Wow, this whole “judgment day” stupidity just keeps gaining momentum; thanks to the ignorant masses who believe the silly prophecies written in the silly Bible.
I just want to hear what all of these morons will say on May 22nd.
This country is regressing, and religion has a great deal to do with it. Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Paine and the like must be rolling over in their graves. TGO
Refer to story below. Source: Reuters
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – The California evangelical broadcaster predicting Judgment Day will come on Saturday says he expects to stay close to a TV or radio to hear news of the unfolding apocalypse.
Harold Camping, 89, is the head of Christian radio network Family Stations Inc, heard on 66 U.S. stations and affiliates from Taiwan to Russia.
He previously made a failed prediction that Jesus Christ would return to Earth in 1994. But this time, despite having numerous skeptics even among mainstream churches, the broadcaster trained as a civil engineer says he is sure about his May 21 pronouncement.
Like his last prediction, Camping said this one is based on his reading of the Bible and a timeline that dates back to ancient events, such as the Biblical flood survived by Noah.
His organization and allies have posted about 2,200 billboards around the United States warning of a May 21 judgment day, said spokesman Tom Evans.
Dozens of followers crossed the United States in caravans of recreational vehicles to spread the news.
As for Camping, his precise plans are uncertain, but the broadcaster from Alameda, in northern California, intends to be with his wife that day.
“I’ll probably try to be very near a TV or a radio or something,” Camping told Reuters. “Because I’ll be interested in what’s happening on the other side of the world as this begins.”
Camping said an earthquake will shake the Earth, and that true believers will be swept to heaven, while others will remain behind for the world’s destruction in coming months.
“We know without any shadow of a doubt it is going to happen,” he said.
T-SHIRTS AND MUGS
If May 21 is occasion for prayers among Camping and his followers, it’s cause for humor and money-making for others.
At online retailer Zazzle.com, hip entrepreneurs are selling everything from t-shirts to coffee mugs and mouse pads emblazoned with the May 21 date and such slogans as “I survived Judgment Day” and “I survived the rapture.”
Camping’s prediction of a specific date for the apocalypse puts him outside the Christian mainstream, said university professors who study end-times belief.
But his contention that the souls of believers will leave their bodies and enter heaven in a rapture is a central tenet within many Christian churches in America.
“Christian believers who follow the rapture doctrine might be very surprised to learn it is entirely an invention, an innovation in Christian teaching, since the 19th century,” said Stephen O’Leary, a communication professor at the University of Southern California, and an expert on millennial belief.
The idea can be traced back to John Nelson Darby, a Christian evangelist active in England and Ireland, he said.
Barbara Rossing, professor of New Testament at Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago, is the author of a book called “The Rapture Exposed.”
“There’s an enormous end-times prophecy industry; video games, board games, books and evangelists on TV and radio … they gain a huge following, and it’s very appealing to people,” Rossing said.
Evans, the spokesman for Camping, said at least several tens of thousands of people listen to Family Radio’s message.
One of those is Allison Warden, 29, of Raleigh, North Carolina, who most recently worked as a payroll clerk for an Ohio company and now runs the end-times website Wecanknow.com.
“My boss does not agree with this but has been very understanding and supportive,” she said. “He thinks next week I’ll be back to work like normal.”
(Writing by Alex Dobuzinskis: Editing by Jerry Norton)
You know, the most rediculous thing about this whole thing is that these false prophets are actually sinning in blasphemy by making these so-called predictions. Because when they don’t come true, all they are doing is further fueling the growing skepticism over religion, which in turn detracts potential believers from the path of God.
I don’t think that’s what God would want; more people shaking their head in disgust at idiotic statements which just end up embarrassing Him or the Church.
I do believe in God, but I believe privately that God is bigger than anything our puny existence can even begin to comprehend, let alone attempt to predict or rationalize through. People need to get a clue, this is 2011, not the Dark Ages.
The real truth is that no-one wants to be alone, and by joining on in these cults they can find mutual companions in their delusions which do not judge them or just accept them as they are, even if they are irrational. Never underestimate the power of the stupid man in a group.
If you want soul-searching comfort and enlightenment, I recommend Barnes and Noble, and a nice outdoor cafe, with a good book, at least you would be more productive than regurgitating this blather.
-fresh
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