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| from Amazon.com |
Is this the Zombie Apocalypse? I think not.
Is it the End of Days?
Sylvia Browne, who died in 2013 (I wonder if she foresaw her
own death?) wrote this book in 2008, predicting (as I read yesterday on CNN
(see link below) that around 2020, a
pneumonia-like virus that would sweep the world, disappear as quickly as it
appeared, reappear 10 years later, and then… something. I read about what she
said but lost interest. No, I don’t think it is the end of days. Who needs her
when we have Nostradamus? That said, this thing is “flying off the shelves,” as
it were, in audio form. The actual book is almost as rare as Pappy, and going
for hundreds of dollars. If I am spending that kind of money on something to
make me crazy, I am going for the Pappy. https://www.cnn.com/2020/03/22/world/doomsday-prophets-coronavirus-blake/index.html)
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| from Amazon.com |
Now, if you are interested in an interesting book, and like Steven King (who is an agnostic
Methodist, as I understand it. Like many others, it would seem)—I recommend The Stand. It is a 1978 book about a
pandemic caused by a weaponized virus that very nearly wipes out the world—but
only to the stage for the Final battle between good and evil (Browne meets
Nostradamus). A little old woman, African-American, sitting in a rocking chair
on the porch of her cabin in a Nebraska cornfield, I believe it was (I haven’t
read it since seminary), represents God against the Devil’s urban,
sophisticated Las Vegas guy. Now that was
pretty interesting, but I don’t consider it prophecy. Nor was the mini-series
that got made of it (in 1994) very enjoyable.
I
have been reading that a lot of people have been watching Contagion, a 2011 movie starring the Goop lady herself, the internet
influencer and weird-wannabe of rich mothers everywhere, Gwyneth Paltrow. For
that reason alone I have no interest (though I do like her Pepper Potts to Robert
Downey’s Iron Man, but that has far more to do with Marvel than Goop. Maybe I
will get around to it, after I catch-up on Westworld,
The Marvelous Ms. Maisle, Picard, and finally, finally, watch The Mandalorian. I subscribed to Disney
Plus six weeks ago for that reason, and I have not watched a thing.
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| from Amazon.com |
For my part, last night, I watched Daniel Craig’s James Bond
in both Casino Royale (2006) and Spectre. The first is a great movie, the
second…not quite so great. BUT, when Madeleine Swan asks him in the dining car,
“Why, with every other option, would anyone choose ‘paid assassin’?” Bond:
“Well, it was either that or the priesthood.” Yeah, that is the way I saw it
too… but I chose the priesthood, as it were, and not only because I am deaf,
have bad joints, terrible reflexes, hate violence [except in Bond movies], look
terrible in a bathing but because I have somewhat of a moral center based
around “love your enemies.” That said, I really do like James Bond. Eager to
see No Time to Die, especially as it
is Craig’s last turn at it.
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| From JamesBondLifestyle.com |
I guess what
interests me most is the fascination some seem to have with The End. Some
pastors—to my mind unscrupulous and irresponsible ones (as irresponsible as the
scams promising you a corona-resistant face mask)—are using the sickness and
suffering now gripping the planet to stoke fear of God’s judgment and wrath.
Mix three measures of self-righteousness with one of anger, a half-understanding
of Bible, shake it together till it’s ice cold and add a thin peel of
fruitiness… Oh, wait. That sounds a little like Bond’s Vesper (which you can’t
make anymore)… If this is the signal for Jesus' return, "Lord, haste the day." But our thinking about the Day is a matter of hope, not anger; results in joy, not fear.
All
of us are trying to “mind the gap,” as it, were.
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| from outsideinvestments.com |
Better, I think, to fill the gap with prayer and faith, with
Bible and trust, with entertainment that you know is in fact entertainment and
inspiration or strategy. Or fortune-telling.
What was it the comedian said? “I will take the Psychic Friends
seriously when they call me.” Nor does God have to eliminate the population for
a showdown between Good and Evil. Heck, that happens in every heart, every day—though
a season of fear amplifies the battle. Maybe COVID-19 will just disappear (I
have heard that from other loons beside Ms. Browne). Maybe it is here to stay
or will reappear. Who knows but God.
All I will say is that Jesus, while reminding his disciples
that they lived in dangerous times, said, “Fear not.” Over and over again, “Fear
not.” Which is why the old hymn, so comforting, takes on a far more credible “prophetic”
meaning than any of the doomsday predictions:
This is my Father’s world. Oh, let me ne’er forget,
that though the wrong seems oft so strong God is the ruler yet.
This is my Father’s world. Why should my heart be sad?
The Lord is king, let the nations sings. God reigns, let the earth be glad.
This is my Father’s world. Oh, let me ne’er forget,
that though the wrong seems oft so strong God is the ruler yet.
This is my Father’s world. Why should my heart be sad?
The Lord is king, let the nations sings. God reigns, let the earth be glad.
