Rapture September 23, 2015. You Have Been Warned. (Again)

[Baruch]

Ace101 - there are new fools born every minute - P T Barnum

Stromboli - yes, if you read the church histories, you can see that a lot of this recent apocalyptic stuff started with the Millerites in the US in the 1833 - 1843 period.  And it was re-popularized in the late 19th century by certain businessmen and theology cranks ... and that brought about the San Diego death cult that wanted to be taken off this planet by a flying saucer hiding behind a comet.  The reestablishment of a modern Israel didn't help things, and the reconquest of Jerusalem in 1967 fooled even Orthodox Jews opposed to Israel.

There are Messianic Jews in Israel right now, who will clean the Temple mount of Islam, and rebuild the Temple and restart the sacrifices, including the Red Heifer bit.  Not all Messianic Jews are sane ... now or 2000 years ago.  The terrorist Goldberg nearly accomplished that in 1984 with his attack on the tomb of Abraham and Sarah ... a John Brown like event, to start a general conflagration, leading to the Third Temple.  I don't need ashes from the Red Heifer altar, to prophesy that would be a bad idea.  Hopefully history isn't that cruel ... well it usually is, so best get your 1950s fallout shelter ready!

[trdsf]

The good thing is that the more these fundies cry wolf, the less sheep they're likely to attract to their flock in the future. Because one can only hear too many failed doomsday predictions before realizing the entire thing is bullshit.

I find it an interesting statistic that every single prediction of any sort of religious apocalypse not just in Christianity, but in the entire history of humanity, has been wrong.

The numbers do not make me want to take this one any more seriously, certainly.

[stromboli]

I know about the Millerites and the origin of the rapture doctrine. What makes me laugh is the level of gullibility among xtians that buy into the rapture scenario without studying it. There are a wealth of xtian pastors that buy into it, probably mostly because the fear aspect of it puts people in the pews.

[Baruch]

Pastors fear other pastors coming to steal their flock to the church across the street ... that and they don't want to be stoned for impiety by the uppity laity.  And those are the good pastors ... the bad ones are the Elmer Gantry types you outline.

[Ace101]

I know about the Millerites and the origin of the rapture doctrine. What makes me laugh is the level of gullibility among xtians that buy into the rapture scenario without studying it. There are a wealth of xtian pastors that buy into it, probably mostly because the fear aspect of it puts people in the pews.

What about the Repute movement makes it any less of a doomsday cult than the Branch Davidians anyway, other than a slightly higher level of mainstream acceptance?

[Baruch]

If there are too many believers, not even the ATF can take them on ;-) ... oh, the ATF couldn't successfully take on the Branch Davidians ...

[Mike Cl]

I find it an interesting statistic that every single prediction of any sort of religious apocalypse not just in Christianity, but in the entire history of humanity, has been wrong.

The numbers do not make me want to take this one any more seriously, certainly.

[Ace101]

Most likely the Youtube channel will be deleted as soon as the 23rd comes with no Rapture - just like most of the "Harold Camping" cultists simply wiped their internet personas rather than admit their gullibility.

Someone should save the Youtube video for posterity.

[aitm]

One would have to wonder if the book suggested that the priests tell the followers to give me 75% of your wealth within two days so you can go to heaven……the whole idea of religion would have died a sudden death.

[trdsf]

I know about the Millerites and the origin of the rapture doctrine. What makes me laugh is the level of gullibility among xtians that buy into the rapture scenario without studying it. There are a wealth of xtian pastors that buy into it, probably mostly because the fear aspect of it puts people in the pews.

Well, why not?  They buy into all the rest of it, what's one more piece of bullshit when you already have enough to fertilize the entire Corn Belt?

[stromboli]

One would have to wonder if the book suggested that the priests tell the followers to give me 75% of your wealth within two days so you can go to heaven……the whole idea of religion would have died a sudden death.

That, or a bunch of us heathens standing outside the church the Sunday before the given day with "can I have your car?" placards. The sheer embarrassment of realizing what gullible dupes they are might get the message across.

[Ace101]

One would have to wonder if the book suggested that the priests tell the followers to give me 75% of your wealth within two days so you can go to heaven……the whole idea of religion would have died a sudden death.

If I recall right, during the Middle Ages, priests of the Catholic Church would sometimes charge money in exchange for confessions (meaning damnation if one refused to pay up).

[aitm]

If I recall right, during the Middle Ages, priests of the Catholic Church would sometimes charge money in exchange for confessions (meaning damnation if one refused to pay up).

yes, but it was always for "whispery" things. In the middle ages people thought the sky was water and damnation was a pence.

[trdsf]

If I recall right, during the Middle Ages, priests of the Catholic Church would sometimes charge money in exchange for confessions (meaning damnation if one refused to pay up).

And let's not forget the practice of selling indulgences -- shortening your "wait time" to get into heaven by greasing the palms of the church.

Not that the cherry-pickers paid any more attention to the whole 'camel through the eye of a needle' thing than they did anything else they found inconvenient.

My thinking is, if their god wants a gold-lined goblet for the ceremonial wine, let him magic one up and free up the cash that would have been wasted on it to help real people in the real world.  I can't walk by a church without a shudder over the money wasted on fairy tales and campfire stories, that could have made a real and measurable difference in someone's life.

[Baruch]

Confession was mandatory, and periodic, and fraught with frightful punishments for lying ... for the same reason that the NSA captures all of your phone calls and Internet URLs ;-)  Today we don't go to church for confession, we do it every time you log in ;-))