From Armageddon to AI Takeover: Evolution of Doomsday in Faith and Techno-Science Discourse

Dinesh Deckker
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Dinesh Deckker: Independent Researcher

International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science, 2025, vol. 9, issue 5, 4476-4502

Abstract: This narrative review explores the evolution of apocalyptic imagination from ancient religious texts to contemporary scientific and technological discourses. Drawing from Christian, Islamic, Hindu, Buddhist, and Jewish eschatologies, the study compares traditional theological frameworks—centred on divine judgment, moral reckoning, and transcendence—with modern existential risk narratives surrounding climate change, artificial intelligence, biotechnology, and nuclear war. Using comparative thematic analysis, the review identifies deep continuities and divergences across sacred and secular paradigms. Findings reveal that modern secular warnings often mirror theological prophecy in structure and emotional impact, repurposing religious motifs in rationalist frameworks. The discussion further analyses convergences in moral urgency, epistemic uncertainty, and temporal metaphors, highlighting a shared grammar of crisis across traditions. The study concludes that doomsday narratives remain vital cultural tools for processing existential fear, inspiring ethical responsibility, and imagining alternative futures. While techno-scientific discourse emphasises rational control and mitigation, it increasingly echoes spiritual aspirations for renewal, justice, and ultimate meaning.

Date: 2025
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