May 21, 2011 rapidly approaching, doomsday - ready?

[DarthTom]

Some very vocal Christian groups believe the end of times are close at hand - the 'rapture,' I'd suppose. It's just 9 days away.

Do you believe the end of times are just 9 days away? If not, how do you suppose these groups will back out of this absurd claim when the end fails to come?

Huffington

May 21, 2011 will mark the second coming of Christ, or at least that's what some Christian groups believe.
The date was calculated by Harold Camping, the leader of an independent Christian ministry called Family Radio Worldwide, which is based in Oakland, Calif. Camping's date is based on his interpretation of the Bible.
Camping's group isn't the only one following his apocalyptic prediction though. A number of loosely affiliated websites and radio broadcasts have created a movement independent of churches that have organized to proclaim the day as the end of the world.
Billboards, bus stop benches, and travelling caravans of RVs from Bridgeport, Conn. to Little Rock, Ark. are being used to spread the word, according to the AP. Allison Warden (pictured) has been helping to organize the campaign not only through billboards and post cards, but through the web, using her site We Can Know.

 

[HoneyBLilly]

Umm . . . I'm not pregnant so it's not the second coming of Christ.


Maybe it'll just be the Westboro Baptist Church that goes bye-bye.

 

[DarthTom]

Umm . . . I'm not pregnant so it's not the second coming of Christ.


Maybe it'll just be the Westboro Baptist Church that goes bye-bye.

What's amazing to me is that many people in the general public fall for this shit, not once, not twice but repeatedly. I remember the Y2K doomsday folks where they predicted the world is ending scenarios that many, many people fell into - and many people got rich by promoting.

Despite the fact that its been predicted many times through the eons that the world will end it hasn't. And despite the fact that in terms of natural disasters and/or plagues that have befallen the human race, the ones we have now are tiny by comparison to such catastrophic enormous losses of human life e.g the black plague where 50% of Europe was wiped out.

 

[Admiral_Young]

One of the organizers of this thing was on with George Noory (Coast to Coast AM) a month and a half ago and George invited him to come back on post May 21 and the guy refused saying there would be no need. George kept giving him outs to accept but he kept on refusing. It was funny.

 

[Roger Wilco]

There is a phenomenon in doomsday cults that when their prophecy of apocalypse fails to become reality they sometimes don't split up or anything but instead become even more convinced of their own "rightness", feel a strengthening of their faith and increase efforts at proselytization

 

[DarthTom]

There is a phenomenon in doomsday cults that when their prophecy of apocalypse fails to become reality they sometimes don't split up or anything but instead become even more convinced of their own "rightness", feel a strengthening of their faith and increase efforts at proselytization

They must have some backup plan if it fails to come through - you'd think? Just for pragmatic and fund raising reasons you'd think there will be talking points when the end of times fails to appear.

I'd wager it will be something like, "Jesus has arrived, he's in your spirit, and for those that don't accept him they are dead."

This type of dogma has always been the 'out clause,' in the past at least with the larger organized Christian groups.

 

[Roger Wilco]

I'm betting on "the wickedness of the world so disgusted Jesus he refused to come until those sodomites change their evil ways".

 

[Jadzia]

These end of world prophecies happen a bit too frequently for my liking. It makes them boring.

If they happened once every 50 years or so, that would be something we could look forward to, and get excited about. I'm rather looking forward to seeing the killer asteroid striking the earth in 2030, and Issac Newton's prediction that 2060 will mark end of humanity.

I mean, we're talking about Issac Newton, one of the most rational and intelligent people who has ever lived. He surely would have put some serious thought and study into his prediction, even if we don't understand how he derived this particular date.

 

[SPOCKED]

May 21st is a Saturday - apocalypses are forever ruining my weekends. I'll worry about the end of days when its penciled in for a Monday

 

[Admiral_Young]

I'll be even more amused if the guy does come back on Coast and gives a new date...

 

[siskokid888]

This is why christians kill me - didn't the man himself (Jesus) say "the day of judgement is known not by anyone, not even the son, but only the father"? They don't even listen to their own bullshit.

 

[Danoz]

One of the organizers of this thing was on with George Noory (Coast to Coast AM) a month and a half ago and George invited him to come back on post May 21 and the guy refused saying there would be no need. George kept giving him outs to accept but he kept on refusing. It was funny.

This is the first I've heard of this particular doomsday scenario, but when I used to work at the paper factory I'd listen to "Coast to Coast" for awhile early mornings on the way. It's actually a really entertaining show (at least I remember it being entertaining at four in the morning getting ready for a day of bundling wax paper in the shipping department of a giant warehouse in nowhere Ohio....)

 

[DonIago]

Well, good. The world has too many people anyway.

 

[captcalhoun]

doomsday was in 1000AD and 1900 and guess, what? we're still here.

world better not end before Captain America comes out or i'm punching God.

 

[DarthTom]

[ I'd listen to "Coast to Coast" for awhile early mornings on the way. It's actually a really entertaining show (at least I remember it being entertaining at four in the morning getting ready for a day of bundling wax paper in the shipping department of a giant warehouse in nowhere Ohio....)

Are you saying that the people who subscribe to this doomsday scenario are only 'in it,' for the entertainment value of the message?

 

[iBender]

You mean it's just to sell a book!?

Wow, then maybe my Brother doesn't need help.

/Book, I'm sorry, I guess I meant radio show.

 

[TheGodBen]

I'll be even more amused if the guy does come back on Coast and gives a new date...

You mean, for a third time?

The guy behind this doomsday prophesy is Harold Camping and he previously wrote a book titled 1994?, suggesting that Jesus would return in that year. As you probably noticed, the world didn't end that year. Now he claims that he always felt that 2011 was the most likely year of Jesus' return but there was some uncertainty that suggested that 1994 was also possible and he felt that it was his civic duty "as a teacher" to warn people of the possibility.

Since then, new evidence has emerged from the Bible (Wait, what? ) that means that Jesus will definitely return on May 21st this year. He also has a really good feeling about it.

You can find out more towards the end of their facts page.

 

[Misfit Toy]

May 21st is a Saturday - apocalypses are forever ruining my weekends. I'll worry about the end of days when its penciled in for a Monday

Every Monday is the end of days.

 

[Shatnertage]

Considering we all slept through the Eugenics Wars, it's entirely possible the apocalypse really will happen on the 21st and none of us will be any the wiser.

I like Sun Ra's take on the end of the world--he claimed (from what I can surmise) that the world had already ended, and we just didn't realize it yet.

[yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ALe-Q9nFehA[/yt]

He also gets points for wearing clever hats.

 

[DarthTom]

You mean it's just to sell a book!?

Wow, then maybe my Brother doesn't need help.

/Book, I'm sorry, I guess I meant radio show.

When the History Channel runs [as they did last night] quasi speculation/fact on if Big Foot exists and/or their Ancient Aliens series, their new owners Comcast aren't filing the profits from said 'speculation,' as a 501c3 or non-profit status as liekly these folks do and shielded from federal, state, and local taxes.

If anyone wants to buy a proverbial bottle of snake oil - have it IMHO. But the profits from its production should help pave roads and pay off the national debt.