The Doomsday Clock

The caretakers of the, so named, "Doomsday Clock" moved it to 2 minutes to midnight a couple of days ago (it is Jan 19, 2007 as of this writing). Some call them, according to the Yahoo article I read, the "village idiots". Interesting to call this bulletin of Atomic Scientists "idiots".

Whether their attempt to gage the state of the world via this clock is really accurate and we are actually "2 minutes" away from Doomsday or not, it is interesting to note the state of affairs in the world today that prompted them to move it forward.

1. Global warming and the crazy (even dangerous) weather patterns it is producing. It is interesting that this came into the news shortly after I rewatched The Day After Tomorrow and wrote something about it including a commentary on our weather today.
2. Korean's nuclear activity and the continued existence of some 26000 US and Russian nuclear weapons.

Whether we "stand on the brink of a second nuclear age" or not (perhaps we do), it is an interesting commentary. We must not dismiss the fact that there are many things happening today that could set of some catestrophic events in the world. I think also of the war in Iraq which seems only to be getting worse, rather than better. Terrorist activity continues, and though there hasn't been another 9/11 yet, who knows what will be in the future.

The capacity of humanity for evil and self-destructive behaviour should be clear from history. Additionally, God has much to say about such things. God states throughout His Word that a time will come when the world will come to and end, but not before He judges it with events that we can only describe as "horrific". The book of Revelation describes this time in detail, including the fact that there will be, essentially, a one-world government. We know today that the world is working towards such a system. Even the article referenced above talked about our "global village".

I think about such things and I cannot help but reflect on this verse:

Then I looked, and I heard an eagle flying in midheaven, saying with a loud voice, "Woe, woe, woe to those who dwell on the earth, because of the remaining blasts of the trumpet of the three angels who are about to sound!" Revelation 8:13

Is the world about to come to an end? Cannot say. God doesn't even give us a time. But He gives us signs. Israel is in the land, we are marching closer and closer to a one-world government, we see an increase in problems in the earth (like "birth pangs" as described in scripture), etc. God promises He will judge the earth. Though this Doomsday clock may not tell us when it will happen, it does point to signs that only suggest we could be near. Here is an article that explores this further.

You can read about the Doomsday clock @ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doomsday_clock.
You can read about salvation at my other blog @ http://the-true-way.blogspot.com/2006/12/how-to-be-saved.html.

We care a lot about money

Apparently, a recent study says the 100 highest-paid private-sector executives will have earned an average Canadian's salary by 9:46 a.m.

Apparently, according to Forbes, people like Howard Stern, Brad Pitt & Jennifer Aniston (surprising this combo is mentioned considering the other news about Brad Pitt), Steven Spielberg, etc. were among the top paid entertainment industry celebrities.

Good for them, I say. But what does this focus say about the priorities of our world? We talk so much and celebrate so much about money and those that make money. And yet we think so little of those that are poor and needy. Or of other values.

The recent movie (which I liked, btw) "The Pursuit of Happyness" (read my review of the movie), while focusing on the time of Chris Gardner's life when things were dark and he was poor and homeless, ultimately celebrates one who is now a millionaire. Would a movie be made of any of those in the street who are now poor and have remained poor all their lives? I don't think so.

The point I am trying to make is that money is virtually a "god" to us today. We revere it and those with it. We look down on those without it (maybe not consciously, but we nevertheless do) and fear to not have it. We believe it will make us happy, we often feel it is necessary to give us meaning and purpose, we celebrate it.

It should be nothing but a tool, but we pursue it as if it were more, something of eternal value, of extreme consequence, or of transcendent power.

Think about it. What can money really do, ultimately? Yes, if you have a lot of it you can buy a lot of things. But can it bring families closer together? Can it repair marriages? Can it bring children into the world? Can it end wars? Can it make you laugh like a good joke? Can it...?? I can go on, but I'm sure you see my point.

Money is of no real consequence in the grand scheme of things. It cannot stop us from dying either. Yet we do revere it so. The pursuit of money is such an underpinning to the fabric of our society. Again, it is almost a "god" to us. An idol.

Yet God says You shall have no other gods before me (Exodus 20:3). We ignore Him so often (if not always) in our lives and turn to money instead.

The play You Can't Take It With You really speaks to the fact that the stuff of this life is really meaningless. What good is it to have so much stuff when you are just going to die anyway. You cannot take any of the stuff you accumulate in this life with you. Jesus told a parable with a similar, but more powerful, message in Luke 12:15-21, talking about the rich man who had many things, but then God told him "You fool! This very night your soul is required of you.".

This is something, I think, all of us need to seriously think about. What is of value? Money, which is temporary? Or God and family and friends and helping others? I think the latter, not the former.

Yet almost every message of society generally speaks against this...

For the living know they will die; but the dead do not know anything, nor have they any longer a reward, for their memory is forgotten. Ecclesiastes 9:5

Welcome - An Introduction

Welcome to my blog on His World View where I'll share some commentaries of our world from a Christian perspective. So "His World View" is ultimately the view of our Creator.

There is so much going on in our world, and we much look at these things, reflect on them, and come to conclusions about them. And from there, we then have to decide what actions we are going to take--if any.

Doing this requires having a worldview and understanding it. This is my way of expressing the worldview that I know reveals the truth of our experience here. All are welcome, and comments are welcome.