Doomsday Cults: Why Do People Have End Times Obsessions and Apocalypse Dreams?

The band REM sang about the end of the world as we know it, and they felt fine. In fact, many people not only feel good about the world ending, but actually welcome it with open arms, often joining with others of like mind to predict, plan, and prepare for the demise of humanity and the extinction of existence. But why? Who in their right mind would want the world to come to a crashing halt, taking all of life with it? Or is it not as simple as that?

a reply to: Bloodydagger

Because these people are bored, and think that an apocalypse could provide them with some entertainment. I knew people who were wishing for a war-like apocalypse so to have an excuse to kill.

Some other people feel abused, and hope that an apocalypse could rid them of whatever their problem is.

Simple, really.

a reply to: Bloodydagger

I think it's the excitement factor, and the feeling like "There's nothing to lose, we're all in this together, we know we cannot stop it," etc.

a reply to: swanne

I think you are right to a degree here swanne. Rem sang that song way back before many people were thinking the end is nigh. It was just a cute song. And now, look at the last ten years or so. This meme permeates the entire entertainment industry. It is drummed out at us on a daily and weekly basis. Post apocalyptic this and post apocalyptic that. But all in the form of 'entertainment". I think that may who see the end, only see it in a manner depicted on screen, where in the final moments the music swells , the water recedes and the sun comes out and the good guys take over. Little could be farther from the truth.

I don't want the world to end although there is a certain dark fascination at times with thinking about whether or not you could survive this or that scenario which explains the popularity of certain books, films, and TV shows.

What I really find fascinating about it is how prophecy works, and it doesn't have to be apocalyptic prophecy although that's the most well known kind running around.

Do I think the world is going to end? Well, duh, we all know what's going to happen to the sun in ... what ... a billion years or so? But for humans? It's possible, and if it happens, not much to be done about it.

Freedom. Freedom from a 9 to 5 (dream hours in my opinion), freedom from the next bill due, freedom from having to be here and there by a certain time. I don't wish for an apocalypse but in the words of my dad 'at least I'd finally get a vacation.' I don't think everyone feels the same way. Just why the people around me would welcome it.

Doomsday Cults: Why Do People Have End Times Obsessions and Apocalypse Dreams?

Many people live banal, emotionally lonely, pointless lives and seek salvation thru mythology and fantasy.

originally posted by: Bloodydagger
Who in their right mind would want the world to come to a crashing halt, taking all of life with it?

Those who don't realize its back to prehistory class 000. Basically wasting all efforts of advancements up till now and starting over as a species.
Yet, those intelligent terrestrials who didn't partake and may prefer safer underground habitats species lives on...
Probably with another amazing bedtime story to tell of the roof dwelling species self hatred humans who simultaneously advanced great in many ways and yet always found ways to destroy themselves and forget. Themselves...

a reply to: TerryMcGuire

Not quite. If you think about it, many major religions can be seen as "Doomsday cults", too. In fact, the Essenes were often ridiculed in Biblical times as a "doomsday cult". And Islam is practically based on the concept of doing good on Earth so we will get a "passing" grade on Judgment Day, which will occur immediately after our entire reality is ripped apart lol. As in, this "reality" is just a simulation so we're proving ourselves worthy for the next life.

People in this thread have already touched on some good points. I definitely think an end to personal suffering/helplessness and a sense of inevitably are part of it. But I agree even more that people crave that kind of "excitement". Think about it, people in perfectly safe environments voluntarily seek horror movies, ghost stories, and haunted houses just to get the stimulation that comes with fear.

A lot of people even crave wars and natural disasters, some because of the carnage and others so they can have stories to tell. Then there are the spiteful people in the world who just want other people to suffer, or want an excuse for entire demographics, regions, religions, or ideologies to be wiped off the map.

Ironically, most of these same people soil themselves or flee in panic when real disasters hit their own lives. When a simple tornado starts barreling through their own neighborhood, the desire for an "end" seems to disappear pretty quickly.

a reply to: TerryMcGuire

the end of the world as we know it, was released in 1987, we had the very real threat of nuclear war, an increasingly mentally impaired reagan with his finger on the button and the ussr appointing a new leader seemingly every week, a year earlier the chernobyl disaster led to devastated livestock throughout europe highlighting the threats of fallout, and the berlin wall still stood.

films like threads, testament and the day after highlighted the futility of actually surviving.

kids today don't have such fears, but there are people prepared to make money from using armageddon scenarios.
check out alex jones, nearly 50 end of the world dates since 2000.
he wants everyone to forget his y2k broadcast where russia invaded america.
has the nostradamus end date of 1999 been forgotten, or rehashed at every natural disaster?

Some people crave the "end of the world" simply because they see their own lives as mundane and meaningless and think (no doubt at least down to watchig TV series or reading sci-fi books) that if everything changes for the very worse, they might just be the ones to survive and even thrive.

They havent experienced life with no wi-fi or toilet paper though .....

And the new fad is preparing for the Zombie Apocalypse. There are actually people out there who think that one day in the future, we'll have a threat similar to Zombies against mankind. One has to wonder exactly how realistic that is.

a reply to: Bloodydagger

Well, there is that virus which affects over a third of Earth's population and which shows no symptoms other than strange behaviour anomaly:

In humans, T. gondii is one of the most common parasites in developed countries;[6][7] serological studies estimate that 30–50% of the global population has been exposed to and may be chronically infected with T. gondii

(...)

Once healthy humans are infected with Toxoplasma gondii, it may lead to altered behavioral differences like psychomotor performance and neurological disorders like depression and/or suicide and even schizophrenia.

(...)

This means that men were more likely to disregard rule and were more expedient, suspicious and jealous. (...) Correlation has also been observed between seroprevalence of T. gondii in humans and increased risk of traffic accidents. Infected subjects have a 2.65 times higher risk of getting into a traffic accident.[85] A similar study done in Turkey showed that there is a higher incidence of Toxoplasma gondii antibodies among drivers who have been involved in traffic accidents.[86] Furthermore, this parasite has been associated with many neurological disorders such as schizophrenia.

en.m.wikipedia.org...

Not a zombie virus, but somehow perhaps as bad.

a reply to: Bloodydagger

Why does the whole world have to end all at once?

It already does. Tens of thousands of people die every day. For them the whole world just ended.

Pre occupation with disasters is a useful tool of state, it keeps the fear alive.

in five minutes they will begin testing the air raid sirens. Europeans have the weirdest sounding ones.I can't believe you guys are getting the "duck and cover" treatment over there. They stopped that WWIII stuff in the states a long time ago. It would be considered a joke if they started that back up.

a reply to: enlightenedservant

Your post I really agree with, for most thinking about an apocalyptic event is a form of escapism and fantasizing.

It's why when people think about say a zombie apocalypse or a nuclear one they always consider themselves a survivor, because as we all know... Bad things only happen to other people. As you mentioned even if you are of the mind frame of not being a survivor and you embrace the possibility of an end to it all, that's still escapism or a fantasy if you will.

Inherently the will to live and not kill is within all of us, military history is scattered with cases of people who just couldn't kill just like history is filled with people doing things to live that could seem unfathomable to a clear-headed person.

You mentioned the irony of people and situations compared to what they've basically fantasized about, the irony isn't lost on me. It takes a long time of systematic training to convince the body not to react how the body is designed to react, we as humans can be really good at actively kidding ourselves.

Thinking we could handle an apocalypse when the majority of us fail to argue with a queue-jumper nor find the temperament to not shout when we are angry, we pull our hand away when we burn or cut it. No, when it comes to the crunch all kidding aside, we react like humans because we are not thinking.

It's all about the third density end game man.

Or mass delusion and deception.

Everyone I know who has been obsessed with Doomsday prophecy has been very disappointed with their life. Subconsciously, they must wish for the end because they feel like whatever's coming next is going to be so much better.

Of course, there is also the basic human psychological fascination with things that could kill us.

a reply to: RAY1990

I agree. So maybe it's just the fantasy of an apocalypse and not the apocalypse itself that many people crave? I've been in hurricanes, mass floodings, tornadoes, and almost was struck by lightning. And all of those sucked. I haven't been in a forest fire, but videos like this make me glad I've never been in one: The same goes for avalanches, tsunamis, mudslides/landslides, and other natural disasters like volcanic eruptions. I've never met anyone who's been in those and thought it was cool while being hammered by them, either. A lot of people try to act tough or cool by acting like they'd love to be in them, but I think they're either lying, suicidal, or would simply love to see & experience them while coming out unharmed (which is pretty much what you said).

a reply to: Bloodydagger

Well it wouldn't be ending if this all went away. All this is a bit of a catch 22. A comfortable prison. Everyone is essentially slaves, unless your super rich. If all changed which is a long shot. Well at least slavery would be gone for a little while. But then people would be hungry so again it's a catch 22.

a reply to: bigpatato

I think that's the point that most forget. People will do some really crazy messed up things when they're desperate and hungry. In situations where there is no food (or people experienced enough to get it), canabalism is very common, even among those who flee rather than defend themselves. Once you reach a certain point your true survival instinct kicks in, at that point, nothing is out of bounds.

I agree about the slavery thing. I think that the fantasy is that they are the ones that not only survive but are on top in the "new world".

I am a prepper but not because I want the world to end, only because I see the places we've been before and everyone knows that history has a tendancy to repeat itself.