Yes, I mock today. I grew up in a fundamentalist church with dispensationalist

[Skidmore]

teachings. A church full of people who followed thieves and charlatans to the edge until the congregation could no longer turn their eyes and were forced to face the truth about the leaders of the flock. Time and time again. I walked away from churches when I was 18 and only returned for weddings or funerals in the family.

Camping has preyed on countless individuals and has stolen from them financially and psychologically. He predicted the end of the world in 1994 and, when it didn't occur, adjusted his calculation for 2011.

This morning on our local news station there was an item about a retired man who has gone through his entire $140k retirement funds spreading the word for Camping. He travels the roads in a van with big signs on it. This man was interviewed and he clearly has some medical problem since he has tremors in his hands and problems speaking with ease. Where does this man go tomorrow?

Mainstream churches countenance this crap and sit on the sidelines silently. No denunciations for the same reason that reasonable Muslims did not denounce the radical teachings of Khomeini during the 1970s. I spoke with a highly educated man who had doubts but would not speak out because, as he told me, " may be right that he is the hidden Imam and the Mahdi's return is near, and I cannot afford to be wrong for my soul's sake."

In the meantime, sects and denominations pray on the weak. And the end of the world is ever nigh.

[ellie]

1. I, too, mock today

I am not religious, don't get me started on the Catholic Church! But, I believe in God and Jesus and he said not only will we not know the hour of his return, but beware false prophets. All of this end of the world stuff is not only nonsense, it's blasphemous and offensive to me if taken as a serious matter. So mock away!

[blondeatlast]

23. +1. nt

[Very_Boring_Name]

2. Eh, I'm not shedding a tear for those fools

[formercia]

3. "Let us Prey." n/t

[tavalon]

5. Yes, indeedy

Come the rapture, I'm taking the coolest house on the block. It will be a much nicer world.

[tavalon]

4. Another mocker here!

Rapture Ready folks are the greediest, most small minded, unkind, faux christians, ever. The real Christians don't play huckster games like this.

[louis-t]

17. "Are you a Mod, or a Rocker?"

"I'm a Mocker". Who said it?

[blondeatlast]

24. Ray Davies? nt

[Ishoutandscream2]

25. George Harrison

Hard Day's Night movie.

[louis-t]

26. Hmmm, I thought it was Ringo.

[Merlot]

28. And I thought Lennon.

[louis-t]

36. Allright, someone is going to have to watch the movie again.

[louis-t]

39. Searched it on youtube, it was Ringo.

Ha!

[redwitch]

40. Ringo nt

[mountainlion55]

6. Hmm---- theres a really well to do church at the end of my block

Maybe I will head down there after the rapture and take back some of my tax money.:sarcasm:

[ProdigalJunkMail]

7. churches DO speak out about this sort of nonesense

I have been in three in the last couple of months that have mentioned it. there have been several priests and pastors on TV (local and national) and I even heard one guy from some megachurch in Denver on the radio yesterday here in Destin talking about how it was highly unlikely and that as soon as someone puts a date on the end of the world, that should be a huge red flag.

MANY churches have not sad idly nor silently by...

sP

[jwirr]

20. Many of the traditional churches also speak out in their church magazines.

I have seen many articles throughout the years warning against this kind of thing. Also churches pretty much leave each other alone because of their histories. Up until the 60s they renounced each other all the time. Then our "love" movements of the 60-80s turned into the Catholic Churches ecumenism movement and we are blasted if we do not accept another church as just as ligament as ours.

[jberryhill]

33. The ones that DON'T set dates can be worse

Because instead of prepping their souls for the end, they are pushing doomsday politics, like unconditional support for the most extreme elements of Israeli politics - not because they love democracy or Israel, but because they want Israel to tilt in the direction of their eschatology.

[Taverner]

8. I mock.

No I don't feel sorry for the gullible hordes unless they use this as a teachable moment: there is no god, there is no Jesus, there is no heaven, no hell. This is it. Get used to it.

[Zoeisright]

9. There definitely is a sucker born every minute. Maybe every second.

I was brought up in a fundie church too. I'm now an atheist, because the whole thing seems ridiculous and unsustainable to me after years of study and thought. The "Christians" I know are mean, judgmental, smug, and greedy. I haven't seen anything in any church that contradicts my position.

[ProdigalJunkMail]

10. and therefor good christians don't exist?

you probably 'know' a lot of christians on this very board...

sP

[Skidmore]

12. I don't know about Zoeisright's beliefs but I can tell you that

my experiences have taught me that there are good and moral people in all belief systems. The point I have come to is that I firmly believe that religions are political constructs made by men to order society, wealth, and power and to account for those unknown mysteries of their times, an ever changing group of unknowns based upon the knowledge fund of the times.

[ProdigalJunkMail]

15. them's some fancy words...

and I can see how you come to them. I believe that there is more to it than just 'stuff men made up because they needed to explain some stuff' (sorry, my flowery language allotment for the week was used up on Thursday...and I mean no insult by it...just tired). One of my bigger complaints about those that fall into the anti-religious category is that they see the hideous stuff that people do in the name of religion and then assume that the religion itself is at fault. The fact is, people are dumb, dangerous animals in a group. If they have a leader teaching them love and respect and caring, that is what they will be. If they have a leader who teaches them hate and isolation and ridicule, THAT is what they will have. I will admit, however, that backing your teaching up with religion certainly seems to help...

sP

[Skidmore]

16. I just think it is possible to love and respect others without

being simultaneously flogged by other men who claim to know the mind of God. To me the idea of God can be found the whole world over and the concept is still the same, whether in a monotheistic tradition or a polytheistic one. God/s are the representation of the mysteries of what it means to be human in a vast universe which is still largely unknown.

[ProdigalJunkMail]

18. You can definitely have love and respect without God/s...

one of the best people I know is an avowed atheist (please don't interpret that to mean that I am in any way SURPRISED there are good atheists)...we have the BEST conversations and good spirited arguments. And while I don't necessarily agree with your vision of who/what god is it certainly makes sense...

sP

[freshwest]

31. +

[freshwest]

30. Agreed.

[LanternWaste]

41. As is art, philosophy, politics, etc.

"firmly believe that religions are political constructs made by men..."

As is art, philosophy, politics, etc.

[LiberalLoner]

13. +1 n/t

[Name removed]

19. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[backscatter712]

11. Different superficial circumstances, same scam.

Camping is no different from televangelists like Pat Robertson who make billions for themselves by scamming little old ladies out of their Social Security checks.

It's fucking despicable.

Today, I mock!

[Keith Bee]

14. K&R

With due respect to sane belevers of every faith.

[BobbyBoring]

21. HEY!

it ain't 6:00 PM yet

[truedelphi]

22. It is getting close. and the kick off event, a massive earthquake

That was to start out in New Zealand last night, exactly 11 Pm Pacific west coast of USA time, and the earthquake failed to kick off.

I do like the idea of raptors carrying off the raptured. Sort of shades of Jurassic Park meets the Ten Commandments

[RainDog]

34. omgomgomg!

THAT'S why god wants those folks in KY to run that creationist museum - to acclimate god's anointed to the idea of interacting with dinosaurs.

:think:

it all makes sense now...

[MadMaddie]

27. Skidmore there are more of these thieves in the U.S then ever

before and because they are connected to a church or religion they often don't get prosecuted. I think they should be prosecuted and I think they should be taxed. They are getting a free ride living large while their followers suffer.

[upi402]

32. Yes, end their tax exempt status

They are clearly an arm of neocon conservative politics.

But there would need to be an opposition party to take that action. So... um... uhhh

[MadMaddie]

37. I don't know if it would an opposition party

Any party would have religous folks in it, I think that it would take religious folks to say enough is enough and enforce the law. I think the government cow tows to religion way too much. They have the right to worship freely that doesn't mean they have the right to steal.

[freshwest]

29. K & R. Maybe they will listen now.

[Heidi]

35. I mock only the fringe. There are good many good Christians in the world,

and it would be wrong of me to mock them. As an atheist, I would not want to be painted with the same brush as the handful of mean-spirited atheists who take every opportunity to mock every Christian.

In this particular case (re: rapture), Camping was scapegoating the GLBT community. That's mean-spirited and willfully ignorant. He and his cult deserve to have light cast on their beliefs.

[Initech]

38. It's a new form of what I like to refer to as "proselytized thievery"

The end of the world is big fucking business, and it scares me more than anything Osama or his minions could ever dream of. The thing is - if you go to a church with an ATM machine attached to it, that's just bad news to begin with. Oh and they're tax-free thieves at that.