In another galaxy, far, far away -- the 1970s -- conservative Christians were in love with a book that scared them to death --kinda. It was The Late Great Planet Earth by Hal Lindsey. Lindsey let everyone know that Old Testament books such as Daniel and Ezekiel, along with the last book of the bible, the Revelation of John, were warning us about Russia as an end-times superpower. For some reason let the United States off the hook. The European Economic Union, the precursor of the EU, would be a modern revival of the Roman Empire.
The apocalypse needed a sequel, and in Lindsey's 1980 book The 1980s: Countdown to Armageddon, he predicted that "the decade of the 1980s could very well be the last decade of history as we know it". The 1980s may have been a forgettable decade in some respects, but we're still here.
I thought about all this after reading that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had time to gently speak against a possible British exit from the EU -- when he wasn't channelling Gordie Howe with his elbows up in the corners of the House of Commons. President Obama has already discouraged Great Britain from leaving. There hasn't been any apocalyptic language from either leader and no one is suggesting Christ will return if Britain exits the union.
Isn't it strange that religious folk seem to relish the prospect of being whacked by the Creator in these elaborate end-times scenarios? They have done so for centuries. At the same time, many of these same believers deny the possibility of catastrophic changes to the Earth because of climate change. We're a goofy bunch.
The Brexit referendum is on June 23rd, just a month from now. Maybe we shouldn't make any long-term plans as we wait, enraptured, for the outcome.
Thoughts?
1 comment:
There are so many apocalyptic- like events happening all over the world.... and there have been for centuries.... why do some people still believe in this great end-time stuff? As you say, David, it won't be God who ends the world - it will be us humans ! (And if Jesus ever did return from the skies, as many fundamentalists predict, we would not recognize or welcome Him any more than we did 2015 years ago.
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