Pussycat cam

I heard on the radio this morning that Purina is sponsoring a webcast of ten cats all living in a house together. If you watch this you deserve to be shot. I will not offer the link, lest I cause a death from boredom.

As an avid student of history, it is always with interest I study the attitudes and beliefs of our forebears. Scenarios detailing the end of time have often dominated history. Every major religion has an end of time scenario, and many are similar. The Sunni Muslim depiction of the Mahdi is similar to the Jewish Messiah and Christian return of Christ. The turmoil and war that precedes the triumphant return of the Savior is prevalent in all three tales. One can find similar beliefs in many other religions, including the adherents of the Ghost Dance craze among the Plains Indians in the 1890's.

The people of the 5th Century were convinced they were living in the end times. Christianity was making significant inroads into paganism. Daily life was hard, one lived in constant fear of raids by other tribes / nations. The beginnings of the feudal system were taking hold. It was truly the dark ages. The idea of the triumphant return of Christ had great appeal. I am sure many a Christian was disappointed when the year 500 came and went without the Antichrist or the return of the Savior.

We again find ourselves in a time of turmoil. The world appears to poised for the apocalypse. Iran threatening the Promised Land with nukes, nations around the globe poised to unleash nuclear hellfire upon each other in the name of religion. Is the Antichrist among us? Is the end time near? Are we closer than ever? Could we not claim that the days of WWI or WWII were more catastrophic, more terrifying, closer to the war of wars?

What do you think? Are we entering the end times? Is our date with destiny in the far distant future? Will there be the apocalypse? Is it too nice a day to worry about such gloomy fates?