> Armageddon, Doomsday, Rapture, Y2K, or the Mayan Calendar predicts...
>
> Just when we think another "end times" day has passed, they come up
> with a new one. We're going to blow ourselves up or the computers are
> going to nuke us all, the Sun will spit out a solar flair or an
> asteroid's going to hit the Earth (yeah right). The human population
> gets wiped out with the exception of a select few who are left to
> survive on a lifeless planet. Seriously? How many more "World
> Annihilation" movies must we endure?
>
> Why is mankind so fascinated with the end of the world? Will we ever
> stop?
The answer to your question is, of course, exactly what you don't want
to hear. Of course we'll stop...when the real end of the world
comes. ;-)
I think the fascination is because we know our time here is limited
but we don't know all the factors that limit it. We know that each of
us will die, but, perhaps, some people--rather more than you might
imagine--would take comfort in the fact that, when it's THEIR time to
go, it's also time for everyone else. I think, to some, a collective
passing is more palatable than the "it's just you" scenario. As far
as the films go, this is purely down to Hollywood taking advantage of
schadenfreude, the chance to sit back and safely watch others fight
for their lives and lose while the viewer always wins because they
walk away. It's a very subtle type of schadenfreude; but, I believe
that's what it is, nonetheless. I think Gabby would agree.
Also, there are the religious eschatological factors. In particular,
Christianity and Islam both predict the world will end in a
cataclysmic way; so, the concept is a built-in part of millions of
people's faith. How these two faiths differ in their end-time result
is, of course, obvious. In The Apocalypse of St. John (Revelation),
the Christians are saved. In the Qur'an, there is a resurrection of
all the dead followed by the complete annihilation of the universe
(not just Earth!) and all people's souls are judged fairly by God.
The Qur'an does NOT take the view that Muslim's will fare better than
others simply because they're Muslim; rather, each individual will be
judged on their own thoughts, deeds and piety, which, to be fair, is a
more egalitarian of a view than the Christian eschatological view that
Christians, just by virtue of being Christians, will be saved and
rewarded in Paradise.
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