Bucklecroft Rudy
Bluelighter
As implied by the title im an agnostic so this is a fire and brimstone free zone. Christian/Judaic prophecy is more than just a product of pure religious thinking. Christian prophets posessed an acuity of insight which is stunning and still to this day it has woven itself into the "collective conciousness" so that 666 is immediately recognisable as a symbol. While I am aware that christian prophecy is not infallible and has been proven to be "off" sometimes (perhaps debatable but meh beyond the scope etc) some prophecies are incredibly uncanny and the apocalyptic ones especially so when put into today's context
Bit in bold is the only essential reading lol
Mark of the beast is a christian apocalyptic prophecy. Bible predicts that in the "end times" a politico-spiritual figure/organisation called the beast will force all men to receive a mark in the hand and forehead without which any commercial trade will be impossible. This is it in essence, the mark being the infamous 666.
Ive heard many half cock theories about what this mark may be. The most convincing is the transhumanist/singularity school of thought which basically suggests that once human-computer interface progresses to a certain point we will all be forced to interface with a central intelligent computer (the beast) in order to function in society. Its plausible since the transhumanist/singularity scientific school is very well respected with oxford/MIT/Cambridge professors endorsing the idea that computers will one day become intelligent - the singularity. With a bit of jiggery pokery it isnt difficult to make the pieces fit with ease.
However im not convinced, since it misses out on the fact that the entire world would have this mark whilst being blissfully unaware that they have it. What if the mark of the beast is somehow tied in with our complete dependence on the government to educate sustain and even to entertain us. In the western world there are few folk who can honestly say that if the government collapsed tomorrow they would be able to survive. Many people would lose their humanity in the ensuing chaos, others would go mad and a select few would manage to carve out a meagre existence, but it would hurt us no doubt about it. Fast forward a century, with economic collapses, epidemic scares, terrorist attacks wars food shortages yada yada and the people's dependence ont he government increases.
I wont go into more detail and expand because I dislike long rambling posts, but the nature of the mark is that even the "elite" christians would be deceived. I for one have not met any christians who would be truly willing to put their lives and prosperity on the line for their faith. The very fact that we choose to live in a society which clearly violates other nations' human rights and has done so for centuries is pretty damned telling. Why do we do it? Because if we choose to truly "drop out" we'd starve lose our families and our comforts.
Mark received in hand/forehead: Forehead implies the dependence on the "beast" implicit trust, almost religious respect for the system it institutes and the ethical compromise we make everyday. Hand is the fact that by functioning within society we actually provide the propulsion for the system.
All people forced to accept:Western governments expand into the entire world first through colonisation then through globalisation, from the rainforests to the serenghetti, the influence of government is extending slowly but surely. Globalisation implicates the world in the system
No trading without mark: This is something which can be seen vaguely today. If you refuse to receive the mark that is to be a cog in the wheel it becomes very difficult to make money. Bartering systems dont make folk exempt since somewhere down the line interaction with the system and thus enablement of the system is inevitable through transport of goods etc. Even if you live in an amish community which is as isolated from society as it is possible to get while living within society you are going to have to apply to the government for assistance in any number of things.
Government being the beast: Most problematic since western governments as a term is actually specious insofar as there is no one monolithic "empire" but we're coming close i'd say and there is one unifying ideal i.e. capitalism uniting governments. This singularity business is also relevant as ive heard scientists going star eyed and talking about a single intelligent computer which would have the omnipotence of a god called an "artilect" or rather the artilect.
Bit in bold is the only essential reading lol
Mark of the beast is a christian apocalyptic prophecy. Bible predicts that in the "end times" a politico-spiritual figure/organisation called the beast will force all men to receive a mark in the hand and forehead without which any commercial trade will be impossible. This is it in essence, the mark being the infamous 666.
Ive heard many half cock theories about what this mark may be. The most convincing is the transhumanist/singularity school of thought which basically suggests that once human-computer interface progresses to a certain point we will all be forced to interface with a central intelligent computer (the beast) in order to function in society. Its plausible since the transhumanist/singularity scientific school is very well respected with oxford/MIT/Cambridge professors endorsing the idea that computers will one day become intelligent - the singularity. With a bit of jiggery pokery it isnt difficult to make the pieces fit with ease.
However im not convinced, since it misses out on the fact that the entire world would have this mark whilst being blissfully unaware that they have it. What if the mark of the beast is somehow tied in with our complete dependence on the government to educate sustain and even to entertain us. In the western world there are few folk who can honestly say that if the government collapsed tomorrow they would be able to survive. Many people would lose their humanity in the ensuing chaos, others would go mad and a select few would manage to carve out a meagre existence, but it would hurt us no doubt about it. Fast forward a century, with economic collapses, epidemic scares, terrorist attacks wars food shortages yada yada and the people's dependence ont he government increases.
I wont go into more detail and expand because I dislike long rambling posts, but the nature of the mark is that even the "elite" christians would be deceived. I for one have not met any christians who would be truly willing to put their lives and prosperity on the line for their faith. The very fact that we choose to live in a society which clearly violates other nations' human rights and has done so for centuries is pretty damned telling. Why do we do it? Because if we choose to truly "drop out" we'd starve lose our families and our comforts.
Mark received in hand/forehead: Forehead implies the dependence on the "beast" implicit trust, almost religious respect for the system it institutes and the ethical compromise we make everyday. Hand is the fact that by functioning within society we actually provide the propulsion for the system.
All people forced to accept:Western governments expand into the entire world first through colonisation then through globalisation, from the rainforests to the serenghetti, the influence of government is extending slowly but surely. Globalisation implicates the world in the system
No trading without mark: This is something which can be seen vaguely today. If you refuse to receive the mark that is to be a cog in the wheel it becomes very difficult to make money. Bartering systems dont make folk exempt since somewhere down the line interaction with the system and thus enablement of the system is inevitable through transport of goods etc. Even if you live in an amish community which is as isolated from society as it is possible to get while living within society you are going to have to apply to the government for assistance in any number of things.
Government being the beast: Most problematic since western governments as a term is actually specious insofar as there is no one monolithic "empire" but we're coming close i'd say and there is one unifying ideal i.e. capitalism uniting governments. This singularity business is also relevant as ive heard scientists going star eyed and talking about a single intelligent computer which would have the omnipotence of a god called an "artilect" or rather the artilect.
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lenty of troubling rumours and vague echoes of the soviet past
