Apocalypse in 2012?

[SouthLink02 8]

http://edition.cnn.com/2009/TECH/science/0...ries/index.html

(CNN) -- Just as "Y2K" and its batch of predictions about the year 2000 have become a distant memory, here comes "Twenty-twelve."

Fueled by a crop of books, Web sites with countdown clocks, and claims about ancient timekeepers, interest is growing in what some see as the dawn of a new era, and others as an expiration date for Earth: December 21, 2012.

The date marks the end of a 5,126-year cycle on the Long Count calendar developed by the Maya, the ancient civilization known for its advanced understanding of astronomy and for the great cities it left behind in Mexico and Central America.

(Some scholars believe the cycle ends a bit later -- on December 23, 2012.)

Speculation in some circles about whether the Maya chose this particular time because they thought something ominous would happen has sparked a number of doomsday theories.

The hype also has mainstream Maya scholars shaking their heads.

"There's going to be a whole generation of people who, when they think of the Maya, think of 2012, and to me that's just criminal," said David Stuart, director of the Mesoamerica Center at the University of Texas at Austin.

"There is no serious scholar who puts any stock in the idea that the Maya said anything meaningful about 2012."

But take the fact that December 21, 2012, coincides with the winter solstice, add claims the Maya picked the time period because it also marks an alignment of the sun with the center of the Milky Way galaxy, and you have the makings of an online sensation.

Type "2012" into an Internet search engine and you'll find survival guides, survival schools, predictions and "official stuff" to wear, including T-shirts with slogans such as "2012 The End" and "Doomsday 2012."

Theories about what might happen range from solar storms triggering volcano eruptions to a polar reversal that will make the Earth spin in the opposite direction.

If you think all of this would make a great sci-fi disaster movie, Hollywood is already one step ahead.

"2012," a special-effects flick starring John Cusack and directed by Roland Emmerich, of "The Day After Tomorrow" fame, is scheduled to be released this fall. The trailer shows a monk running to a bell tower on a mountaintop to sound the alarm as a huge wall of water washes over what appear to be the peaks of the Himalayas.

'Promoting a hoax'

One barometer of the interest in 2012 may be the "Ask an Astrobiologist" section of NASA's Web site, where senior scientist David Morrison answers questions from the public. On a recent visit, more than half of the inquiries on the most popular list were related to 2012.

"The purveyors of doom are promoting a hoax," Morrison wrote earlier this month in response to a question from a person who expressed fear about the date.

A scholar who has studied the Maya for 35 years said there is nothing ominous about 2012, despite the hype surrounding claims to the contrary.

"I think that the popular books... about what the Maya say is going to happen are really fabricated on the basis of very little evidence," said Anthony Aveni, a professor of astronomy, anthropology and Native American studies at Colgate University.

Aveni and Stuart are both writing their own books explaining the Mayan calendar and 2012, but Stuart said he's pessimistic that people will be interested in the real story when so many other books are making sensational claims.

Dozens of titles about 2012 have been published and more are scheduled to go on sale in the coming months. Current offerings include "Apocalypse 2012," in which author Lawrence Joseph outlines "terrible possibilities," such as the potential for natural disaster.

But Joseph admits he doesn't think the world is going to end.

"I do, however, believe that 2012 will prove to be... a very dramatic and probably transformative year," Joseph said.

The author acknowledged he's worried his book's title might scare people, but said he wanted to alert the public about possible dangers ahead.

He added that his publisher controls the book's title, though he had no issue with the final choice.

"If it had been called 'Serious Threats 2012' or 'Profound Considerations for 2012,' it would have never gotten published," Joseph said.

Growing interest

Another author said the doom and gloom approach is a great misunderstanding of 2012.

"The trendy doomsday people... should be treated for what they are: under-informed opportunists and alarmists who will move onto other things in 2013," said John Major Jenkins, whose books include "Galactic Alignment" and who describes himself as a self-taught independent Maya scholar.

Jenkins said that cycle endings were all about transformation and renewal -- not catastrophe -- for the Maya. He also makes the case that the period they chose coincides with an alignment of the December solstice sun with the center of the Milky Way, as viewed from Earth.

"Two thousand years ago the Maya believed that the world would be going through a great transformation when this alignment happened," Jenkins said.

But Aveni said there is no evidence that the Maya cared about this concept of the Milky Way, adding that the galactic center was not defined until the 1950s.

"What you have here is a modern age influence [and] modern concepts trying to garb the ancient Maya in modern clothing, and it just doesn't wash for me," Aveni said.

Meanwhile, he and other scholars are bracing for growing interest as the date approaches.

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"The whole year leading up to it is going to be just crazy, I'm sorry to say," Stuart said.

"I just think it's sad, it really just frustrates me. People are really misunderstanding this really cool culture by focusing on this 2012 thing. It means more about us than it does about the Maya."

[otterinbham 0]

Yeah. The flakes are really coming out of the woodwork. What is the obsession with apocalyptic fantasy anyway?

[tiger88 934]

Perhaps its the evidence of several apocalyptic events in the earth's history. I've seen some of the specials and they are interesting. Polar shifts and all that stuff. Not saying anythings gonna happen, because I don't think it will, but you never know.

[WinCrimson 61]

"There's going to be a whole generation of people who, when they think of the Maya, think of 2012, and to me that's just criminal," said David Stuart, director of the Mesoamerica Center at the University of Texas at Austin.

Then shut it about it. If all we hear about the Mayans is their apocalyptic prediction, what else does he expect us to associate them with?

[tiger88 934]

If I may quote Jim Morrison:

"I woke up this morning and I got myself a beer

Yeah, I woke up this morning and I got myself a beer

The futures uncertain and the end is always near"

[Ranger12 53]

Maybe the Mayans got tired of making the calendar that far out? People get job burnout all the time.

This whole thing about an apocalypse simply based upon the fact that an ancient people's calendar ends at the time is really funny to me. If we are going to go there, give me some Biblical accounts or some Nostradamus...not the reason being because a 5000 year old calendar stops on that day.

I have even heard some speculate that it will be a great flood because of the polars shifting (I guess it is going to happen suddenly?) and last time it happened in the eastern hemisphere. I also heard there is a rouge planet we don't know about that will come back from outside our solar system and will come close enough to earth to cause flooding and earthquakes.

[tiger88 934]

Planet X. Word has it that is the date when its orbit brings it closest to earth. That's when the aliens will come back. We have been harvesting the gold for them. They visited the mayans as well.

Or maybe it will simply be an alignment of the planets/stars that triggers a polar shift.

I have heard all the theories. Some are more humorous than others. I hope, and don't think any are true.

[AUslug 1]

I'm don't believe any of this until Al Gore tells me it is true, he was right about global warming wasn't he?

[Tigermike 4,329]

The shape shifters are the only ones that will be safe.

[tiger88 934]

I'm don't believe any of this until Al Gore tells me it is true, he was right about global warming wasn't he?

News Flash! Al Gore is an alien.

[tiger88 934]

The shape shifters are the only ones that will be safe.

And those of us who will be reaching the summit of Mt. Everest that day!

[TigerHeat 9]

The shape shifters are the only ones that will be safe.

I think we're safe, but I have my blue Nikes and track suit just in case.

[SouthLink02 8]

Planet X. Word has it that is the date when its orbit brings it closest to earth. That's when the aliens will come back. We have been harvesting the gold for them. They visited the mayans as well.

Or maybe it will simply be an alignment of the planets/stars that triggers a polar shift.

I have heard all the theories. Some are more humorous than others. I hope, and don't think any are true.

[tiger88 934]

Planet X. Word has it that is the date when its orbit brings it closest to earth. That's when the aliens will come back. We have been harvesting the gold for them. They visited the mayans as well.

Or maybe it will simply be an alignment of the planets/stars that triggers a polar shift.

I have heard all the theories. Some are more humorous than others. I hope, and don't think any are true.

A classic episode!

[LegalEagle 22]

I am disappointed that you would even give this a thought, much less believe it. Hell, there's no way we'll make it to 2012!

[OldNewby 27]

2012 hype will create jobs and help the economy.

But… spend it while you can.

[Tiger1992 1,136]

When I saw the Apocalypse in 2012 subject I just assumed that was referring to if The President That Shall Not Be Named got re-elected.

[AUBURNJAC 53]

Of course I'm going to chime in. I've been talking a lot to a religious leader from the Southern Baptist Convention, and here is a brief summary of what he says.

If anything, I suspect that the celestial events that cause the date to be of interest to us could be something of a clock, signaling something . . . perhaps the beginning of a new point in time . . . perhaps the beginning of the Tribulation . . . perhaps something that begins and the end of which we won't live long enough to see. However, the Earth will not be destroyed until AFTER Jesus has reigned here for 1,000 years and, immediately thereafter, the Great White Throne judgment is completed. (See Revelation 20:11 thru the end of Revelation 21.) So theories that the date marks the end of the Earth are misguided.

Here is what he says about astrology (this is a big topic for me lately as well)

With regard to astrology, I'd be cautious. I suspect that satan understands that patterns in the stars, etc. mark events on God's clock; he has probably witnessed certain celestial events in relation to events as they unfolded on Earth under God's direction. Thus, it would not be unusual for him to be involved in some way. In Acts 16, there's a story about a girl who "had a spirit" that enabled her to predict the future. Paul ordered the spirit out of the girl, and apparently she could not predict the future after that. Isaiah 65:11 refers to Fortune as though it were an evil spirit. However, we can't discount the fact that celestial activity can offer us signs to the extent the Bible indicates that signs are marked by celestial activity. For example, the Magi in Matthew 2 observed celestial activity to locate the place where Christ was born. Of course, they were also reviewing Scripture to try to determine the meaning of the star (see Numbers 24:17).

OK, so this guy (for privacy sake I will let him be annonymous) as well as myself believe that there is something to astrology, and that certain cultures, people, ect... studied it a lot and had/have a much better understanding of it. I think that it possibly could be God's "clock" so to speak. All this stuff is very interesting to me. It's time to get yourself right with Jesus folks! Better safe than sorry, right?

[TigerHeat 9]

Of course I'm going to chime in. I've been talking a lot to a religious leader from the Southern Baptist Convention, and here is a brief summary of what he says.

If anything, I suspect that the celestial events that cause the date to be of interest to us could be something of a clock, signaling something . . . perhaps the beginning of a new point in time . . . perhaps the beginning of the Tribulation . . . perhaps something that begins and the end of which we won't live long enough to see. However, the Earth will not be destroyed until AFTER Jesus has reigned here for 1,000 years and, immediately thereafter, the Great White Throne judgment is completed. (See Revelation 20:11 thru the end of Revelation 21.) So theories that the date marks the end of the Earth are misguided.

Here is what he says about astrology (this is a big topic for me lately as well)

With regard to astrology, I'd be cautious. I suspect that satan understands that patterns in the stars, etc. mark events on God's clock; he has probably witnessed certain celestial events in relation to events as they unfolded on Earth under God's direction. Thus, it would not be unusual for him to be involved in some way. In Acts 16, there's a story about a girl who "had a spirit" that enabled her to predict the future. Paul ordered the spirit out of the girl, and apparently she could not predict the future after that. Isaiah 65:11 refers to Fortune as though it were an evil spirit. However, we can't discount the fact that celestial activity can offer us signs to the extent the Bible indicates that signs are marked by celestial activity. For example, the Magi in Matthew 2 observed celestial activity to locate the place where Christ was born. Of course, they were also reviewing Scripture to try to determine the meaning of the star (see Numbers 24:17).

OK, so this guy (for privacy sake I will let him be annonymous) as well as myself believe that there is something to astrology, and that certain cultures, people, ect... studied it a lot and had/have a much better understanding of it. I think that it possibly could be God's "clock" so to speak. All this stuff is very interesting to me. It's time to get yourself right with Jesus folks! Better safe than sorry, right?

I'm digging my hole right now.

BTW Balaam was a bad guy.

[AUloggerhead 3,257]

Maybe the Mayans got tired of making the calendar that far out? People get job burnout all the time.

That's the most logical answer. I think it went down something like this: "Umberto" was chiseling away on the stone and got in a groove making the calendar and the wife was hounding him about it and asking, "how far out are you going to make that damn thing anyway? Don't you know the concept of infinity hasn't been invented yet? Put down that chisel and come to bed!" "OK honey, I'm almost done -- just let me finish out to the next winter solstice. I promise."