--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Cults and prophets proclaiming the…" description: "\"Cults and prophets proclaiming the imminent end of the world have been with us for several millennia, and it has been another sour sort of fun to ridic..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/200/daniel-dennett-3895_action_cults-and-prophets-proclaiming-the-immin_319115.png" --- # Cults and prophets proclaiming the imminent end of the… ![“Cults and prophets proclaiming the imminent end of the world have been with us for several millennia, and it has been another sour sort of fun to ridicule them the morning after, when they discover that their calculations were a little off. But, just as with Marxists, there are some among them who…” quote by Daniel Dennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/200/daniel-dennett-3895_action_cults-and-prophets-proclaiming-the-immin_319115.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/200/daniel-dennett-3895_action_cults-and-prophets-proclaiming-the-immin_319115.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/200/daniel-dennett-3895_action_cults-and-prophets-proclaiming-the-immin_319115.png) > “Cults and prophets proclaiming the imminent end of the world have been with us for several millennia, and it has been another sour sort of fun to ridicule them the morning after, when they discover that their calculations were a little off. But, just as with Marxists, there are some among them who are working hard to "hasten the inevitable," not merely anticipating the End Days with joy in their hearts, but taking political action to bring about the conditions they think are the prerequisites for that occasion.” [Daniel Dennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-dennett/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. People often predict apocalyptic events, then mock them when they fail, yet some use those predictions to drive political change. **In simple terms:** Predicting the apocalypse leads to ridicule and sometimes political activism. Key Takeaway Beware of using fear of endings to justify actions. Themes apocalypse politics skepticism religion activism Mood skeptical critical reflective Type analytical philosophical When to use this quote - political campaigns - environmental activism - religious movements - media analysis Key Concepts prophecy social engineering psychology Questions to Reflect On - How do apocalyptic beliefs shape policy? - When does satire become harmful? A Different Perspective Predictions can be self‑fulfilling or distract from real issues. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Action](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/action/) [Atheism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/atheism/) [Calculations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/calculations/) [Conditions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conditions/) [Cult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cult/) [Cults Prophets](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cults-prophets-3011504/) [End Days](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/end-days-399192/) [End of the world](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/end-of-the-world/) [End World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/end-world/) [Ends](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ends/) [Fun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fun/) [Hard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hard/) [Has beens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/has-beens/) [Heart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heart/) [Inevitable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inevitable/) [Joy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/joy/) [Littles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/littles/) [Marxist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/marxist/) [Marxists](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/marxists/) [Morning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/morning/) [Morning after](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/morning-after/) [Occasions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/occasions/) [Political](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/political/) [Political action](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/political-action/) [Prerequisites](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prerequisites/) [Proclaiming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/proclaiming/) [Proclaiming Imminent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/proclaiming-imminent-3011503/) [Prophet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prophet/) [Ridicule](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ridicule/) [Sour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sour/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Working hard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/working-hard/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [“Gregory writes of Armageddon as if the Devil is getting off on using him literally to write that iniquitous beast into existence, into the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-k-kuykendall/gregory-writes-of-armageddon-as-if-the-devil-is-getting-off-on-using/) [A.K. 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I have been writing too long to stop.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-o-hara/i-ll-go-on-writing-till-the-end-of-my-days-i-have-been-writing-too/) [Mary O'Hara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-o-hara/) > [“There are days so great, you wish them to never end, There are days gone so bad, you wish them never to have been,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-r-asher/there-are-days-so-great-you-wish-them-to-never-end-there-are-days/) [Eric R. 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In dream In memorise In past In relation In devotion Minds never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/latika/the-days-never-end-our-world-never-get-change-stil-we-here-in-dream/) [LATIKA](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/latika/) > [At the end of your days, you will be judged by your gallop, not by your stumble.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bradley-whitford/at-the-end-of-your-days-you-will-be-judged-by-your-gallop-not-by-your/) [Bradley Whitford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bradley-whitford/) > [“He would not now conduct little Nell to the coast; he would not convey her by a steamer to Port Said, would not surrender…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henryk-sienkiewicz/he-would-not-now-conduct-little-nell-to-the-coast-he-would-not-convey/) [Henryk Sienkiewicz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henryk-sienkiewicz/) > [I expect I shall be a student to the end of my days.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anton-chekhov/i-expect-i-shall-be-a-student-to-the-end-of-my-days/) [Anton Chekhov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anton-chekhov/) > [I will stay in jail to the end of my days before I make a butchery of my conscience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-bunyan/i-will-stay-in-jail-to-the-end-of-my-days-before-i-make-a-butchery-of/) [John Bunyan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-bunyan/) > [I feel like at the end of your days, the last thing that's going to happen is that you're going to watch the movie…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mod-sun/i-feel-like-at-the-end-of-your-days-the-last-thing-that-s-going-to/) [Mod Sun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mod-sun/) ## More by Daniel Dennett > [Virtually every major technological advance in the history of the human species- back to the invention of stone tools and the domestication of fire…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-dennett/virtually-every-major-technological-advance-in-the-history-of-the/) [Daniel Dennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-dennett/) > [Churches have given us great treasures such as music and architecture. Whether that pays for the harm they have done is another matter.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-dennett/churches-have-given-us-great-treasures-such-as-music-and-architecture/) [Daniel Dennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-dennett/) > [The secret of happiness is: Find something more important than you are and dedicate your life to it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-dennett/the-secret-of-happiness-is-find-something-more-important-than-you-are/) [Daniel Dennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-dennett/) > [Whereas religions may serve a benign purpose by letting many people feel comfortable with the level of morality they themselves can attain, no religion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-dennett/whereas-religions-may-serve-a-benign-purpose-by-letting-many-people/) [Daniel Dennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-dennett/) > [There's no polite way to say to somebody (religious followers) 'Do you realize you've wasted your life?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-dennett/there-s-no-polite-way-to-say-to-somebody-religious-followers-do-you/) [Daniel Dennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-dennett/) > [Wherever there is a design that is highly successful in a broad range of similar environments, it is apt to emerge again and again,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-dennett/wherever-there-is-a-design-that-is-highly-successful-in-a-broad-range/) [Daniel Dennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-dennett/) > [The haven all memes depend on reaching is the human mind, but a human mind is itself an artifact created when memes restructure a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-dennett/the-haven-all-memes-depend-on-reaching-is-the-human-mind-but-a-human/) [Daniel Dennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-dennett/) > [Cost is always an object - the second law of thermodynamics sees to that](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-dennett/cost-is-always-an-object-the-second-law-of-thermodynamics-sees-to-that/) [Daniel Dennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-dennett/) > [In the beginning, there were no reasons; there were only causes. Nothing had a purpose, nothing has so much as a function; there was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-dennett/in-the-beginning-there-were-no-reasons-there-were-only-causes-nothing/) [Daniel Dennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-dennett/) > [I look around the world and see so many wonderful things that I love and enjoy and benefit from, whether it's art or music…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-dennett/i-look-around-the-world-and-see-so-many-wonderful-things-that-i-love/) [Daniel Dennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-dennett/) > [In all mammalian species that have so far been carefully studied, the rate at which their members engage in the killing of conspecifics is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-dennett/in-all-mammalian-species-that-have-so-far-been-carefully-studied-the/) [Daniel Dennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-dennett/) > [Consciousness is cerebral celebrity--nothing more and nothing less. 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