Numerological Nonsense.

Here's an amusing bit of stupidity via Orac. Tuesday is June 6th, 2006, and since its the 6th day of the 6th month of the 6th year of the century some folks are getting in a tizzy because that day will include three 6s. In other words 666. According to the UK's Sun tabloid that includes one Melissa Parker, who wants to have her labour induced because she fears a child born on that day could be the Antichrist, and its her predicted due date. You can be that she's not the only one with such worries.

You'd think someone who believes in such an idea would also realise that if their child is fated to be the ultimate evil there is nothing they can do about it. After all Satan is presumably more powerful than some mere mortal and her doctors.

But you have to ask why Satan would go through with this scheme in the first place. The very book that supposedly reveals it, the Book of Revelation, also shows he'll lose. He's had 2000 years either to read the thing or have someone read it to him if he's illiterate, which seems rather unlikely. If the Second Coming and Satan's role in it is inevitable that means Satan is pretty much a zombie, and for that matter so are the rest of us. Everything anyone has ever done has to lead up to that point, so anything we do is pre-ordained. If that isn't the case then Satan cancelled that plan 2 millenia ago and is working on some other plan.

Its also worth noting that people may be freaked out about 6/6/06 for nothing, since some scholars now believe the actual "Number of the Beast" is 616, and that 666 is derived from poor translation.

This story reminded me of another story of supposed numerologically inspired tampering with a birth date. Stories have long floated around that Yoko Ono went to great efforts to ensure her son Sean Lennon was born on the same date as his father John Lennon, October 9th. This was supposed to have some astrological significance if I remember correctly. Whether its true or just another excuse to slag off Yoko Ono is another question.