“The End of the World” in America – What Does It Represent?

For the vast majority of people around the world, Saturday, May 21, 2011, was just an ordinary day, carrying no special significance. But for some religious fanatics in the United States, this day was absolutely extraordinary.

对全世界大多数人来说，一个星期六，即2011年5月21日，只是一个普通的日子，没有什么特殊的意义。但对美国的一些宗教狂热人士，这一天却是绝对不同凡响。

A Christian radio station called “Family Radio,” which holds considerable influence among religious believers in the United States, had its president, Harold Camping, once again make a sensational prophecy: on this very Saturday, May 21, 2011, Jesus would return to the world we inhabit (the Second Coming of Jesus).

在美国的宗教信仰人群中很有影响力的一个基督教广播电台叫“家庭电台”（Family Radio），它的主席哈罗德·康平（Harold Camping）在此之前又一次做出了耸人听闻的预言：就在2011年5月21日星期六这一天，耶稣要再次回到我们居住的这个世界了（Second Coming of Jesus）。

In the Bible, the arrival of this day is affirmed and repeatedly emphasized, but no specific date is given. This day is also called “Judgment Day,” or “the end of the world.” Jesus will descend from heaven, take away the two hundred million believers (the elect) he has chosen (the Rapture); then God will destroy the world he created. The remaining masses will only watch helplessly as the devout believers are saved, while they themselves face final death: going to hell.

在《圣经》里，对这一天的到来是肯定的，而且反复强调，但没有给出具体的日子。这一天，也叫做“世界审判日”（Judgment Day），亦称“世界末日”，耶稣会从天而降，把他挑选的总共两亿信徒（选民）带走（Rapture）；然后上帝就把他所创造的世界毁灭，剩下的人群只会眼睁睁地看着那些虔诚的信徒被拯救了，而自己却面临最终的死亡：下地狱。

In his 1994 book *1994*, Camping had already proposed that the “end of the world” would occur on September 15-17 of that year. The result? Nothing happened at all. He later explained that this was due to a slight error in his calculations; the more precise date should have been 6:00 PM on May 21, 2011. Of course, everyone lived through that day too, and still nothing happened. But this is where the advantage of religion lies: no fact can prove that God does not exist, and devout people will continue to hold their faith steadfastly. On May 23, he again explained to his followers that the failure of the May 21 prophecy was due to his misunderstanding of the Bible’s “apocalyptic revelation”; the true arrival of the “end” should be October 21, 2011.

康平在他1994年出版的《1994》一书中已经提出，“世界末日”会发生在当年的9月15日-17日。结果，结果是什么事也没有发生。他后来解释说，这是他的计算有了一点错误，其实更确切的日子应该是2011年5月21日下午六点。当然，这一天大家都过来了，还是什么都没有发生。但宗教的好处就在这里：无论什么事实都不能证明上帝不存在，虔诚的人们依旧会坚持地信仰下去——5月23日他再次向他的信徒解释，5月21日的预告失败是他误解了圣经的“末日启示”，“末日”真正到来应该是2011年10月21日。

This cannot be dismissed merely as the amusement of fools. The notion of the “end of the world” originates from monotheistic religion and is recorded in the Bible. Although the Old and New Testaments differ in their accounts, it is a fundamental tenet that all believers must accept. Otherwise, “original sin” and “redemption” would have no foundation, faith in God would become empty words, and the temptation of heaven and the terror of hell would all lose their effect. This type of “prophecy” has an extremely deep religious and cultural foundation in the West, to the extent that it influences the deepest layers of this culture: the psychological pathology of people. Consequently, for over a thousand years, prophecies about the end of the world have emerged without interruption, and those recorded are beyond count. The terror thus generated and the accumulated psychology of terror inevitably influence a nation’s character and the political decisions of a modern state—from celestial movements and planetary alignments to earthquakes, tsunamis, and tornadoes, all can receive religious interpretation and artistic representation. This extends upward to aliens and Star Wars, downward to atomic war, weapons of mass destruction, and even “cultural conflict,” viewing alien nations, states, beliefs, and values as threats to one’s own security. This keeps one’s own people perpetually in an atmosphere of terror, allowing forces with ulterior motives to pursue their own interests. It has truly become a major factor in global instability.

这不能只看做是愚人的娱乐。有关“世界末日”之说出自一神教，记载在《圣经》，尽管旧约与新约的记载有所不同，但却是一切信徒必须信仰的基本信条，否则“原罪”和“救赎”就没有了着落，对神的信仰变成了空话，天堂的诱惑和地狱的恐吓也就全部失灵了。这类“预言”在西方有极度深厚的宗教文化基础，以致影响到这种文化的最深处：人的心理变态。因此，千余年以来有关世界末日的预言不间断地问世，有记载的也难以计数。由此造成的恐怖和积淀的恐怖心理，对于一个民族的性格和现代国家的政治决策难免不产生影响——从天体运行、星球分布，一直到地震、海啸、龙卷风，都可以得到宗教的解读和艺术的再现；上可追到外星人和星球大战，下至原子战争、大规模杀伤性武器，以至“文化冲突”，将异己的民族、国家、信仰、价值观等都视之为自身安全的威胁，从而导致本国人民无时无刻不处在恐怖氛围之中，让别有用意的势力牟取私利，真的已经成为世界不太平的一大因素了。

Of course, this is not to say that natural disasters can be ignored, but rather that one cannot agree to explain them through religious dogmas like God or divine punishment, nor to gloss over them with a reverence for nature that approximates religion. A more positive attitude and the only correct measure lie precisely in the magic weapon of “rejuvenating the country through science and education.” [1]1 “Rejuvenating the country through science and education” (科教兴国) is a national development strategy formally proposed by the Chinese government in 1995, emphasizing the role of science, technology, and education in driving modernization. Therefore, one cannot treat the frequent occurrence of natural disasters as a joke to mock the idea that “man must conquer nature,” [2]2 “Man must conquer nature” (人定胜天) is a Chinese idiom expressing the belief that human determination and effort can overcome natural forces; it was a popular slogan during the Mao era. allowing concepts like relying on heaven for food or apocalyptic delusions to dominate people’s minds. Instead, the task is how to implement “rejuvenating the country through science and education” in practice and place the function of capital or currency in an appropriate position. In fact, not only nuclear war or wars that readily use weapons of mass destruction, but even conventional wars are deeply feared by ordinary people, who absolutely do not want them to occur in their vicinity. The Chinese people suffered enough from the hardships brought by such wars during the more than 100 years over six decades ago; [3]3 The reference to “more than 100 years over six decades ago” points to the period of foreign invasions and civil wars in China from the mid-19th century (e.g., the Opium Wars) through the mid-20th century (the end of the Chinese Civil War in 1949), roughly 100 years of conflict ending about 60 years before the 2011 date of the article. extending this empathy to others, peaceful coexistence has become the first maxim of Chinese diplomacy. However, conflicts and wars are man-made, directly related to the political and economic demands of certain countries and interest groups. High technology is used to manufacture high-precision killing tools; the victor becomes king, the loser a bandit; having a big fist and killing many people is equated with human rights and freedom. Then the people of one’s own country are kept in a manufactured state of terror. This is a problem of social structure and social system, and its resolution will likely ultimately depend on the people of each country awakening and speaking for themselves.

当然，这不是说自然灾害可以漠视于不顾，而是不能同意用上帝或天谴等宗教教条来解释，或用敬畏大自然的趋同宗教敷衍了事；更积极的态度和唯一正确的举措，正应了“科教兴国”这个法宝。因此，不能拿自然灾害的频频发生当作调侃“人定胜天”的笑柄，让靠天吃饭甚或末日妄想类观念统治人心，而是如何把“科教兴国”落在实处，把资本或货币的功能放到一个恰当的方位。其实，何止是核战争或动辄使用大规模杀伤武器的战争，即使常规的战争，平头百姓也是恐惧万端，绝不愿意发生在自己周边的。中国人民在60多年前的100多年中尝够了它带来的苦难，推己及人，和平共处就成了中国外交的第一箴言。然而，冲突、战争是人为的，与某些国家和利益集团的政治和经济诉求直接有关。高科技被用于制造高精度的杀人利器，胜者王侯败者贼，拳头大、杀人多就是人权、自由，然后继续让本国人民处于被制造的恐怖中，这是社会结构、社会制度问题，它的解决大约最终得由各国人民自己醒悟，自己说话。

China has a famous story, “The Man of Qi Worries About the Sky.” [4]4 “The Man of Qi Worries About the Sky” (杞人忧天) is a classical Chinese idiom from the *Liezi*, describing a person who frets over an improbable disaster; it is used to denote groundless anxiety. *Liezi: Questions of Tang* [5]5 *Liezi: Questions of Tang* (《列子·天瑞》) is a chapter in the Daoist text *Liezi*, attributed to the philosopher Lie Yukou (c. 5th century BCE), though the text’s dating is debated. records:

中国有个著名的“杞人忧天”的故事。《列子·天瑞》记：

“There was a man in the state of Qi who worried that the sky and earth might collapse and fall, leaving him with no place to live, so he abandoned sleep and food. Another man, worried about the first man’s worry, went to enlighten him, saying: ‘The sky is but accumulated vapor; there is no place without vapor. You stretch and bend, breathe in and out, moving about within the sky all day long. Why worry that it might collapse and fall?’ The man said: ‘If the sky is indeed accumulated vapor, shouldn’t the sun, moon, and stars fall?’ The enlightener said: ‘The sun, moon, and stars are also luminous things within the accumulated vapor; even if they fell, they could not harm you in the vapor.’ The man said: ‘What about the earth breaking apart?’ The enlightener said: ‘The earth is but accumulated clods, filling the four directions; there is no place without clods. You walk, step, tread, and stamp, moving about upon the earth all day long. Why worry that it might break apart?’ The man was greatly relieved and delighted, and the enlightener was also greatly relieved and delighted.”

“杞国有人忧天地崩坠，身亡所寄，废寝食者。又有忧彼之所忧者，因往晓之曰：‘天，积气耳，亡处亡气。若屈伸呼吸，终日在天中行止，奈何忧崩坠乎? ’其人曰：‘天果积气，日月星宿，不当坠耶? ’晓之者曰：‘日月星宿，亦积气中之有光耀者；只使坠，亦不能有气中伤。’其人曰：‘奈地坏何? ’晓者曰：‘地积块耳，充塞四虚，亡处亡块。若躇步跐蹈，终日在地上行止，奈何忧其坏? ’其人舍然大喜，晓之者亦舍然大喜。”

The collapse of heaven and earth can roughly be considered a kind of end of the world. There are four attitudes toward this argument: The “man of Qi” comes closest to the Western notion of the apocalypse, but with a principled difference: it has nothing to do with religious prophecy, but is a baseless anxiety. The “enlightener” explains to him using the principles of “vapor” and “clods,” with good effect; the man of Qi no longer worries about the sky, and the enlightener feels his reasoning is very persuasive, so both are happy. From the perspective of traditional Chinese culture, the idea of the end of the world is possible, but one can be persuaded and need not live in terror and anxiety over it. Therefore, when the “end of the world” is noisily proclaimed, society must resolve doubts and alleviate worries to avoid triggering social panic. The *Questions of Tang* chapter continues to record:

天崩地裂大约也算是一种世界末日，对待这一论说有四种态度：“杞人”最接近西方的末日说，但有个原则区别，即与宗教预言无关，而是一种无根据的忧虑；“晓之者”用“气”与“块”的道理向他进行解释，效果很好，杞人不再忧天，晓之者感到自己的道理很有说服力，所以两个人都很高兴。从中国传统文化思考，有关世界末日的想法是可能的，但可以被说服而不必为之恐怖终日，惴惴不安。因此，当“世界末日”甚嚣尘上之时，社会有必要为之进行解惑脱忧、避免触发社会恐慌。《天瑞》篇继续记：

“Master Changlu heard this and laughed, saying: ‘Rainbows, clouds and mists, wind and rain, the four seasons—these are the accumulated vapor that forms the sky. Mountains and peaks, rivers and seas, metals and stones, fire and wood—these are the accumulated forms that form the earth. Knowing they are accumulated vapor and accumulated clods, how can one say they will not break? Heaven and earth are tiny things in the void, yet the largest things within existence. That they are hard to exhaust and hard to fathom is certainly so; that they are hard to measure and hard to know is certainly so. To worry about their breaking is indeed far-fetched; to say they will not break is also incorrect. Heaven and earth cannot but break, and so they will eventually break. When the time of their breaking comes, how can one not worry?’ Master Liezi heard this and laughed, saying: ‘Those who say heaven and earth will break are also wrong; those who say heaven and earth will not break are also wrong. Whether they break or not, I cannot know. Nevertheless, that is one thing, and this is another. Thus, the living do not know death, the dead do not know life; the coming do not know the going, the going do not know the coming. Whether they break or not, why should I take it to heart?’”

“长庐子闻而笑曰：‘虹蚬也，云雾也，风雨也，四时也，此积气之成乎天者也。山岳也，河海也，金石也，火木也，此积形之成乎地者也。知积气也，知积块也，奚谓不坏? 夫天地，空中之一细物，有中之最巨者。难终难穷，此固然矣；难测难识，此固然矣。忧其坏者，诚为大远；言其不坏者，亦为未是。天地不得不坏，则会归于坏。遇 其坏时，奚为不忧哉?’子列子闻而笑曰：‘言天地坏者亦谬，言天地不坏者亦谬。坏与不坏，吾所不能知也。虽然，彼一也，此一也。故生不知死，死不知生；来不知去，去不知来。坏与不坏，吾何容心哉? ”

“Master Changlu” disagrees with both of the above attitudes. He believes that while the “man of Qi’s” worry is indeed superfluous, the “enlightener” is not necessarily correct either, because while the destruction of heaven and earth will not happen immediately, it will inevitably happen someday—how can those involved not worry? “Master Liezi” is the most straightforward: whether heaven and earth break or not is unknowable to us, so why dwell on it and bring trouble upon oneself? This touches on issues of life philosophy, which we will not discuss here, but it reflects a demand to treat such questions seriously, not to use them repeatedly as religious dogma to fool the masses. This is worth reflecting upon.

“长庐子”对上述两种态度都不以为然，认为“杞人”之忧固然是多余的，“晓之者”也未必是，因为天地坏灭确实不会即刻发生，但不一定哪天毕竟会发生，怎能叫当事者不忧? “列子”最干脆，天地坏与不坏是吾人所不可知的，何必为此挂在心上，自寻烦恼? ——这涉及的是人生哲学问题，此处不讨论，但其反映的是要求对这类问题认真对待，不能作为宗教信条一而再，再而三地用于愚弄大众。这值得反思。

In reality, in today’s age of scientific civilization, groups that believe in the end of the world are roughly of two types. One consists of those with ulterior motives; the other, those forgotten by scientific civilization. Both are social problems.

实际上，在科学文明的今天，信仰世界末日的群体大约有两种。一是别有用意者，一是被科学文明遗忘者。二者都是社会问题。

Looking at the entire West, although the United States has been founded for an extremely short time, the intensity of religious belief there somewhat exceeds the norm. American intellectuals and politicians are well aware of this, and often take pride in it: a model of “religious freedom.” According to a 2008 Gallup survey, 78% of Americans believe in some religion, and 15% do not believe in a religion but believe in the existence of a Higher Power. The majority of these are Christians. This is why many politicians say the United States is a Christian country. Therefore, anyone running for government office who does not profess belief in some religion is effectively announcing the end of their political career. The first American politician to publicly admit to being an atheist was only in 2007, a California congressman named Pete Stark. (Editor’s note: Professor Paul Kurtz, a leader of a well-known American skeptical organization, has maintained friendly academic exchanges with China. He affirmed our journal *Science and Atheism*, considering its aims broadly consistent with his own, but did not approve of the name “atheism,” finding the term too negative and difficult for readers to accept, and advised us to change it to “secular humanism.” After coming to China for exchanges, he changed his view, and even his own journal began to use the concept of atheism—he himself actually adheres to pragmatist philosophy.)

从整个西方看，虽然美国建国的时间极短，但宗教信仰的强烈程度却有些超出常态。这一点，美国的知识分子和政客们都很清楚，而且往往还为之自豪：“宗教自由”的模范。据2008年盖洛普统计说明，美国有78％的人信仰某种宗教，有15％的人不信仰宗教，但却相信有至高权力（Higher Power）的存在。其中大多数的人是基督教教徒。这也是为什么很多政治家说美国是基督教国家（Christian Country）。因此，任何竞选政府职位的人如果不表示相信某种宗教，就等于宣布自己政治生涯的结束。美国政治家第一个敢于公开承认自己是无神论者的人，直到2007年才只有一个名叫Pete Stark的加州众议员。（编者注：美国知名的怀疑论组织领袖保尔-库尔兹教授，与我国一直保持友好的学术交往，他肯定我们的《科学与无神论》杂志，认为旨趣与其大体一致，但不赞成用“无神论”的名字，认为这个词过于消极，读者不易接受，劝我们改称“世俗人文主义”；来中国交流后，他改变了看法，连他的刊物内也使用起无神论这个概念来——他本人其实是信奉实用主义哲学的）

Returning to our opening topic. According to a survey by the Pew Research Center, 41% of Americans believe that Jesus will return to Earth on some day before 2050. Of these, 23% are very certain, and 18% think it possible. However, only 46% do not believe Jesus will return within the next 40 years. 58% of white evangelicals (the most influential Christian denomination in the U.S.) say Jesus will return during this period, the highest proportion among all denominations. Only 32% of Catholics and fewer Protestants make the same prediction. Among those who believe in other religions, one in five also thinks Jesus will return. Additionally, 59% of people without college experience are more likely to expect Jesus’ return than those with some college experience (35%) or a college degree (19%). Regionally, people in the South (52%) are more likely to predict Jesus’ second coming.

回到我们一开始的话题。据美国Pew Research Center的统计调查，美国有41％的人相信在2050年前的某一天，耶稣会再次回到地球。其中23％很肯定，18％的人认为有可能。然而，只有46％的人不相信耶稣会在今后40年内重返地球。有58％的白人福音派（evangelical美国最有影响的基督教派）说耶稣会在此期间重返地球，是在所有教派中比例最高的。只有32％的天主教（Catholic）人士（32％）和更少的新教徒（Protestants）做同样的预测。在相信其他宗教的人中，每五个人中有一个也认为耶稣会回来。另外，有59％的没有大学经历的人比有一些大学经历（35％）的人和有大学学历的人（19％）更容易预期耶稣的重返地球。从地区上看，南方的人（52％）更有可能预测耶稣的再次降临。

In fact, this kind of situation is not surprising to those familiar with American national conditions. If you know that only 39% of Americans believe in evolution, and that churches are vigorously promoting intelligent design for inclusion in school textbooks, the above statistics are easy to understand. Some people wonder why many Americans also do not believe in global warming. I think if so many people believe the end of the world is imminent, what does it matter whether the earth is warming or not?

其实，这类情况对熟悉美国国情的人来说，并不奇怪。如果你知道美国只有39％的人相信进化论，教会在大力推动智能设计论进入学校教科书，对以上的统计也就不难理解了。有些人奇怪为什么很多美国人也不相信地球的温室效应，我想如果有那么多人相信世界末日已经不远了，地球变不变暖又有什么关系?

One remaining question is worth pondering: How did this American national condition come about? Is it really that religion has brought democracy, freedom, science, and technology? At least examining the latest statistics can offer some insight: The United States is not only extremely polarized in society, but also extremely polarized in culture; one part of the population not only rules and dominates the entire society in economic and political life, but also rules and dominates the entire populace in religion and ideology: while the majority of the populace indulges in ignorance and superstition in religious belief, the cultural elites, for various reasons, display indifference or silence, making rumor-mongering and lying in public opinion and political operations a habit that is taken for granted.

剩下一个问题就值得人们思考了：美国的这种国情是怎样形成的? 真的是因为宗教带来了民主自由和科学技术? 至少研究一下最新的统计可以给出点启示：美国不仅在社会上是两极的极度分化，在文化上也同样是极度的两极分化；一部分人不仅在经济生活和政治生活中统治和支配着整个社会，在宗教和意识形态上也在统治和支配着全体民众：当多数民众在宗教信仰上沉溺于愚昧和迷信，而文化精英们却因为种种原因表现为冷漠或缄默，这就使社会舆论与政治运作上的造谣和谎言成了见怪不怪的习惯。

Let us look at the facts. The following is from a sample survey by the Pew Research Center / *Smithsonian* magazine, April 21–26, 2010—“Most White Evangelicals Expect Christ’s Return to Earth.”

还是看看事实吧。以下是来自美国Per Research Center／Smithsonian杂志2010年4月21日-26日的抽样调查——《大多数白人福音派预期基督耶稣的重返地球》

Will / Probably

可能／肯定

Will Happen (%) Will Not Happen (%)

会发生 （％） 不会发生（％）

Total 41 46

全部 41 46

Protestant 54 32

新教派 54 32

White Evangelical 58 25

白人福音派 58 25

White Mainline Protestant 27 58

白人主流新教 27 58

Catholic 32 57

天主教 32 57

Non-Christian 20 72

非基督教 20 72

College Graduate 19 64

大学毕业 19 64

Some College 35 51

有大学经历 35 51

High School or Less 59 31

高中或更低 59 31

East 29 64

东部 29 64

Midwest 39 47

中西部 39 47

South 52 33

南部 52 33

West 35 51

西部 35 51

See also—

参见——

(http://www.gallup.com/poll/114544/darwin-birthday-believe-evolution.aspx

（http://www.gallup.com/poll/114544/darwin-birthday-believe-evolution．aSpx

http://Pewresearch.Org/databank/dailynumber/?NumberID=1043

http：//Pewresearch．Org/databank/dailynumber/? NumberID=1043

http://www.gallup.com/poll/109108/belief-god-far-lower-western-US.aspx)

http：//www．gallup．com/poll/109108/belief-god-far-lower-western-US．aspx）