If you’re really gullible, ridiculously Christian, or just want to see the world burn, I am sure you already have the date set for tomorrow, because the world as we know it will end. This warning comes not from the Vatican, nor from any scientific institution; it comes from Harold Camping, a civil engineer turned self-taught biblical scholar.
The 88-year-old, in report done at The San Francisco Chronicle, says he has closely examined the bible for nearly 70 years and has developed a mathematical system to interpret prophecies hidden within.
I find it funny how religious fanatics will use scientific and mathematical methods to support their beliefs while at the same time discounting the same exact methods when they support the opposing explanation.
There have been reports of people all over the country marching in the streets spreading the news to anyone who will or will not listen. His broadcast has also been translated into 48 different languages allowing it to reach countries such as China.
Let me let you in on a not-so-secret secret, this isn’t his first prediction. On Sept. 6, 1994, dozens of Camping’s believers gathered inside Alameda’s Veterans Memorial Building to await the return of Christ, an event Camping had promised for two years. Followers dressed children in their Sunday best and held Bibles open-faced toward heaven.
Can you guess what happened? That’s right, nothing. The world did not end and Camping attributed it to a mathematical error, so for the last 14 years he redid his math and says that he is certain the world will end tomorrow, May 21, 2011.
I’m pretty sure the Bible states that only God knows when the world will end. But hey, what do I know? I’m just a Catholic of eight years turned Atheist and have no idea what I’m talking about right? Wrong! In Matthew 24: lines 35-36, “35: Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away. 36: But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.”
The event is called the rapture. If you believe, you will be taken to heaven, and the nonbelievers will be left on earth to face war, famine, disease and ultimately the destruction of the world.
After Jesus returns and takes down the Anti-Christ and his dark army with the word of God, there will be peace on earth for a thousand years. When a thousand years comes to an end, Satan will make another attempt to take over, but will fail and all of time will end.
So let’s just say that if you favor logic and reason over the misuse of faith these next five months, because the rapture will end in October according to Camping, you will be on one heck of a ride. I’m talking family get-togethers, cookouts, swimming, tanning, vacations; it is just going to be awful.
But what of the 2012 prophecy? In an article from The Huffington Post, Camping chuckles when considering those who believe in the 2012 doomsday scenario.
I for one am disgusted at this, not only as an Atheist, but as a human being. Roughly 30-40 percent of the human population practices some form of Christianity, while the other 60 percent practices other religions.
So by accepting this prophecy as truth you are damning 60 percent of the world population to burn. Men, women and children all will burn because they did not believe what you believed. Sounds like the basis of all religion to me.
I’ll never understand our fascination with the end. Life is supposed to be a journey, but we always look to the future and contemplate how it will happen. We predict fire will engulf the planet, giant floods, meteors, zombie apocalypses, virus outbreaks. There’s something seriously wrong with the human race.
There have been many who have predicted the end of the world, and they have all been wrong. Imagine our existence as a huge book. When you start, you only know what is happening on the page you are on. You can’t predict the ending of the book; you have just started it.
You can, however, skip to the end but will have no idea how the end came about. So you have to guess, and you can never guess with 100 percent accuracy. The only way you can be sure of how it will end is if you go back to that present page and read through the entire book.
In my opinion, religion gives us what we all instinctively want — instant gratification. The human population is impatient. So instead of walking through life and experiencing all it has to offer, we take short cuts, skip to the end, not knowing how we got there.
We’re always waiting for the end.
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