May 21, 2011 rapidly approaching, doomsday - ready?
- Thread starter DarthTom
- Start date
It's not like I'm going anywhere. Once Bonz has been raptured, though, I'm taking over the board.
Methinks you've won it already with that post!
You should be paying attention especially if you're a non-believer!
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So: May 21, 2011 has come and (mostly) gone. The world has not ended, and no one has been caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. Believers are disappointed and confounded, and non-believers are enjoying a chuckle at their expense.
Clearly, the prediction was wrong. The Second Coming has been postponed once again--the cosmic equivalent of Duke Nukem Forever. No man knows the day or the hour.
Or, does he?
It seems to me that there is at least one alternative explanation for this latest Great Disappointment. An explanation that can be summed up in a simple modus tollens syllogism:
If the Rapture has not happened, then the prediction was wrong. (If A, then B)
But the prediction was not wrong. (Not-B)
Therefore, the Rapture has happened. (Therefore, Not-A)
But, how can this be, when no one was caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air? How can the Rapture have come and gone, if no one was raptured?
The answer is quite simple, and can be summed up in two words: free will.
Free will is nowadays the standard Christian response to the problem of evil. Why doesn't God prevent all the evil in the world? For that matter, why doesn't he simply reveal Himself to us us all, so that all may be saved?
Because (we are told) God has given us free will. In the Choose Your Own Adventure story of our lives, each of us must freely make the following choice:
God will not make this choice for us. He will not take away our freedom and autonomy. Aside from warning us of the consequences, He has left the choice up to us.
What most people do not realize, is that in such a system, it is possible for NO ONE to accept Jesus Christ as their saviour, and for EVERY ONE to be damned, as a consequence. If this was NOT possible, then our wills would not be truly free. It MUST be possible for EVERY ONE to make the wrong choice.
As a consequence of free will, we are all at least potentially damned. And if we are all potentially damned, then it is possible that we are all actually damned.
And that, I'm sorry to say, is what has happened here. The prediction was not wrong. May 21st, 2011 is (and was) Judgement Day. The Rapture has happened, right on schedule.
And no one was raptured.
We have all been judged. And we have all been found wanting. All have sinned, and fallen short of the glory of God. The door of salvation has been shut. No flesh shall be saved.
Have a nice day!
Clearly, the prediction was wrong. The Second Coming has been postponed once again--the cosmic equivalent of Duke Nukem Forever. No man knows the day or the hour.
Or, does he?
It seems to me that there is at least one alternative explanation for this latest Great Disappointment. An explanation that can be summed up in a simple modus tollens syllogism:
If the Rapture has not happened, then the prediction was wrong. (If A, then B)
But the prediction was not wrong. (Not-B)
Therefore, the Rapture has happened. (Therefore, Not-A)
But, how can this be, when no one was caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air? How can the Rapture have come and gone, if no one was raptured?
The answer is quite simple, and can be summed up in two words: free will.
Free will is nowadays the standard Christian response to the problem of evil. Why doesn't God prevent all the evil in the world? For that matter, why doesn't he simply reveal Himself to us us all, so that all may be saved?
Because (we are told) God has given us free will. In the Choose Your Own Adventure story of our lives, each of us must freely make the following choice:
God will not make this choice for us. He will not take away our freedom and autonomy. Aside from warning us of the consequences, He has left the choice up to us.
What most people do not realize, is that in such a system, it is possible for NO ONE to accept Jesus Christ as their saviour, and for EVERY ONE to be damned, as a consequence. If this was NOT possible, then our wills would not be truly free. It MUST be possible for EVERY ONE to make the wrong choice.
As a consequence of free will, we are all at least potentially damned. And if we are all potentially damned, then it is possible that we are all actually damned.
And that, I'm sorry to say, is what has happened here. The prediction was not wrong. May 21st, 2011 is (and was) Judgement Day. The Rapture has happened, right on schedule.
And no one was raptured.
We have all been judged. And we have all been found wanting. All have sinned, and fallen short of the glory of God. The door of salvation has been shut. No flesh shall be saved.
Have a nice day!
So: May 21, 2011 has come and (mostly) gone. The world has not ended, and no one has been caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. Believers are disappointed and confounded, and non-believers are enjoying a chuckle at their expense.
Clearly, the prediction was wrong. The Second Coming has been postponed once again--the cosmic equivalent of Duke Nukem Forever. No man knows the day or the hour.
Or, does he?
It seems to me that there is at least one alternative explanation for this latest Great Disappointment. An explanation that can be summed up in a simple modus tollens syllogism:
If the Rapture has not happened, then the prediction was wrong. (If A, then B)
But the prediction was not wrong. (Not-B)
Therefore, the Rapture has happened. (Therefore, Not-A)
But, how can this be, when no one was caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air? How can the Rapture have come and gone, if no one was raptured?
The answer is quite simple, and can be summed up in two words: free will.
Free will is nowadays the standard Christian response to the problem of evil. Why doesn't God prevent all the evil in the world? For that matter, why doesn't he simply reveal Himself to us us all, so that all may be saved?
Because (we are told) God has given us free will. In the Choose Your Own Adventure story of our lives, each of us must freely make the following choice:
God will not make this choice for us. He will not take away our freedom and autonomy. Aside from warning us of the consequences, He has left the choice up to us.
What most people do not realize, is that in such a system, it is possible for NO ONE to accept Jesus Christ as their saviour, and for EVERY ONE to be damned, as a consequence. If this was NOT possible, then our wills would not be truly free. It MUST be possible for EVERY ONE to make the wrong choice.
As a consequence of free will, we are all at least potentially damned. And if we are all potentially damned, then it is possible that we are all actually damned.
And that, I'm sorry to say, is what has happened here. The prediction was not wrong. May 21st, 2011 is (and was) Judgement Day. The Rapture has happened, right on schedule.
And no one was raptured.
We have all been judged. And we have all been found wanting. All have sinned, and fallen short of the glory of God. The door of salvation has been shut. No flesh shall be saved.
Have a nice day!
I'll bet you're a big hit at parties.
No, believers who trust in the Bible and know what the Bible says are not disappointed or confounded at all. To wrap up all believers into one basket is not accurate. The people that followed this man, apparently did not have trust and faith in the Bible, or perhaps just ignorance. They took the word of a man, over the word of God, and there you have it. Christians that know what the Bible says, and trust in Gods word, were not caught up in what this man had to say.
Hm. No signs of Rapturing around here, but to be fair I just came home from a fundraiser for our GLBTQXYZABC community center, so really, that event was going to happen either way...
Plus I live in Vermont. I figure we got a big Left Below stamp when we overrode our governor's veto of gay marriage.
Plus I live in Vermont. I figure we got a big Left Below stamp when we overrode our governor's veto of gay marriage.
Srsly? You expecting Bonzie to...? Srsly?It's not like I'm going anywhere. Once Bonz has been raptured, though, I'm taking over the board.
<waits for some REAL wrath to strike...>
A
Amaris
Guest
It's not like I'm going anywhere. Once Bonz has been raptured, though, I'm taking over the board.
DAMMIT!!!
I will be a benevolent, fair, yet paranoid leader.
It's not like I'm going anywhere. Once Bonz has been raptured, though, I'm taking over the board.
Wait...
It's not that bad. I would have been the nicest despot you'd have ever kneeled to.
It's not like I'm going anywhere. Once Bonz has been raptured, though, I'm taking over the board.
HA!
Like Heaven is going to let her in....
Hey! Beneath that angry, drunken Romulan exterior, I'm sure somewhere there's something deep down inside her where she's given a thought to maybe saying something nice about puppies!
It's not like I'm going anywhere. Once Bonz has been raptured, though, I'm taking over the board.
I would accept the runner up prize of Admin for a day.
Srsly? You expecting Bonzie to...? Srsly?It's not like I'm going anywhere. Once Bonz has been raptured, though, I'm taking over the board.
<waits for some REAL wrath to strike...>
Oh hell, if real wrath were to strike, do you think I would be able to get near electrical appliances?!
Anyhoo, if anyone feels like it, check out:
www.familyradio.com (No statements and no one's returning emails)http://www.judgementday2011.com
www.wecanknow.com (Apparently, we can't).
It's fun to see these sites as we sit on the other side of May 21st, and you know someone's got to say something eventually.
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Srsly? You expecting Bonzie to...? Srsly?It's not like I'm going anywhere. Once Bonz has been raptured, though, I'm taking over the board.
<waits for some REAL wrath to strike...>
Nah, to get Bonz real mad, you have to make jokes about the Pirates.
Don't ask me how I know that.
so much for the end of the world.
Speant the day at Disney's California Adventure and it was a beautiful day; clear skies, comfortable weather, and no rapture to speak of.
J
