The Cave of the Apocalypse

The cave of St. John the Divine in Patmos, Greece

St. John, exiled from Rome by Nero, fled to Patmos where he takes up residence in a cave. There he experienced wild hallucinations and visions that describe the Apocalypse to come. A secretary sat by him as he experienced these visions and wrote them down. Many religions have an “end of the world” story..this is the Christian one.

John said he was simply the instrument by which God expressed Himself. This is also why the "Book of Revelation" is the only text of the countless works of apocalyptic literature that was made a part of the "Cannon" of the New Testament, being the final book of the Bible. “The Book of Revelations” is a profound work which has influenced art, politics and even the liturgical life of the Church. All those who have tried to explain it have found it hermetically closed, difficult to explain, but always open to new interpretations or conjectures. The book is distinguished for its poetic lucidity and, frequently, for its surrealism, which is why it has always attracted poets and writers. For Orthodox theology, however, it constitutes an inspired, sacred text leading to repentance. Today, The holy cave in Patmos is enclosed by the Monastery of the Apocalypse which was built more or less around it. This cave is where the "dialogue of love" began between Orthodoxy and Roman Catholicism.

Elon Musk’s Tesla in Space, “Interstellar”, and St. John’s Apocalypse

“Mankind was born on Earth. It was never meant to die here.”

(Interstellar, 2014)

I really do love the movie “Interstellar” (directed by Christopher Nolan, 2014). It’s fantastic. I loved it. However, the central theme of the film always seemed completely off to me. Matthew McConaughey, playing our protagonist Cooper, proclaims, “Mankind was born on Earth. It was never meant to die here”. This defining quote is preceded by Cooper musing, “It’s like we’ve forgotten who we are...explorers, pioneers...not caretakers”. These memorable lines sound quite capitalistic, imperialists, and, honestly, nihilistic. These statements are meant to be hopeful, humanist, and courageous. I disagree. By defining the human condition as something greater than and detached from the ecological devastation that imperialist capitalist practices have wrought on the Earth, “Interstellar”’s solution to the climate catastrophe has nothing to do with caring, nurturing, rebuilding, or considering any options other than blasting off and forming a massive human colony aboard spacecrafts on their way to wreck another habitable planet. That sucks. Humans are portrayed as better than any other species, better, in fact, than the Earth itself. The destruction of the planet was always inevitable given the human drive to strive for progress, to be “explorers” and “pioneers” in every field.

To be fair, though, I still love that movie. It’s one of my all-time favorite movies. And i’m not trashing scientific breakthroughs, innovative technologies, or the beauty of curiosity. I’m not trashing NASA or sci-fi. That’s all awesome. However, this mentality is incredibly dangerous. Elon Musk’s tesla orbiting in space comes to mind. Lonely and shiny, it floats about the Earth, the first tiny vessel announcing the fleet to follow. If we decided to leave, who would actually have that privilege? Certainly only a tiny percentage of the filthy rich and well-connected. Besides, permanently leaving our planet should never be thought of a privilege at all. The Earth is beautiful, mysterious, ever-changing and evolving and growing and cycling. Besides, a Mars colony is, essentially, the final knife thrust of a long history of colonialism. It’s a form of gross hyper-consumerism with no end in sight. This is not the answer. We’ve gotta try harder than this. This would all make perfect sense according to St. John’s Apocalypse, with humans, unable to overcome their vices and evils, violently expunged from the face of the planet. Poof.