40 years, and given the state of Israel was founded in 1948, Lindsey added 1948 + 40 = 1988, and Voila! The Tribulation!

Trouble is, 1988 came and went, and there was NO onset of "Tribulation"!

Worse, for Lindsey, he forecast that the "ten headed Beast" described in Revelation, was actually the (then) ten-nation European Union, from which the Antichrist would rise - as from a new "Roman Empire". But, again, never happened, and now....worse for Lindsey, the EU has at least 22 nations with several more pending. So much for the ten-headed beast!

All of which points up the danger of trying to squeeze modern events into the mindless blatherings of ancient, semi-literate nomads - who had all they could handle to keep their sheep and goats straight, far less see two thousand or more years into the future.

In one of the most memorable performances ever, ca. 1991, Magician James Randi squared off against a Christian Bible bigot who kept yammering about being in the "last days" and we can tell they are here - what with wars, all the horrid crimes, and monumental disasters. To hear the Christian yap, you would believe Armageddon was within five years away.

Randi, not one to punt, kept pressing the fool to say exactly when. He reminded the bible puncher that "last days" invocations have been going on and off for the past 100 years or more. And still, none of the forecasters warning us have gotten any closer. Of course, the guy escaped by saying that "it is not ours to know the day, nor the hour. Only the Lord's!"

And as Randi replied: "Convenient!"

The problem with all attempts to use modern events in the service of ancient "prophecies" is that they are like tea leaves or Rorshach blots: anyone can read anything into any statement or claim. At the time of Randi's face off, the worst thing that had been going on was the Gulf War. Everyone, including the pretend preacher, insisted it was the war to lead into Armageddon - since Israel was so near to Iraq. Today, only the nations of fret have been changed, so now it's Iran that may lead us into it.

And so it goes, and goes...over and over and over.

Then there are the prophecies about the "Antichrist". But who or what is it, or he? Numerous excellent religious scholars, including past Jesuit professors I had at Loyola, have made it clear that the Antichrist is not a person at all. It rather represents a metaphor for that nascent, atavistic spirit of aggression and hate within humanity. A sensibility that is as much a part of present day "god-fearing" Christians (who easily commit those of any other faiths with which they disagree, to the fires of hell) as communists, or terrorists, or.....atheists!

In other words, the Antichrist is within us all, as a regressive nature or force emanating from our ape-linked genes that still have much further to evolve. In the case of this anti-"spirit" or malevolent force showing up in proclaimed "devout" Christians, I'm still reminded of a Phil Donahue show (when he was still on MSNBC) in December, 2002, wherein he featured a roundtable with Jews, Christians and a couple token secular folks. At one point, near the end, Donahue directly confronted one of the Christians - leader of the Southern Baptist fundies, about the importance of Israel in his Revelation predictions. He responded, "True, because the Valley of Megiddo is in Israel and that is where the final battle will be waged between the forces of good and evil".

Not one to be a wallflower, Phil pressed him: "So, after the final battle - since the Jews have served up their homeland to fulfill your prophecies, they will all be saved".

And he smiled and said: "Nope, only 144,000 of them. The rest will depart to the eternal fires".

The cruel imbecile never even thought twice of the irony of his remark, especially in the context of good v. evil. He could not see, for all the Jesus life presumed to be inside him, that he was of a kind with that selfsame evil associated with the spirit of Antichrist. The hate and negative side of human nature that seeks to exclude all those who differ.

And yes, true enough, if we don't get our acts together - Jew and Muslim, Christian and atheist, Right wing and Left, American and Russian (or Chinese) - and at least try to get along with each other in some manner of tolerance, it will destroy us. By nuclear holocaust, if nothing else.

No "Satan" or other evil persona is needed to explain it, nor are arcane, archaic pseudo-prophecies (which are always "proven" ex post facto) needed.

We are the authors of our own destiny, and the creators of our future. We have the power to make the future of this planet bright and bountiful- or a living hell on Earth.