Formulas, Assignment
February 4, 2012
Christy Warner
The concept
of formulas as it relates to this thesis, “The
Mysteries of 2012 and its Effects on Today’s Culture”, is reliant upon
history’s formula of eschatology. The
formula of humanity has long been tied to specific events believed to be the
destiny of all humanity, or the ultimate end.
This end to humanity is communicated through religion as a future event
foreseen in sacred texts and mythology.
As history is divided into “ages”, the Mayans and many other ancient
cultures has prophesied our current age, 2012, as the end of one way of living,
thinking, and being and the start of a new age of consciousness.
Eschatology,
as defined by most dictionaries, is “The science of last things, then, or the
science of the ultimate analysis”.
“Whereas all other sciences: chemistry, physics, music, astronomy,
physiology, and others are sciences of effect and deal with the relationships
existing between and among those effects, Eschatology is the science of cause
and deals exclusively in terms of cause” (Walter, 2012). Therefore, the ending of 2012 is the end of
an age, an era, or the world, as we know it.
Due to the misrepresentation of historical documents throughout time by
religious organizations and interpreters, many in today’s society understand
eschatology only as a cataclysmic end.
This narrow-minded process has led to a fear based society and public
media enhancing this fear through films such as, 2012 and 2012: Doomsday.
In a
comparison of eschatology done by Contender Ministries on Muslim, Jewish, and
Christian end-times prophecies, the following formulas are present in each
religion: 1) resurrection of the body,
2) destruction of the present world, 3) signs preceding judgment day, 4) all
physical people will experience physical death, and 5) hell as eternal
punishment (Rast, 2012). While these
ancient religious text offer similarities, there are also differences. One main difference is the “nature of God as
judge”. Islam believes the nature of God
as judge as, “Allah is arbitrary. Some
are born to knowledge while others are not.
Sura 35:8, “Verily God misleadeth whom He will, and guideth whom He
will.”” (Rast, 2012). Judaism says,
“YHWH is a just God. Genesis 18:25-26,
“Far be it from you to do such a thing – to kill the righteous with the wicked,
treating the righteous and the wicked alike.
Far be it from you! Will not the
Judge of all the earth do right? The
Lord said, If I find fifty righteous people in the city of Sodom, I will spare
the whole place for their sake.”” (Rast, 2012).
Christianity states, Romans 3:26, “God is just God”, II Peter 3:9, “The
Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to
perish, but everyone to come to repentance.” (Rast, 2012). Through the differences, it is also apparent
that “God is just a God”.
The
formulas presented in religious texts have helped shaped the formulas for
humanity and the ongoing eschatology that the world will end as we know
it. In a philosophy class at Berkeley,
Kant writes this in regards to The
Formula of Humanity,
Consider the following list of candidates
for ends-in-themselves: persons, things that we will as ends because we are inclined for them, and other
things. Things that we will as ends because we are inclined for them are
(normative) ends only conditionally. For
one thing, our willing them
because we are inclined for them is necessary to make
them ends. Moreover our willing them
because we are inclined for them is not even sufficient to make them ends, since our
achieving them is only good if we do so compatibly with a good will. Other things are at most means. The
only thing that is an end unconditionally is
a good will. Rationality is (a capacity for?) a good will. If X is an unconditional end, then there is a categorical imperative to
treat X as an end. Therefore, there is a categorical
imperative to treat rationality as an end (Kant, 2007).
With
the most recent studies of the future and transhumanism, scientists and ancient
texts believe that the 21st century will bring a course of change in
human history. In agreement with Kant,
many of these conclusions can be categorized as rational. It is the Sun’s life cycle that is affecting
our solar system ultimately leading to the disappearance of life on earth. Religious eschatology is known as the first
strand of eschatology, and science is known as the second strand of rationalist
based eschatology.
Like a circle and a cycle, “there is
no beginning and no end”. Humanity is
formulated into progressive revelations and continued knowledge of
existence. The ultimate end is the
answer to the question, “Why do we exist?”
The answer may be as simple as you desire or as difficult as you
desire. We know we do not exist for
popular culture, big houses, new cars, country clubs, and other
self-indulgences. We exist to discover
our higher potentials of consciousness and the greater good of humanity.
References
Rast, J. (2012).
Muslim, Jewish, and Christian end-times prophecy comparison. Contender
Ministries. Retrieved on February 4, 2012, from http://contenderministries.org/prophecy/eschatology.php
Kant,. (2007).
The formula of humanity. Berkeley. Retrieved on February 4, 2012, from http://sophos.berkeley.edu/kolodny/S07Phil104H08(Kant).pdf
Walter, W. (2012).
Science of Eschatology. The Walter
Method. Retrieved on February 2, 2012, from http://www.eschatology-wwwalter.org/index.html
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