Human
Administrator
Location: Chicago
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Global warming isn't even remotely related to what's being discussed in this thread. In fact, the evidence for global warming - and the arguments people have been making regarding it - are specifically related to the arguments that have been made against the prophecies outlined here.
Global warming was not prophesied. Instead, the evidence, even very early on, was based on putting together logical, scientific explanations based on past trends and current behaviour.
In fact, I don't really understand the assertion that those who argue against wasting time thinking about prophesies that don't fit in any way, shape, or form with the way we know the world to work are finding any "false sense of security." For one thing, no one's saying that catastrophic events can't happen. You'll notice that there are plenty of people concerned, for example, about a catastrophic asteroid impact. Those concerns are based on past evidence and trends: asteroids have impacted in the past and they will impact again, and sometimes the impact will be so significant as to wipe out the dominant species. Some are more relaxed about the concerns, since the odds are so remote, but you'd be hard-pressed to find anyone who values science and knowledge in any way to claim that it will never happen. We don't know an asteroid impact will happen because of a prophesy: we know because it has happened before.
It is often claimed that, in an atheistic worldview - one which does not allow for prophesy, the universe is a cold, depressing place. There is no false sense of comfort there. While most events will follow the pattern of the past, those events all have no meaning. Katrina, for example, has no meaning. It was a terrible hurricane which killed many people for no reason at all. They are not going to a better place for their suffering, they are just dead. That's not comforting at all.
On the other hand, I live in Chicago and feel relatively confident that I will not be taken out by a giant tsunami anytime soon. Could it happen? Well...sure, perhaps if there was a significant enough asteroid impact in one of the oceans. Is it likely, not particularly. The knowledge that it's not likely to happen isn't comforting, just like the knowledge that it COULD happen isn't anything to be afraid of. It is what it is: just knowledge. I could choose to focus on the extremely remote possibility of it, and live my life worried about something that is almost certain to not effect me, or I can live with the knowledge that it may happen, but choose to live my life to its fullest not worrying about such remote things.
Prophesy, on the other hand, provides a whole ton of comfort. See, prophesy requires some greater force behind it. To make the example more concise, let's look at prophesy from a Christian perspective and specifically assume that there is a prophesy regarding a great tsunami, like I just mentioned previously. The great thing about that, assuming I'm Christian, is that if the prophesy is true, there is something else to follow after I'm killed by the tsunami. If I truly believe in such prophesies, I'm likely to be very careful to live according to the rules of the god represented in the prophesy, and therefore able to feel confident that I really have nothing to worry about. If there's any false sense of security, it is arguably there.
Prophesy allows for tragic events to have meaning. If the prophesy is more specific, such as the assassination of a world leader, then there is comfort that such acts are part of a Greater Narrative. And, the large majority of the time, that narrative includes Good prevailing in the end. No reason to worry there. If the prophesy is more globally tragic, such as a terrible tsunami, it provides comfort beyond just knowing it's part of a Great Narrative, but also in the knowledge that, if one dies as a result of the prophecy, they have something to look forward to afterwards.
Which brings me to the most important effect of prophecy. How does someone know that they don't have to worry about either 1) being killed by the tragic, prophesied event, or 2) what happens after dying in the tragic, prophesied event? They do everything they're told to by the religion which claims the prophesy. "Do this, and you will be protected from the great terrible things to come." The person who follows the rules - let's say, goes to church every Sunday - then lives with a false sense of security that even if an asteroid does impact the ocean and cause a giant tsunami they really don't have to worry about it. It is those people who don't particularly concern themselves with researching technologies to prevent potential asteroid impacts, or the catastrophic effects of global warming. These tragic things are all just part of God's Plan, and those who do what they're told have nothing to worry about.
It's all a matter of perspective. To the person who believes in prophecy, those who don't will surely look like they have a false sense of security. That is because believing in such prophesies requires living in fear of them and persistently concerning oneself with what must be done to prevent succumbing to their negative effects. There are only two options then: a false sense of security, or irrational fear. From that perspective, one who doesn't follow the prophesies either isn't as secure as you are, or isn't sufficiently afraid of what you are, respectively.
On the other hand, someone who does not believe in such prophesies, but does understand that abnormal events do occur, has what they believe to be a healthy sense of realism about the situation. Is it possible that an asteroid will impact the earth? Absolutely. Should we dedicate some energy to detecting such asteroids and developing methods to prevent such impacts? Absolutely. Should we be any more than only barely worried about such impacts? No. But, as the boy scouts say, be prepared.
In sum, prophesy is simply cosmological and mental terrorism.
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Le temps détruit tout
"Musicians are the carriers and communicators of spirit in the most immediate sense." - Kurt Elling
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