(Note - I made some additions c.6 hours after this was first posted.)
About a decade ago; I wrote a post in which I speculated that the End Times - the end of human life (or life as such), and/ or the end of the planet - might happen when mortal life on earth became net-harmful to the chance of salvation.
This now strikes me as too mathematical a viewpoint, and I also failed to take into account that (presumably) God "places" different kinds of soul into different cultural phases; on the basis that the best conditions for salvation differ between souls with different dispositions.
(Note - I believe that we all lived pre-mortally as spirit children of God, and already had different dispositions before this mortal life.)
So that these modern conditions, in which the demonic powers dominate global and national politics, government and media - and this domination has been extended ever wider and deeper - is optimal for the "teaching" of some types of person.
Nonetheless, the basic point seems valid that At Some Point, the "experiment" of human life on earth may have become so spiritually hostile that it will be brought to an end, by one means or another. By God (via whatever intermediary causes He chooses) and for the good of Mankind.
And I have a strong feeling that this will happen very soon (days or weeks soon). I have no evidence for this at all, beyond that a few others have independently come to feel the same. But (having had this intuition for some months) I think the time has come to state it 'for the record'; although I don't intend to say anything more on the subject.
I don't think this has any special "lifestyle" implications except that we should not delay in clarifying our own understanding and desires concerning First Things - but given the contingencies of human mortal life, this urgency has always been an imperative, anyway.
What then? I don't know. Another world, another experimental learning environment? Or maybe the needful and beneficial possibilities of incarnate mortal life have by now been achieved?
This is not a matter for argument or persuasion: either I am right or wrong, and soon we will know. But as a generic possibility, later if not sooner, this seems a plausible end point.
7 comments:
This is, of course, a distinct possibility. After all, as Christians we know that the World would come to an end, we just don´t know when.
The need to get your house in order now, ASAP, is a matter of first priority...
To live every day, as though The World could really be gone tomorrow, but also as though it may not! I do not believe that these are mutually exclusive. For the first is a matter of the Spirit (which is what is indestructible), and the second, a matter of action (which is what interacts with the world). In other words, I believe it is possible to act as though the world will persist (with its cares, duties, responsibilities), whilst inwardly seriously acknowledging, that this might be the last day, and feel sincere inner peace at this prospect.
Reconciling this apparent impossibility is not only possible but also necessary, or anxiety, angst, fear and dread will taint our spirits, which is clearly not a persisting state which we should find acceptable.
>And I have a strong feeling that this will happen very soon (days or weeks soon).
Can't agree. To me this feels like the "opening stages" of the "Final Act" (which itself may last decades). This is also based mainly on my gut feelings rather than precisely-calculated thoughts.
I cannot know but things do feel bad. Which is very hard to contemplate when you have 3 children under 5 and we're expecting another baby in the spring. Painful beyond belief, but I must place my trust in God rather than in men, which is why I reject our anti-natalism.
By the way, Dr. Charlton - I had a strange moment while reading Michael Crichton's "Next" last week and saw an article about your work! I blinked and said that's funny, and looked closer at the Newcastle-Upon-Tyme reference and he had you as an evolutionary psychologist, referencing your work on maturity. Sorry for repeating all of that as you're probably already aware of it, but it was a weird cross-over of fiction and real-life. Did you read the book by chance? A rather scathing critique of reckless people convinced they can mutilate nature for their own purposes.
@B - Yes, that was me. The particular article was featured by the NYT, which is probably how Crichton heard about it. I haven't actually read the novel, however - except the page about my work!
> And I have a strong feeling that this will happen very soon (days or weeks soon).
If Christianity is true, then we don't really die, we just change locations. So how dare you threaten us with a good time?
My understanding of prophecy/scripture leads me to believe that the 'End Times' will be a slow rolling event that could take years. I also believe the rolling has started (probably started decades ago) and is gaining speed and horrific-ness.
Whatever it is, it is horrible.
Barry
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