Since we just welcomed 2012 and there are many talks about the end of the Mayan calendar, I thought I would share my research paper from 3 years ago on this topic so you can be better informed.

A Christian Response to the 2012 Mayan Calendar Prediction

by Joel Tang, 2009

Introduction

At the conclusion of my History of Christianity course, Dr. Ron Kydd stated that we are living in an era of unprecedented change[1]. As a visual highlighting the change we are experiencing, Karl Fisch, a high school administrator at Arapahoe High School in Littleton, Colorado, pulled together a PowerPoint with “some interesting ideas” for teachers at his school. (His work can be seen at the following link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jpEnFwiqdx8) Before the blink of an eye, the whole world speeds by.

When I was in engineering school, I learned of Moor’s Law: Since the invention of the integrated circuit in 1958, the number of transistors that can be placed inexpensively on an integrated circuit has increased exponentially, doubling approximately every two years. In layman’s terms, Moore’s Law predicts the speed of computer will double every two years. That means this 4 years old laptop I am composing this essay on, is 4 times lower than the typical laptop computer available today. The world is changing at a tremendous pace, and it will continue to change exponentially.

It a era of unprecedented change such as this also comes an era of uncertainties – the economic recession had been the major headline of 2009 so far. Other uncertainties include the war in Iran and Afghanistan, global warming, the danger of a global pandemic, the nuclear development in North Korea, India and Pakistan, etc. During these times of uncertainties it is natural that there will be doomsday and apocalyptic predictions. We have all seen the “doomsday” predictions that inevitably surround national or international crises or notable events. The millennial-bug scare of 2000, which gave good fodder for many end-of-the-world fans, is only one example. We have also heard and studied of the doomsday cults in our class, such as Jim Jones, David Koresh or the Heaven’s Gate community. The hot topic in regards to doomsday prediction seems to be 2012, the year of Mayan prophecy. In this paper we will look at what 2012 is all about and how we should respond as Christians.

The Mayan Civilization

Before we look at the origins and source of the 2012 prediction, let us look at the Mayan civilization and their calendar system.

The Maya civilization is a Mesoamerican civilization, noted for the only known fully developed written language of the pre-Columbian Americas, as well as its art, architecture, and mathematical and astronomical systems. Initially established during the Pre-classic period, many of these reached their apogee of development during the Classic period (c. 250 CE to 900 CE), and continued throughout the Post classic period until the arrival of the Spanish. At its peak, it was one of the most densely populated and culturally dynamic societies in the world. [2]

The Mayans saw humans as an integral part of an interactive, living galaxy. In Mayan-view, you have many connections to the universe through your own body. Areas of your body relate to areas of the galaxy, and at the time of your birth these connections are solidified. The relationship between the galaxy and your body is reflected in the Maya numbering system and the calendars. The worldview was fertile ground for the development of hieroglyphic writings, mathematics, advance architecture, and the formulation of prophecy. The accuracy of their prophecies allowed them to prepare for disasters such as the coming of the Spanish; to protect themselves and their holy records; and to plan for a future time when once again their knowledge would rise.

From this Mesoamerican civilization and its astronomical systems arose a calendar with predictions that would become a topic of end time events for the 21st century. The labyrinth toward 2012 begins with the Mayan timekeeping system. The system is based on more than one calendar. The calendars measure interlocking, multidimensional cycles. The abbreviated list of what some of the calendars measure and how long their cycles are is:[3]

· Agricultural cycles: Two calendars relate directly to agriculture; one was 130 days long and measured growing cycles of corn, the other was 180 days and measured insect cycles. Some insects are needed for fertilization, others are damaging to crops. Knowing the cycles was essential information.

· Human gestation of 260 days: Also related to the Venus cycle. It describes the connection between astronomical events and the human body. This calendar is called the Tzolk’in. It is a very sacred calendar at the heart of the system.

· The solar year of 365 days: This is the Haab cycle.

· Prophetic calendars: These are secret calendars in used by at least ten Mayan tribes today. These are five strictly prophetic calendars plus the Long Count, which has prophetic application.

· The moon cycle of 29.5 days: Measures the length of time it takes the moon to go through a complete phase from new moon to new moon.

· The galactic cycles of 26,000 years: Measures the precession of the equinox.

· The 13-baktun cycle (5,125 years) of the Long Count: Measures the changing of the “sun” in the precession. The Long Count is where the date 2012 comes from.

· Spiritual cycles: Measures cycles of energy released to the planet. They vary in length.

This remarkable calendar of the Ancient Mayans predicts that an event of major proportions will take place on December 21, 2012. Unfortunately, the Mayans did not specify what the major event would be but doomsday believers hold tight to the notion that the world will end on this day.

2012 Global Predictions

Scientists have various assumptions, theories, and philosophies as to what scientifically could happen. Their theories include major earth changing events such as Galactic alignment, Pole shift, solar magnetic reversal, and Solar maximum. They believe these events will result from threats such as Meteorite or Comet impact, Gamma ray burst, Extraterrestrials, or nuclear explosions. [4]

The Sun

Since the 1940s, and particularly since 2003, the sun has behaved more tumultuously than any time since the rapid global warming that accompanied the melting of the last Ice Age 11,000 years ago. On July 31, 2006, a sunspot appeared on the sun, and some scientists believe this sunspot heralds the start of the next sunspot surge because the sun’s magnetic polarity was reversed from the polarity of the previous cycle. Solar physicists concur that solar activity will next peak, at record setting levels, in 2012.

Storms on the sun are related to the storms on the Earth. The great wave of 2005 hurricanes Katrina, Rita, and Wilma coincided with one of the stormiest weeks in the recorded history of the sun. Large influxes of energy from the sun drive extreme weather patterns. This influx of energy not only makes an incredible display of the Northern Lights, it also creates the La Niña and El Niño jet stream patterns. The result is super hurricanes like Katrina.

Today the influx of magnetic radiation would have enormous impact on our technology. Electromagnetic interruption of satellites could knock them out of commission for days.[5] This can affect a lot more than GPS systems, cell phones, and the Internet. Magnetic radiation could potentially jeopardize nuclear warhead devices, national warning systems, airplanes, jets, and all different aspects of life. The technological age we live in has its Achilles heel in the electromagnetic flux.

The Magnetic Pole

The Earth’s magnetic field, our primary defense against harmful solar radiation, has begun to dwindle, with California-sized cracks opening up randomly. A pole shift, in which protection falls nearly to zero as North and South magnetic poles reverses position, may well be under way.

Super Volcano

The Yellowstone super volcano, which erupts catastrophically every 600,000 to 700,000 years, is prepared to erupt. The most recent eruption of comparable magnitude, at Lake Toba, Indonesia, 74,000 years ago, led to the death of more than 90 percent of the world’s population at the time.

The Photon Belt

Russian geophysicists believe that the Solar System has entered an interstellar energy cloud. This cloud is energizing and destabilizing the sun and all the planets’ atmosphere. Their predictions for catastrophe resulting from the Earth’s encounter with this energy cloud range from 2010 to 2020.

Asteroids

Physicists at UC Berkeley, who discovered that the dinosaurs and 70 percent of all other species on Earth were extinguished by the impact of a comet or asteroid 65 million years ago, maintain with 99 percent certainty, that we are overdue for another such mega-catastrophe.

A Closer look at the Mayan Calendar Prediction

According to researchers the Mayans astronomical predictions were based on a collection of systematic calendars similar to the ones used by earlier Mesoamerican civilizations such as the Zapotec, Olmec, and Aztecs. These calendars date as far back as 6th century BCE. Among these systematic calendars were basically two main calendars. One was Tzolk’in and the other was the Haabs. These two calendars cycle around each other like gears of different sizes, they overlapped each other and each was based on a five thousand year cycle. As one was ending the other was already in progress. Therefore, it is not that the Mayans were predicting the end of the world. Based on their calculations of a five thousand year cycle they predicted that one event calendar was ending on December 21, 2012 and another one beginning on December 22, 2012. In other words, they were simply predicting the end of the five thousand year solar or planetary calendar. Although their scientists and astronomers did look for and anticipated natural disasters, they did not view them as world ending events. Modern day research suggests that the December 21, 2012 date is related to a not-so-well known phenomenon called the precession of the Equinoxes -or- a five thousand year planetary cycle.

The numeric predictions of the Mayan calendar are based on the computation of the Mayan value of pi whose value is more reliable than any European pi. This makes the Mayan calendar remarkably accurate. However, it does not predict the end of the world in 2012.

The Origins of the 2012 Apocalyptic Predictions

Though the evidence of a possible catastrophic event is evident in scientific research and analysis, where did the 2012 production come about?

The man who first introduced the date December 21, 2012 into mass consciousness was Jose Arguelles in his book The Mayan Factor: Path Beyond Technology. He is a university professor who became famous in the 1980s for establishing the Harmonic Convergence. Arguelles claimed Harmonic Convergence would open the door to new energies of light that represented the end of the nine Mayan underworlds. It was supposed to herald a global awakening of love and unity through divine transformation. Arguelles believes that a solar flare will deliver a knockout punch to modern civilization in 2012. Satellites, the power grid, and communications will all go down, creating an irrevocable event. The positive aspect of this is that we'll be placed back in "natural time" and the biosphere can clean itself of effects from the industrial/mechanized system.

Arguelles believed the early Mayans did have extraterrestrial-type contacts from very advanced beings, "telepathic transmissions through different dimensions where the fractal properties of a particular form remain constant through the dimensions, so they get reconstructed in the dimension where they're being targeted," he explained.

Arguelles is an advocate for the 13 moon-28 day calendar, which was one of the systems the Mayans used. Living in this natural cycle, as opposed to our irregular calendar, can bring about a harmonious shift in consciousness. A person will become more spiritual, with new perceptions coming into their mind with the 28 day calendar. After 2012, he sees humanity synchronizing with a cosmic civilization, and the beginning of a whole new evolutionary cycle.

Critique of Arguelles

As illustrated in the above section, even though the warning signs of a 2012 prediction are surrounded by scientific analysis and research, the basis of Arguelles’ prediction are clouded in New Age believes and speculations. He has been a proponent in the Mayan calendar revival since the 1980s. He started researching in the 1950s, formulating his own theories about Mayan timekeeping. He believes that “time is the frequency of synchronization.” He promoted the Harmonic Convergence in 1987 as an energy shift in the 25-year countdown to the end of the Long Calendar. [6] He also created his own calendar, the Dreamspell calendar, meant to harmonize the users to natural cycles by using a 28-day, 13 month calendar. Arguelles suggests that: “A calendar is the macro-organizing principle of a culture, even if people don’t realize it. A new calendar would be like striking a new covenant. All of the institution operating on the old timing frequency would be instantly delegitimized.”[7]

Arguelles’ work is unsupported by Mayan scholarship. Arguelles is accused of co-opting ancient traditions and reframing them in modern New Age terminology. In addition, Arguelles’ Dreamspell calendar doesn’t properly coordinate with the length of the year and month.

Christian Response

In my opinion, the assumptions of world ending events is another doomsday prediction on the level of Y2K born out of the human need for a cosmic change or a solution to human suffering on this planet, and revenge against those who impose such sufferings.

So what are the Christians responses to this doomsday prediction? Christians can be classified as the group most likely to believe in such doomsday predictions based on their understandings and acceptance of end time events as described in the book of Revelation. To claim apocalyptic eschatology as our view of the world in contexts that call for a prophetic perspective becomes an exercise in self-delusion, and an expression of our own self-importance and arrogance. If there is anything that most people, especially in the Western world need to hear today, it is the prophetic message. It is not the “word of prophecy” hyped by popular books and TV preachers who try to divine events that will unfold in the future to fulfill our insatiable human curiosity. It is the core message of the Old Testament prophets, reiterated even more strongly by Jesus: live as God’s people in the world! Feed the hungry. Clothe the naked. Visit the sick and those in prison. Preach the Gospel to the poor. Bind up the broken hearted. Give cups of cold water in Jesus’ name. Proclaim the Good News of reconciliation to God. Love God with all your hearts and others as yourself.

To have the capability as empowered by God to change the world by being faithful to his call through the prophetic word that sees God at work in human history, and yet retreat to an apocalyptic mode of thinking that denies our and God’s ability to redeem even the darkest history is to squander a precious treasure. I think God expects more of his people!

Upon the investigation done in this paper, I hope to help readers realize that the 2012 prediction is based on New Age ideas and ideologies. As a Christian, we should heed to the warning from Jesus in Matt 24:10-11, 36: “At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people... But of that day and hour knows no man, neither angels of Heaven nor the Son, but my Father.”

[1] Lecture, History of Christianity II, Apr 15, 2009

[2] http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/370759/Maya

[3] Andrews & Andrews, 2012: An Ancient Look at a Critical Time, pp. 53, 54

[4] Joseph, Apocalypse 2012: A Scientific Investigation into Civilization’s End, pp. 16, 17

[5] Andrews & Andrews, p. 123

[6] Ibid., p. 166

[7] Pinchbeck, 2012 The Year of the Mayan Prophecy, p. 223

Happy New Year, everyone. Wishing everyone a blessed and fruitful 2012!

With the ushering in of the new year, there will always be talks of New Year Resolutions. Over the past few days, like many other people, I have given a lot of thought about New Year Resolutions, and rather or not to make one because of the fear of empty promises. First off, I am very proud of my wife, Jenny, for making and keeping her 2011 New Year Resolution - to give up carbonated soft drink. And for the year, except of the one time at the Good Food Festival when I gave her a sip of my root beer forgetting her resolution (my bad), she has not touched any soft drinks for a year and will continue to do so.

Rather your New Year Resolution is to eat less, to read the Bible more, to swear less, to excise more, and etc, the main motivation to a New Year Resolution is for self-improvement. Similar to Lent where nowadays we fast and give up on one of our worldly desires through self-denial. However, in the case of Lent, the other aspects of preparation of the believer for Holy Week – through prayer, repentance, offering – is often lost with the focus on self-denial.

There is nothing wrong with self-improvement. Our society even champions those who perseveres and dramatically improve themselves. Just turn on the TV and soon you will hear "I've lost 60 lbs and 3 months" or "imagine a new you in 90 days". The issue I have with society's message of self-improvement, and the reason why so many New Year Resolutions turn into empty promises, is that these self-improvement address what we "want". And what we "want" is often fuelled by consumerism.

When we want something, it is often to satisfy our desire. A tragic aspect of consumerism is that there is never enough. There is always the desire for more because each purchase only satisfies for short while. The Scriptures warns us about this in Haggai 1:5-6,

Now therefore, thus says the Lord of hosts, ‘Consider your ways! You have sown much, but harvest little; you eat, but there is not enough to be satisfied; you drink, but there is not enough to become drunk; you put on clothing, but no one is warm enough; and he who earns, earns wages to put into a purse with holes.

I can spent forever addressing the topic of consumerism, but in the context of New Year Resolutions, is your resolution addressing what you "want" or is it addressing what you really "need"? It is easy say "I want to lose 20 lbs through dieting", however, for self-improvement, is that what you really need? Maybe the core issue is not about losing the 20 lbs, but rather it is about living a more balance lifestyle - eating and sleeping at the proper time - and in doing so you will lose those 20 lbs.

In order to arrive at this conclusion, it requires self-reflection and self-examination. However in our busy lifestyle self-reflection and self-examination is becoming a lost art. For your New Year Resolutions, I encourage everyone to find time to slow down, find time to self-examine to see what areas in life you "need" to address.

So what's my New Year Resolution? First, here's my self-examination:

I am a follower of Christ, a husband, a pastor. Before I met Christ, I was lost, failing in school and felt unless. This had led to attempts of running away from home and suicidal thoughts. When I met Christ, and through his life redeeming blood on the cross, He offered me love and hope. I became an Electrical Engineer for 3 years until the high-tech crash in 2002. I then studied to become a Financial Advisor (this is how I met Jenny) and in just 2 years I was able to match my previous engineering income . But God had other plans for me, asking me give up my promising position at work, to go into debt to enter into seminary, so that I can take a 50% pay cut and serve as a pastor. To the world this made no sense at all but God has never ceased to provide for everything Jenny and I had ever needed. This reflection help remind me that I am living under the amazing grace of my Lord and why I am a pastor.

As I reflected on in my previous post, 2011 has been a challenging year. One feedback (from the congregation and from my senior pastor) I have received over the past two years is that I need to be more vulnerable as a pastor. I have given a lot of prayer and thought about this. What does it mean to be vulnerable? How to be vulnerable? In my formative years, I had been known to be very transparent. Speaking with Jenny she agrees that it is because of this transparency we were able to maintain the long-distance relationship while we were dating. Now that we have been married for 3 and a half years, I have realized I best express my vulnerability through writing. It was through this blog and Jenny's blog how we got to know each other better. And because of my limited verbal skills I find it difficult to express my deepest thoughts in speech. Also through writing (even though my writing skills are horrible, too) I am able to organize my thoughts and feelings better. Somehow ever since I got engaged to Jenny, because of busyness, I did not write as much. Therefore, in my pursue to be more vulnerable, so that I can become a better follower of Christ, a better husband, and a better pastor, I shall spend more time in reflection and in writing. And this is my New Year Resolution.

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