The Conservative Edge

A few days ago, I took my wife to the bureau of motor vehicles (always a treat) so she could get her driver’s license renewed. Here in Ohio, drivers are required to renew their licenses every 4 years. So, my wife’s license is now valid until the year 2013. Of course, I reminded her that she won’t have to worry about any more renewals, because the world is going to end in the year 2012.

I suppose that’s the latest religious/spiritual/mystical hot idea. I was in a local bookstore recently, and I noticed that several books about the year 2012 were given prime spaces on the shelves. I believe there were 6 different books on the top shelf, right at eye level. These books were written by people who were emphasizing the accuracy and prophetic significance of the ancient Mayan calendar. The authors also seemed to be mixing in some other forms of mysticism and mythology.

This whole notion that the world will end in December of 2012 reminds me of other religious fads.  William Miller, in the 1830s, gained many followers by his seemingly irrefutable evidence that Jesus Christ would return on a specific date. Miller was wrong—twice—and left a lot of people disappointed. Just a few years ago, the book The Prayer of Jabez had many people believing that supernatural blessings would be realized by merely reciting the prayer. I would guess that the author reaped quite a blessing. I would also suppose that millions of dollars have been made by Dan Brown for perpetuating his theory of Christ’s mortality. The authors of the Left Behind series of religious books have also done quite well for themselves.

Like someone trying to get in on a hot stock, these people flood the market with material that will fan the flame of the newest revelation. And when one idea burns out, it seems that another one is ready to take its place. As a result, many people just go chasing these crazy ideas, never finding the simple truth needed to anchor their lives.

I remember the massive build up to the Y2K crisis. Ten years ago, we were told that the world was doomed to global catastrophe, as all of our computer systems would go berserk when the date changed from 1999 to 2000. All sorts of weird scenarios were described, such as planes falling from the skies, gas pumps and ATM machines not recognizing our bank cards, and massive blackouts and power failures. Then, as now, there were books, magazines, trade shows, television programs, and Internet sites that foretold of the coming crisis, and how we should prepare for it. And on New Year’s Eve, 1999, the world held its breath, and nothing happened.

So, not only are we being brainwashed with the flawed theory of global warming, we have to hear about the world ending in 2012. I think the best way to deal with these issues is to develop a significant amount of skepticism. We should learn to identify the crises that are designed to play on our emotions. With time, it becomes easier to separate the fads from the truth. As a certain Jewish carpenter once said, “Take heed that no man deceives you.” That’s good advice.

As the Easter holiday approaches, some religious news items are being seen in the media. Our newspaper is displaying advertisements from area churches that have planned special Easter events. There are also some television programs and movie reviews that relate to the Bible and Christianity.

For example, I watched a one-hour special about the Book of Revelation that was recently shown on The History Channel. I had seen it some time ago, but as I viewed it again, some of my own ideas became clearer. Specifically, it becomes obvious why the rapture theory is accepted by so many Christian denominations. For those who may be unfamiliar with the belief, the rapture theory proposes that there is actually a two-stage appearance of Christ in the last days. The first appearing is the secret “rapture” in which Christ gathers His believers into the atmosphere, and takes them into heaven for a celebration. Then, His second appearing is when He physically returns to this earth with those raptured saints, defeats the armies of evil, and sets up His kingdom.

But the rapture theory is a relatively modern idea. It is likely a response to the failed efforts of various preachers and prognosticators who tried to predict an exact date for Christ’s return. Men like Cotton Mather in America’s colonial days, and William Miller in the 1800s, used various formulas in estimating when Christ would appear. They were quite persuasive. William Miller was so passionate in his preaching that he gained a number followers who sold all of their possessions prior to the anticipated advent date. Miller had predicted Christ to return in the early 1830s (about 1833 or 1834, I think), and when there was no appearance, Miller “adjusted” his calculations and proclaimed that Christ would return the following year. Christ didn’t show up at that date, either.

To counteract these continual disappointments, a new interpretation of scripture was needed. A fellow by the name of Darby first postulated that Christ would appear in two phases. Phase one, the rapture, is most important to Christ’s followers. This is the time that all saved persons will disappear (like you see in the transporter room in Star Trek episodes) and gather into heaven. For years, preachers have proclaimed that the rapture could take place at any moment. The rapture also has the convenience of not being subject to any timetable. As a result, any notable event like a flood or an earthquake can be labeled as a prophetic event which indicates the imminence of the rapture.

In addition to this misguided notion, we have books and movies like “The Da Vinci Code” and “Angels and Demons” thrust upon us. These movies are made from the writings of Dan Brown. Brown suggests that Jesus Christ was a mere human who was also married, had a child and tried to create a feminist, sexually liberated faith. Brown has become successful only by adding mystery and intrigue to Biblical ideas. This is a tactic used by many people over the ages to create a following. The more mysterious and alluring something seems, the more accepted it becomes.

That is what Darby began with his rapture theory, and is what people have done with the Book of Revelation. They make convoluted, unprovable ideas into beliefs that are too good to refuse. Some, like Brown and the “Left Behind” authors, also turn their ideas into millions of dollars. And, sadly, people keep buying the ideas as well as the products. As the old saying goes—if something sounds too good to be true, it probably is.