In Reply to: reposted from genx posted by susie on December 01, 2005 at 20:45:10:
I don't exactly believe in the Parousia as a literal, Biblical event, but I still hope for it. I don't think humans will necessarily hear a mighty trumpet and look up to see this supernatural being in the clouds riding on a white horse. That sort of imagery is metaphorical, imo, and it says more to people in a pre-scientific 1st century culture than it does about contempory human beings faced with the mysteries of the universe.
What the actual event will be like, I don't know, but I hope for it because I don't see humankind figuring out how to fix the mess they've made of the planet. I'm not convinced we can escape the forces of nature all on our own. If humankind is to survive and not go the way of the dinosaurs, I think some sort of massive and dramatic evolutionary leap in our consciousness and existence as physical beings will need to take place.
I'm not particularly dismayed by the idea of humans going into extinction--the way so many other species are doing in the current massive biological die-off--but as animals, we will need to go through a major, profound transformation of some sort in order to survive the current cycle of planetary change which could last several more centuries.