Attitude and Apocalypse

Today was really interesting because we got to hear from one of the actual authors of one of our readings.  Amy Johnson Frykholm talked about postmillennialist and premillennialist viewpoints in regards to the apocalypse.

A postmillennialist is more optimistic because they believe in working for things like peace, love and justice.  Christ will come and meet us, deciding who is worthy of salvation and who is not.  There is hope in this view because there is a possibility to change oneself, the world, and maybe even God's mind about your salvation.  For example, Marissa mentioned the environment and how we have the potential to make really great choices and change how we interact with and treat our environment.

A premillennialist is more pessimistic because they believe that the world is getting worse and worse.  God will eventually save the good and condemn or punish the bad.  Therefore the only thing to do is to accept that the world will not get much better, and that true goodness and salvation can only be found through Jesus' coming to save the people from suffering.  By assuming that things won't get worse, it is unlikely that people would even try to make a positive difference in the world.

These are two polarized views about the end of the world and the coming of Jesus Christ to save the faithful people.  In a larger context, these are two very different attitudes, beliefs, worldviews, etc.  While nobody is entirely optimistic or pessimistic, individually we tend to fall on one side of the spectrum or the other.  I agree with Marissa completely about the environment.  I think we can truly "be the change we want to see in the world", in any context.  If we decide that the world is getting worse and worse and there is nothing we can do about it, then we probably won't.

But if we recognize specific problems, why they are detrimental, and how we can change them, then we will feel more empowered to actually do something about it.  This semester especially I am really working on being more optimistic.  When I wake up on a cold Monday morning after lack of sleep and forget to have breakfast, I could assume that the day ahead will be awful, merely because of my situation.  That isn't true at all.  Today was probably the first morning this year where I was deliberately aware of how tired and somewhat stressed I was.  Then I made a conscious choice to enjoy the day.  When I choose to be happy, I can help others to too, and make the most of their day.  I really appreciate the postmillennialist view because it empowers people to be hopeful, proactive, and happy.