The world didn't end last Saturday (obviously), but Harold Camping and his predictions are just a smokescreen, and everyone is missing the heart of the problem.
You mean that Camping being wrong and unrepentant doesn't mean the Bible is wrong? .I know...but one could hope.
. He now claims that
Jesus did arrive 'spiritually' on the 21st, and that in his generous mercy, God has decided to spare us the 153 days of the tribulation, but that the world will still be ending on 21 October. This is no surprise. This is exactly what these crackpot prophets do: they're never right, but they are great at rationalizing.
And just where in the Bible did Camping get all of that? The Bible says no such thing.
His followers are busy readjusting.
Here's a radio interview with one bible-thumper; the guy who threw away his life savings on subway signs was left wandering in Times Square,
confused and disappointed. None of them has changed their beliefs about the biblical apocalypse, they're just fudging the dates.
The
Family Radio website has been scrubbed clean of mentions of Judgment Day.
And what do I see from most people? A stern finger-wagging with biblical authority reaffirmed.
Biblical authority is affirmed because it is promised that false prophets will be shown for the frauds that they are. And notice how Camping does exactly opposite what the Bible says we should do.
I was sent that image by someone who clearly thought it was a joke, but I am not laughing. I'm angry, instead. I don't fucking care what fucking Jesus fucking said. The problem is NOT that some kook in California plucked numbers out of the Bible and conjured up a numerological justification for a date: the idiocy runs much deeper than that.
First, why the profanity? Can't we make valid points without being vulgar? In Meyer's case here it is important to point out that we should care what Jesus said because when we find some one saying opposite and mutually exclusive claims - we know we have a false prophet.
- The entire myth of dispensationalism — that time is divided into distinct ages with discrete beginnings and ends, characterized by distinct bodies of knowledge granted us by divine will — is nonsense. These fairy tales of a rapture and tribulation and world destruction are entirely the invention of crank theologians elaborating on the ravings of the 19th century Irish priest, John Nelson Darby. It's no more sourced or historical or rational than the goddamn Book of Mormon.
Obviously, Meyer's disagrees with Darby. Fine. Lots of Christians do. Equating his ideas with the Book of Mormon shows that he probably doesn't know anything about the Book of Mormon. On top of that, given that he does not care about what Jesus said, he probably doesn't know what the Bible says about Darby's ideas anymore than he does about Camping.
- Christian eschatology is a vile and hateful message about their imaginary tyrant god who, once again, is scheduled to have a temper tantrum in which he kills almost everyone, snatches up their souls, and makes them suffer for eternity for being human. A few will be spared; their reward is an eternity of servility, but at least they get to know they're better than everyone else. And that's the real lesson here: it's all about elitism and the most extreme threats imaginable to anyone who does not support these self-appointed masters of dogma. Again, there's no reason to believe any of it, other than that people have absorbed the propaganda for the whole of their lifetime.
I sure would like to know who Meyer talks to. Not all Christians would agree with the eschatology he presents here. Easy to grab a straw man, knock it down (without proving it wrong), and then lump all Christians in it. NO ONE IS GOING TO HEAVEN BECAUSE THEY ARE BETTER THAN ANYONE ELSE. No one who believes the Bible thinks that. Even Camping is not that dumb and he's got a lot of theological problems.
- The Christian bible is supposed to be the ultimate source of authority, and to many of the more extreme, the only source of authority. It's got 'bible codes' in it; it's a rich vein of numerological bullshit to be mined; it's vagued, confused, ambiguous, and contradictory, a refuse heap of tribal gobbledygook hallowed by nothing other than long ages of accumulation. Our minds try desperately to find pattern and meaning in what we observe around us, and the best source to trigger all kinds of lunatic pattern generating theories is a nearly totally incoherent mass of text with huge cultural signposts pointing at it and screaming that it is important.
It's like being told that a tangled, confusing clump of jungle, all bewildering with shadow and random shapes slashing across it, is the home of a fierce tiger that will kill you if you get close. Stare hard at it, and you can convince yourself that there is something dangerous lurking there, even if it contains no animal larger than a rabbit.
Bible codes and numerology "gobbledygook" is what makes the Bible confused, ambiguous, and contradictory,. This is what Camping has done, not what Biblical Christianity is. Meyer makes a lot of broad generalizations with no proof. He describes Camping's errors "doctrine" very well but doesn't really seem to have a handle at all what the Bible says salvation is or who Jesus is and why it's important. Pathetically, neither does Camping.
Sure, everyone is laughing at Harold Camping now, except his followers, who are undeterred. But you're missing the real joke. Look at every
Abrahamic religion, with their myths of prophets and favored peoples and fate. Look at the crazy conservative church in your town, that preaches homophobia and anti-science and supports Israel because of the Armageddon prophecy. Look at the liberal
Christian church down the street from you that has the nice
Vacation Bible School and puts on happy plays for the older kids, and also teaches that one day you will stand before a great god and be judged. Look at your family members who blithely believe in death as a mini-apocalypse, in which they will be magically translated into another realm, again to be judged.
"Magic" has nothing to do with it. Again, pointing to Camping is really bad example of what Christians believe and think. If you read the Bible like he does no wonder you think that the Bible is useless. All you have to do is read it. Look at it in the same way you read anything from a historical, cultural, and plain context and you cannot get out of it what Meyer or Camping get out of the Bible. Meyer revealed he doesn't care What Jesus said,. Then how do you know Camping is wrong or anyone for that matter is wrong? Without a standard, you can't know. Harold Camping makes an awful standard.
It's the very same rot, the poison of religion that twists minds away from reality and fastens them on hellish bogeymen. They're demented fuckwits, every one, and the big lie rests right on the fundamental beliefs of supernaturalism and deities, not on the ephemera of one crank's bizarre interpretations.
And to the next person who quotes Matthew 24:36 at me:
you're part of the problem, too.
Did Camping lie about what the Bible says? Yup. It's stupid and unscientific to throw the Bible under the proverbial bus based on his lie. Meyer already had the conclusion that the Bible was a lie before May 21 2011 and he is using Camping to validate that belief. The logical problem is that according to the Bible Camping is liar n and stands condemned. Meyer is standing with him also condemned. But if we repent of our sin and put our trust in Jesus Christ we will not be condemned with Camping.
Image by Newbirth35 via FlickrI was wondering what Camping would be teaching now? A caller called into Open Forum and asked him. She got the following instructions..... I mean....this is what Family Radio is gonna do.
