To a lot of us, it may seem really weird how seriously some people took the “World is ending on 21st May 2011” scare. Some people sold everything they had – all their assets, savings and pensions in order to fund the awareness campaign for the date. It’s not the first of the “End of the World” predictions and it won’t be the last. There was the great disappointment of 1844, as well as whole list of predicted dates when the world would end. Armageddon predictions can be religious or secular.
It’s easy to laugh it off and say that some people are really dumb, but that’s not true. I believe most people around us are more or less of the same intelligence and if we take the trouble, we can briefly step into their shoes and see the world from their eyes and understand their psychology. I’ve done this and I’ve come up with four reasons why people take the Armageddon scenarios so seriously.
People want their generation to be “The One”
Most people who’ve made these predictions have prophesied that it would come about in their lifetime. Which is a bit too coincidental if you ask me. The earth has stood for 4.3 billion years and when we have to make an objective prediction about when it will end, it just happens to be in the 70-100 year interval in which you personally live – almost every single time?
People desperately want their lives and era to mean something. To be more than just another generation of humans who came and went. They would dearly love to be there when humanity is “saved” and justice is finally meted out. It’s difficult to explain, but it may have to do with a hidden terror of death. After all, if god comes and takes them up they never have to die at all and face the uncertainty of being wrong.
As an example, the latest May 21st prophecy was made by Harold Camping who is 89 years of age is in very close to death himself. He made a similar prediction that the “rapture” would take place in 1994 which obviously never happened. Perhaps he’s terrified of dying and suspects that his life just might be meaningless and desperately wants validation before he goes. Which brings us to the next point.
Meaninglessness of life
I’ve stated before that the realization of the meaninglessness of life is crushing. I think this is the single most important reason why people believe in religion in the first place. Without this crushing desire for meaning, we would have thrown religion overboard generations ago. Instead, in this age of science when we can fly through the air and send our machines to other planets, we still cling to outdated fairy stories about a man in the sky.
It’s easy to say “Just live in the present” or “Life is what you make of it.” All true of course, but they’re not very soothing balms for most of us. I dearly wish I could believe in a god, but my intelligence just won’t let me. End of the world predictions paradoxically give our life great meaning by destroying it! For a while we can get jolted out of our complacent existence and say “We’re gonna die – aaaaa!”
End of the World Predictions Give us Justice!
The world is a tough place to live in. There’s really very little justice. The corrupt go free, a handful of wealthy people dictate the world economy, manipulative people often get the better of us, ass kissers get undue rewards and criminals don’t burn in hell like we’d like them to.
Lots of people just want all this to end. They believe that their particular era is the most corrupt that ever existed. Hindus believe we live in the Kali Yuga. Christians feel we live in the times predicted by the revelations.
The final payoff comes when god descends to earth, ending this evil world and punishing the wicked. At the same time, he’ll take all the “good guys” to heaven in eternal bliss. In heaven, we can finally get rid of this evil world and live in a place where things are as they should be.
Boring life
Life is too boring. Nice to panic about end of the world predictions and have something real to get worked up about. Otherwise it’s just go to work, come home, save money, blah blah blah.
In conclusion, these reasons provide people with the motivation to seriously believe in Armageddon scenarios. And there’s no point in feeling too smug about it. We ourselves are capable of feeling the same way once the right buttons are pushed.
I agree with you…By nature, humans need to believe in something to have a purpose in life…Having said that, I have no sympathies for cult leaders like Harold Camping, self styled prophets, who prey on people’s vulnerabilities with fear for power and money…
I think people who believe in the end of times/rapture basically lack the motivation to improve their lives while they are here…That’s why a lot of hard core religious Republicans are against environmental reforms…If Jesus is going to destroy the Earth anyway, why bother about it?
In reply to Sraboney
Camping has now revised his estimates and says the world will end on Oct. 21 2011. I must say it takes a lot of guts to make a specific prediction like that. I think he genuinely believes it and isn’t just manipulating people.
Its due to the success of hollywood movies like 2012.Another reason is that in every religion there is a story when god comes to end the world and kill all corrupt persons.
Hey I was once in that position, growing up as fundamentalist Christian. I believed in things like the rapture (even though it’s never mentioned in the Bible). I guess it’s because we all wanted to believe that Jesus was coming back to get all the “saved and righteous people” while the horrible sinners stayed and go to hell. There’s a website called Rapture Ready that you should check out. :) When President Obama was elected those people really wanted the rapture to happen. They just believe the world is going to hell (because of things like homosexuality, feminism, etc.) you read it and find it funny but in the end I just feel bad for them.
Agree with most of what you have written… I too wish I could simply believe in a loving god planning it all for a greater purpose and deciding where every snow flake would fall. Since we can’t do much to change it all, some such beliefs can make life simpler. I find Geeta, rebirth and many lives idea the most fair, logical and convincing, but unfortunately (for me) still unbelievable.
let me read your meaninglessness of life post again.
In reply to Indianhomemaker
I wish it were that way too :( – but just not believable I’m afraid.
The odd problem here is …. it seems many, many people NEED to have a purpose and belief structure that a religion hands you, prepacked and well developed, life is less terrifying that way… yet, they need to believe it, and well, they have a few doubts, so they tend to attack people who cause them to think about those doubts…
Being an athiest is not easy… being agnostic is probably almost as hard, as you’ve still got existential agony to deal with, but at least you don’t quite have to try to defend your position as strongly to the fundamentalists trying to convert you…
I fear that in the future, as I get older, I may NEED to believe in some higher power just as much as I CANNOT really belief in it rationally…. but…. I may need to?!? in order to try to remain sane in the face of life and health issues…
In reply to vax
Indeed there is evidence that we humans are hard wired to believe in god. We even seem to have found a “religious gene” in many people!