Fasten your shutters! Ready your bomb shelters! Get your guns primed! Say goodbye to your loved ones! Do all the things that you ever wanted to do! Repent of your many sins and commit suicide!
Or perhaps it's time to get a NEW Mayan calendar.
My friend
Lindsey had a Benjamin Franklin quote on her blog to help greet the new year and I liked the idea. So I went to Brainy Quote, which is one of my favorite websites because it has quotes covering every subject, from famous or infamous alike. Because of the latest and greatest hype that has taken over the world, I typed in the numbers "2012" in the search box and came up with some interesting stuff.
We need responsible regulations, not regulations that have gone wild. For example, the EPA has a rule that is going to be implemented Jan. 1, 2012, where they're going to begin to regulate dust. That's right, dust. It's called PM 2.5. That is focusing on the wrong thing. -- Herman Cain
I forget what the relevant American rate is, but I can tell you that our goal is to have a combined federal-provincial corporate tax rate of no more than 25 percent. We're on target to do that by 2012. We will have significantly - by a significant margin the lowest corporate tax rates in the G-7, and that's our - our government's objective. -- Stephen Harper
We have been actively trying to have New York City host the 2012 Olympics. -- George Pataki
PM 2.5., tax rates and 2012 Olympics. Hm. Hm. Hm. No talk of the end of the world? No mention at all. This will require further searching.
"The mark of your ignorance is the depth of your belief in injustice and tragedy. What the caterpillar calls the end of the world, the Master calls the butterfly." -- Richard Bach
[That's nice but not nearly dark enough.]
"The child must know that he is a miracle, that since the beginning of the world there hasn't been, and until the end of the world there will not be, another child like him." -- Pablo Casals
[Still not dark enough.]
"Youth is the period in which a man can be hopeless. The end of every episode is the end of the world. But the power of hoping through everything, the knowledge that the soul survives its adventures, that great inspiration comes to the middle-aged." -- Gilbert K. Chesterton
[Should I give up?]
Finally!
"A poll earlier this year showed that 42 per cent of Americans believe we're in the End Times." -- Andrew Denton
Enlightening.
Since Brainy Quote wasn't turning up the interesting stuff, I went to good ol' Google:
"how many times have people predicted the end of the world?"
The answer was that while people aren't sure who has counted all of them, the number of predictions is somewhere in the thousands. They range from the earlier days of man's existence (apparently we've always had a thirst for doom and evil tidings) to modern day. Some years even have more than one prediction. The prophecies are made by many different kinds of people but I found that scientists and religious leaders made up the larger percentage. They are made for different reasons; some I believe were genuinely believed by the prophet; others were just for money, fame, or power. You will find a few of the more interesting ones below, with links. It was hard to choose!
"The Earth is degenerating today. Bribery and corruption abound. Children no longer obey their parents, every man wants to write a book, and it is evident that the end of the world is fast approaching." Assyrian tablet, c. 2800 BC [I couldn't find this quote on any site on any site I usually quote from, but I found it thought provoking.]
Second Century: prophets of Montanism claimed Christ would return in their lifetime and create New Jerusalem in Asia Minor. [links: tacoma atheists, Wikipedia]
"I guarantee you by the end of 1982 there is going to be a judgment on the world." -- Pat Robertson (links: tacoma atheists, Wikipedia)
Of course, there is the Mayan Calendar which is ending in 2012 [link:http://www.universetoday.com]. As you know, that means the world is supposed to be ending this year. A lot of people are taking this seriously... just like so many people have wholeheartedly believed other predictions in the past. We have committed suicide, killed human beings and animals, sold all of our possessions, forsaken our family, lived in caves, set off bombs, started fires: you name it, someone has done it for the end of the world.
You know what Jesus said? But of that day and that hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father. [Mark 13:32]
And Paul was quite certain in his letter to the Thessalonians: But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you. For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. [1 Thess. 5]
If Jesus didn't know the date, if Paul didn't know the date and if the angels didn't know the date, why should we? Furthermore, should we be living in fear? Earthquakes, storms, persecution and hatred have happened every second of every day somewhere in the world. Death comes to us all eventually and so must the end of the world. But to prepare for it, we should be seeking a relationship with God and how to become better people. We should learn how to love and live more.
I agree, there is room for caution... but in some cases there is a very fine line between wisdom and paranoia.
So! Have a Happy New Year! May each day find you celebrating something good and lovely. May the end of the world find us ready for the next step in our journey, whenever it happens.
