Blood Moon Rising I dont know how many have heard the chatter lately about the predicted Blood Moon phenomena that has much of the conservative Christian world agog. Apparently there is a sequence of lunar eclipses (maybe including some solar ones too) predicted for 2014 and 2015, the likes of which are very rare in recorded history. My reading on this is very limited, but from what I gather, these folks are saying that every occurrence resembling this sequence has been very close to some great event affecting the Jewish people. The last one, supposedly, was in 1967, around the Six Day War and the repossession, for the first time since A.D. 70, of Jerusalem by the Jews. The sequences coming up are supposed to be even rarer than that. Hence all the ears pricked up and the raised antennae in some of the Christian world. Some are saying it is one of the specific signs predicted for the end of the world (dark sun, moon turned to blood...); some that it signals a terrible outbreak of war in the Middle East. I personally dont know one way or the other. But let me throw this out there: this is the sort of thing that, according to ones worldview and/or prejudices, could go either way. Lets take a closer look for a minute. Some, who already dont believe in such things as signs or omens, or even the existence of the supernatural, are likely to scoff and say that these people are seeing what they want, or need, to see. End of story. Its like seeing a rabbit in the summer clouds, where someone else sees....clouds. But wait a minute. Theres an underlying and unexamined premise here, and it is this: that those who cant see the rabbit are being objective and those who DO see it are imagining. But that sword can cut both ways. I can as easily say that those who cant see my alleged rabbit lack creativity, much like some who cant appreciate music because they are tone deaf. To argue that it isnt there because only SOME can see it is simply to beg the question. By that kind of thinking, almost every genre of music, including Beethoven and Co., should be considered a bunch of random noise which some poor deluded souls imagine is sublime harmony. Which is obvious nonsense. How can you make authoritative pronouncements on something you cant perceive in the first place? Now, I simply dont know enough to put my foot down on whether the upcoming Blood Moons are signs or not; what I do know is that its much harder to prove they are random (or even meaningless) occurrences than the skeptics among us may think. In the first place, if you assume the existence of an all-powerful Being who not only created the universe, but also orders it (which is a set of assumptions upon which early sciences were built), and if that Being is also all-knowing then wheres the problem? By definition, He could so time things that the motions of the moon synchronize perfectly with events which He not only foreknew but fore-planned. If you prefer, He could rig the system any way He wanted, and need neither consult us or inform us. Of course, there is a document, accepted not only by Christian, but also by Jews, which states that these heavenly bodies were put there on purpose for signs. Some who believe this also hold advanced degrees in the hard sciences; apparently there is no inherent contradiction involved. I speak of the book of Genesis, the first book in the Torah. Whatever interpretation of those early chapters you adopt, it clearly purports to teach some very clear assumptions about the nature of the universe: It is not eternal. It was made by a purposeful, super-intelligent Being Who calls Himself God. It was made in an orderly fashion, to function in an orderly and coherent fashion. The visible heavenly bodies were made for some sort of signs to be viewed from earth. I could go on, but theres no need. My point is that if you accept the obvious intention of the author, whatever else you believe, you must see that there is no inherent implausibility about...well, unusual eclipses being designed to communicate something. Admittedly, neither does it prove that Blood Moons, however common, are a harbinger of Armageddon, so to speak. But lets be clear: those who see no evidence of God in the heavens cannot at the same time argue that their lack of perception is any sort of proof that the rest of us are imagining things. Heres another possibility: maybe you have reasons for not wanting to see a rabbit in the clouds. Freud would love that, wouldnt he?
Posted on: Tue, 09 Sep 2014 18:09:19 +0000
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