 |
| I bet that's a KJV he's holding |
If you can stomach another reference to Harold and his camp-followers, I see (courtesy of Reg out in East Texas) that the Big Event is due to kick off close to... New Zealand!
On May 21, "starting in the Pacific Rim at around the 6 p.m. local time hour, in each time zone, there will be a great earthquake, such as has never been in the history of the Earth," [one follower] says. The true Christian believers — he hopes he's one of them — will be "raptured": They'll fly upward to heaven. And for the rest?
"It's just the horror of horror stories," he says, "and on top of all that, there's no more salvation at that point. And then the Bible says it will be 153 days later that the entire universe and planet Earth will be destroyed forever."
Happy happy joy joy! Of course, this kind of apocalyptic mind-masturbation has regrettable real-world consequences.
"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.(From NPR)
So, when May 22 arrives and it's a new day and planet Earth is still here, Adrienne Martinez and her husband will be broke and eventually kicked out of their rented house in Orlando.
ReplyDeleteAnd, guess what? They can't even sue the preacher or the church for making this false prophecy and for them being stupid enough to believe him.
It's my feeling that there should be some lawful recourse, some way to sue churches and clergy for making prophecies that turn out to be false.
But, there is one thing. It can be blasted all over the Internet. Sadly, it won't replace money, job and time lost. That's gone. Why in the world don't people wake up to this never ending con game?
I've made friends online in recent years with a Family Radio staff member.
ReplyDeleteThat person told me a few years ago (and I'm admittedly assuming it's still true now) that there are "two camps" inside the network when it comes to Judgment Day. Some leaders of the network agree with their boss about 21 May; others don't.
Some Family Radio hosts never bring up 21 May at all. Other staff members have recorded Christian songs about the day; I heard one which reworked "O Come O Come Immanuel."
It will be very interesting to see what happens in Oakland -- not only come June, but after 89-year-old Harold Camping dies.
A radio ministry which has said flat-out all churches are wrong may face its own version of what Worldwide Church of God went through in the 1990s.
"and on top of all that, there's no more salvation at that point"
ReplyDeletePersonally speaking, I would much rather worship a God who promises universal salvation, for all who have ever lived or died. That just seems a lot more loving and God-like, to me.
"'We budgeted everything so that, on May 21, we won't have anything left,' Adrienne adds."
Sounds like someone isn't reading their Bible.
The listeners may be budgeting to have no money left on 21 May -- but Family Radio was broadcasting appeals for monthly "love offerings" as usual tonight.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure why -- especially if it won't have to pay any more bills beyond October.
The story of Adrienne Martinez and her husband and their child is truly a tragic one. How anyone could be such foolish stewards with what they were given is not only tragic - it's an abomination.
ReplyDeleteSuch parents don't deserve the ability to raise their child. They can't handle their economy, and if the parents abused bottles or needles, no one would be in doubt about what ought to be done.
Very tragic indeed...
New US Federal Law: These boob jobs must register their "prophecy" with the FedGov and face stoning to death by their victims when their "prophecies" don't pan out.
ReplyDeleteBaywolfe, you are hilarious! That would be okay though, as long as FedGov "prophets" are subject to the same scrutiny and penalties...
ReplyDeleteOpenID singsongsofpraisetohim said...
ReplyDeletePersonally speaking, I would much rather worship a God who promises universal salvation, for all who have ever lived or died. That just seems a lot more loving and God-like, to me.
That really tells what kind of person you are - basically kind-hearted.
There are those people who believe in an everlasting torture in hell-fire for the "lost" in the world too, and that tells what kind of people they are - basically cruel-minded.
It's funny how God can be made to fit either one of these personalities of the people who believe in him. (Not ha-ha funny but more of a strange kind of funny).
That's because every writer in the bible (and there are more of them than what it appears to be) have a different God in mind than the other writers. The kind of God each one of them wrote about depended on the writer's own personality. That is, as to whether Yahweh is a kind God or a cruel God - a war God or a God of peace.
It would be funny (not ha-ha funny) if it turned out that you get the kind of God you choose, wouldn't it?
Baywolfe said...
ReplyDeleteNew US Federal Law: These boob jobs must register their "prophecy" with the FedGov and face stoning to death by their victims when their "prophecies" don't pan out.
That's not a bad idea! Can we expand it to include Fox News pundits?
Anyone offering the Family Radio folks 10 cents on the dollar for those executive cars?
"That really tells what kind of person you are - basically kind-hearted."
ReplyDeleteThank you, Corky! That is the nicest thing I think anyone on any of the ex-WCG websites has ever said to me. As for what the content of my words, above, may or may not preach, to those with discernment (such as yourself), suffice it to say that I hold up the teachings of the Church as responsible for that basic kind-heartedness, above and beyond the baseline empathy that most people have been blessed with, and that I always tried to listen to, anyway, even when I was an atheist.
"It would be funny (not ha-ha funny) if it turned out that you get the kind of God you choose, wouldn't it?"
Well. One does get the kind of God one chooses (once/if one is given the choice, that is). And the fruits of that choice, if one lets them, speak volumes in one's life. Often unintentionally!
(I just hope the fruits of my life don't go around blowing raspberries...all the time...heh heh.)