From the Buffalo News:
County Executive Chris Collins has apologized to [New York State] Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver after comparing him to Adolf Hitler and an “Antichrist” during remarks at Saturday evening’s Erie County Republican dinner at the Adam’s Mark Hotel.
In a story first reported by the New York Daily News, the county executive — who is exploring a run for governor next year — referred to French seer Nostradamus’ predictions that the world would experience three Antichrists before the Apocalypse. He then said it’s generally accepted the first was Napoleon, the second Hitler, and was “pretty sure” the third is Silver — an orthodox Jew.
Buffalo blogger Alan Bedenko has some sage advice:
It’s probably a bad idea for any politician to discuss the prophecies of Nostradamus at any political event, if the politician intends to be taken seriously. Even if it’s a joke. It’s an even worse idea to suggest that a contemporary political figure is the third in the trilogy of anti-Christs prophesied by Nostradamus; Napoleon and Hitler widely regarded as the first two. To suggest that an Orthodox Jewish New York State politician is the anti-Christ is a failure of massive proportions.
Bad taste aside, it’s depressing that the idea that Nostradamus mystically predicted any future event remains “generally accepted”, given that Nostradamus has been thoroughly debunked. Century 8 Quatrain1 mentions three towns near Nostradamus’ childhood home: Pau, Nay, and Loron (Oloron) – believers insist this is in fact “Napoleon”, as well as, for good measure, “Apollyon”. Century 2 Quatrain 24 and Century 4 Quatrain 68 both mention the Ister, an old name for part of the river Danube, which the credulous take to be a reference to “Hitler”. It’s all nonsense imposed on the text, like Walid Shoebat seeing the Arabic words “In the name of Allah” encoded in the Book of Revelation or Joel Richardson seeing the rise of Islam predicted in the Book of Daniel.
Meanwhile, some Christian fundamentalists – in particular John Hagee and the late Jerry Falwell – have warned of a coming Jewish Anti-Christ; and in their cases, they were not joking…
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Like you Richard I struggle with the fact that some people take the words of Nostradamus at all seriously.
Very sad indeed.