doomsday prophesies

[jackknifeh]

I know we aren't supposed to talk religion and I don't want to. I personally don't think these prophesies deal with religion. They deal with misguidance. The only religion I know anything about comes from the Bible and if I'm not mistaken doesn't it say something about us "not knowing the day"? I don't understand why this issue is so newsworthy. Harold Camping is the most recent and now he says his math was off in the prediction of the rapture being this past Saturday. Now he says it is Oct 21. I don't know all the details and don't want to. I don't understand why people take him seriously enough to actively say he is a false prophet. That seems to be a waste of good time. If he (or anyone) is false that will be proven.

I read where some people maxed out their credit cards thinking they wouldn't have to worry about the bills. :D Jerry Lewis was in a movie like that where he thought he was going to die a bunch of years ago. That issue is just as funny today as it was then. :D :D

The only thing that really makes me mad is I have to return the 50 Spyderco knives I bought thinking I wouldn't have to pay the credit card bill. :mad: :D :D

Jack

[rosconey]

some people just have a void-
they are driven in search of something to fill it-
imho

[The Deacon]

The last, and only, doomsday predictions that ever worried me were not tied to any religion and carried no specific date. As a child growing up in the fifties, the threat of nuclear war seemed very, very real. Air raid drills at school, CONALRAD tests on the radio and TV, and neighbors building fallout shelters were pitted against the sure certain knowledge that all any of those things would do was postpone the inevitable.

As for Camping, the Mayans, and all the rest, I look at it this way Jack; unless you believe them they're annoying but harmless at the worst and good for a few laughs at the best, and the ones that prompt their members to "migrate to the other side early" are doing this overcrowded planet a favor by culling the idiots who willingly drink the Kool-Aid. The rest, unlike some other fanatic "true believers", at least do no harm.

[jackknifeh]

The last, and only, doomsday predictions that ever worried me were not tied to any religion and carried no specific date. As a child growing up in the fifties, the treat of nuclear war seemed very, very real. Air raid drills at school, CONALRAD tests on the radio and TV, and neighbors building fallout shelters were pitted against the sure certain knowledge that all any of those things would do was postpone the inevitable.

As for Camping, the Mayans, and all the rest, I look at it this way Jack; unless you believe them they're annoying but harmless at the worst and good for a few laughs at the best, and the ones that prompt their members to "migrate to the other side early" are doing this overcrowded planet a favor by culling the idiots who willingly drink the Kool-Aid. The rest, unlike some other fanatic "true believers", at least do no harm.

Very well said.

Jack

[chuck_roxas45]

If he's that bad in math, he probably is that bad in everything else he affirms.

I wonder why he's so good at balancing his bank accounts though.

[Saralach]

It's sad how so many people fall for doomsday prophets. You can imagine there were plenty of doomsayers during the Black Death of Europe and any other disaster whether natural or man made you can think of.

It's a wonder we haven't heard of people taking the raptures into their own hands. After last Saturday I was thinking there would be mass suicides and such from people that have given up everything thinking this was going to happen.

Fear is a powerful thing. I'm 25 and several "the sky is falling!" incidents were supposed to already end the world. After October 21 passes, we'll have the 2012 end of the world theory to debunk. Wonder how many more there will be before I hit 30..

[jackknifeh]

It's sad how so many people fall for doomsday prophets. You can imagine there were plenty of doomsayers during the Black Death of Europe and any other disaster whether natural or man made you can think of.

It's a wonder we haven't heard of people taking the raptures into their own hands. After last Saturday I was thinking there would be mass suicides and such from people that have given up everything thinking this was going to happen.

Fear is a powerful thing. I'm 25 and several "the sky is falling!" incidents were supposed to already end the world. After October 21 passes, we'll have the 2012 end of the world theory to debunk. Wonder how many more there will be before I hit 30..

I predict there will be 4 more "sky is falling" prophies by your 30th birthday. Let's see how accurate I am. :D

Jack

[ChrisR]

I'll admit to not being a religious person myself but I think this Camping guy is just the latest of many self-publicizing Domesday prophets that use religion for bad motives. It's hard to understand the mentality of people who give away their possessions, really believing that they will be whisked to heaven.

On the flip-side a friend of mine has been travelling with his local ministry in the areas affected by the recent typhoons, helping clear debris and getting good folk back on their feet after the destruction ... all quietly and without any fuss. That shows to me the good that religion does in the world ... they're a real inspiration.

[2cha]

some people just have a void-
they are driven in search of something to fill it-
imho

Agreed--I've found that during times where I feel my life is meaningless, or that I lack efficacy and am powerless, I look to outer world for meaning, or power, or hope. I don't find anything, so I start back at the beginning, doing what little I can to make the world a little better according to my internal measures. Ultimately, I fail, feel hopeless, look outside,.... etc, etc. Luckily for me, I have some skills, some freedom a healthy family and etc so that I don't get to the place anymore of abject hopelessness--if I did, then I suspect the apocalyptic urge would be attractive.

From what I recall, Freud believed that the psyche was driven by competing urges: Eros v. Thanatos. Eros is love, a connectedness to others, a sense of self integrated to the world. Thanatos is a death urge, a self isolated and alone that seeks oblivion. Pretty much fits in my case.

[marcdurant]

Here's a possibility about Camping that I haven't seen anyone talking about: what if the Rapture actully did take place this last weekend - and nobody made the cut? All of those people so sure that they were going to be whisked off to heaven - and nobody did?

[jackknifeh]

Here's a possibility about Camping that I haven't seen anyone talking about: what if the Rapture actully did take place this last weekend - and nobody made the cut? All of those people so sure that they were going to be whisked off to heaven - and nobody did?

I've been meaning to ask, has anyone seen my wife and son? :confused:

:D
Jack

[Dr. Snubnose]

I have always said about all these doomsday predictions...I bet anyone and I mean anyone...$1,000,000 It doesn't happen.....so far I'm 43 million dollars in the plus.... :D Doc :D

[SkullBouncer]

LOL!!

I think one of the End Prophecies is Holes Falling Off Of Spyderco Blades......... :confused: :confused:

/ SB

[Pinetreebbs]

The last time I thought (very) seriously about doomsday was during the Cuban missile crises. I was just a kid but I understood it was serious. Everything I have learned about the crisis since then shows how close we came to mutually assured destruction. Thank God the USSR was slightly more assured than we were.

[Piet.S]

Personaly I think that people like mr. Camping can not be laughed at enough.
It would all be only a joke if it wasn't for all the money he took.
That makes him just a crook.

[BAL]

Reminds me of my favorite movie.

Wyatt Earp: What makes a man like Ringo, Doc? What makes him do the things he does?
Doc Holliday: A man like Ringo has got a great big hole, right in the middle of him. He can never kill enough, or steal enough, or inflict enough pain to ever fill it.
Wyatt Earp: What does he need?
Doc Holliday: Revenge.
Wyatt Earp: For what?
Doc Holliday: Bein' born.

[jackknifeh]

Personaly I think that people like mr. Camping can not be laughed at enough.
It would all be only a joke if it wasn't for all the money he took.
That makes him just a crook.

He took money??? He may be laughing back, all the way to the bank. :)

Way to go old guy. :D

Jack

[defenestrate]

I love that movie. Good call, BAL.

[GohawnFG]

Personaly I think that people like mr. Camping can not be laughed at enough.
It would all be only a joke if it wasn't for all the money he took.
That makes him just a crook.

He took money??? He may be laughing back, all the way to the bank. :)

Way to go old guy. :D

Jack

Agreed. I don't think it would be such a huge deal to anyone if it weren't for all the lives he's now ruined. Correct me if I'm wrong(not worth double checking) but hundreds of people donated to his radio station. Why they did is beyond me--if Camping was going to be whisked into heaven himself, what was the money for? As far as I know, the donations exceeded the million dollar mark. As mentioned, most people started spending money on everything they wanted at the moment. Mortgages and College funds were neglected. I read about one family (with three kids entering College), where BOTH parents were convinced about the Rapture. The poor kids had spent their days worrying about how to get into college.

And now, one of the excuses for the Rapture not happening is that they haven't converted and notified enough people. So now they're asking for more donations to fund the spreading of the word. Really?!

[defenestrate]

And now, one of the excuses for the Rapture not happening is that they haven't converted and notified enough people. So now they're asking for more donations to fund the spreading of the word. Really?!

Rapture rule #385:

The Rapture will not come by democratic decree.