666

This heat has been amazing.
My mum was fond of quoting “the day is coming when it shall burn as an oven.”  I really gave it no thought.  Now it seems the race is on to ensure the planet does not heat up 2 degrees.  Cairns just had its hottest day – not just for Spring but ever.
My mum passed away in the mid 90’s.  Global warming was just heating up (as it were).  There were deniers and advocates.  Scientific advocates did their cause no good by falsifying documents. However it seems the evidence is in, and the planet is warming.  Fires in the Arctic circle were unheard of once.  I saw a Swedish (I think he was) fireman being interviewed, and he said their country just did not have the equipment to deal with the fires they now see.  California just had their worst fire in history.  The previous record was set only eight months ago.  The fires they have been experiencing have used every available resource.  It seems ironic that the town called Paradise, was basically wiped off the map.
I did not give what she said much thought, but I did weigh it up.  Her reference talked about 666, or the mark of the Beast.  According to that, something was to be inserted in the back of the hand, or the temple.  All that seemed incredibly fanciful once. It seems less so now, as I see electronic marks being applied to people to get them into nightclubs, and appliances strapped to the body, so a person has access to their money.  Bodily insertion seems a logical step. 
For many years cash was what was used where I worked.  Then our records showed that eftpos was the major way of paying for our services.  After that it was paying on line.  Less and less cash was being used.  Of course, this all made our jobs much easier.  Instead of lugging cash to the bank, most stuff was done at the desk.  The last I heard, that joint is now cashless.  Gone are the money machines.  They are not needed anymore.   Going down this road seems to make sense.  It is where it all ends I wonder about.
All of this sort of stuff has been talked about for years.  What has made the difference for me, is the atomic bomb.  For the first time that I know of, mankind had the ability to completely annihilate himself.  For ages the USSR and the US were engaged in the nuclear arms race.  We are told it has stopped now, but there is still enough to wipe ourselves out many times over.  For me, that was when the clock started ticking.
Some wonder, some dismiss.  It just seems to be the way it is. I am a wonder person.  Still, so much requires a step of faith.  Faith to me these days does not seem to be a left field thing.  We exercise faith every time we hop in our car, or go to work, or board a plane.  Expecting to breathe our next breath is a faith thing.
Lewis and Tolkien were in the stratosphere compared to me.  But I (like them) am big on reason and evidence.  I do know however, that of itself will never be enough to get me where I want to go.