Stereotypical religious nutjobs in the 80s and 90s were all "The end is nigh!" Now that science supports them, they're all "Everything is A-OK!"
They like the idea of a catastrophic event out of their control, or caused by sinners. They don't like to be the cause because of their own greed and indifference.
I mean there is plenty theocratic terrorists in the US, that support Israeli expansionism and want war with Iran because they hope it to cause the apocalypse.
They are very much fine, with bringing on the end times, and how they didn't get the memo, that according to their own scripture they'll all rot in hell for it, is truly mind boggling.
There were also some of the Trump worshippers acknowledging how unchristian he is, but that they should support him, because he could be the Antichrist, starting the apocalypse. So people claiming to be christian say it is a good thing to support the Antichrist....
They think they'll be slurped up in the Rapture and everyone else will have to deal with the tribulation. Who the fuck knows, I mean, these are Republicans and Evangelicals and Baptists and their ideas are so contradicotry and vague that they really have no idea what the fuck they think. They're all sinners, and are going to hell, and even though Jesus died to forgive their sins, they still can't commit sins, but they acknowledged Jesus as savior, so they're sure to be saved.
My brother's girlfriend found a really ridiculous pamphlet in the gutter in Albuquerque in 1998 or so about 'what to do if you miss the rapture'. I guess like, in the bathroom? Maybe at work, sleeping? Surely you're a great person and should have been part of it, but god missed you.
First it had a bunch of hilarious info and diagrams of what the mark of the best would be - barcode on the forehead, rice-size microchip in your hand, and a credit card slot on the back of your hand, too. It said that the FIRST thing that would happen would be that minions of the Devil would be out to destroy all copies of the bible, so one must get as many bibles as possible and hide them from Satan. That part sounds like a pretty bad idea to me.
Plus while there are signs of the end-times, the actual end is supposed to be Magic Jesus riding back on a majestic sled, smiting evildoers, not just some sciencey crap about warm weather and melting ice and droughts.
BINGPOT.
JACGO!
their handlers have changed the narrative
To be fair, so has science. Which also to be fair is because of real life evidence, not whatever passes for evidence to the religious.
i spose youre right... we all have to choose our information proxies.. they just choose poorly.
Also it depends on the conspiracy
"Climate issues won't end humanity, X will instead"
I don't think there are many people who are simply content with the world. Being content might actually be better
X will instead
Goddammit, Elon
"Climate issues won't end humanity, X will instead"
Or even
"Climate issues will end humanity"
That just sounds like the 21st century version of "memento mori". We've decided a long time ago that that was not a good credo. So, I like to live by "we're not dead yet". The odds were against humanity existing at all, but we're here anyways. So no matter the odds, there's always a chance we'll continue existing.
For a certain portion, it's because some have become outright theocratic accelerationists. They actively want the situation to get worse, because that means Jesus comes back!
I believe they're called Dominionists. These are the people that want a major war in Israel because it means Jesus is coming back.
I dont get it. Isnt the whole Jesus shit that we have to act good?
That implies that any of them have ever actually read the bible
Depends on what part of the texts you read. Gnostics it is by understanding secret knowledge, Paul it is much more by just having the correct faith, James is the act good guy. Worth noting that the likelihood is when James was arguing for works he was arguing for following the rules of Moses i.e. kosher and circumcision not exactly running a charity program. Keep in mind we only know James by his apologists decades later long after the Moses rules vanished that and Paul. And Paul hints James was really concerned about those ancient Jewish laws.
They’ve believed the end is near for 2000 years.
Shit, the Bible says that the rapture would happen before a particular apostle would die. Yet, here we are without a 2000 year old apostle.
The gymnastics to make it make sense are that he had a vision of the end when he ‘wrote’ Revelations.
Shit, the Bible says that the rapture would happen before a particular apostle would die. Yet, here we are without a 2000 year old apostle.
Wait what, really?
Matthew 16:28
I tell you the truth, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.
Mark 9:1
And he said to them, "I tell you the truth, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the kingdom of God come with power.
Luke 9:27
I tell you the truth, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the kingdom of God
Re saying John wouldn’t die, that’s actually an inference but a not uncommon theological belief among evangelicals. John 21:20-23
“20 Peter turned and saw that the disciple whom Jesus loved was following them. (This was the one who had leaned back against Jesus at the supper and had said, “Lord, who is going to betray you?”) 21 When Peter saw him, he asked, “Lord, what about him?”
22 Jesus answered, “If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you? You must follow me.” 23 Because of this, the rumor spread among the believers that this disciple would not die. But Jesus did not say that he would not die; he only said, “If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you?”” .
It never explicitly mentions a “rapture”, but describes an event that evangelicals have interpreted to mean one will happen. Not all denominations believe in the idea…per usual amongst the many diverse belief systems of Christianity.
The most popularly referenced text is this:
In 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 (New International Version), it is written:
"For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever."
Never said such a thing, Mohammed CLEARLY states that he doesn't know when the world will end in several famous hadith.
In fact Mohammed said the world wouldn't end until several things happen not the other way around.
Some of which are already happening now. Like the arabs competing to build tall buildings.
If you want to challenge this point bring a source and then we can talk.
My source: Sahih Al-Bukhari hadith number 50
the kid grew up and died and still here we are…
what if it did end and this is actual purgatory?
You're full of crap. I'm Muslim and Mohammed was very clear in stating how the world would end. Including how the US will be three islands way before that due to an impact of a comet. The prophecies are very detailed. Google minor and major signs of qiyama
Well there happens to be one man who qualifies.
They're still saying the end is nigh. I've legit heard Christians argue that we shouldn't care about climate change because the rapture is coming any day now.
Also, science was warning us about this in the 80s and 90s too. Society didn't care then like it doesn't care now (though it now pretends to).
Science warned us about the possibility of climate change over a hundred years ago. We've been passing the buck for generations.
edit: Citation1 (1902): https://www.zinnedproject.org/news/tdih/article-warns-of-burning-coal/
Citation2 (1912): https://theconversation.com/for-110-years-climate-change-has-been-in-the-news-are-we-finally-ready-to-listen-188646
Both these projections were based on steady state consumption rates. Our religion of perpetual growth throws that out the window.
Also, it's infinitely frustrating and heartbreaking for the more senior climate scientists that went from saying "look, if we act now and put our heads together to clean up our act, we can still stop this in its tracks and save the world" early in their career to decades later where basically all that's left for them to do is try to predict exactly how bad it will get, what regions will be decimated the most and how many billions of people will die from this, while begging everyone to at least mitigate it so humanity as a species might still have a chance, and everyone still don't give a shit.
Bold of you to assume they believe the end isn't still right around the corner.
Most of the stereotypical religious nutjobs I know just use climate change as an example of the end times.
A lot of those types believe in climate change, but not because of fossil fuels or any of that fake news science stuff, but because it's punishment from their god for allowing the gays to exist.
Hmmm... The gays making everything hotter... This actually checks out.
Well they can't be stupid idiots if they're actually right, so they had to switch gears.
Now that I think more of it outside the shower, it's probably "stereotypical religious nutjobs of the 20th century".
Read the book The Demon Haunted World, or at least the parts about satanic panic and charlatans. I really miss Carl Sagan.
I'm curious to hear what other media people recommend on this topic.
My favorite part of the satanic panic was when sometime in the eighties, our local preacher dropped by our house (we were not church goers) and saw a mangled, black candle on our kitchen table. We'd had a power outage recently, and Internet-less, kid-me loved to heat up paper clips over the flames and use them to etch the wax. Totally innocent of any dastardly doings aside from slightly mischievous me. He left in a bit of a hurry and sent along some hilarious VHS tapes decrying the evils of this and that. Particularly Dungeons and Dragons. Which was how I discovered Dungeons and Dragons and how awesome it is.
Did you just watch the same Ryan George sketch as me?
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Honestly the end is not near
The universe will still exist.... But the end of the human animal is most certainly nigh.
Why not both?
Schrodinger's the-end-is-nigh is saying as soon as donations come in, everything is a-ok!
Prophecies and fortune-tellings are so vague and general that a seemingly fitting event could be associated to a given prophecy and fortune-telling.
Civilisations come and go, and many societies in ancient times face upheavals on a more regular basis. My theory is that these prophecies about apocalypse came about based on these past experiences. In our pattern-searching mind, we think that the end of the world will definitely come, because humans are simply repeating the same mistakes over and over. It's a self-fulfilling prophecy because, according to the lovable man-killing machine about humans, "it is on your nature to destroy yourselves."
Ehhhh, some of them. Last year around Christmas, a coworker of mine went on a huge rant about how evil has seeped into everything and that the antichrist is actually everyone. Everyone everyone. YMMV.
Wait a minute, does science say the end is nigh? Is this about climate change, or general humanity destroying ourselves, or both?
Severe climate events, insects going extinct, impeding rough and water wars, micro plastics and forever chems in the water and in our bodies, possibility of total annihilation of all satelites due to space debris. Honestly it could be any number of things that finally end our civilization as we know it at this point.
Thems the same thing.
"The end is nigh, but not for the reasons you say. "
Example, and this encapsulates MUCH of US politics:
“The rest of mankind who were not killed by these plagues still did not repent of the work of their hands; they did not stop worshiping demons, and idols of gold, silver, bronze, stone and wood–idols that cannot see or hear or walk. Nor did they repent of their murders, their magic arts, their sexual immorality or their thefts.” Revelation 9:20-21
It's fun to think of them as the same people. But the reality is that they're two different people, and it's just changed who is considered right.
Then, they wanted more people to join their death cults before the end came. Now, I just think they're less interested.
Exactly what I was thinking. It was all a power play. And now that they've got their power, everything is "A-OK" and don't care about the real climate Apocalypse
Quick reminder that western evangelical Christianity is technically a death cult