(5-8 minutes, easy setup)
Learners will listen to Nostradamus’ claims about knowing the future.
(5-8 minutes, easy setup)
For more information on this story, go to http://www.nostradamus.org/bio.php and “Top 10 Nostradamus Predictions” at http://www.sciencechannel.com/strange-science/10-nostradamus-predictions.htm.
Note that many people in our culture seek out mind readers, horoscopes, tea leaves or many other means of predicting their future. Share the following story: Michel de Nostredame became known as Nostradamus in an almanac he published in 1550 in which he was famous for his prophecies of the future. When the almanac was successful, Notradamus published at least eleven more, containing at least 6338 predictions. In spite of the fact that few of these predictions were fulfilled, Nostradamus continued writing, creating one thousand quatrains or four-line stanzas or poems. These prophecies are still debated today.
To protect his work from those he considered to be religious fanatics, Nostradamus hid his prophecies with word games and mixing multiple languages together. While many viewed him as either evil or a fraud, his work was accepted by the nobility and even Catherine de Medicis, the queen consort of France. Over the centuries, many have tried to interpret Nostradamus’ prophecies to predict world events. For example, Nostradamus’ prophesy about the end of the world led to predictions that the world would end in 1994, 1998, 2000, 2012, and even the year 3797.
Ask: Do you believe Nostradamus could really predict the future? Why do you think so many people want to know what is in their future? Explain that today we are going to discover the only one who knows the future and everything about us.