The Words of the Christopher Family |
Last night's UTS Speaker's Forum proved as entertaining as the title promised. Dr. Mark Isaacs -- pastor of St. Paul's Lutheran Church of Wurttemberg in Rhinebeck and UTS Assistant Professor of Ministry and Management -- came with a PowerPoint presentation and a lot of enthusiasm. The turnout for the Forum is getting better too, as more people see it or hear about it on PandaTV. The evening was attended by some members of his congregation, and some folks from the Barrytown community.
Dr. Isaacs gave a comprehensive view of both the secular and religious apocalyptic groups and central figures over the last three hundred years in Europe and America.
It was quite enlightening. Many of the doomsday preachers are similar in background: Scientists who became lay preachers, and who like to juggle numbers in the Bible and create elaborate charts and graphs spelling out the end of the world. (Sir Isaac Newton was one of them!)
Some of the religious groups who have taken to predicting the "Last Days" include the Seventh Day Adventists and the Jehovah's Witnesses, who just can't get the date right, but don't stop trying. The Jehovah's Witnesses have predicted the end of the world eight times since 1914.
He ended by saying, study history so you know who these guys are, and don't give your life savings to them.