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It is almost unbelievable how gullible are human beings. Nearly every generation has its prophets and doomsayers who warn of the imminent catastrophe resulting in the end of the world.
As far back as 365 CE a Roman Bishop called Hilary of Poitiers announced that the end would happen that year.
It did not.
In 500 CE three separate individuals -- Hippolytus of Rome, Sextus Julius Africanus, and Irenaeus -- predicted Jesus would return in the year 500. One prediction was based on the dimensions of Noah's ark.
Jesus did not return at the specified time.
On April 6, in 793 CE Beatus of Liébana, a Spanish monk prophesied the second coming of Christ and the end of the world that day to a crowd of people.
Once again, neither the second coming nor the end of the world occurred.
There were many, many more such accounts from pompous old fools like those from ancient times that made similar unfulfilled predictions.
In more modern times, Martin Luther himself predicted the end of the world would occur no later than 1600.
In his Book of Prophecies (1501), Christopher Columbus predicted that the world would end in 1656.
When the world did not end in 1656 Columbus claimed that the world was created in 5343 BCE, and would last 7000 years. Assuming no year zero, that means the end would come in 1658.
John Wesley, the founder of the Methodist Church, foresaw the Millennium beginning this year. He wrote that Revelation 12:14 referred to the years 1058–1836, "when Christ should come".
The Catholic Apostolic Church founded in 1831, claimed that Jesus would return by the time the last of its 12 founding members died. The last member died in 1901.
Herbert W. Armstrong, the founder of the Worldwide Church of God told members of his church that the Rapture was to take place in 1936, and that only they would saved. After the prophecy failed, he changed the date three more times.
Jeane Dixon, a popular psychic predicted a planetary alignment on February 4, 1962 was to bring destruction to the world.
In late 1976 Pat Robertson predicted that the end of the world would come in 1982.
Louis Farrakhan, The leader of the Nation of Islam declared that the Gulf War would be the "War of Armageddon which is the final war."
California psychic Sheldan Nidle predicted that the world would end on December 17, 1996, with the arrival of 16 million space ships and a host of angels.
Jerry Falwell foresaw God pouring out his judgement on the world on January 1, 2000. (Both Isaac Newton and Edgar Cayce had also predicted that Christ's Millennium would begin in the year 2000).
There are hundreds, maybe thousands more, all just as childish and moronic.
The one prediction I do believe (made by multitudes of scientists) is this one:
At the end of our Sun's current phase of development, 5,000,000,000 years from now, it will swell into a red giant, either swallowing the Earth or at least completely scorching it. It is widely accepted by the scientific community that the earth will be destroyed around this time. However, as the Sun grows gradually hotter (over millions of years), the Earth may become too hot for life in only a billion years' time.
Of course, I probably won't be around to witness it.
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TRIVIA
Scientists who study volcanoes are called Volcanologists.
(Imagine that)
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HISTORICAL EVENT
A westerly wind protected Herculaneum from the initial stage of the eruption, but then a giant cloud of hot ash and gas surged down the western flank of Vesuvius, engulfing the city and burning or asphyxiating all who remained. This lethal cloud was followed by a flood of volcanic mud and rock, burying the city.
The people who remained in Pompeii were killed on the morning of August 25 when a cloud of toxic gas poured into the city, suffocating all that remained. A flow of rock and ash followed, collapsing roofs and walls and burying the dead.
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WORD FOR TODAY
catastrophe
noun
1. a sudden and widespread disaster: the catastrophe of war.
2. any misfortune, mishap, or failure; fiasco.
3. a final event or conclusion; a disastrous end.
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CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS
Stephen Fry is an English actor, screenwriter, author, playwright, journalist, poet, comedian, television and radio presenter, film director, activist, and board member of Norwich City Football Club.
Fry became involved with the Cambridge Footlights, where he met his long-time collaborator Hugh Laurie. As half of the comic double act Fry and Laurie, he co-wrote and co-starred in A Bit of Fry & Laurie, and took the role of Jeeves (with Laurie playing Wooster) in Jeeves and Wooster.
Marlee Beth Matlin
(born August 24, 1965)
(born August 24, 1965)
Marlee Matlin is an American actress. She is the only deaf performer to win the Academy Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role, which she won for Children of a Lesser God.
Matlin made her stage debut at the age of seven, as Dorothy in a children's theatre (ICODA) version of The Wizard of Oz. Her discovery by Henry Winkler during one of her ICODA theater performances ultimately led to her film debut in Children of a Lesser God (1986).
In 1989, she played a deaf widow in Bridge to Silence. Matlin was nominated for a Golden Globe award for her work as the lead female role in the television series Reasonable Doubts (1991–1993) and was nominated for an Emmy Award for a guest appearance in Picket Fences. She became a regular on the series during its final season. She portrayed Carrie Buck in the television drama Against Her Will: The Carrie Buck Story (1994).
Matlin appeared during the 20th season of the TV series, Sesame Street, with Billy Joel. Matlin later had recurring roles in The West Wing, and Blue's Clues. Other television appearances include Seinfeld ("The Lip Reader"), The Outer Limits ("The Message"), ER, Desperate Housewives, CSI: NY and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.
In 2002, Matlin published her first novel, Deaf Child Crossing, which was loosely based on her own childhood. She wrote and published a sequel to Deaf Child Crossing, titled Nobody's Perfect.
Steve Gutenberg is an American actor and comedian. He became well known during the 1980s after a series of starring roles in major Hollywood films, including Diner, Cocoon, Three Men and a Baby, Police Academy, and Short Circuit.
Orson Scott Card
(born August 24, 1951)
(born August 24, 1951)
Orson Scott Card is an American novelist, critic, public speaker, essayist and columnist. He writes in several genres but is known best for science fiction. His novel Ender's Game (1985) and its sequel Speaker for the Dead (1986) both won Hugo and Nebula Awards, making Card the only author to win both science fiction's top U.S. prizes in consecutive years. A film adaptation of Ender's Game is currently in development, and is set for release on November 1, 2013. Card is co-producing the film.
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The average man is a conformist, accepting miseries and disasters with the stoicism of a cow standing in the rain.
--Colin Wilson
NASA TV
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