Contemplating the End of Times: Science and Religion

"When the sun shall be folded up, and the stars shall fall, and when the mountains shall be set in motion...and the seas shall boil..., than shall every soul know what it has done." 81 passim, the Q'uran

Most likely, each one of us has contemplated the end of man, the planet we live on, and our universe at some point in our lives. What will happen to all humanity and the planet we live on? The reality is that there are many answers to that question depending on where you look in society. Look to the scientists for their research, or read the prophecies in religious texts, or perhaps lend an ear to those we call "lunatics." Theories truly abound regarding the demise of our civilization. Scientists base their theories on tangible evidence, while the prophecies in religions come from Gods and history and are a part of deep faith and culture for most of humanity.

Personally, religion does not play a large role in my life. However, I do enjoy the science of astronomy and tend to want tangible proof of the end of times. I find it very interesting, however, that the religious and scientific descriptions of the apocalypse are in relation to each other. Could it be that science is proving religious prophecies, and that the two are very close in hand?

How do the scientists describe the end of times? They suggest man will die first. Disease, evolution, mutant genes, biological disasters, and male infertility could all do us in at some point. Our planet could fall victim to a giant asteroid or a sudden burst of gamma rays that would leave our planet scorched and empty. With so many variables, what do they know for sure? Scientists know that even if man does survive any of these random events, we will not survive the final fate of our planet. Eventually our sun will die. It will grow to a huge fireball before eating up its own gas and collapsing in on itself. The end of the planet, as described by scientists, is tumultuous. At first, climate change will cause famine. The seas will dry, fires will burn and blanket the earth in darkness. The sun will swallow the earth as it expands, and our earth will cease to exist.

How do religious texts describe the end of times? Eschatology is a part of theology that concerns the ultimate fate of mankind. Zoroastrianism has the oldest eschatology, established in 500 B.C. According to their prophecies, "at the end of the ten hundredth winter...the sun is more unseen and more spotted, the year, the month, and day are shorter; and the earth is more barren; and the crop will not yield the seed..." They went on to say "...and a dark cloud makes the whole sky night...and it will rain more noxious creatures than winter." (Zand-I Vohuman Yasht) Jewish and Christian prophecies parallel the early Zoastrianism theories. The bible says in 2 Peter 3:10-13, "But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up." In the Islamic text, Signs of Qiyamah, '...the ground will cave in, fog or smoke will cover the skies for forty days." The western religions then believe a messiah will come at the end of times, a judgment will be passed and a new reality will be chosen.

Scientists believe, however, that the universe and its contents are chaotic. Any one catastrophic event may cancel us out before the planet dies. On the other hand, most religious texts describe end of the world events in sequence. What is written is how it will happen, with no allowance for a chance catastrophe to cancel out the true end of times.

There are many differences of opinion as to when this all will occur. Scientists cannot give an accurate date, and the multitude of religious texts gives several different years or millennia.

I tend to believe the provable theories of scientists. I also feel there is something bigger out there, perhaps God. I think its possible scientists are on the same path as the many religions who prophesize apocalypse. Perhaps we should be listening to both.