The Doomsday Clock was created in 1947 by those scientists who created the Atomic Bomb and is published by the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists. They realized mankind was now capable of destroying itself and were concerned over the nuclear arms race between the United States and the Soviet Union.
So those scientists created a theoretical clock to emphasize how close the human race was to Doomsday. The closer the time gets to midnight the closer we come to self-destruction.
In 2006 former vice-president of the United States Al Gore wrote and starred in a movie titled An Inconvenient Truth. The movie drew attention to greenhouse gases and how they are warming the earth and contributing to climate change.
The concerns of Gore and others led to climate change being added to the considerations of where the hands of the Doomsday Clock are set in 2007. Eventually other “disruptive technologies” were added. The website says, “The Doomsday Clock is a design that warns the public about how close we are to destroying our world with dangerous technologies of our own making.”
For the last three years, the hands of the Doomsday Clock have been set at 100 seconds to midnight. According to the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, we are less than two minutes from destroying ourselves and that is another inconvenient truth.
But there is still another inconvenient truth; scientists have proven to be poor prophets. They do a good job of gathering facts through observation and experimentation but tend to interpret those facts poorly. Especially when those facts address the distant past or near future.
The Doomsday Clock has been set at 100 seconds to midnight and has not moved in three years. The truth is scientists cannot say with any certitude when Doomsday Day will arrive. Everything they say about the end of human existence is theoretical.
Theories are theories because they are beyond the scope of human observation and verification. They are educated guesses and educated guesses are at their essence guesses couched in scientific rhetoric. Theories when proven false are typically replaced by new theories.
Some have said religion was invented by man to explain natural phenomena simply calling it an “act of God.” But science in many respects has invented theories to explain natural phenomena beyond its scope of observation.
When one reads about what scientists say about the Big Bang Theory, admittedly an unobserved event, the biblical account of creation does not seem so ludicrous.
“But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up,” 2 Peter 3:10. “And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire,” Revelation 20:15.
That could certainly be characterized as a day of doom. It looks like global warming is going to get us after all.
I SO look forward to Jesus’ return. However, I’m thankful for each day – each hour – still remaining giving the lost time to place their trust in Christ. Or else, it will indeed, be a day of doom for many.
Sheryl,
I too look forward to His return and knowing the time of His return is in the Father’s hands (2 Peter 3:9). Sadly, I think many have mistaken God’s patience for His permission.
I appreciate your reading my articles and responding.
Be blessed Sheryl!