Caleb Wright Barbara Presnell English 1103 November 2012 The End of the World Chicken Little.

Isaac Newton. Charles Manson. What do all of these people (two of them being, more or less, arguably animals) have in common? They all predicted the end of the worldall of them. You know Charles Manson? That guy who got arrested in the sixties for the murders executed by the Manson Family? He ordered those murders in an attempt to bring about what he thought would be an apocalyptic race war Isaac Newton, one of the greatest minds of the late 17th century, predicted that Christ would return, as predicted in the Christian New Testament, in the year 2000 And Chicken Littlewell, you know the story. Its the year 2012 now, and there has been no international race war, no triumphant return of Jesus, and the sky has not fallen. So heres the real question: why do societies continue to predict the end of the world today after over two millennia of failed attempts? Since the prime of the Roman Empire, there are records of predictions of the end of the world. Damian Thompson discusses many of these ancient apocalyptic beliefs in his book The End of Time. Two wide-held beliefs about the apocalypse came from the great city of Rome itself. Neither came to pass (obviously). Many predictions have been made over time by people who were considered to be at the top of their respected fieldsuch as Hippolytus, the great

Wright 2 Roman theologian, and Martin Luther, the famous and infamous German monk and author behind the Protestant Reformation. Theres an interesting similarity between all of these cataclysmic predictions, though, regardless of what gender, nationality, or occupation the person who predicted the end of the world had: they were wrong. No one has ever successfully predicted the end of the world; why do people continue to believe that this one or that one may actually be right? People have lost everything on the basis of these predictions. They have sold their homes, left their families, and followed lunatics across thousands of miles to spread the word that the end is coming. Yet, here we standgrieving over the idiocy of self-proclaimed prophets and seersbecause the world is still spinning, the sun is still shining, and life goes on. Lets look at the facts, shall we? A logical person would assume that the number of predictions would have dropped in the past one hundred years as a byproduct of scientific discovery and realization that the earth could be around for an egregiously long time. A logical person would be incorrect! There have been more predictions for the world to end in the past one hundred years than the rest of the last millennium combined. Peoples fascination with the end of the world and predicting it can be illustrated as mounting in almost every form of media we have. On television, we have Mayan Calendar and Nostradamus specials on the History Channel. In cinema, we have big blockbuster films like 2012, starring John Cusack, and Knowing, starring Nicolas Cage. As for music, we have songs with catchy hooks like Jay Seans own 2012, which says, Party like its the end of the world. Were

Wright 3 gonna party like, like its two-thousand-and-twelve. This is just the media malarkey taking advantage of the eschatology culture for lucrative means. Then, there are the actual predictions. There have been several predictions since the onset of the 20th century that stand out above the rest. For example, Marshall Applewhites 1997 prediction will remain one of the greatest tragedies in the United States for several centuries to come, undoubtedly. Marshall Herff Applewhite and his second wife, Bonnie Lu Nettles, started a cult in the 1970s called Heavens Gate. The cult fused belief in Christian doctrine and science fiction ideals. The couple believed that they were the two witnesses prophesied about in the book of Revelation, and they believed that the end times were fast approaching. Bonnie Lu died of cancer in 1985, but Applewhite decided to carry on his mission anyways. His following dwindled down to around two hundred people in the late 80s and beginning of the 1990s, mostly because of him being grief-stricken with the earthly departure of Bonnie Lu. In 1997, when the Hale-Bopp comet passed near Earth, Marshall Applewhite saw this as a sign that the Earth was about to be recycled, and he believed that the only way to transcend human existence was to kill himself so he could join the aliens in their spaceship attached to the comet. On March 21st, 1997 [Marshall] Applewhite and his followers took their own lives by drinking vodka mixed with barbiturates (Biography). He and thirty-nine others committed suicide together, which to this day remains the largest mass suicide in United States history. It was a travesty Shockingly enough, there was not a spaceship attached to the comet, and the Earth is still spinning fifteen years later.

Wright 4 Where does a person even begin to critique this? Its a tragedy they died yes, but the real travesty is what they died for. Everyone has a right to die for what they believe in, but some people shouldnt believe in things so stupid. Christian doctrine says it is the only transcendent truth in many parts of the Bible. Jesus claimed to be the truth. How can you combine that doctrine with belief that aliens are going to save you, but only if you kill yourself? The Bible also says do not murder. I see forty accounts of murder here, Mr. Applewhite; Im sorry to say that I think your doctrine is flawed. And the sad part is Im sure someone told him this, but he was unwilling to listen. Predicting the end of the world does nothing good for society. The only thing it helps is the media machine; the common man gets no benefits, except a hedonistic loss of consciousness since everything seems to be going away anyways. People run rampant, and pillage, and loot, and rape, and murder. Why dont we stop guessing, though? Why dont we give up now that we know chances are well never correctly predict the end? Perhaps some of us do Harold Camping is a prime example of this. Harold Camping has more black marks on his record than almost anyone when it comes to predicting the end of the world. The difference is Camping has a sizeable following, which is what makes his crimes even more appalling. Im talking about thousands of people. Harold Camping didnt just predict the end of the world oncenot just twicebut three times. He predicted it three different times over an eighteen-year span. His last prediction was for October of 2012, but before the date got here, Camping realized that he was

Wright 5 most likely wrong again. Camping, a Christian radio personality, finally read his Bible, and took into account Matthew 24:36: "No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father (NIV Bible 1984). Camping went on the record and apologized to his followers and his friends and family for predicting the end of the world, and he now admits that he is wrong, and swears to focus on more important things in life. You know what the kicker is? Hes ninety-one years old. Ninety-one. Hes wasted away the great majority of his life focusing on miniscule details of things that never even came to pass. Its a shame. December 21st, 2012 is fast approaching, and this is the prediction everyone wants to hear about. Why? Because: its looming right ahead of us and has gotten more hype and media attention than any apocalypse prediction in history. The funny thing is this prediction actually has less basis behind it than almost any other prediction in history. Even when oracles claim doom is coming, they can at least pass it off as a warning from spirits that no one can prove or disprove. When it comes to the 2012 prediction, though, there are no legs for it to stand on. The prediction for the end of the world in 2012 is actually the second date predicted for an apocalypse that was originally predicted back in 2003. Didnt hear about it? Dont worry; it didnt get much hype. Apparently, the planet Nibiru was supposed to collide with Earth based on its trajectory, but the planet didnt ever impact Earth, so the date was moved forward eight years to 2012. Coincidentally, the Mayan Calendar stops on December 21st, of 2012, so this must be a sign that they predicted the end of the world and that were all going to die, right? Wrong. First

Wright 6 mistake: Nibiru isnt a real planet. Its a fictional planet that was written about by the Sumerians of old that scientists used to think they actually discovered. There is no Nibiru. Second mistake: the Mayan calendar does not end on December 21st, 2012 anymore than the modern calendar ends on December 31st. Its the end of a yearly cycle (NASA). So, the prediction for the end of the world is based off of a planet that does not exist crashing into the Earth because a calendar that hasnt been used in hundreds of years ends its year on that specific day before picking up the day after Thats some sound reasoning, right there. So, I think it is safe to say the world will not be ending on December 21st, 2012. Or maybe it will. But every other day of the year has just as good a chance at being the end of the worldat least in my opinion. Why does it matter, though? It shouldnt. Knowing that the world will end on a specific date will not in any way aid societies or individuals. People might use their last days to make things right with loved ones or live better lives or make up for lost time, but the fact of the matter is that it shouldnt take something as catastrophic or cataclysmic as a planet crashing into the world for people to live good lives anyways. For the most part, though, it hurts society. It causes panic and chaos. People lose themselves and everything they own to chase notions of saving themselves or the world as a whole. Everyone wants to save the world, but maybe the world doesnt need saving. The world has been just fine for thousands of years, and it shows no signs of slowing down, even with everything humans do to the planet.

Wright 7 I concede: the world could end at any second without any of us being the wiser. There are tons of different theories and beliefs about when the world will end and what has to happen for the world to end, and everyone believes that their belief is correct; otherwise, they wouldnt believe it. However, no one will know for certain when the world will end until it is actually ending, so why is it important to predict it? It shouldnt be. Are there merits to predicting the end of the world? Surethere would be if it could be done correctly. People predict the end of the world for a variety of reasons. They do it in hopes that people will come to salvation, and they do it for personal profit or gain. Some do it in jest. Unfortunately, if history shows us anything, we are not capable of predicting the end of the world correctly. Maybe someone will get it some day. Some friendly advice, though: if you have any delusions of grandeur and think you know the date that everything will cease to exist, do the rest of society a favor and keep it to yourself. Thanks.

Works Cited Garance, Burke. "Harold Camping Admits He Was Wrong About End of World Prediction." Huffington Post September 3 (2012). Web. 4 Nov 2012. <http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/09/harold-camping-admitshes-wrong_n_1335232.html>. Ivana, Wynn. "The 12 Greatest End of the World Prophesy Fails." (2011): Ranker. Web. 5 Nov 2012. <http://www.ranker.com/list/the-12-greatest-end-of-theworld-prophecy-fails/ivana-wynn?page=1>. "Marshall Herff Applewhite." Bibliography.com. 2012. Web. 4 Nov. 2012. <http://www.biography.com/people/marshall-herff-applewhite-236006>. The Holy Bible: New International Version. Colorado Springs, CO: International Bible Society, 1984. Print. Thompson, Damian. The End of Time. University Press of New England, Hanover NH, 1996. Page 19. United States. NASA. 2012: Beginning of the End or Why the World Won't End?. 2011. Print. Web. 4 Nov. 2012. <http://www.nasa.gov/topics/earth/features/2012.html>. "2012 Lyrics." MetroLyrics. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Nov. 2012. <http://www.metrolyrics.com/2012-lyrics-jay-sean.html>.