Meh, doomsaying is up there with prostitution on the list of humanity's most popular and long lasting professions.
Prophecies are written intentionally vague, often referencing things that humanity has recorded since we could record things. Stuff falling from the skies, lakes of fire, destroyed cities, fields of the dead. Christianity doesn't have the patent on talking about, or portending, such things. And the thing about religion is that in order to make believers think it's right, it needs to show it can predict things. That's religion 101. Whatever a "I have god on my Facebook friends list" prophet says needs to happen. So, they pick a place (sometimes described through generic metaphor), pick a time (almost always in metaphor), and some vanilla descriptions of humanity dying because we pissed off whatever god we're talking about. And, naturally, only true believers survive in some manner.
And like the broken clock they are, sometimes things do kinda sorta if you squint and buy into whatever the prophet/preacher is saying match up to some of the criteria laid out in the intentionally vague prophecies. And when that happens, those in charge jump up and yell, "See?! Just like it says in the Bible/Qu'ran/Dungeons and Dragons Monster Manual! <twitch, sweat, spittle>" And you're supposed to feel both energized and afraid - energized because you think you have legitimate proof that your faith is correct, afraid because it means bad shit is coming down the pike - because you're taught to feel those things since the day of your birth.
But, it's all a lie. By every metric, we're living in the safest, happiest era ever on our planet. Yes, fracking, nuclear arsenals, and climate change included. People are living longer than ever. Despite idiotic soccer moms who give Jenny McCarthy way too much attention, a lot of preventable diseases are getting, for all intents and purposes, eradicated. More people are literate than ever before. Access to clean water and shelter is improving by leaps and bounds. Access to information is spreading like wildfire thanks to the internet. We're developing cheap prosthetics, and prosthetics that can send feeling back to the wearer. This is our golden age, and so long as we're vigilant and stop people from wanting to dumb us down (vote Democrat in 2016), chances are things will get even better in the long run.
Moreover, the notions of the Christian god and satan simply don't hold up to scrutiny. Like prophecies, they're intentionally vague, where the believer must fill in the gaps to make sense of it all. That creates the 'personal' relationship with god. You're literally talking, praying, believing in your own imaginary construct. Why do I say that? Because there are ~44,000 different sects of Christian, and they all differ on the fundamentals - the nature of the triune god, how god judges people and why, the nature of hell, and so on. You're a JW. We have at least one Catholic here, at least one Southern Baptist, and some others who could probably be safely labeled as non-denominational, and none of you have come up with a consistent, coherent description of the basic foundations of your religion. You all believe in your version of god, which is different than anyone else's. I bet that even within your own congregation/parish/whatever that you'll find disagreements among your brethren on the basics.
And even beyond that, god and satan are nonsensical. You have an evil that god lets fuck around with his creation. They fight and bicker, but the creator of all things seems content on just letting him be a prick. Then again, god in his infinite wisdom, creates people that he would know are destined for hell, yet lets them live, die, and undergo eternal torture anyway. And the idea that these two epic, divine powers actually give a shit about you, on this little mud ball that, universally speaking, is probably the size of, what, a proton? Electron? Is a very special and deranged kind of hubris.
So, no, we're not living in the midst of a prophecy. Because prophecies aren't real, much like the Christian god, the Muslim god, the Hindu gods, etc.
Prophecies are written intentionally vague, often referencing things that humanity has recorded since we could record things. Stuff falling from the skies, lakes of fire, destroyed cities, fields of the dead. Christianity doesn't have the patent on talking about, or portending, such things. And the thing about religion is that in order to make believers think it's right, it needs to show it can predict things. That's religion 101. Whatever a "I have god on my Facebook friends list" prophet says needs to happen. So, they pick a place (sometimes described through generic metaphor), pick a time (almost always in metaphor), and some vanilla descriptions of humanity dying because we pissed off whatever god we're talking about. And, naturally, only true believers survive in some manner.
And like the broken clock they are, sometimes things do kinda sorta if you squint and buy into whatever the prophet/preacher is saying match up to some of the criteria laid out in the intentionally vague prophecies. And when that happens, those in charge jump up and yell, "See?! Just like it says in the Bible/Qu'ran/Dungeons and Dragons Monster Manual! <twitch, sweat, spittle>" And you're supposed to feel both energized and afraid - energized because you think you have legitimate proof that your faith is correct, afraid because it means bad shit is coming down the pike - because you're taught to feel those things since the day of your birth.
But, it's all a lie. By every metric, we're living in the safest, happiest era ever on our planet. Yes, fracking, nuclear arsenals, and climate change included. People are living longer than ever. Despite idiotic soccer moms who give Jenny McCarthy way too much attention, a lot of preventable diseases are getting, for all intents and purposes, eradicated. More people are literate than ever before. Access to clean water and shelter is improving by leaps and bounds. Access to information is spreading like wildfire thanks to the internet. We're developing cheap prosthetics, and prosthetics that can send feeling back to the wearer. This is our golden age, and so long as we're vigilant and stop people from wanting to dumb us down (vote Democrat in 2016), chances are things will get even better in the long run.
Moreover, the notions of the Christian god and satan simply don't hold up to scrutiny. Like prophecies, they're intentionally vague, where the believer must fill in the gaps to make sense of it all. That creates the 'personal' relationship with god. You're literally talking, praying, believing in your own imaginary construct. Why do I say that? Because there are ~44,000 different sects of Christian, and they all differ on the fundamentals - the nature of the triune god, how god judges people and why, the nature of hell, and so on. You're a JW. We have at least one Catholic here, at least one Southern Baptist, and some others who could probably be safely labeled as non-denominational, and none of you have come up with a consistent, coherent description of the basic foundations of your religion. You all believe in your version of god, which is different than anyone else's. I bet that even within your own congregation/parish/whatever that you'll find disagreements among your brethren on the basics.
And even beyond that, god and satan are nonsensical. You have an evil that god lets fuck around with his creation. They fight and bicker, but the creator of all things seems content on just letting him be a prick. Then again, god in his infinite wisdom, creates people that he would know are destined for hell, yet lets them live, die, and undergo eternal torture anyway. And the idea that these two epic, divine powers actually give a shit about you, on this little mud ball that, universally speaking, is probably the size of, what, a proton? Electron? Is a very special and deranged kind of hubris.
So, no, we're not living in the midst of a prophecy. Because prophecies aren't real, much like the Christian god, the Muslim god, the Hindu gods, etc.
"I was thirsty for everything, but blood wasn't my style" - Live, "Voodoo Lady"
