bts@unc.UUCP (11/06/83)
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This is the first installment of the End-of-the-World
Survey answers. Over a dozen people have responded. The
answers stopped coming in a couple of days ago, so I'll
assume that everyone who so desired has expressed his or her
opinion. Thanks to the following people for taking the time
to answer:
ulysses!smb pyuxss!aaw pegasus!avi
duke!nlt qubix!lab bmcg!parker
utcsrgv!dave wu1!rf utcsstat!laura
hou5d!mat wxlvax!slack liz@umcp-cs
zinfandel!greg ihuxi!rcj1 scc!steiny
I realize that this was a hard survey to answer in the
requested format. Only the first question intended a finite
range of answers, and most people had to spend several lines
explaining theirs. Similarly, I had some troubles in sum-
marizing the answers. Many people told me (without my asking
for the information) that they were Christian or Jewish. I
will include that informantion where appropriate. My attempt
at a summary follows:
1. Do you believe that the world will end in or around the
year 2000?
Christian Jewish No Information
No, or if so,
not because
of G-d's will- 1 2 5
Not necessarily
in 2000, but G-d
will do it SOON- 3
It will happen,
but there's no
reason to say
anytime soon- 2
No opinion- 1 1
Now for the (edited) comments. The responses from the
professed Christians will be in the next message. I'll start
out with Jewish responses.
Bruce Smith, UNC-Chapel Hill
decvax!duke!unc!bts (USENET)
bts.unc@CSnet-Relay (other NETworks)
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Historically, "end-of-the-world" beliefs are not uncom-
mon. The early Christians thought that the return of the
Christ was imminent. Later on, there was a great deal of
panic at the approach of the year 1000, that of course being
associated with the "millenium". (And of course it ignored
the fact that the origin of the calendar is off by a few
years -- Herod, I believe, died in -4 (and why isn't there a
year 0???).)
I'm told that some Jewish groups believe that the Mes-
siah will come before the year 6000 (according to the Hebrew
calendar, this is early 5744). But this is no more than a
vague, isolated tradition, and it doesn't say that the world
will end *in* 6000 -- merely some time before then. On the
other hand, I've been told by an orthodox rabbi that the
year 6000 merely marks the end of the lifespan of the
current calculated calendar -- which is actually quite sen-
sible; the references I've seen indicate that there is an
error of 4-7 days compared with the true solar calendar (I
don't remember the exact figures) over a period of 3000
years or so. Since the current calendar was instituted
around ~300 C.E., it would make sense to reset it in another
few hundred years. On the third hand, I'm not sure how much
attention the orthodox rabbis of today pay to the teachings
of modern astronomy (despite the fact that the Talmud
specifically commands one to study astronomy, at least for
the purpose of computing better calendars).
In our own time, there have been any number of groups
who have concluded that the Second Coming is imminent. Typ-
ically, these are small groups of people who follow some
preacher; they sell their property, camp out, and make the
papers when the world doesn't end.... Most recently I read
of a couple in New Jersey who refused to bury their
daughter, because they believed that her resurrection was
imminent.
I treat such beliefs the same way I treat any religious
beliefs. If people want to act according to an arbitrarily
odd value system (the phrase describes any religion, includ-
ing my own), they're welcome to. But if they try to use
their beliefs as a basis for interfering with me, I'll
oppose them, typically by denying the validity of their
beliefs as applied to (a) me; and (b) our society. (If they
have other reasons for acting as they do, I'll evaluate
those on their own merit.) James Watt was quoted as saying
he didn't believe in conservation specifically because he
felt that Christ was about to return.
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There are also plenty of nice normal people who don't
really careabout the next generation. There are people with
no children (left) who actually resent paying property taxes
etc. to keep other peoples kids in school. There are also
probably some non-believers who only look at the world
through the window of their own lifespans. They may simi-
larly assume the world will _ for all practical purposes _
end by 2050 or so.
1. Do you believe that the world will end in or around the
year 2000?
A: NO!!!! It may end earlier due to war or astronomical
catastrophes, or later due to similar reasons. There is
a finite possibility that some "fanatic" will feel the
need to make it come true.
2. Question does not apply
3. If not, then how tolerant are you of people who may
believe it? (If their behavior reflects this belief, is
it entirely their business?)
A: I have already answered much of the question above. I
will tolerate these people up to a point. I would
definitely not want to hire them in 1999 to build a
house for me. I probably would not vote for them for
public office (and I am sure they feel the same way
about me).
Addendum: In the last several thousand years, many Jewish
subgroups have predicted that the Messiah would arrive by a
particular time (somehow the time always kept moving for-
ward) and end the world as we now know it. One of the ear-
lier groups that did this were the early Christians. They
soon found that the world had not changed, so they seem to
be waiting for a second coming of Christ.
The Jews just keep rescheduling it. Some of the excuses
used include that God changed his plan because we had not
really repented enough yet, or that there was an alternative
explanation for the passage of scripture or physical
phenomenon that turned out to be more correct than the com-
ing of the Messiah. I consider much of this to be foolish-
ness. There are some (shameful) events in Jewish Herstory
that deal with "False Messiahs". One I remember well is
"Shabtai Tzvi" (spelling?) who got many to sell their homes
and head for the Holy Land. It was quite an embarrassment
when the Turks (I think) captured him and he (under duress)
converted to Islam.
I will stress, that rarely does this type of thing hap-
pen to Jews as a whole. Usually it occurs to subgroups. I
know of one Chasidic group in which some of the members
believe that the Messiah (our version) will come soon.
Their reasoning is based on the fact that their spiritual
leader (who they believe has god-like properties) does not
have any children. As far as I can grasp it, this implies to
them that maybe he is not totally human and does not really
need children. After all, if he is (will be?) the Messiah
then ...
Anyway, I think you get the point. I think it is ALL
foolishness, but if other people want to believe it, let
them do so. I was not as upset by the Jones guy in South
America that got his followers to commit suicide as I should
have been. My assumption was that anyone crazy (devoted?)
enough to kill themselves because someone told them to, may
not be that useful to have around. I am not sure how seri-
ously the previous statement should be taken.
One last question. Why the year 2000? I know it is a
nice round number, but why wasn't it 1000 or 3000 (or 666
for that matter). For those of us (like myself) who are
inclined to believing that Christ was born in about 4 B.C.
then maybe 1996 is all we have got.
One final comment: How did these people feel about
Space 1999. At least that TV show indicated that the "earth"
would be destroyed, while a few stragglers floated in
space/time.
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Judaism has varying views on when the Messiah will
arrive, but I believe they all call for it to be before the
year 6000. The first of Tishrei of the year 6000 will be
September 30, 2239. Of course, the world isn't going to
"end" - it will simply change for the better (signifi-
cantly).
We expect the Messiah to come much sooner than that.
Our daily prayers include "I firmly believe in the coming of
the Messiah, and even though he tarry, I will wait daily for
his coming." (Translation from the Hebrew, of course.)