There's a devilishly odd nexus of theology, mathematics and commercialism on the sixth day of the sixth month of the sixth year.
It may be just the sixth year of this millennium, but insisting on calling it 2006 takes the devil-may-care fun out of calendar-gazing.
Something about the number 666 brings out the worry, the hope and even the humor in people, said the Rev. Felix Just, a professor of theology at the University of San Francisco. A Jesuit priest, Just has taught both apocalyptic theory and mathematics and maintains a '666-Numbers of the Beast' Web site that contains history, theology, math and precisely 66 one-line jokes about 666.
You can even make sport of it, betting online whether the apocalypse will happen on that date. The good news is that one online oddsmaker has made the world a 100,000-to-1 favorite to survive Tuesday -- something that Just said is supported by theology.
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