End Times, Pandemic

Tonight, we'll be tackling the light topic of the Four Horsemen. Hence the Lego representation in this post. Of course, wherever possible, I lean on Lego representations to sort of add a little levity to some of these weighty topics.

The historical interpretation of the four horsemen is Conquest, War, Famine, and Death. A more modern interpretation — read non-Biblical scholars seeking to capitalize on the imagery of Revelation — is War, Famine, Pestilence, and Death. Pestilence, of course, is disease that wipes out humanity. Though that might not be a traditional interpretation of the Four Horsemen, it certainly has roots in Revelation.

I think the idea of a global pandemic is always pressing on people's minds, and has been the fodder for plenty of films. Tonight's cultural theory is destruction of the Earth by pandemic. If you'll remember, that was even one of the "signs of the apocalypse" referenced in the trailer shown during our first week.

Consider the story in the film "I Am Legend," which was originally a novel written by Richard Matheson in 1954. It's been turned into a movie three times and serves as the inspiration for the modern Zombie movie/TV show movement. George Romero, who ushered in this new phase with 1968's "Dawn of the Dead," credited "I Am Legend" as inspiration.

Of course, that trend continues today. The idea in the source material is that scientists tried to create a cure for cancer, which created a deadly virus that wiped out the world. Sounds pretty similar to the whole "Resident Evil" story line.

I think these kinds of stories remain present in society because it relates to our fear of our own potential for self-destruction. And by ours, I mean mankind's potential to let it's reach surpass it's bounds. And this isn't new.

If you think about the story of the Tower of Babel in the book of Genesis, that’s what was happening there. Men united to build a tower that stretched to the heavens. It wasn’t to glorify God, it was to glorify the achievement of man. God responded by confusing their language — creating language barriers — and scattering the peoples throughout the Earth.

The Bible speaks repeatedly about this issue. You’ve probably heard the phrase “Pride goes before the fall.” That’s actually adapted from the Bible. Proverbs 16:8 says, “Pride goeth before destruction and a haughty spirit before a fall.” Elsewhere in Isaiah 25:11 it says, “They will spread out their hands in it, as a swimmer spreads out his hands to swim. God will bring down their pride despite the cleverness of their hands.”

And of course our pride as humans continues today. I heard an interesting quote recently regarding the Internet. Eric Schmidt said, “The Internet is the first thing that humanity has built that humanity doesn't understand, the largest experiment in anarchy that we have ever had.”

One of my favorite writers is Michael Crichton, a medical doctor turned fiction writer, who authored stories that were always at the forefront of scientific and technical advancement. But what I love is that he always urged caution. Consider "Jurassic Park," which introduced the idea of using modern genetic mapping techniques to resurrect an extinct species. But it all goes wrong because the people running the park tried to substitute their will for God's.

My favorite line is when Dr. Ian Malcolm challenges the park originator, John Hammond, saying, "Your scientists were so concerned with whether or not they could, they didn't stop to think if they should."

Can and should are two separate things, and as believers we must wrestle with these questions and help others to do the same. Otherwise, it's not hard to believe that we could be the architects of our own undoing.