If you read my previous post: The Day America Died, you may recall these words:
" When the dark side of human nature is left unchecked, chaos will always encroach. For even in the Garden of Paradise the Prince of Darkness raised his ugly head and questioned the authority of God. Since that time the personification of evil has never been more than a whisper away."
As a reader, I've never been into the post apocalyptic dystopian genre. However, Hugh Howey caught my attention a couple of years ago when I stumbled upon the first installment of his Silo Series, WOOL. I quickly learned there are tons of people into the genre. So many, in fact, that Hugh became somewhat of an over night success, and was catapulted to the top, securing a place among Amazons best sellers. It has given him a platform from which he continues to write, and has also become somewhat of a voice crying in the publishing wilderness, championing the cause of fellow Indie's,
Realizing there is an ocean of readers thirsty for more apocalyptic/dystopian literature, and scanning the horizon of current events, both abroad and here in the U.S. has piqued my interest inspiring something dystopian in my own pursuit.
And with that, comes a whole litany of questions. Like: What is it about an end of the world scenario that grabs people? Why, at times, does it become an obsession? When it finally does happen, what will it look like, and how bad can it get?
If you're familiar with dystopian literature, you already know the preceding questions have been incorporated into multiple storylines a thousand time over. That being the case, I would like to pose a much lager question that has less to do with the end, and more to do with the beginning.
And its not the beginning, or end of the world to which I speak, but rather the ontology of the idea. To be more specific, I want to know who, or what, planted the first seeds of a DOOMSDAY APOCILYPS into the human psyche? It appears the concept has been around for a very long time.
For example, Old Testament prophets spoke to the impending destruction of Jerusalem over three thousand years ago. The prophet Jeremiah not only saw judgment coming, but also endured the siege and lived to record it. You can read about the mayhem in his Book of Lamentations. When Nebuchadnezzar invaded, and then departed with slaves and spoils the prophet wept, "How empty sits the city, that was once filled with people."
The same prophets who predicted the fall of Jerusalem also foresaw the coming of The Messiah, and seven hundred years later, He was born in the City of Bethlehem. It has since become the most celebrated birth place on the planet. He was eventually rejected by the masses, but followed by a few, who became the foundational world changers called The Church.
He did not fit the description for which the establishment had been looking, but rather celebrated a Kingdom that is not of this world. And, as far this world goes, He had a few things to say about that also. Among them being.... it's going to end.
For those who's soul purpose is to live for the beauty and bounty of this world, His words will be a little unsettling. For He spoke of global conflict in the midst of famine and pestilence. Depending on your theology, many believe the Scripture forewarns of an ultimate battle between good and evil, to be played out in the valley of Megiddo.
Many of my friends in the Arts community will perceive me as preaching to the choir, but that is not my purpose. So, to make that point please allow me to Segway into the scientific, for a brief moment. Astrophysics informs us of the fact that the universe is expanding. We now understand the earth is not at it's center. When the Archbishop of Canterbury read Einstein's theory of relativity he asked the renowned scientist, "What will this mean for the church and the Christian Faith." Einstein, who believed in a creator, responded, "Nothing."
If you follow the logic, and realize the earth is uniquely positioned in the galaxy to support life, then it is not a very far leap, to see with an expanding universe, there will come a time when the earth will no longer, be positioned to support life. Which, leads to a conclusion that, one day, our world is going to end.
If that's not enough to raise an eyebrow or two, consider our nearest star. It's called the sun and has maintained a controlled nuclear explosion every second of its powerful existence. That is mind blowing. However, like all stars, our sun has a life span, and there will come a time when it will eventually burn out and collapse upon itself. Those in the know predict when that happens, the rest of the planets in our galaxy will be sucked into a giant black hole left in its wake. If we can connect the dots, science is telling us something about the future of the planet earth. One day, it is going to end. It's not a matter of if, its a question of when. And, to some degree, how.
Those of you who read this blog know I'm no theologian. Astrophysics is a foreign language to this undereducated country boy, so I make no claims there. However, as stated above, if we but connect the dots, theology and science come to a similar conclusion, as far as the earth goes. At the the end of the day, Pun intended, "She's a ... going to end."
I am a Christian and believe there will be, as scripture declares, "A New Heaven and A New Earth." However, my delve into the dystopian genre and short story that's soon to be released on Amazon, will have several twist and turns that may leave my friends scratching their heads, and wondering if perhaps, I've jumped off the bus. The short answer to that question is, no I've not.
-- Until we meet here again,
Cam
No comments:
Post a Comment