Are we living in the end times?

**Biggreenfellow** · November 23, 2010, 12:27 PM

I'm really looking forward to 2012 myself. I expect a LOT of people are going to top themselves. I also know that a lot of poor fools have quite their jobs, cashed in on their savings and everything to start building up a large emergency supply and 'safe houses' to survive the end of the world. And then, when 2012 comes, and nothing happens, I am going to laugh. so. hard.

**★Bandiera Rossa☭** · November 23, 2010, 01:31 PM

He seems to think it will have something to do with Global Warming and biotechnology.

**RO Citizen** · November 23, 2010, 01:42 PM

Another year, another people saying these are the end times...since the start of humankind ppl liked to believe that they're special in a dark manner: they're living the last moments!!

**frank_garrett** · November 23, 2010, 02:18 PM

no but we are living in retarded times. i actually fear were going backwords because the common man dosent need to think anymore. with all the tv,video games,internet and idiotic stuff

**Hax** · November 23, 2010, 06:19 PM

no but we are living in retarded times. i actually fear were going backwords because the common man dosent need to think anymore. with all the tv,video games,internet and idiotic stuff

You're forgetting forums. Like these. And bad grammer, too.

**Sphere** · November 23, 2010, 07:20 PM

Actually you already missed it

It happened in 1843

err...Actually it was little before that even

Spoiler Alert, click show to read:

"Verily I say unto you, there be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom." (Matthew 16:28)

-Jesus Christ

**Their Law** · November 24, 2010, 07:40 AM

Originally Posted by basics

" I mean look at Christianity, a 2000 year old doomsday cult that relies on the concept that there will be an end times. "

Their Law,

I have to tell you that Christianity goes all the way back to righteous Abel, perhaps even before, thus making it at least some six thousand years old. This doomsday cult as you call it has been waiting and watching for the return of Jesus Christ since His elevation to the glory because that is where we all who are born again want to be. The finishing part of this hope is that according to what has been promised will be accomplished by there being an end of time.

And this doesn't make it a doomsday cult (religion if you prefer) how? At the end of the day, Christianity has a strong doomsday myth, dressing it up in the idea of redemption and saviours doesn't change that.

**Squiggle** · November 24, 2010, 03:31 PM

Originally Posted by justicar5

theres the problem that jesus stated some of his disciples, the ones at his feet, would be alive in the end times...

Uhh..did you not read the example of the fig tree? Once you notice the branches become tender and sprout leaves summer is about to start? Its saying once you start to see the signs of the return of the Lord, that generation will live to see the end. I.e the process will take about a life time, 40 ish years from start to finish.

**Elfdude** · November 24, 2010, 04:26 PM

I like the video and he has many interesting ideas. Do I think we're at the end times? No, I highly doubt anything more than a slight failure of civilization will ever occur to the human race. However there's a difference from the world ending as we know it and the world ending all together. As we know it the world is destined to change.

Genetic engineering and artificial intelligence have always been the ideas that have most worried me as triggering that change. I'm not afraid that genetic engineering is going to trigger a superbug that kills us all but rather my fears are the same as his, who can we expect to regulate genetic engineering? How can we hold them accountable? I think he's right, both market forces and state regulation will fail. The only other option in my mind is individual regulation or standardization. Either everyone gets it, or people are only allowed to perform extensively it on themselves.

Artificial intelligence has a similar issue. Who can we possibly expect to regulate artificial intelligence. Part of the problem is simply the lack of understanding of intelligence and at which point someone/something becomes like man. Do we treat them as equals and hope they work for our approval? Do we make them into slaves trusting in our ability to control them? Invariably there will be more powerful AI's than others. Does this mean an AI with the intelligence of nearly a god (if not complete omniscience) and access to our databanks might eventually exist? How do we prevent it from taking over? Can we even prevent it from taking over?

Unfortunately like him I think complete avoidance is simply denying ourselves the benefits that both technologies can bring.

**The Dude** · November 24, 2010, 04:37 PM

Originally Posted by elfdude

Genetic engineering and artificial intelligence have always been the ideas that have most worried me as triggering that change. I'm not afraid that genetic engineering is going to trigger a superbug that kills us all but rather my fears are the same as his, who can we expect to regulate genetic engineering? How can we hold them accountable?

[...]

Artificial intelligence has a similar issue. Who can we possibly expect to regulate artificial intelligence. Part of the problem is simply the lack of understanding of intelligence and at which point someone/something becomes like man. Do we treat them as equals and hope they work for our approval? Do we make them into slaves trusting in our ability to control them? Invariably there will be more powerful AI's than others. Does this mean an AI with the intelligence of nearly a god (if not complete omniscience) and access to our databanks might eventually exist? How do we prevent it from taking over? Can we even prevent it from taking over?

This is where great thinkers will have to once again claim their place in society as those who give us a manual for how to deal with reality. Martin Heidegger's "The Question Concerning Technology" is an excellent work that deals very intricately with these precise questions. I couldn't possibly begin to explain his thinking without doing him a great injustice but I think he has nailed it when he says that the essence of modern day technology is by no means anything technological.

If these things genuinely worry/interest you then I would advise you to start reading his work. It's very, very insightful. Difficult to digest, though, but once you get it it doesn't let you go.

**Marie Louise von Preussen** · November 24, 2010, 08:04 PM

We could then, figure out the long forgotten question on whether technological progress is inherently good and bad, and stop treating people who had a grudge against machines with blind intolerance. The question is, can we handle the power? Actually, this should have been answered before we made the A Bomb, but as always, sheer pragmatism has ensured everything went into a frighteningly smooth path.

I think, that given the imperfections of the human race, we will have to put an absolute halt somewhere. Whether this is viable or not, and where this limit lies, is open to debate.

Essentially, though, we are already slaves to our creations, and we already live in the midst of a dystopian technocratic society.

**Claudius Gothicus** · November 24, 2010, 08:39 PM

Yep... just like a decade ago, a century ago and a millenia ago we are still living in the end of times.

**Darth_Revan** · November 24, 2010, 08:44 PM

Originally Posted by Claudius Gothicus

Yep... just like a decade ago, a century ago and a millenia ago we are still living in the end of times.

**Phier** · November 24, 2010, 09:09 PM

I'm chatting at near the speed of light with people across the planet, in what is a modest home but if filled with luxuries a Roman Emperor would be in envy of, with more food than I can eat, and healthy children, and yet its the end times.

Sooner or later there will be an end time, and I bet no one will see it coming.

**Arbitrary Crusader** · November 24, 2010, 09:12 PM

Originally Posted by frank_garrett

no but we are living in retarded times. i actually fear were going backwords because the common man dosent need to think anymore. with all the tv,video games,internet and idiotic stuff

**The Dude** · November 25, 2010, 03:58 AM

Originally Posted by Phier

I'm chatting at near the speed of light with people across the planet, in what is a modest home but if filled with luxuries a Roman Emperor would be in envy of, with more food than I can eat, and healthy children, and yet its the end times.

Sooner or later there will be an end time, and I bet no one will see it coming.

None of these things are in any way indicative of whether or not we live in end times, however. So grats for having a home filled with useless luxuries but they're not gonna keep either planet earth or western civilisation afloat.

If we're of the opinion that our ridiculously oversized widescreen TV's in the ceilings of our bathrooms that we watch while enjoying a jacuzzi after a short drive home from some humongous supermarket in our Ford F450 on which we watch reality soaps about people who have even bigger TV's and even bigger cars and shop in even bigger stores is any sign whatsoever that things are well, then I fear that noone will see anything coming indeed.

**frontier-auxilia** · November 25, 2010, 04:10 AM

Yeah its not the best part of the year but if people spend sometime reading the history book, the older days are not much better instead its worse. Like a lot worse, just to put down some comparison, all the stuff that goes on for normal folks in books like the Song of Ice and fire would have been everyday occurence for people in the middle ages or earlier.