Lo and behold in my Sunday paper there was an article about the world ending in 2012. And here I was thinking about losing a few pounds to try and lower my cholesterol…
Some highlights for those not wanting to read the whole thing:
Let’s hope Nostradamus, Edgar Cayce and Jeane Dixon are wrong.
These psychics predicted the world would experience a cataclysmic event — perhaps a meteor strike or a reversal of Earth’s electromagnetic poles — in 2012. That’s the year the Mayan calendar ends.
First I should point out that Nostradamus, Cayce, and Dixon haven’t been too accurate in their predictions that were supposed to have happened in the past 25 years or more. Cayce predicted the world would start changing in 1958 with cataclysmic consequences by 1998. And his changes weren’t anything minor-New York and Connecticut buried underwater, the Great Lakes draining into the Gulf. Most of California underwater. Hmm, we’re all still here.
I can remember watching the Film, The Man Who Saw Tomorrow when I was about 12 or 13. It was narrated by Orsen Welles and talked of Armageddon happening during the last part of the 20th century. This was when I was reading the Bible a lot, as was my best friend at the time. To say the least this movie scared me straight, and was one of the influences that got me started reading the Bible (the movie not only discussed Nostradamus but also Revelation of the New Testament). Nostradamus received recognition in the 20th century because of his “prediction” of WWII and mentioning the name “Hister,” which Nostradamus apologists will be ecstatic to tell you is only two (or one sometimes) letters off from naming Hitler. After researching ol’ Nosty and his predictions, he like so many other “prophets” are very vague and open to interpretation, allowing his name to be continually brought up even though the majority of his predictions proved false. I even recall a remake of sorts of The Man Who Saw Tomorrow in the early to mid 90’s warning us again about 1999 and the man with the blue turban in the Middle East, I think it was narrated by Charlton Heston the second time around.
I don’t believe Jeane Dixon needs to even be brought up as she was wrong pretty much all the time.
Now, I didn’t know a lot about the Mayan Calendar, and had to do a little research. Some good info can be found here and on Wikipedia, but truthfully it is still pretty confusing, and this coming from an amateur astronomer. Bottom line is they predict the world ends in 2012.
So, do any of us believe the world is going to end in 5+ years? I would say the overwhelming majority will say no. And once 2012 passes, then new prophecies will come out with new End of the World dates, or there will be new interpretations of the writings of Cayce and Nostradamus.
So what does all of this have to do with my normal discussions? Well, the article peaked my interest while reading my Sunday paper, and that triggered memories of watching different movies and specials about Nostradamus and other prophets/psychics which actually got me more interested in the Bible. I remember truly being convinced California was going to fall in the ocean and I made a mental note to not consider colleges on the West Coast. I remember my friend and I reading the Bible, especially Revelation and trying to understand the number 666 and the tribulation. In the end he became very religious (and still is, even though I rarely see him any longer as we are across the country from each other), and I became an atheist. It just shows that two intelligent but different people can get two entirely different opinions of the Bible. Interesting to me, to say the least.
I guess I’ll start that diet after all….
Posted by cragar 
