I asked him about the end of the world. I confess that this subject interested me very much.

"Last time you told me the end was near. When?

- Our organization believes that the end will come in 1975.

My father and I looked at each other in surprise, I remember my father giving Augustine a mocking look.

"What will happen," he asked. - If the end of the world does not come in 1975?

Augustine smiled as if he were answering a child's question:

- By 1975, six thousand years of world history will have ended, and then the millennium will begin.

A condescending expression appeared on my father's face.

- Six thousand years of human history? He asked, and got up to go to the library. From there he brought a book on anthropology and found in it a diagram showing the various species of hominids that preceded modern man. Neanderthal man appeared one hundred thousand years ago, Cro-Magnon man - fifty thousand years ago. He paused before looking up from the book and looking at Augustine: "And you say that human history is not even six thousand years old?"

Augustine assumed the same sad air as when I was convinced that the Bible contains legendary fragments.

"That's not what I say, it's what the Bible says. The Word of God affirms, leaving no room for doubt, that in 1975 six thousand years of human history will come to an end. This," he pointed to the book my father was holding, "is only a human book. These are the words of men, and if I have to choose between the Bible, which is the word of God, and the words of men, I prefer the Bible. And with that, he lifted the Bible in his right hand to give even more weight to his words.

"But the Bible and science should not contradict each other," I tried to interject.

"Listen, science is man-made, and therefore imperfect. In the last century, the existence of the Hittites was denied, since only the Bible mentioned them. But then it was discovered that the Hittites really existed. In 1975, humanity will be six thousand years old.

Again, Augustine's heartfelt words convinced me. I remembered from history lessons how the Hittite Empire had been discovered by chance, and I thought he might be right.