The Great Reset

petros

The Central Scrutinizer
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Lot of similar stuff around Y2K too, though much of it was less overtly religious and more about a massive global failure of automated systems, which really would have been apocalyptic.

There’s a real danger in end time religious beliefs though. If enough people buy them, particularly people in powerful positions, they may do nothing to try to prevent such events or even actively cause them in the belief they’re doing god’s work, making the prophecies self-fulfilling. A U.S. president claiming he was chosen by god to lead in a troubled time was pretty alarming. Then there’s the Christian Zionist loons in Texas trying to breed the perfect red heifer, considered essential for the ritual purification of the Third Temple that has to be built to get the last days properly started in some versions of the prophecy.

There’s no idea so dumb that nobody will believe it.
To me the whole Revelations thing sounds like a bout of ergotism. There is a correlation between the rye bread diet of the impoverished living in damp climates vs wheat eaters in realtion to mythologies.
 

Dexter Sinister

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To me the whole Revelations thing sounds like a bout of ergotism. There is a correlation between the rye bread diet of the impoverished living in damp climates vs wheat eaters in realtion to mythologies.
Makes sense. I've seen that put forward as an explanation for the Salem Witch Trials as well.
 

petros

The Central Scrutinizer
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Most recent theory for Salem was a shortage of men. The young women were ratting out the married women in order to be provided for.
 

Motar

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Jun 18, 2013
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What are you doing, just plucking stuff out of the course material at DTS and posting it here?
Prior to Christian ministry, I was a healthcare provider, DS. My previous observations derive from both experiences. Would you like to continue discussing eschatology?
 

Dexter Sinister

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Prior to Christian ministry, I was a healthcare provider, DS. My previous observations derive from both experiences. Would you like to continue discussing eschatology?
I’ve said all I have to say about it: it’s a false, foolish, and potentially fatal attempt to know things that can’t be known. Might as well be discussing Ragnarok, it’s no more likely to be true than that.
 
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Motar

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I’ve said all I have to say about it: it’s a false, foolish, and potentially fatal attempt to know things that can’t be known. Might as well be discussing Ragnarok, it’s no more likely to be true than that.
Thank you for contributing, DS.

The following link will assist anyone interested in exploring Bible content concerning last days:


Blessings.
 

spaminator

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Oct 26, 2009
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Are you sure the end days haven't came and went? What if we're screwed?
someone found binary encoded in the universe so the theory is the universe is artificial. if windows omega crashes we're like totally fucked. ;)
 

Dexter Sinister

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Maybe Douglas Adams had it right: "There is a theory which states that if ever anyone discovers exactly what the Universe is for and why it is here, it will instantly disappear and be replaced by something even more bizarre and inexplicable. There is another theory which states that this has already happened."

I also like this one of his, it's as good an encapsulation of what I tend to do here as I've ever seen: "I find the whole business of religion profoundly interesting. But it does mystify me that otherwise intelligent people take it seriously."
 
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Motar

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Are you sure the end days haven't came and went?
Yes, Petros, the end days have not come and gone. They require globalization.

“Since you have kept my command to endure patiently, I will also keep you from the hour of trial that is going to come on the whole world to test the inhabitants of the earth” (Revelation 3:10).

The end days also require advanced travel and technology.

“But you, Daniel, roll up and seal the words of the scroll until the time of the end. Many will go here and there to increase knowledge” (Daniel 12:4).

Globalization attempts by Babylonian, Medo-Persian, Greek and Roman Empires lacked the requisite global travel and technology needed to simulate God’s omniscience, omnipresence and omnipotence. The final global empire capable of commanding worldwide worship through deceptive, deifying technology is now on the horizon (Daniel 2).
 

Dexter Sinister

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People in every age find the signs in contemporary events, I’ve been seeing stuff like that all my life. It’s called wishful thinking and confirmation bias, and if it ever actually happens it won’t be as described in Revelation, Jesus is not going to descend from the clouds with a sword in his mouth. It’ll be because people were blinded by belief without evidence and too feeble-minded to think clearly, it’ll be self-immolation, not the hand of god. And if we’re really that stupid the planet would be better off without us.
 

Motar

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People in every age find the signs in contemporary events, I’ve been seeing stuff like that all my life. It’s called wishful thinking and confirmation bias, and if it ever actually happens it won’t be as described in Revelation, Jesus is not going to descend from the clouds with a sword in his mouth. It’ll be because people were blinded by belief without evidence and too feeble-minded to think clearly, it’ll be self-immolation, not the hand of god. And if we’re really that stupid the planet would be better off without us.
I am blessed by your continued interest and challenging insights on this topic, DS.
 

French Patriot

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A worthy God can cure as easily as kill, so I hope God cures us soon.

He is not the genocidal, homophobic and misogynous one that most read from the bible.

Regardless, the Gnostic Christian God will protect all of us.

Perhaps not Trumpians.

Regards
DL
 

The_Foxer

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People in every age find the signs in contemporary events,... It’s called wishful thinking?"

well, signs of the end of the world are only called 'wishful thinking' if you're having a really bad day. 😄 But in essence you're right.

It's part of a mental phenomenon known as apophenia. IT's a form of pattern recognition software hardwired in our brains. The most common expression of that is to see faces or animals in the clouds. There's no actual face there, but our brain organizes the actual image in a way that recognizes the pattern of a face where there isn't one. That's an important biological survival tool, but it shows up in odd places. So we think at some point about what clues the end of the world might look like and lo and behold we see those patterns in our world, and yes - pretty much every generation does it.

It's compounded by another phenomenon known as Baader-Meinhof. Thats the phenomenon whereby you suddenly see things with far greater frequency even tho there's no actual change in the rate at which you're exposed. A classic example is when you buy a car and then suddenly you notice that same type of car everywhere you drive. You never really noticed them before but now you see them regularly. It's as if suddenly they've appeared out of nowhere. Of course the number of cars of that type hasn't changed, just your perception.

So once someone starts "seeing" the signs of the end of the world, or signs of religious significance etc, they tend to start seeing them everywhere. When you combine the two effects everything looks like a sign of the end of the world and you can twist at least one biblical passage to fit any sign you see.

My dad summed this up with a saying: "If all you think about is hammers, pretty soon everything looks like a nail." And it applies to MANY things in life and many types of people. To a cop everyone's a suspect, etc etc etc.

So that explains Mortar's thoughts and his inability to effectively debate or dispute contrary positions. He can 'see' it but others may not see the same thing in the same cloud.
 

petros

The Central Scrutinizer
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Tying events or a person to the "end days" is easy but it might a technology or knowledge that turns our to be the "Antichrist".
 

Motar

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well, signs of the end of the world are only called 'wishful thinking' if you're having a really bad day. 😄 But in essence you're right.

It's part of a mental phenomenon known as apophenia. IT's a form of pattern recognition software hardwired in our brains. The most common expression of that is to see faces or animals in the clouds. There's no actual face there, but our brain organizes the actual image in a way that recognizes the pattern of a face where there isn't one. That's an important biological survival tool, but it shows up in odd places. So we think at some point about what clues the end of the world might look like and lo and behold we see those patterns in our world, and yes - pretty much every generation does it.

It's compounded by another phenomenon known as Baader-Meinhof. Thats the phenomenon whereby you suddenly see things with far greater frequency even tho there's no actual change in the rate at which you're exposed. A classic example is when you buy a car and then suddenly you notice that same type of car everywhere you drive. You never really noticed them before but now you see them regularly. It's as if suddenly they've appeared out of nowhere. Of course the number of cars of that type hasn't changed, just your perception.

So once someone starts "seeing" the signs of the end of the world, or signs of religious significance etc, they tend to start seeing them everywhere. When you combine the two effects everything looks like a sign of the end of the world and you can twist at least one biblical passage to fit any sign you see.

My dad summed this up with a saying: "If all you think about is hammers, pretty soon everything looks like a nail." And it applies to MANY things in life and many types of people. To a cop everyone's a suspect, etc etc etc.
Thanks for weighing in, TF.