who are constantly warning that "the sky is falling" ? Do you find this helpful or useful ? Is there anything about your life that you have actively changed because of such warnings from others ?
I am rather amused by people predicting the "end times" or "end of days" or whatever.
Some of my favorite Armageddons
An Assyrian clay tablet dating to around 2800 B.C. bears the inscription: “Our Earth is degenerate in these later days; there are signs that the world is speedily coming to an end; bribery and corruption are common; children no longer obey their parents; every man wants to write a book and the end of the world is evidently approaching.”
In the Apocrypha it was prophesied that the world would end in 1,000 years. Fanatics all over Europe believed that the Last Judgment was to be expected at Jerusalem on the last day of 999.
In 1213, Innocent III wrote: “A son of perdition has arisen, the false prophet Muhammed, who has seduced many men from the truth by worldly enticements and the pleasures of the flesh… we nevertheless put our trust in the Lord who has already given us a sign that good is to come, that the end of this beast is approaching, whose number, according to the Revelation of Saint John, will end in 666 years, of which already nearly 600 have passed.”
In 1499, the German mathematician and astronomer Johannes Stöffler predicted that a vast flood would engulf the world on February 20, 1524. (His calculations foretold 20 planetary conjunctions during this year—16 of which would take place in a “watery sign,” a.k.a. Pisces.)
In Europe, more than 100 different pamphlets were published endorsing Stöffler’s doomsday prophecy. Business boomed for boat-builders, not least for German nobleman Count von Iggleheim, who constructed a three-story ark on the Rhine.
Although 1524 was a drought year in Europe, a light rain did fall on the designated day. Crowds of people—hoping to gain a seat on Iggleheim’s ark—began to riot. Hundreds were killed and the count was stoned to death.
Stöffler later recalculated the actual date to be 1528, but by then his reputation as a soothsayer had been ruined.
There have been many more end times predicted in recent decades, but I feel the ancient ones really give a good perspective.
If it's a constant theme, I usually think there is either mental health issues and/or a profit motive lurking in the wings.
I don't appreciate gloom-and-doomsayers.
There is a woman here in the apt complex who has a keen ear for health complaints and will burst into a conversation to deliver a prepared rant on how we are poisoned (we are) and how colloidal silver is the only affordable (it's not) cure (I don't know if it's a cure). Conveniently, she sells colloidal silver. I'll never buy it from her, if I ever buy it. She uses a similar approach concerning her support of Trump. (And no, I do not need to contribute to his campaign or lawyer fees.)
There are real and pressing problems but the Cassandras almost never mention them.
The "Day of Judgement", "Rapture" people are the ones that annoy me. I was brought up with that and suffered anxiety for years worrying about who was going to be left behind, until finding out that this "day" has been imminent for nearly 2000 years, and Jesus himself said that some of the people that he was talking to would experience it! .... still waiting...
@walabby Like there are not enough real and mostly man made problems out there....But I concern myself only with things likely to happen in the lifetimes of my grandchildren, or they wont have anything to worry about..😷
It depends on what is the theme and how much I myself believe the topic is a real problem. There's been a lot of panic around shifting political situation here these days and it is getting to me. It's not like I'm getting visa to some distant country or packing things right now but I'm starting to consider living abroad in a more serious way. I wanted it anyway but there's a nagging voice telling me "what if history will repeat and we'll face some sort of occupation again?" On the other hand, I don't have that good insight into political situation in Europe and don't know what are likely scenarios for the next few years. And here's the problem: for me, it's hard to distinguish people who closely observe it all and perhaps have enough knowledge of the history to predict what might happen next and those who just catastrophize because the past events still live vividly in their minds but they have no real insight into contemporary situation.
If they are genuinely scared or alarmed, I feel for them. If they’re preying on the genuinely scared or alarmed, I despise them. Generally speaking, the end has always had the potential to be near, we are guaranteed nothing, there is always more and better we could be doing, and bleating about the obvious is useless.
I really get down and frustrated from such talk. I only know one person in my life that's gone on and on about that. It's negative talk, in my opinion. I couldn't have a conversation with him though.
I would say to him, "Why don't you think it has already ended?"
I don't need extra stuff to bring me down. If you've had sickness in your family, if you've had anything tumultuous in your family, what makes you think your definition of "the end" is worse than mine?
It would be one thing if such people actually believed in a higher power. What I've seen with said person is someone who is scared and trying to scare me. If you believe in a higher power, then believe in it... I hope it's a good, peaceful higher power that brings you peace instead of instilling fear in me.
I have enough fear and warning of death. It happens everyday.
So, why is your fear supposed to supercede my own?
I rather focus on something else... and practice better health and being close to my family.
"THE END IS NEAR!!!! WE'RE ALL GOING TO DIE!!!"
I think it's sad people are getting hurt every single day SO MUCH including what is going on... you know where.
But, I've been hearing the end is near for quite sometime (only from a friend I used to speak with). It doesn't end... this is life.
Just try your best to be a better person so you can appreciate life.
I think it's group psychosis and the closer these people get to dying the closer they believe God is coming. God is not coming we as a species keep getting more immoral and selfish. I personally believe that God is waiting for evolution 🧬 and the real species that is made in his image takes over the world and then he'll come down. I forget the philosophers name but someone in the early 1900 hundreds wrote a whole book on this subject with the premise being that maybe we aren't God's chosen people and that he's waiting for the real species to emerge we are just an evolutionary step to the true Gods.
I suppose it all depends on the actual condition of the sky.
SW-User
I can laugh, this is definitely an image you could find in Canada..... (as I note the Triangle logo)
They've never changed my opinion or take. They've rattled me before in how this world is, what we put ourselves through, seeing another obviously so shaken themselves, they can only see the end.
I've noticed there are two types of them actually. There are the ones that fear the end of the world and there are those that celebrate it and try to actively end the world. You see a lot of common people in the former group and the later group tends to have high overlap with conservative evangelicals or other religious extremists that have an apocalypse they desperately want to happen.
