Rapture Forecaster "Flabbergasted," But Mark Your Calendar For October 21st!
Wait for it... (AP)
Debunked doomsday prognosticator Harold Camping finally answered the door of his compound last night to sheepishly acknowledge that the apocalypse was late. Harold Camping, the 89-year-old fundamentalist radio preacher who erroneously predicted that the Rapture would happen Saturday night at 6 p.m., told a reporter for the San Francisco Chronicle that he was "flabbergasted" the Rapture didn't happen. "It has been a really tough weekend," said Camping. Aw, it seems a Nelson "HA HA, life goes on!" is in order:
And how are Camping's still-earthbound followers coping? Well, anyone easily persuaded the world would end at a specific date and time—instead of the less climactic Apocalypse-In-Process we see unfolding every day—probably doesn't have much trouble coming up with a rationalization for its postponement. "Judgment Day has come and passed, but it was a spiritual judgment on the world," one believer told NPR. "There is no more salvation. Salvation is over with. The fact is we have 153 days, and on the 21st of October, the world will end." Another says we were spared because of the prayers of Camping's flock, and that God "delayed judgment so that more people could be saved, but the end is 'imminent.'" Wait for it... Wait for it...
But a rival Rapture group was less forgiving; gathered outside Camping's compound yesterday, they urged mankind not to give up on eschatology just because of that charlatan Camping. "He's in big trouble with God," said "Rapture blogger" Jackie Alnor. "It's given people who hate Christianity an excuse to hate it even more." Alnor contends that the world will end, but no one—not even Camping—knows when.
"I don't think I am going to stop listening to him," one acolyte told the Chronicle, before sighing and adding, "I don't know, I gotta listen to him on Monday, see what he says on the radio." Yes, let us withhold judgment until we listen to his broadcast, shall we? Certainly there's a perfectly rational explanation for all of this.
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Any man or woman who teaches hate in the name of God is false, because God is all loving. Do not judge a religion just because 90% of it does not actually follow what they are supposed to.
andrew barakat
I agree with flipfury. Makes a lot of sense.......the Bible says nobody knows the time or the hour....He's going to come like a thief in the night. There are so many people out there claiming to be christians but are clearly not. Evidently, these bunch do not read their bibles. Please just concentrate on having a one-on-one relationship with Jesus Christ.....very important.
I am also pretty sure that the stuff he is saying that there is no more salvation for anyone is false..a lot of what he is saying his false. He must make up his own truths and follows that instead of the bible. No one should listen to his random crap that is not even true.
anchovers99
Sounds to me like a cult. He is not a real christian. He doesn't go by the bible or else he wouldn't claim that he knows when the rapture will happen as if he is equal to God that he should know. I would not listen to anything he says. I cannot believe his so called followers would still listen to him. If they follow him and not God..they are going to be dissapointed. There is plenty of scripture to back up that no one knows when Jesus will come back. It is stupid for someone to try to figure out when the rapture will occur because they will fail every time.
marco_esquandolas
"It has been a really tough weekend," said Camping.
So if the world had ended, it would have been a good weekend?
Joey__Blow
a sweet sweet weekend like one in Las Vegas..
AmToo
Cue Foghorn Leghorn: "I'm flabber, I say I'm flabbergasted!"
I'm a strong independent Christian male and I hate when wacko's like this guy go out there in the name of Christianity. All the responses that you read on here just show how damaging people like this can be to the truth of Christianity. Those who actually believe what is in the Bible are not ignorant or crazy. We choose to build our lives around the teachings of Jesus Christ. Before you start calling names and saying all Christians are stupid nuts, try to understand that we are not all like Camping. Just as you may have a core belief that there is no God or that Budha knows best, we have a belief in the God of the Bible. By hating upon those who profess the faith in the Bible you are acting with the same ignorance that you are accusing us at having. For those that 'preach'' tolerance there seems to be a noticable intolerance towards Christianity.
matteus
*You* may be tolerant but your religion is *not.* All over the country, you protest another religion's right to build places of worship and vilify American Muslims for not speaking out more against extremists. How is it these signs ran across the country without a peep from the pope or the Church? That would have ended it on the spot. I should assume all Christians must be as crazy, they must hate humanity because they believe we're all going to H*ll unless we praise their god. It's in the Bible, afterall. If you want us to be more tolerant, then help us defend against the Christian extremists who have been terrorizing evolution, homosexuality, and teen pregnancy.
Joey__Blow
Hey Josh... just how strong are you? wow I like a strong man.. can you bench like 400 pounds? do you do bicep curls with 50lb dumbbells? oh that would be so hot.
how many times a day do you get to the gym? do you oil up your hot taut body after you work out with your big .. weights?
man I'm tolerant .. I'll show you some nice preaching if you just drop me a line...
Porkchop_Express
Its not an intolerance towards Christianity, its an intolerance towards people who are Christian and try to push the ideals of your holy books on everyone else. If someone wants to believe gay marriage is a sin in their private life, fine whatever, I don't agree and I think its a retarded stance, but whatever.
But if you are a lawmaker who is a Christian and try to make laws in the name of your religion, then I have a problem with it. You can't make laws based on a book of bullshit and expect everyone to follow them. Laws are supposed to be based on facts and reasons, not on fairytales.
Guest
the most ardent atheists were often raised and indoctrinated in the church. we know the teachings of the bible and we reject them as nonsense. we know the phony compassion of the so called "moral majority" and we reject it.
ignorance has nothing at all to do with our contempt for your mass delusion and backward ways.
if religious beliefs were kept to yourselves and not insinuated into our political sphere you'd be helping others view religion with a bit more "tolerance". evangelicals have a done a grave disservice to their message of love by aligning themselves with hateful and anti-intellectual right-wing politics.
Where the hell are all these Biblethumpers coming from? I didn't know Gothamist had such a... "faithful" readership.
FU Boy
When you check their account status, many of them only have a few comments, and all recent on this topic. I don't think the regulars fit into the 'faithful' - these guys are just signing up to discuss this one thing, then, I suspect, we'll never hear from them again.
Porkchop_Express
That would be good if they never posted again. Anywhere. Ever.
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