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May 21, 2011 rapidly approaching, doomsday - ready?

DarthTom said:
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.
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I think these people are in for a big disappointment.

We shall see if they're made of the same stuff as the Millerites.

Roger Wilco said:
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
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Yes. Apparently, this is where we get the term cognitive dissonance.

Jadzia said:
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.
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I actually read part of Isaac Newton's book about Bible prophecy, Observations upon the Prophecies of Daniel, and the Apocalypse of St. John.

It was interesting stuff, which combined Newton's heretical anti-trinitarian beliefs with traditional Protestant historicism--the belief that the events predicted in the Bible have already taken place in history, though some have yet to happen.

Which brings me back to my first point. Most Protestants nowadays have abandoned historicism for futurism and dispensationalism--the sort of interpretation advanced by Hal Lindsey in The Late Great Planet Earth, by movies like The Omen, and novels like the Left Behind series.

Nowadays, the chief defenders of the historicist interpretation are the Seventh-Day Adventists--who are descended from the Millerites--the people who were disappointed when the world did not end on 22 October 1844.
 
The funny thing is the Bible says that no one can know the date of Rapture/Christ's Return with any certainty, at all. I love it when supposed devout Christians don't even know their own texts.
 
I've lived through this once before. The same thing was expected in 1979.

If it happens it happens, if it doesn't, it doesn't.
 
RandyS said:
I've lived through this once before. The same thing was expected in 1979.

If it happens it happens, if it doesn't, it doesn't.
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The problem of course is that sadly it isn't that simple. Because if it doesn't many people using a tax shield, 5013c non profit status bilk money out of ignorant people using the name of God to sell it. And they subsequently steal from the rest of us with the shield with their shenanigans by not having to pay taxes.

As I pointed out up thread - the HS channel runs numerous quasi fact/fiction series that may lead many people to believe that 5,000 years ago the earth was visited by aleins and we still are and that big foot is roaming rural North America. But when they sell that to the viewers and then advertisers who support the endeavor Comcast must pay taxes on the profits.
 
SG-17 said:
The funny thing is the Bible says that no one can know the date of Rapture/Christ's Return with any certainty, at all. I love it when supposed devout Christians don't even know their own texts.
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Yes, Matthew 24:36 was very specific about this:

"No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.
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But then again, Jesus was very specific about divorce and that hasn't stopped many of them from divorcing and remarrying legally within their churches.
 
Jesus was also very, very, very adamant about loving your neighbor. Which hasn't stopped the RTC crowd from hating gays, scientists, and anyone who doesn't hate gay scientists.
 
On the 21st we should all gather at their head quarters at Oakland, Calif. and have anal bum sex in front of them just to piss them off.

Of course, that would then make things very awkward and you'd probably be wishing the rapture would occur.
 
@The God Ben...it wasn't Harold Camping that George had on the show, although he was brought up. This was just one of the organizers of the "prophecy" that I guess they have on to do PR work for them. Like I said the entire two hours that he was on was pretty amusing and he kept deflecting questions or avoiding them. He was very cordial though, he seemed like a good guy. He was just very adamant in his position lol.
 
End of the world on May 21 means the Earth is going to survive the Eurovision Song Contest.

I find that highly unlikely.
 
This is even being discussed on reputable news stations. It makes me wanna hurl. I cannot believe so many people are falling for this bullshit. The Rapture bullshit is just as real as playing a video game. The people believing this crap need to get a life!!
 
DarthTom said:
RandyS said:
I've lived through this once before. The same thing was expected in 1979.

If it happens it happens, if it doesn't, it doesn't.
Click to expand...

The problem of course is that sadly it isn't that simple. Because if it doesn't many people using a tax shield, 5013c non profit status bilk money out of ignorant people using the name of God to sell it. And they subsequently steal from the rest of us with the shield with their shenanigans by not having to pay taxes.

As I pointed out up thread - the HS channel runs numerous quasi fact/fiction series that may lead many people to believe that 5,000 years ago the earth was visited by aleins and we still are and that big foot is roaming rural North America. But when they sell that to the viewers and then advertisers who support the endeavor Comcast must pay taxes on the profits.
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My point was that I've heard all this shit before and ain't gonna get all worked up over it. I'm gonna get up in May 21 and do my usual routine, kiss my girlfriend and go to bed. Then on the 22rd, I'll get out of bed, kiss my girlfriend, do my usual routine, and go to bed. On the 23rd, get out of bed.....

Get the picture?

You should do the same and not sweat it.

Like I said, if it happens, it happens, if it doesn't, it doesn't.
 
NPR has done a couple stories on it

This is the part that most caught my attention:

"Knowing the date of the end of the world changes all your future plans," says 27-year-old Adrienne Martinez. She thought she'd go to medical school, until she began tuning in to Family Radio. She and her husband, Joel, lived and worked in New York City. But a year ago, they decided they wanted to spend their remaining time on Earth with their infant daughter.

"My mentality was, why are we going to work for more money? It just seemed kind of greedy to me. And unnecessary," she says. And so, her husband adds, "God just made it possible — he opened doors. He allowed us to quit our jobs, and we just moved, and here we are."

Now they are in Orlando, in a rented house, passing out tracts and reading the Bible. Their daughter is 2 years old, and their second child is due in June. Joel says they're spending the last of their savings. They don't see a need for one more dollar.

"You know, you think about retirement and stuff like that," he says. "What's the point of having some money just sitting there?" "We budgeted everything so that, on May 21, we won't have anything left," Adrienne adds.
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http://www.npr.org/2011/05/07/136053462/is-the-end-nigh-well-know-soon-enough
 
Goliath said:
Most Protestants nowadays have abandoned historicism for futurism and dispensationalism--the sort of interpretation advanced by Hal Lindsey in The Late Great Planet Earth, by movies like The Omen, and novels like the Left Behind series.
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I'm Lutheran, and we're not dispensationalist at all.
 
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