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Ok, so this is another one of my wild, loopy theories that I like to think about, but am not sure if I totally believe or not, but I think it'll make for an interesting discussion...
First of all, let me just say that this probably isn't an original theory. And, honestly, the whole idea has been brewing off and on in my head ever since I've watch The Matrix Reloaded. So I know that they borrowed from a lot of different philosophical sources in the making of that movie, so there's probably a similar theory out there somewhere, even though I have no idea what it is and have not really studied it in much depth.
Now that all my disclaimers are out there, let's roll with the thread...
I've always been fascinated by the idea of prophecy. Not just from the bible, but from other sources (such as Nostradomus). But the one I'd like to focus most on is biblical and religious sources, because that's where I am most comfortable with.
It seems to me that a lot of people view prophecy from the sense of people having visions of the future. But I've, in recent years, started wondering if, instead, they are visions from the PAST.
However, in order for that to be true, then the idea of reincarnation would have to be true. Carl Jung talked about the nature of dreams and visions and such in his work. And he asserted that dreams and visions were the unconscious' form of communicating subconscious "thoughts" into the conscious. That dreams are a way of processing our world without using words. That dreams are a form of communication from the recesses of our subconscious minds.
If that were true, and reincarnation were true, then these visions and dreams would be subconscious communications from past lives and such....<---THAT WOULD BE DEBATE POINT NUMBER ONE
But even if reincarnation ISN'T true, the theory continues...
Let's look at things from a new perspective. We like to think that human civilization began 10,000 years ago (give or take). And that before that we were a disconnected band of a few straggling, evolving tribes in whatever state we were in.
We also like to think that our present day, with all it's technology, is the first acheivement and explosion of knowledge that this world has ever know.
But the earth itself is several billion years old (15-40 billion seems to be current estimates, based on sources).
But the interesting thing is that there are certain archeological discoveries that show various types of techonology that may have existed before what we had the knowledge for those types of things. Things like an ancient battery, for example.
So,knowing that kind of stuff, I have to wonder....has a civilization ever advanced to (or even BEYOND) the knowledge that we have now? Perhaps we only know what we know because the scope of what we have to work with is so limited that we have to fill in the gaps (and it changes constantly with each new discovery).
So, my theory is THIS. We are NOT the first civilization to rise to the pinnacle (so to speak). That perhaps this has happened several times before. That each time the population reaches a certain saturation point, the collective conscious is such that we have an explosion of knowledge and technology. And when that happens, things like the atomic bomb get created. Things that can wipe out an entire society in a very short time. And that's just what happens, or has happened before. <---THAT WOULD BE DEBATE POINT NUMBER 2
So, essentially, then, the survivors of such devastation would be a small band of people who spread out and de-civilize (so to speak) and the cycle starts over again.
And it seems like it's in those de-civilized times that most of our religions have their roots (think christianity, islam, etc.).
So maybe, religion is born out of a necessity to not only survive, but to make sure that such global devastation never happens again. That religion is the natural balance that tries to correct our past errors and help us evolve beyond the cycle of destruction and then rebuilding. <--DEBATE POINT 3
And that a book, such as revelation, is the logical progression of what someone really in tune with human nature and thought, can predict with some reasonable accuracy. It has been said that you leave nothing to chance when you truly know human nature, and that you can predict how people will react if you are in tune with their thought processes.
That things like Armegeddon and such are just someone's "vision" of how, if things progress in the way that they have before. That because society has destroyed itself before, those visions and such from the PAST can be used to predict the future and how things will "end" before the cycle begins agains.
And that all the "strictness" of religious texts (aimed at adding a measure of control to people's lives) are based on past destruction and actions that led to that destruction. That the few survivors band together and form "rules" to try and control and stop the cycle from repeating itself.
But every society eventually moves away from the control. That eventually we FORGET that certain actions can lead to "destruction" and we take on an individualistic nature that leads to the same things happening again.
Ok, I'm rambling now, so I'll stop there and open it up to discussion. There's a lot going on in this post, I know, but I can't wait to hear your thoughts and see the discussion that comes from this.
Just bear in mind that this isn't something I completely believe (it's just a wild theory that I've entertained here and there), so I'm not some loopy doomsday prophet. I just find the ideas fascinating. But any discussion I add after this will be me playing devil's advocate to my own theory, I guess.
Anway, thoughts?
First of all, let me just say that this probably isn't an original theory. And, honestly, the whole idea has been brewing off and on in my head ever since I've watch The Matrix Reloaded. So I know that they borrowed from a lot of different philosophical sources in the making of that movie, so there's probably a similar theory out there somewhere, even though I have no idea what it is and have not really studied it in much depth.
Now that all my disclaimers are out there, let's roll with the thread...
I've always been fascinated by the idea of prophecy. Not just from the bible, but from other sources (such as Nostradomus). But the one I'd like to focus most on is biblical and religious sources, because that's where I am most comfortable with.
It seems to me that a lot of people view prophecy from the sense of people having visions of the future. But I've, in recent years, started wondering if, instead, they are visions from the PAST.
However, in order for that to be true, then the idea of reincarnation would have to be true. Carl Jung talked about the nature of dreams and visions and such in his work. And he asserted that dreams and visions were the unconscious' form of communicating subconscious "thoughts" into the conscious. That dreams are a way of processing our world without using words. That dreams are a form of communication from the recesses of our subconscious minds.
If that were true, and reincarnation were true, then these visions and dreams would be subconscious communications from past lives and such....<---THAT WOULD BE DEBATE POINT NUMBER ONE
But even if reincarnation ISN'T true, the theory continues...
Let's look at things from a new perspective. We like to think that human civilization began 10,000 years ago (give or take). And that before that we were a disconnected band of a few straggling, evolving tribes in whatever state we were in.
We also like to think that our present day, with all it's technology, is the first acheivement and explosion of knowledge that this world has ever know.
But the earth itself is several billion years old (15-40 billion seems to be current estimates, based on sources).
But the interesting thing is that there are certain archeological discoveries that show various types of techonology that may have existed before what we had the knowledge for those types of things. Things like an ancient battery, for example.
So,knowing that kind of stuff, I have to wonder....has a civilization ever advanced to (or even BEYOND) the knowledge that we have now? Perhaps we only know what we know because the scope of what we have to work with is so limited that we have to fill in the gaps (and it changes constantly with each new discovery).
So, my theory is THIS. We are NOT the first civilization to rise to the pinnacle (so to speak). That perhaps this has happened several times before. That each time the population reaches a certain saturation point, the collective conscious is such that we have an explosion of knowledge and technology. And when that happens, things like the atomic bomb get created. Things that can wipe out an entire society in a very short time. And that's just what happens, or has happened before. <---THAT WOULD BE DEBATE POINT NUMBER 2
So, essentially, then, the survivors of such devastation would be a small band of people who spread out and de-civilize (so to speak) and the cycle starts over again.
And it seems like it's in those de-civilized times that most of our religions have their roots (think christianity, islam, etc.).
So maybe, religion is born out of a necessity to not only survive, but to make sure that such global devastation never happens again. That religion is the natural balance that tries to correct our past errors and help us evolve beyond the cycle of destruction and then rebuilding. <--DEBATE POINT 3
And that a book, such as revelation, is the logical progression of what someone really in tune with human nature and thought, can predict with some reasonable accuracy. It has been said that you leave nothing to chance when you truly know human nature, and that you can predict how people will react if you are in tune with their thought processes.
That things like Armegeddon and such are just someone's "vision" of how, if things progress in the way that they have before. That because society has destroyed itself before, those visions and such from the PAST can be used to predict the future and how things will "end" before the cycle begins agains.
And that all the "strictness" of religious texts (aimed at adding a measure of control to people's lives) are based on past destruction and actions that led to that destruction. That the few survivors band together and form "rules" to try and control and stop the cycle from repeating itself.
But every society eventually moves away from the control. That eventually we FORGET that certain actions can lead to "destruction" and we take on an individualistic nature that leads to the same things happening again.
Ok, I'm rambling now, so I'll stop there and open it up to discussion. There's a lot going on in this post, I know, but I can't wait to hear your thoughts and see the discussion that comes from this.
Just bear in mind that this isn't something I completely believe (it's just a wild theory that I've entertained here and there), so I'm not some loopy doomsday prophet. I just find the ideas fascinating. But any discussion I add after this will be me playing devil's advocate to my own theory, I guess.
Anway, thoughts?
