12-21-12: End day for doom
Another uneventful doomsday passes. Only three more shopping days till …
We debated which day to publish our doomsday editorial. We considered a Saturday short take in which we could confidently report: Not only have we survived the long-anticipated, once-in-a-galaxy alleged Mayan doomsday, but we made it through the shortest day of the year. Long live sunlight!
We opted instead to dispense with this nonsense on the big day. We are not certain as to the exact time conspirators scheduled the big demise. Some say 6 a.m. EST, the official solstice time; others, claiming to speak for the Mayans, say 11:11 a.m. (time zone unknown), and then there’s the Slooh Space Camera available online for each second of the day, just in case viewers want to watch various doomsday scenarios unfold: a giant solar flare ready to engulf our planet or a giant asteroid barrelling on a collision course. Oh, what giant, smashing fun. (Slooh notes an iPad app will be coming soon, a clue there is a future.)
December 21, 2012 - 6:16 AM
Doomsday predictions are nothing new. They have been occurring throughout recorded history. In more recent years there was the Y2K panic, Harold Camping’s mumbo-jumbo, and now the big Mayan Apocalypse.
And yet, as nutty as it all is, people still cling wistfully to the notion that there will be a “Rapture” and a “Tribulation” and a “Second Coming” …. and not only that, but they will probably occur pretty darned soon. But of course they hedge their bets by saying, “No man knows the date or the time.” It’s the perfect escape clause.
There have and always will be wars, natural disasters, plagues, and all other manner of upheaval in this world. But there has never been anything remotely supernatural about it. I promise you with absolute, 100% certainty that there will be no “Tribulation,” no “Rapture,” and no “Second Coming.”
The only thing I lack, of course, is that convenient escape clause (see above).
The lesson to be learned from all this is: We have to content ourselves with cold, hard REALITY. There is no awesome supernatural world lurking behind the veil. No angels and demons, no gods and prophecies. Just REALITY. And you know what? It’s not all that boring! Life in the real world isn’t so bad! Yeah, it’s fun to believe in Santa Claus and UFOs and hobbits, but at some point you have to come to grips with the fact that there’s only this one reality you have to work with, and if you can’t do that, you’re going to go through life being a tremendously unhappy, bitter person.
No doubt Chuck, the world is full to overflowing with tremendously unhappy, bitter, sad, unfulfilled people who claim the Christ. Go figure. Always good to read your posts. Happy Holidays to you!
Sandi, I “claim the Christ” as you put it, and I am fulfilled, happy, content with my life, and excited for the future. I don’t ridicule those who don’t sharer my faith and would ask that you show tolerance for those who do.
DEAR SANDI: Please don’t misunderstand me. I know that many people who believe in an afterworld are perfectly happy with that belief. At the same time, NO ONE should be depressed or fearful of the prospect that this reality of ours just might be all there is.
Of course, there might also be the Great Quantum Entanglement, but there would be nothing supernatural about THAT.