Posted on 10/24/2015 2:42:28 PM PDT by lee martell
I occasionally listen to George Noory, on a radio show called Coast to Coast. This program used to be hosted by Art Bell. It features a dialog about paranormal experiences, UFO's, debates about green, evolution and religious issues. Every so often, so often, a guest will come on the air saying we are 'in the last days' before the apocalypse. Most recently, there was talk of The Shemitah; a belief of events starting with the appearance of a Blood Moon, that eventually lead to the end times. The end of the shemitah year was on Sept. 13th. The date passed by uneventfully, with neither Israel or the U.S. shown to be in any great peril.
I used to really keep up with those 'ending dates', a small part of me expecting something to happen. The last time I really fell for it (privately of course, as I would never voice an expectation that some would say borders on 'nutty') was during the summer of 1993; the summer of the Hale-Bopp Comet. The comet was discovered by two men simultaneously. Alan Hale, an astronomer in California and Thomas Bopp, a construction store manager who was a stargazer as a hobby discovered what some call the last Great Comet of the Twentieth Century. Great Comets are sometimes seen as harbingers of doom,i.e. the Great Comet of 1861, which appeared just before the Civil War, or the 1811 Great Comet, said to have come just before Napoleon's invasion of Russia. The Hale-Bopp had no major wars associated with it, but it's appearance coincided with a peak of general interest in celestial phenomenon and a popularity of paranormal talk shows, such as Art Bell's Coast to Coast. Many UFO buffs began the suggestion that there was an extraterrestrial spacecraft following in the tail of the Hale-Bopp Comet.
How about you, do you, or does someone close to you spend an inordinate amount of time living in the past or living in a state of waiting for the future, where the grass is always just a little bit greener than what we seen today?
Unfortunately, some took this speculation as literal fact. Enter the California cult named Heaven's Gate: a group based on UFO idolatry and ideation. Heavens Gate was led by Marshall Applewhite. In March of 1997, as Hale-Bopp was at its most prominent in the sky, 39 members of the cult committed ritual suicide, believing their souls would ascend to the UFO supposedly trailing the comet.
The news of this tragic event made me stop and think. Why was I so 'eager' for there to be an 'end times' scenario? What was I wanting to avoid or get away from? Had I given up thinking that I would find happiness in this physical existence? This was a healthy meditation for me to have. Since then, though I follow some celestial events and do listen to Coast to Coast (except when they spend too much time discussing Hell), I think more for myself. I try to live for the present, and take more time when listening to others. I try to find something of value in everyone I encounter. No, I don't always succeed, but I consider this a worthy goal, an uplifting approach to enter each day.
Actually, no. It features authors pimping their latest books about paranormal experiences, UFOs, green, evolution, and religious issues.
Most notably missing are the debates, as Noory reflexively agrees with everything every guest espouses.
Very perceptive. I suppose you’re correct. I do wish Noory would stop certain guests from rambling at various times, or giving half-assed answers because they have gotten sleepy or fatiqued. Art Bell would not let some of these folks get away with their peripheral, non-linear approach to explaining their topics. I wish they’d let Barbara Simpson host a few shows. It remains mostly a Boys Club.
I was born with a bad heart.....buried LAD and HIS bundle abnormalities
Graves’ disease
Empty Sella syndrome
Two open heart surgeries and a Medtronics demand pacemaker
Pins galore in body from motorcycle wreck(s)
Scar tissue in lungs resulting in about 70% volume
Pumping coefficient 45% which is actually good considering
Pretty steady atrial jumping around beats pvcs and some flutter
Sometimes the end of the world sounds damn good
At least me and my large family could all go together ....when I check out my family will have a terrible time of it...not financially but leadership and security wise...unless I can hold on at Gods will till my boys have more maturity then they can care for their mom and weather me suddenly gone from their lives
Any parent here middle aged with small kids knows what I mean
But what the hell....I love life...I truly do....especially a woman and kids and seeing the world....the American west though I’m a devoted southron
With 9 dependants and zillions in mortgages everywhere I don’t have time to ponder a lot which is why I usually post at 3am
I am on the go twice what most men half my age do and at almost 58 I still chase my 50 year old old lady around like she’s still 30
You gotta run with it...don’t self obsess and all that crap
When I was young most men were like me....they didn’t quit and they weren’t less masculine than their women
If the end of the world comes it’ll be Gods favor but for now I live everyday for all I can
I suggest we all do
I dread being old and infirm and mentally out of it
May the end of the world come first ....at least my world
(Speech over)
End of the world?
Not yet....Christians gonna have to get their balls back and destroy Satans emissaries here first ....don’t doubt me
Youre just a kid hon but I share your lament
+100
Your story is both impressive and inspiring. You are their Rock of Gibraltar. Cue Paul Simon’s song “I am a rock”.
Someone will set up to the plate in your absence. They may not yet know their own inner strength, and will not until they have to know.
There’s only so much I’ll say on a public forum to you or about you because I don’t want to embarrass you or dare to make you blush.
Yes, you’re a medical mess, and if part of that was God’s original doing, He sure made up for those ‘fixable’ maladies with the brain and goodness in the heart He gave you. You are a GOOD Christian MAN in every sense of those words: a totally devoted, loving, respectful husband, father and, I’ll add son, because, occasionally you will write about your upbringing and your respect for your parents, their wonderful influences and the beauty titles your mom held.
You are the family man every child deserves.
God bless and keep you, dearest wardaddy and your beautiful family.
The reduction of eschatology to "doomsday" is a result of the classical chrstian rejection of a literal Messianic kingdom in favor of a purely figurative "spiritual" one.
Perhaps you’re correct. I don’t know. It’s hard to see any manner of life on this physical earth as being ‘heavenly’ to all people at the same time. What is beautiful, spacious and bright to one person, may be lonely, empty and scorching to someone else. I admit to being earthbound in my limited way of seeing the world. Earthbound, but not necessarily secular.
Are you sure you were replying to me? I only stated that we’ll know the bible apocalyptic time frame when we see the banks putting a chip (the mark) on our bodies (arms or foreheads) in order to buy and sell.
Only said that we’ll know the apocalyptic calendar when we see the One World Government, One World Economy/Currency and One World Religion...
Not sure what you were talking about... at all. You must have been replying to another post.
Ummmm....You might try going back to art bell....he is back in the saddle with his own show..(internet based)
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.