Dana - 2007: Apocalyptic Musings

Apocalyptic Musings

My next-door neighbor, George, is an evangelical Christian and avid believer in the Rapture, as I found out over dinner one night. Our conversation drifted idly from here to there, as evening dialogues tend to do, but when the subject of religion arose, he piped up, telling about the grim circumstances surrounding the world and how they entail imminent destruction of Earth - in short, the Apocalypse. He spoke excitedly of the fulfillment of Biblical prophecies and of the righteous believers who would join Jesus Christ in heaven, while everyone else, led astray from the truth, would not be so lucky. He did all this with great enthusiasm, happily proselytizing his dark views on the fate of mankind. It was puzzling, incongruous - the gloomy things he said with the cheerful manner in which he stated them. It caught my interest.

 The outburst was so odd, so unlike the George I knew - an intelligent, soft-spoken hippie with a long, gray ponytail - that I thought perhaps he was being facetious in referring to the literal end of the world and all the life it contains. I soon realized that it was something much greater, a deeply held religious conviction, that George was expressing. He was only months after his “rebirth” into a conservative Protestant sect of Christianity that believes strongly in something called the “Rapture”. Since then, his life has changed greatly. He has given me the Buddha statues and Hindu shrine that formerly littered the outside of his home, because his newfound faith does not permit them. He wants to cleanse himself of all sin, he tells me, and so no longer indulges in such activities as sex and alcohol consumption. He has attempted to convert every member of my family (though is still friendly as ever with us), leaving CD’s entitled “How to Walk in Victory” and “Jesus’ Resurrection” at our doorstep, and calmly urging us to “stop resisting”, to “simply accept the truth, and pray before it is too late”, as if gently reminding us to water the lawn. 

George attends a local church called “Reality Carpinteria” that gives frequent talks on the subject of the Rapture. At the time of our supper discussion, I knew little about it, but now I am more educated on the matter - a good thing, because the “Rapture” has become a large movement, a phenomenon of increasing popularity. There are even members of the United States Congress who believe in it. I figured the topic would be interesting to investigate, so I questioned George further on his beliefs, in addition to doing a little research of my own. In my opinion, anything that can drastically alter the course of a person’s life, or at least cause an otherwise reasonable man (such as George) to drop logical thinking and surrender to obscure ideas, is surely worthy of examination. 

Here is what I have learned: The term, “Rapture,” refers to the event in which faithful Christians living on earth are physically transported to heaven to be with Jesus Christ for eternity. It is based largely upon the many prophecies in the Book of Revelations, the last book of the New Testament, and the only one comprised solely of apocalyptic literature. Its devotees contend that the declining state of world affairs precisely reflects predictions made in Revelations, meaning that a Biblical chain of events is already in rapid progress. Such events involve a great war (George would say the one in Iraq), the advent of the Antichrist and ensuing corruption of the human race, the Rapture, and finally, utter destruction of the earth. However, the events and their order are subject to different interpretations among adherents, who are namely conservative Protestants such as Fundamentalists, Evangelicals, Pentecostals and Baptists. Some believe that Jesus will return to earth to fight the Antichrist in a final showdown between Good and Evil (i.e. Armageddon), while others do not. Even the number of those spared from destruction is disputed; George, for example, believes that only a lucky few will join Jesus in the literal ascension to Heaven - “around 140,000” - while others say all Christians will be transported. Some say Jesus will rule on earth for 1,000 years preceding the Apocalypse. This belief is known as Premillennialism, and it is one among several other theories, each of which differs in its interpretation of the final days, months, and years. All of these forms of Christian eschatology, however, share the same dark view on the fate of mankind and the earth: the planet will soon be totally destroyed, and humans will perish.  

The natural question to ask is when. When will the end come? Rapture sects are careful about assigning a precise date, for obvious reasons. Doing so would be to the embarrassment of the apocalyptic date-setter if the earth should stand after the predicted date passes. Even so, specific days have been designated. Among such were October 28, 1992, June 9, 1994, and June 6, 2006. (Just for trivia’s sake.) There are a few for the future: November 11, 2011 and December 21, 2012 (the end of the Mayan calendar). However, for the most part, Rapture believers speak in the neighborhood of decades, or simply predict that the end will occur “soon”, or “in the near future.” George gives it between fifteen and twenty years before the earth is no more.

I was interested in the history of apocalyptic beliefs. Though the first appearance of the accepted Christian Rapture was not mentioned until the eighteenth century, and the movement did not gain significant support until the twentieth century, belief in the end of the world has been repeated throughout history. Whenever times have gotten tough, certain people have grabbed on to the convenient idea that answers all their needs and explains the tragedies surrounding them. During the pandemic of the bubonic plague in 14th century Europe, men and women thought that the “Black Death” was brought upon by the Devil himself and that the Apocalypse was near. Similarly, the turbulent political climate of the 1970’s, in addition to the declining state of certain world affairs, has given way to a rise in support for the Rapture. 

I would go so far as to say it is in human nature to have undying faith in a great event, whether it be the end of the world or the coming of a messiah. Such faith, as history has dictated, is counterproductive. People stop trying to solve their real problems, and instead prepare themselves for unreal happenings, worsening their troubles. Example:

During World War II, cargo ships stopped at the island of Tanna, in Vanuatu, to supply locals with food, clothing, and inadvertent exposure to western technologies. When the ship left, a cult formed around the belief that a man or God named John Frum (meaning John from America) would return on a cargo ship and bring the natives wealth and prosperity. Soon, everyone on Tanna joined the cult and established the John Frum Society. They deserted the missionary churches, schools, villages and plantations that were in place, moved inland to the center of the island, and simply awaited the arrival of their American savior. I visited the island, and saw that all its inhabitants still believe totally in John Frum. None of the children attend school; a once productive culture now accomplishes little. 

The John Frum Society, though somewhat more whimsical than the Rapture movement in the future it implies, is similar in essence. Its followers surrender themselves to a hypothetical occurrence, for which they have no physical proof; their regular activities are hence halted. Their lives are changed, just as George’s life has been changed. Both groups present easy solutions to people’s problems: the Tanna Natives simply await John Frum, who will solve everything and bring them lasting happiness and prosperity, and the Rapture believers simply await their ascension to Heaven, to escape the violent world and its fast approaching destruction.

So, I suppose it is only natural for people to gravitate towards such a belief. It is an easy way out and requires no use of logic or problem solving, only the condition that followers give themselves up entirely to the cause. It is faith - that addictive and highly abused drug - that spares people from having to think for themselves. Having faith (even in the Rapture) is less of a mystery and more of a simple way for humans to deal with their lives. The concept has always fascinated me. 

Our brains may, in fact, be wired to cope with such unbending devotion, as a New York Times article revealed to me. It explained our tendency to have faith from an evolutionary standpoint. Back in the days of cave men, when humans relied on hunting and gathering for food, a trait appeared (randomly, as evolutionary traits tend to) that allowed a primitive form of faith. If a man with the trait was hunting, and he caught a fleeting glimpse of movement in the distance, he would not question whether or not it was an animal, and hence waste time; he would immediately run after it. He, therefore, simply by encountering more hunting opportunities, would get more food than his fellow cave man. As natural selection works, the hunters with a tendency to have faith prospered and produced more offspring, eventually becoming the most widespread group of people. When humans moved past hunting and gathering, their faith remained, and as their brains became more sophisticated, that faith took the form of religions. Egyptians worshipped pharaohs; Hindus prayed to numerous deities, and Christians had faith in Jesus and God. Today, some believe in the Rapture. So, faith is essentially a vestigial organ, like the tailbone. Humans, for the most part, are not hunters anymore. The whole-hearted conviction that we attribute to the existence of a god or idea is a remnant of a prehistoric hunting technique.

So that is one reason why people believe, have faith in God, and are convinced of the Apocalypse. Perhaps more important than the fact that it is easy and appealing to have faith is that we are biologically predisposed to do so. Furthermore, the way in which we are raised is a likely contributing factor to exactly how much “faith” we have. For instance, a child brought up Catholic has a very large chance of remaining Catholic, of continuing to have that type of belief. 

Two kids, brought up on opposite sides of the planet, will have differing faiths. Each will be convinced that his or hers is the truth. This inevitable occurrence is proof, however, that we should not judge. We should not persecute or have prejudice. We are all products: products of evolution, products of our upbringings, products of our parents. Products, yes, like those in a grocery store. Because we don’t hold tomatoes responsible for being red, I don’t think anyone should be blamed for his or her beliefs. You can disagree, of course. I strongly disagree with rapture believers; in fact I disagree with the whole concept of faith in general. But I realize that is the way some people are, the only way they know. I understand why they have those beliefs, and that understanding produces tolerance. 

So finally, as my thoughts and observations come to a close, I will go back to my neighbor, he who sparked this all. Though, in many ways, I now have a better understanding of the Rapture, George remains an enigma. I’m just thinking- if I really and truly believed in the imminent destruction of earth, as George claims he does, I would not be so calm about it. I would probably run about in a mad fit, visiting places I’ve always wanted to, doing weird things that I would like to do before I die, like skydiving naked. Basically, I would not be having nice dinners with neighbors while gladly explaining the end of the world. To me, the way he cheerfully regards the fast-approaching Apocalypse indicates insanity. 

Ah, so be it. He is still a good friend of mine; we enjoy occasional ping-pong games together and have friendly discussions. I would like to have him over for dinner again, hopefully before the Rapture.

Faith- It is like the logic of a small child. I apologize if this is offensive to you, but it is the way I perceive the matter, and I cannot honestly state it otherwise. 

Deductive reasoning, you must assume something is true, and base your logic on that. We assume the accepted laws of physics (gravity etc.) are true, and therefore we can say with certainty that an apple will fall to the ground, we assume our class schedules are correct, and we can say that we have math class next period, etc… Everything we believe is based on an assumption, but when the basis for our deduction is nothing more than a several thousand year old text written by various authors, with personal interests, hundreds of years from when the written events took place, and some of the events themselves defy the laws of physics, I think that belief becomes invalid. Think of it this way. We can say things with different degrees of certainty, based on the assumptions that make those things true. The probability that gravity exists is very high, because of testings and findings, scientific studies for decades, and so we can be 99% certain when we say an apple falls to the ground. On the other hand, you cannot be very certain when dealing with incredible sources. There is no way around it; it doesn’t make sense. How can belief in the bible or the rapture not compromise your very ability to use common sense, when itself it is a total defiance of logic? Is it that people can totally separate spiritual matters from everyday ones, that their minds have the capacity to deal with each individually and with no overlap? As if there is one place for exception to logic, and that exception is never tainted? I honestly would like to know, but because of the nature of a discussion with a person of extreme faith, this would be difficult, and they would probably be offended.