A recent tweet by Elon Musk, founder and CEO of X (formerly Twitter), sums up the zeitgeist of our day. If you're not familiar with "zeitgeist," it's a German word that means "the spirit of the times." Merriam-Webster defines it as "the general intellectual, moral, and cultural climate of an era".
Essentially, what I'm saying is that many Americans feel a sense of gloom and doom about our nation's history. And many of them feel that way about the direction of the world in general.
One doesn't have to go far out of one's chicken coop to discover this.
If you've been following me for long then you know that I spend about four half-days a week, or 16 hours, selling books at grocery stores around the Dallas area. One of the books in my catalog is Web3 Social: How Creators Are Changing the World Wide Web (And You Can Too!). In a nutshell, the book shows how creators of all types are using social media platforms to earn cryptocurrencies. As soon as I mention crypto to some people, I get one of three responses:
A patent dismissal, because they aren't interested in the topic (a valid response)
Curiosity (and sometimes enough curiosity the individual buys the book)
A snarl and a snort accompanied by some comment about the Mark of the Beast (usually by Christians who have not explored cryptocurrencies in any way whatsoever)
I don't begrudge this response from my Christian brothers and sisters, but it's happened often enough that I got an idea for my next book. The working title is Cryptocurrency and the End Times. A subtitle is forthcoming.
Last week, I shared two potential outlines for this book that were generated by ChatGPT. Yesterday, I sat down and merged these outlines along with some of my own ideas about how this might fall into place. Below is that outline.
I. Introduction
A. Why this book is necessary
1. Discussions I've had with other Christians
a. Mark of the Beast
b. Hooray for crypto!
c. Conspiracy theories
2. The end times are upon us
a. A general feeling of doom and gloom
b. Christians and non-Christians have it
c. Mark of the Beast
d. Globalization
B. Why Christians should care about cryptocurrencies
1. Decentralization
2. Censorship-resistance
3. Stewardship
4. The Rise and Fall of America as a world power
C. What Christians will learn from reading this book
1. How to use cryptocurrencies should it become necessary
2. What if you're end times view is wrong?
3. Faith, Finance, and the Future of Planet Earth
II. Crypto Demystified
A. What are cryptocurrencies?
1. Types of cryptocurrencies
a. Decentralized currencies
b. Stablecoins
c. Central bank digital currencies
d. Privacy coins
e. Other
2. Where do cryptocurrencies come from?
a. Pre-Bitcoin
b. Bitcoin
c. Ethereum
d. Crypto market explosion
3. What technology empowers cryptocurrency?
a. Blockchain technology
b. Distributed ledgers
c. Validating transactions: Mining and staking
4. Why decentralization is important
a. History of decentralization
1) Period of the judges
2) Early church
3) Colonial America
b. Benefits of decentralization
c. Challenges and risks
III. Centralized Digital Currencies
A. Centralized Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs)
1. How CBDCs differ from decentralized cryptocurrencies
2. Why central banks are interested
3. Why governments are interested
4. Who's developing them?
5. Types of CBDCs
B. CBDCs and your privacy
1. Would a cashless society be bad?
2. How CBDCs could put an end to your privacy
3. The dangers of financial surveillance
4. Why centralization, not cryptocurrencies, is the enemy
IV. Are the end times really upon us?
A. 4 end times views
1. Historic premillennialism
2. Amillennialism
3. Postmillennialism
4. Dispensationalism
a. Pre-tribulation
b. Mid-tribulation
c. Post-tribulation
5. Why eschatology matters
B. How one's end times view can inform one's view of technology
1. What's at stake?
2. Is technology bad or just a tool?
3. When is Jesus coming back?
4. Can cryptocurrencies be the Mark of the Beast (and what if they are)?
5. Will the Mark of the Beast be centralized or decentralized?
V. Why Christians should be familiar with crypto technology
A. Christians should act on real-world scenarios, not fantasy and conspiracy theories
B. Misinformation is a faith and relationship killer
C. How a global edict could make cryptocurrencies a necessity for Christians
VI. Conclusion
A. Harness the technology, don't fear it
B. Reflecting on what you've learned
C. Staying informed and spiritually grounded
VII. Appendix
A. Glossary of terms
B. Recommended books, websites, and communities
VIII. About the Author
This is not set in stone. It could change. However, at this time, based on my vision for the book today, this seems like a reasonable way to move forward. I'd be interested in your thoughts on the subject. If you're a Christian, what would you like to know about cryptocurrencies? If you're not a Christian but are an advocate for cryptocurrencies, what would you like to know about Christian views of the end times?
Let know your thoughts by responding to this post by email or by commenting online wherever you've read it.
Collect this post as an NFT.
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OMG, the outline...I'm tired just reading it...what are they feeding you there in Texas (or, last I saw Georgia)? :-) lol Would love a primer, written for a 5th grader, on the topic of crypto currencies honestly. I think I understand it but then I try to explain it and I'm lost. That said, the internet, while it's potentially a tool the Enemy will use to destroy Christians, and the rest of society, it's also been a boon to sharing the gospel...especially in regions where it is forbidden. So why not crypto too?
Absolutely, Anita. It's a tool, and like any tool, it can be used for good or evil. Looking for a primer on crypto? My book Web3 Social breaks it down into real simple terms for newbies, before getting into the intricacies of Web3 social media. https://www.amazon.com/Web3-Social-Creators-Changing-World-ebook/dp/B0BW4W3JYK/