inquiry negative one draft

7/30/2019 Inquiry Negative One Draft

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Caleb Wright English 1103 Negative One Draft Inquiry Paper

Introduction

Reference that movie Knowing that has Nicolas Cage in it. The movie is all

about dates and catastrophe and predicting the end of the world. The difference is,

in that movie, the prediction was actually correct, whereas in todays society the

hundreds upon hundreds of predictions have been wrong. Talk about how society

has been enthralled and consumed with predicting the end of the world since the

time of Ancient Rome. Mention Hippolytus, Isaac Newton, and Charles Manson.

Start with What do Hippolytus, Sir Isaac Newton, and the infamous Charles Manson

all have in common? Then concede that they all predicted the end of the world.

Two of the passively predicted it and the latter tried to precipitate it through a failed

attempt to start a race war.

Ivana, Wynn. "The 12 Greatest End of the World Prophesy Fails." (2011): n.pag. Ranker.

Web. 5 Nov 2012. .

Source 1

There have been several predictions since the beginning of the 20th century

that stand out above the rest. Begin with Marshall Applewhite and the mass suicide

of the Heavens Gate cult:

(Source Summary)

"Marshall Herff Applewhite."Bibliography.com. 2012. Web. 4 Nov. 2012..


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Marshall Herff Applewhite and Bonnie Lu Nettles started a cult called Heavens Gate in

the 1970s that brought about a combination of theology focused on the Book of

Revelation and belief in extraterrestrial science fiction. The couple believed that they

were the two witnesses prophesied about in Revelation and that the end times were upon

them. They believed the Earth was going to be recycled. Nettles died in Dallas, Texas in

1985 from cancer, which affected Applewhites mental health in a negative way. He

continued to lead the Heavens Gate cult, though it lost some of its approximate two

hundred person following in the late 1980s and early 90s. When the Hale-Bopp comet

came around in the mid-90s Applewhite saw this as the end of the world as people knew

it, and he decided the only way to transcend this world and enter the next tier of existence

was to kill himself so his soul could enter a spaceship supposedly attached to the comet.

On March 21st, 1997 Applewhite and around forty of his followers took their lives. The

world, however, kept spinning. There was NOT a spaceship attached to the Hale-Bopp

comet. And the world has existed for the last 15 years since without any signs of

stopping.

I like this article because it illustrates the absurdity of some of these doomsday

predictions. These people killed themselvesI repeat, KILLED THEMSELVES

because they thought the earth was going to perish and that aliens could save their souls if

they left their bodies. Really? The belief in itself is nave, but trying to back it up in a

faith that draws from Christian doctrine is beyond far-fetched. Id like to see that verse in

the Bible.


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Source 2

Move into the more recent predictions of Harold Camping. Talk about 1994

and 2011. Talk about his remorse and the negative impact it had on his followers

lives:

(Source Summary)Garance, Burke. "Harold Camping Admits He Was Wrong About End of World

Prediction."Huffington PostSeptember 3 (2012). Web. 4 Nov 2012.

.

Harold Camping made a prediction for the world to end on May 21st, 2011. He claimed

that this was the day that the Rapture predicted in the Christian New Testament would

occur. This date passed without any mass disappearances or the return of Christ. So

Camping recalculated and decided he made a mathematical error. The real day of

apocalypse was to be October 21st, 2012not May 21st, 2011. Guess what? October 21st

has come and gone, and we are still here. Shocking, right? Camping actually had a

prediction all the way back in 1994 that, as it turns out, was ALSO WRONG. Strike

three, sir. You are out. This is the kind of thing that just makes me shrug and shake my

head. The man is a self-proclaimed Protestant Christian. I find this to be truly ironic.

Why? Because if the man understood the implications of what he was saying, he

wouldnt say it! The Christian New Testament says No one knows about that day or

hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. So, a man who

claims to know when the world is going to end because of his Christian faith is directly

contradicting the doctrine of the faith he claims to be following. Catch-22. After his last

failed prediction, Camping had a stroke and has apologized to his THOUSANDS of

followers for his sinful and incorrect predictions.


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Source 3

Here is where I start bringing it home with the prediction for December 21st,

2012. This is where I will start digressing and letting my personal spite spill

through. This is where I begin to highlight how I think the whole thing is bullshit.

People are using this prediction, not because they truly think the world will end, but

for personal gain. Businesses are using it to turn a profit. Who wouldnt want end

of the world merchandise? Hollywood is using it to make blockbuster films. Shame

on you, John Cusack. Shame on you. Reliable television channels, such as the

History Channel, are endorsing this Mayan Apocalypse and backing it up with

Nostradamus to draw in viewers. And individuals are using this The sky is falling

mentality as an excuse to live out their own hedonistic and carnal desires. People

are so enthralled with this idea that were destroying the world and that were all

going to die if something or someone doesnt save us. Or if we dont save ourselves.

The problem is everyone wants to save the world. But maybe the world doesnt

need saving

United States. NASA. 2012: Beginning of the End or Why the World Won't End?. 2011.Print. Web. 4 Nov. 2012.

.

December 21st, 2012 The end of the world? Apparently not. At least, NASA and the

United States government dont seem to think so. Actually, according to NASA, this

December apocalypse isnt the first of its kind to be predicted. Back in 2003, almost the

exact same world-ending apocalypse was predicted. It was announcedfalselythat

NibiruA FICTIONAL PLANETwas headed towards Earth on a collision course.

There is no Nibiru, so there can be no danger from it. Fearing Nibiru is on a level similar


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to fearing Darth Vader or Captain Hook: ridiculous. Its incorrect, also, the belief that the

Mayanspredicted the end of the world in this December. The Mayans calendar cycle

ends on the 21st

of this December, but then a new cycle begins, just like a new year will

begin for us on January 1st. I find it all a bit facetious. Why are people so enthralled with

this? I dont have any answer. They want to predict the end of society. They want to just

be able to give up on work and leading productive lives for a hedonistic last call. They

arent so lucky. The world will keep spinning whether they will it or not. People need to

stop being crazy and get some serious psychiatric help or learn to keep the insanity

bottled up.

Conclusion

Concede that there is truly no way to know if a prediction is correct or

incorrect until we wake up the day after. Point out that no prediction to this day has

ever been correct, and one probably never will be. The Earth will not last forever,

but we cant quantify how long it will last for. We can try. But we will fail. We have

always failed. No amount of technology or money is going to change that. SO why

do we predict the end of the world now that we know it never works out? Old

habits die hard, I suppose. People do it for different reasons, and I guess no one can

ever know unless theyre one of the loons who does it. Some friendly advice,

though: if you think the world is ending, seek psychiatric help, but please, for the

love of all things living, keep it to your fucking self.

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