By: Esther Liu, Contributor
The Silhouette: Could you please give a brief introduction of yourself?
Matthew Thiessen: I'm Matthew Thiessen, an associate professor of religious studies in the faculty of social sciences here at McMaster. I primarily focus on ancient texts, what Christians call the New Testament and text out of ancient Judaism, whether that's the Hebrew Bible, the Old Testamentor early Judaism text that didn't make it into the canon of either Jews or Christians.
When did you first become interested in the topic of the apocalypse and why?
The first time that I can remember something apocalyptic coming across my radar was in 1988. I know this for a fact because I grew up just outside of Detroit on the Canadian border, just outside of Windsor, and my dad took me to my first baseball game and I had been begging to go for years. It was at Tiger Stadium in Detroit. I have no recollection of the game whatsoever, but I do remember a small plane circling around the stadium during the ball game and it had one of those banners. It said: "8 reasons why the world will end in 1988" and I had never heard of such a thing.
It said: "8 reasons why the world will end in 1988" and I had never heard of such a thing. . . I remember thinking that I have no idea what this is talking about, but I sure as heck don't want the world to end.
1988 seems like a lifetime ago, but I guess I was 11 years old at the time. I remember thinking that I have no idea what this is talking about, but I sure as heck don't want the world to end. I'm 11, all I've done is go to school. I haven't reaped any benefits. I haven't got a job or made money or travelled or everything else. So I remember thinking that this is awful: I don't want the world to end because my life hasn't really even begun yet.
And so, that's sort of where I first came across this idea of apocalyptic thinking, the end of the world sort of thinking and [it] just has popped up over and over again. Anybody can, especially thinking in a North American context, come across this kind of stuff. In 2012, there was this claim about the Mayan calendar that predicted the world was going to end. In 2013, there was a Christian pastor in the States who put out billboards all over the world talking about the world ending. And, of course, this stuff keeps happening even today.
Could you elaborate on why you're still interested in this topic?
Especially in the North American context . . . you can see especially the dominance and influence of Christian apocalyptic thinking that still occurs to this day. You'll see, over and over again, predictions about the end of the world or some sort of major apocalyptic event. This includes what happened . . . when numerous Trump supporters stormed the Capitol as some of that was influenced by apocalyptic thinking. There was the thought that there was going to be this major movement by God to keep Trump in power. But this is what some people believed: that God would intervene in American history to bring about what these people thought would be some sort of just and righteous conclusion. Other historical events in the world were also influenced by apocalyptic thinking. It's out there, it pops its head out over and over again, so I think studying this is really important.
Do you believe that there is a key lesson that we can learn from the apocalypses you study?
When you study ancient apocalyptic texts, I think they're motivated by a few key ideological or theological beliefs. One is that what happens here on Earth is ultimately under the control of some higher being. So at least in a North American context, one of the most famous apocalypses of all is the Book of Revelation in the New Testament, in the Christian Bible. It's motivated by the belief that what happens here on earth is controlled by God and that this is a reason to believe — just because life on earth is maybe crappy, things are going bad, people are dying, people are being persecuted, unrighteous people seem to be winning, bad people seem to be ruling — that ultimately, this is not the final word. So this hope that all this will change is what motivates this literature.
I think you see, whether that's been religious or secular apocalyptic thinking today, there's this idea that now is not the final word. Just talking about maybe at the secular level, it's not this belief that there's a God who is going to make things turn out right, but you can see the sort of apocalyptic thinking around climate change. Most climate change activists say that we're very close to midnight, but there's something we can do. So the idea is we're at a very dangerous point but it can change and we can have an effect in changing it for the good. There are many people thinking that we are in an apocalyptic time and that we can change this, we just have to muster the courage to do it. There's the thought about "What can the world be? This is it now, here's what's bad about it, but here's what we can hope for and aspire to and work towards."
There are many people thinking that we are in an apocalyptic time and that we can change this, we just have to muster the courage to do it. There's the thought about "What can the world be? This is it now, here's what's bad about it, but here's what we can hope for and aspire to and work towards."
Cassandra Jeffery
The Silhouette
There are very few places, if any, that are completely untouched by the rapid modernization that has come to overwhelm much of the globe.
North American culture, for example, is largely based on a capitalist system that reinforces the spread of globalization. We’ve become not only fully immersed within a globalized, cultural context but we’ve also grown numb to the ramifications of capitalist ventures and the intrusiveness of globalization. For us, living in Canada, we’re exposed and all too familiar with the consistent influx of McDonalds or Starbucks.
Speaking for the general population at McMaster, I can say that all of us have access to a modern form of communication. Most of us lay claim to a cell phone or laptop, both of which can access various media and communication outlets.
We have, practically, instant and constant access to the Internet. Google has made it possible to see a street level view of a German city while sitting in a lecture hall here at McMaster. Although I’m still astounded at the speed in which technology is accelerating our ability to connect with the rest of the world, I have certainly taken for granted some of the benefits that come along side of globalization.
Globalization discourages cultural and national ignorance. With the world literally at our fingertips we, as global citizens living in Canada, have the ability to discover diverse perspectives while enjoying the comforts of home. Although I can’t speak for everyone, I certainly can’t claim ignorance when I can easily research something on the Internet. Borders have become less tangible as we move fluidly through the globe’s nations and cultures portrayed on our computer screens.
In a more literal sense, globalization encourages travel. As I learn about these fascinating places in the world I begin to yearn for the physical experience. Traveling puts your world, your culture, and your experiences into a different perspective. Taking yourself out of what is subjectively normal and placing yourself into a whirlwind of new customs, cultural practices, and ideologies can be overwhelming, challenging, yet eminently enriching.
Globalization has also walked hand-in-hand with industrialization and modernization. Although I cringe to see yet another corporate conglomerate plant its roots in our already capitalist weeded soil, there are benefits to bringing industrialization and modernization into the metaphorical garden. Influencing economic stability, national capital, and employment, industrialization maintains a level of prosperity.
And, I’m sure we’d be reluctant to give up our vehicles, cell-phones, and central heating in return for a “simpler” lifestyle. Globalization has encouraged industrialization and modernization across the globe, which has, in some ways, beneficially impacted national economic, political and social standing. However, what is to be said against globalization, industrialization, and modernization?
As globalizations encourages a surge of eager travellers, typically the wealthy and middle-class populations of the world, the more traditional areas of the world and the predominantly poverty stricken global citizens are vulnerable in that they become fetisized by world travellers and exploited by money hungry industrial ventures. The land and the people of these un-familiar areas of the world are worked down and forcibly pushed into the path of globalization.
Being sucked into the vortex of capitalism in the name of modernization, we are to assume that this development is natural—an unexplainable, self governing force that simply exists. However, it was Karl Marx who pointed out that our fixation with commodities, and all of the elements that are attributed with consumerism, is a product of our society that we, the global citizens, perpetuated. The spread of industrialization and capitalist ideologies in a country such as Cambodia, for example, creates a social constructed hierarchy of the oppressed worker and the commodity consumer.
There’s something romantically simplistic about the areas of the world that seem to have withheld from aspects of globalization. When I was travelling through Croatia this past June I was surprised to see that the country did not have the typical western icons of globalization.
There were no franchises of McDonalds or Burger King, there were no large western corporations, and although Croatia is a modernized, industrialized country, I couldn’t help but feel pleasure in the fact that this small country, in relation to the rest of Europe, was able to fight off a metaphorical, iconic representation of globalization. On the contrary, Croatia recently joined the European Union and no doubt will this membership into the EU bring beneficial national growth, however with such improvements must come the inescapable spread of globalization.
Switching my focus to Southeast Asia, I fear for the beautiful yet still mysterious country of Laos. Nestled in between Vietnam, Thailand, Myanmar and Cambodia the country, from what I have seen on television and in research, is left for the most part untouched by industrialization. The country remains frozen in time, unchanged from a century ago.
Yet, it seems globalization is inevitable. Industrialization and modernization will eventually make its way to Laos. Tourists will choose Laos as their next exotic travel destination, the country and her people will imminently change as outside influence becomes more prevalent and capitalist ideologies flourish.
The pessimism I have for the globalized world is troubling although I hold little faith in the world`s ability to alter our chosen path. If the spread of modernization and industrialization is inevitable all I can do is explore and understand these untouched areas of the world before they become consumed.
We tend to take the good in globalization and seem to forget about the bad and at the end of the day we are left wondering, do the ends really justify the means?
