Don't They Know It's the End of the World

Last night, there was a documentary on TV about a ten day End of the World Bus Tour.

A group of tourists convinced that the End is Nigh embarked on a tour of Israel, got baptised near the River Jordan and - the highlight for many - paid a visit to the Valley of Armageddon.

Based on a very literal interpretation of the Book of Revelation, they are convinced within the next five to ten years, Jesus/God is going to appear in the sky in Israel.

Apparently Man and Satan will rise up against God in a Phillip Pullman-esque fashion and embark in a futile war which God will inevitably win.

Before the apocalpyse takes place, all the good Christians will vanish in the Rapture while the rest of the world is subjected to the wrath of God.

One tourist likened the Rapture to the scene at the end of The Matrix where Neo rises up into the sky. "I could be wrong," he said. "I could be right."

They also had a disturbing attitude towards those they considered to be God's enemies - those they believe want to annihilate Israel.

When they weren't prophesising the End of the World with a disturbing relish, the tourists seemed to be very pleasant, amicable, lucid and of sound mind which makes it even weirder.

The film-maker, David Clews, was a sceptic and told them that their vision of God seemed divisive and egotistical.

"I guess it does seem egotistical," said one lady. "But he's God so I guess he can be."

These End of the World visions remind me a bit of that scene in the film The Birds where the townspeople are all putting forward theories to explain why the birds are attacking them.

Among them there is the scientific sceptic bird expert who doesn't believe that birds would attack anybody despite evidence to the contrary. Then there is the drunk in the corner joyfully declaring that it's the end of the world and quoting Bible passages.

There is also the hysterical mother who blames the blonde stranger who she thinks started it all. ("Where are you from? Who sent you? You're evil!" etc. etc.)

It's not just a portion of Christians that the believe the end of the world is nigh for humanity. Many believe that the forces of Nature will prove to be our undoing. Others believe that the end will be caused by an elite race of aliens/reptiles/secret societies who will enslave and destroy humanity.

Many seem to think we deserve the End either because they believe that we are evil or they think we are too dumb/sheeplike/easily manipulated to see what is really going on.

Although diverse groups of people are interpreting their vision of the End of the World from very different perspectives, they are all basically singing from the same hymn sheet united in a Chorus of Doooooooooommmmm.

Tonight there is a Cutting Edge documentary on Channel 4 called Baby Bible Bashers about pint-sized 8 year old preachers. You couldn't dream it up.

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