Tappress - 2012: The Movie, the Theories, and the Hype

November 15, 2010

2012: The Movie, the Theories, and the Hype 

By: Erin O’Brien

Tappress

The release of the movie 2012 last year brought back one of the seemingly continuous questions of, is the world ending then? The fear of the world ending has been around for centuries, and this movie seems to be trying to capitalize on that fear. 

There has been a lot of supposed evidence, but not all of it is as reliable as we think.  The main support for this Armageddon date comes from the end of the Mayan Long Count Calendar.  Many believe that the Mayans were predicting this date, which marks the end of their Great Cycle, to be the coming of Armageddon. 

However, there are others, especially historians and archaeologists, how strongly doubt that this is the case.  “We [the archaeological community] have no record or knowledge that [the Maya] would think the world would come to an end in 2012” stated Susan Milbrath, curator of Latin American Art and Archaeology at the Florida Museum of Natural History.

Other theories include the idea that our next geometric reversal, when the, orientation of Earth's magnetic field changes so that the positions of magnetic north and magnetic south are reversed, will be in 2012.  We are apparently overdue for one, as our last reversal was 780,000 years ago. 

However, this theory is also highly controversial because many astronomers say that the idea of geometric reversal happening by 2012 is impossible.  They say that it would take about 5,000 years to be completed. 

There are still others that are convinced that our ultimate demise will be the result of a supposed collision that Earth is supposed to have with another planet, known as either Planet X or Nibiru.   However, there is one major issue that prevents most people, both inside and outside the scientific community, from acknowledging this theory at all.  It seems that the person who first proposed this idea, Nancy Lieder, founder of the website ZetaTalk, claims that she has had contact with aliens.  She claims that they talk to her through an implant they put in her brain, and she is using this to warn us. 

If that kind of madness is all that we have to worry about with this threat of an apocalypse quickly encroaching upon us, then we may not have anything to fear at all.  This is especially true because a great deal of the evidence that supports the 2012 Armageddon date was not originally even linked to the year 2012.  Most of it was just estimated to possibly happen in that general time-frame, give or take anywhere from a few years to a few decades. 

The dates on the evidence were, for the most part, not changed until after the popularity of the link between the end of the Mayan Long Count Calendar and the end of the world arose. 

Disproving this theory of a 2012 apocalypse date even further is the fact that countless archaeologists believe that the Mayans thought of the end of the long count calendar would be a time of celebration, not a time of panic and chaos. 

In hindsight, it is easy to see why people will believe these supposed “end of the world” proclamations, even though they are based on half-truths that are very loosely strung together.  People tend to buy into things like this believing that those that created these theories have researched it and know what they are talking about. 

William Miller, a Baptist preacher, predicted the Second Coming of Jesus to happen on March 21, 1843. A vast number of Christians accepted his supposed prophecy.  However, Jesus never showed on that date, so Miller decided to reschedule.  He predicted a new date of October 22, 1844 to be the true Second Coming of Christ.

Unfortunately for him and numerous of his Millerite followers who had given up all of their possessions and property as they prepared for the end of days, Jesus remained a no-show.  This is often referred to as the Great Disappointment.  Ellen White, who was a Millerite as well, developed her own Armageddon theory shortly after Miller’s failed prediction. 

Following the Great Disappointment, White declared that she had experienced a “vision” in which she saw when the end of the world would occur.  She made numerous predictions of the timing of the end of the world, but sadly, all of them failed. 

It is clear that the following of crazed theorists such as Miller and White is inspired by a bizarre combination of misplaced and misunderstood faith and the teachings of an incredibly charismatic leader. 

For whatever reason, people have chosen to go along with these and other end of the theories in the past, and they will no doubt do it again in the future when the opportunity presents itself.