Apocalyptic Religions And The Actual End Of The World
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It’s sacrilege in the modern world, but every major religion looks forward to the end of this world. In Hinduism, this is the Kali Yuga (the worst yuga), which Kalki ends by the sword. In the Abrahamic faiths, the Day of Judgement is kinda the point of it all. The Buddha’s great feat is that he checked out already. The religions disagree on many things, but they all agree that this ain’t it. They’re all against the world, which worldly people (myself included) basically just ignore.
Satan
What is this world? What is modernity? These are expansive questions, but at some level we all know. To me, modernity is the idea that we should be fulfilled in this life, with creature comforts rather than just being creatures. ‘This world’ is the idea that you and I can share this experience through ubiquitous trade, travel, and telecommunications. Francis Fukuyama called something similar ‘the end of history’ but, in practice, it’s closer to the end of the world. If anything, such ideas come from Satan.
But don’t take my word for it. Let’s ask the fallen angel himself, played by Al Pacino in The Devil’s Advocate. Pacino’s Satan said, “Who, in their right mind…
