I wonder if some concepts aren't out of date. Recently, I'm sure you heard, that the end of the world was predicted. As far as I know, the end didn't occur. It might be that I don't understand what the end of the world means or would be like.
I listened to Prof. Bart Ehrman's course on the historical Jesus. Ehrman has many books and is professor of religious studies at the University of North Carolina. Ehrman explained near the end of the course that William Miller had quite a following in the 1800's and predicted the end of the world would occur in 1844. I learned in my history of psychology class that Leon Festinger and others participated in a similar "end" prediction in the year 1954. The psychologists were especially interested in the reactions of the believers when the world did not end.
I am listening to Prof. Charles Mathewes on Why Evil Exists. As he explores the conceptions of a fallen angel or an evil opposite of God as thought of in several different civilizations and traditions, he considers the Devil. Since both Jesus and Buddha are sometimes said to have had especially pure births, I wondered about the biology or other processes thought to have been involved in the creation of the devil. I have not heard of thinking or traditions that explain any especially impure or stained or bad lineage of the Devil.
Any married person or parent knows how deeply someone they love can be in the wrong. So, I imagine we can muster up the concept of a king of evil, some malevolent being set on causing grief, destruction and trouble. Similarly, we can picture looking out our window and seeing nothing but sky or blackness where we are used to seeing grass and roads. The recent pictures of the destruction caused by tornadoes gives weight to my feeling that I can imagine everything simply gone.
Still those old questions words: When, What, Why, Where, Which and How can come up in today's setting with strong power. Where will the world go if it ends? Are we talking this favorite planet of ours or the entire universe? Where did the devil come from? How did he get so twisted? Maybe we should put these concepts up where we keep other retired ideas, such as the ether and the divine right of kings.
