Many religions have at least one apocalyptic myth describing the end of the world accompanied by a "savior" who appears in the sky at the last minute to rescue the "chosen" from annihilation or wrath. Mayans, Assyrians, Egyptians and Greeks held similar beliefs. Hopi prophecy talks of a time of great destruction, when their lands will be preserved as "a blue star, far off and invisible, makes its appearance." Today, even factions of the New Age look for a techno-savior to appear in the clouds to save mankind from itself.
My fear is that we've allowed ourselves to be manipulated into believing in imminent salvation, either independently or perhaps assisted by the psychosocial "control system" suggested by Jacques Vallee. As someone who thinks we are indeed interacting with some form of nonhuman intelligence (which in all likelihood transcends the scope of ufology), I don't find the idea repellent -- just appallingly unlikely and childish.
Either we make the evolutionary cut on our own terms -- an achievement that will probably redefine our identity as sentient beings -- or we do not. Both possibilities are fraught with an almost vertiginous sense of displacement and the gnawing specter of transience.
7 comments:
I simply meant that our destiny is largely in our own hands. We can't sit around and wait for Jesus or aliens (take your pick...) to bail us out.
"As flies to wanton boys are we to the gods. They use us for their sport."
--Shakespeare
Are you sure that wasn't Jacques Vallee...? ;-)
i'll buy that, mac. but if you are willing to believe in lots of stuff that is 'unlikely' in many people's minds, like aliens, then why can't you allow for something bigger - whatever it is?
Don't think I'm not allowing for it. I simply choose not to *believe* in it.
IMO, *faith* is the most insidious and destructive trap invented by mankind.
Which is one more reason to detest the Bush administration, with its love affair with "faith-based" initiatives.
This creates a kind of "positive feedback loop" of believe that makes it virtually impervious to rational argument. Which is, of course, the whole idea.
Well-put!
>>"IMO, *faith* is the most insidious and destructive trap invented by mankind."
I agree with you completely on this point. The thing that I always wonder is; it seems such an obvious trap, why do so many people fall for it? What drives the need to believe? Life seems a lot more interesting to me, if you are not locked into one position.
Life seems a lot more interesting to me, if you are not locked into one position.
I think the basic neurological basis for belief evolved to enable group solidarity. Unfortunately, now it's vestigial and good for nothing but exacerbating ignorance and spawning tribal warfare.
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