Why are some religions so obsessed about the Apocalypse?

Because the Bible tells us it will happen in Revelations.

In my Baptist church as a child, they showed us basically horror films about it and how Christians would have to hide, I still remember the horsemen to this day and how scared I was.

The cool thing, if I’m remembering correctly, is that if you survive, you get to be taken to Heaven with Jesus personally. Like not dying.

They want it to happen, because they get to go to “heaven” and get to laugh at all the non-christians roasting in hell.

It’s the devil leading them astray. ~

I don’t propose to understand or be able to interpret prophesy but i do know that the popular belief of how it will fulfilled is rarely how it actually happens. (I’m a Christian and I really don’t want to get into a debate so if this turns into someone challenging my beliefs I am unfollowing. I’m just trying to answer the question.)

“preaching about a pending Apocalypse is the cornerstone of most religious teachings.” I don’t think this is at all true. I’d replace “most” with “few.”
Why religions choose to focus on what they do is determined by the leaders of the particular church or sect. My impression is that it has to do with what that particular group thinks is most important. Some hold their members by suggestions that appeal to the group, like doing good for others or the idea that if you lead an “approved life” you’ll go to heaven, or, in this case, the end is nigh and you’d better be ready to go. People believe stuff that others may not see as realistic or helpful to a community. C’est la vie.

Most religious groups, and most Christian churches, are not predicting imminent apocalypse.

The Roman Catholic and Orthodox Christian churches don’t teach that, and that covers the majority of Christians.

The ones that do are loud about it, though. And other people will notice that a lot more than more mundane teachings.

Not sure about most religious teachings but the Apocalypse is the end all be all for too many religious types.

It may be their idea that this world is basically sinful, transitory and in need of a good returning of the magic man to clean things up. These people have trouble dealing with both the real world and this modern world, so want it to end in a blaze of ” godly ” glory.

The real point here is not to take you eye off this people and never give them power over the rest of us.

I think that religion serves a purpose in quelling common fears, and the end of the world is a huge fear that most people share. Most religions offer a sort of safety net if/when the end of the world comes.
More maliciously, sometimes I think that certain groups within certain religions will prey on that fear and use salvation as a way to draw people in. I don’t think it’s uncommon for religion to prey on fear, though that is not always the case.

As @ragingloli said, they’re in a hurry to get “up there,” which is a pity because one, there’s no “up there.” and two, life is a pretty miraculous thing all by itself.

Well I’m obsessed with it too. But my apocalypse involves zombies.

It’s good propaganda.

There is a school of thought in the large and diverse Christian community that says, “If your heaven bound you’re already there and if you’re hell bound you’re already there. It’s kind of based on Philipians were Paul was a prisoner and the whole time he was talking about Joy. “Rejoice always…make my joy complete…”
We don’t worry to much about the apocalypse. We believe the 365 times the bible says, “Fear not” or don’t be afraid.” or “don’t worry.”

You remember when you were a little kid, and you’d build a tower of blocks, just to knock it all down. Knocking it down was fun.
Our apocalypse fetish is just that writ large. Civilization is the biggest thing we’ve ever made – just imagine what it would look like when it was falling down.

Apocalypse stories are as numerous, and have been around as long as, creation stories. You can’t have a beginning without an end.

@KNOWITALL . . . it is the book of revelation. no ‘s’ on the end. not trying to be a dick but that is a huge pet peeve of mine. i would be the same way if folks tried to call the gospels matthews, marks, lukes, and johns.

Because it gets people in the door and money in the donation plate.

There are lots of psychological theories out there trying to account for the appeal of apocalyptic thinking, but, having been steeped in this kind of thinking myself from a young age, I’d say that a big part of the draw is that it’s just plain exciting.

Frankly, most of us lead pretty boring lives. We love it when something spectacular comes along and shakes up the routine. We’re transfixed by TV images of cataclysms. That’s often kind of a guilty pleasure, though, so we profess our horror while we obsessively watch.

But the biblical apocalypse is the ultimate scratch for that itch for sensationalism: dramatic in the extreme, no need to feel guilty about it since it’s the vindication of righteousness, and it has a guaranteed happy ending. The looming prospect of such a thing lends lots of excitement to otherwise drab existences.

The truth? These people have a subconscious death wish. It is the same thought process behind Muslim suicide bombers and virgins. They have deluded themselves into thinking that they will survive “judgement” and get into “paradise”.

I think back in the day people worried about the sun not coming back up (have you ever watched the sun set into the ocean? It really looks like it might never come back) and wrath of God, the end of time. Put this together with unexplained horrific natural events like hurricanes, earthquakes, Tsunamis, and sealife turning up dead in great numbers, and it is easy to imagine doom is coming. One could argue it was a good idea to use these events to control the people, and many believe religion was created to control people. It also could be simply fears that were held by the population, and the stories eventually evolved into end of time and life after death scenerios. I think of religion to be similar to governments. Not necessarily sinister in intent to control people, but rather a set of rules/laws to live by, and even in modern society most people agree laws are necessary and anarchy doesn’t work. However, I do think some extreme cult like religions are lead by people who simply seek power and are probably mentally ill.

Fear certainly is a good way to keep people in line. We still control people today with fear.

There are signs of the second coming of Christ that were foretold in the Bible that appear to be happening now. Wars and rumors of wars is the big one. More of a stigma towards being a Christian is another. Weather anomalies and new forms of sickness…

Money money money money. MONEY!

@DWW25921

Really?!?

We have always had wars and rumors of wars, just less so lately.

Christians stigmatized. More? I think the Romans stigmatized the hell out of christains, so that one falls flat.

We always have weather anomalies and new sicknesses and the difference between weather and climate does not escape my notice. Still, any climate change would be a far reach as a sign of the christian apocalypse..

@Neodarwinian Every generation has it’s reason why this is “really it” and life goes on. All I can say is that hope is a powerful force and for some it’s all there is.

@DWW25921

Huh!

There is wide disconnect between the first post of yours I commented on on this…

” Every generation has it’s reason why this is “really it” and life goes on. All I can say is that hope is a powerful force and for some it’s all there is. ”

Explain please.

I disagree with the premise of the question. Which religions are you referring to, specifically?

Yep..I agree with @Pachyderm_In_The_Room .
The entire concept of another, better, “up there” in heaven, world is simply mans inability to reconcile that his organism is not any more or less “special” than a toad or a fig or a mouse or a grapefruit.
The concept is meant to insinuate that humans are somehow above it all and when we become too “ungodly” we will pay with mass destruction, minus the few chosen ones, by some omnipotent “God” that has decided we have crossed the line.

ALL religions have one variation or another of this mass destruction/ “salvation” that awaits us doomed wayward lambs.

My guess is a type of justification that makes the teachings and every day doctrines count. Most religions have teachings and shit you gotta do or things you have to think, and there has to be some point, some final story that rewards the following of something. I don’t experience faith, so that’s the best I can come up with.
Not trying to bash religion here, and not saying all the teachings are bad, but when you mix the morality in it, I don’t think it’s that hard to make it plausible if properly aligned with one’s specific culture. But I’m thinking that if you’re going to subscribe to something your whole life, there needs to be a reward at the end. As far as I can see, religion is just like going to work every day, really, but on a much greater scale. Whether it’s life after death or Judgement Day, the result and reward for following has to have some meaning, so you gotta make it concrete. You can’t get much much hardcore than Ragnarok. Even Buddhism has Nirvana.

@Symbeline That makes a lot of sense because striving for holiness is what the Catholics teach. Sainthood is the reward.

@Neodarwinian I don’t see a disconnect at all. In fact, when I merge my 2 comments they blend nicely. What exactly did you want me to explain?

There are signs of the second coming of Christ that were foretold in the Bible that appear to be happening now. Wars and rumors of wars is the big one. More of a stigma towards being a Christian is another. Weather anomalies and new forms of sickness… Every generation has it’s reason why this is “really it” and life goes on. All I can say is that hope is a powerful force and for some it’s all there is.

Unproductive lives, or perhaps it’s just a case of a lack of empathy and compassion for their fellow man, who knows. That is the difference between those people who not only want to, but actually try to make the world a better place, vs those who are merely hoping for the end.

Things like that bother me personally, because the interpretations of the Apocalypse are so widespread, it always falls on the type of person preaching it. It could be someone who genuinely is faithful to their religion or it could be someone who gets a rise of scaring people for the fun of it. It’s one of the SEVERAL REASONS why people turn from God, and it’s very discouraging…................

Both the Bible and the Qur’an are subject to individual interpretation.

In other words, when you interpret it as loving others unconditionally or condemning others for not following your path, you are merely revealing your intrinsic character and not the actual religion, which itself can be interpreted in countless ways.

CHOOSE peace, respect, Love and morality, all else is bullshit that simply keeps us divided and weak while our rulers continue ‘business’ unabated. – Gavin Nascimento

Because some forms of religions didn’t evolve, so the mindsets of their followers remain stuck in the deep past when scientific knowledge wasn’t widespread and large-scale disasters such as strong earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, meteorite impacts, tsunamis, hurricanes and epidemics couldn’t be explained. Nor their likelihood over a given time frame. Nor their prediction. Nor any countermeasures. Fear is a strong primal human instinct.

A prime example of a christian welcoming the apocalypse: Michelle Bachmann

It’s far from the cornerstone of most religious teaching. It’s quite the opposite. The Apocalypse is not the focus of the Roman Catholic branch or the Eastern Orthodox branch of Christianity. That makes up a large portion of Christianity. It’s not even the focus of most Protestant denominations. It might be a focal point for Pentecostal protestant denominations.