Nothing will happen on the 21st because God doesn't even exist. I'm mainly concerned with how all the followers will react when the 21st comes and goes and all is the same. Will they leave Harold Camping's group or adapt to whatever excuse Harold throws at them?

No doubt that 'religion' attracts a fringe element but that is not unexpected given its immense size and diversity. In reality, cults exist in other areas too. For example Heaven's Gate, The Manson family, and even more broadly street gangs, drug cartels etc.

The mantra about the desturctiveness of Christianity (I know you use 'religion' as the term but Chrisanity is the main enemy) is oft repeated to continue the reflexive association.

As for Camping and the date settes, they are in the category of the Heaven's Gate and the Mansons. They are abberatons. Very few Christians take date setters seriously, but the media loves them for the same reason 'freak shows' were popular. The followers of Camping will either continue to follow him or someone esle while the rest of us ignore him until the next date, which, btw is trumpeted by the secular world is it not? The December 2012 date has a much larger following and it is not of religious origin.

Tat associates the rapture with the date setters but they actually are only a small fraction of supporters. In fact, Camping has a rather bizzar sequencing and timing which I think takes him out of the category.

until the next date, which, btw is trumpeted by the secular world is it not? The December 2012 date has a much larger following and it is not of religious origin.

It's not been trumpeted too loudly as I have no clue what you are referring to here.

lady of shallot wrote:

until the next date, which, btw is trumpeted by the secular world is it not? The December 2012 date has a much larger following and it is not of religious origin.

It's not been trumpeted too loudly as I have no clue what you are referring to here.

Perhaps you have been asleep.

Googling December 21, 2012 yields over 4 million hits.
http://www.google.com/search?q=december ... 1I7GGLR_en

There was even a major Hollywood movid called, what else? 2012.

The whole Mayan calendar prediction thing.

Tat associates the rapture with the date setters but they actually are only a small fraction of supporters. In fact, Camping has a rather bizzar sequencing and timing which I think takes him out of the category.

Camping is calling for the rapture to occur on the 21st, which, firmly associates Camping with the rapture doctrine, obviously.

The rapture doctrine itself, before Camping took hold of it, is completely unfounded with many Christian believers rejecting it altogether any ways. The word "rapture" is nowhere found in the bible and the whole idea itself rests on people anticipating an apocolypse and looking for something that may serve as a loophole that could remove Christians from being present during that time of tribulation. The idea started off in Scottland and then migrated to the states if I remember correctly. Now we have people accepting it as absolutely true as if the concept had been there all along and not fabricated by fearful Christians within the last several centuries...

And of course - more than anything else - the very concept of God as described in mythological imagery such as the bible, is at best a metaphor and at the worst a complete groundless fabrication with no meaning whatsoever, metaphorical or otherwise. There's no reason to ever expect that a mythological scenario such as describes in any apolocalyptic literature will ever happen literally. No mythical God-Man Jesus arriving up in the sky with a host of mythological angels nor any mythological father Yahweh either. The entire scenario is the substance of mythological fantasy based on misinterpreting the mythological imagery which is it's active langauge as concrete and absolute. People take something purely mythological and add to it, and add to it, and add to it, and pretty soon you have something like Herald Camping and Family Radio and every other sect of Christianity before him. The entire enterprise is grounded firmly in error from the root base all the way to the top...

If you would like to pursue a discussion of the 'rapture' doctrine I would be happy to do so but I doubt you have any interest in doing so.

Oh, yeah that thing. Well that means no more to me than the Harold Camping.

There ya go for a brief starting point...

Here is a video of Camping and his wife of 58 years.

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xisde0 ... day_webcam

As I think more about this I just don't think Camping has any devious or malicious intent. The guy is 89 years old and nearing the end of his own time on this planet. How many people at that advanced of an age bother with scams or frauds? It is quite natural for your priorities to change as you mature. And the elderly are seldom concerned with amassing wealth so I doubt this is a scam to take as much money from people as possible and pocket it for his family.

Camping genuinely believes this rapture will happen or at least he is doing everything he can to force himself to believe it. I'm sure this gives his entire life meaning and helps him deal with the fear he probably has about his own death and subsequent non-existence. This is all a coping mechanism or crutch for Camping. I don't know. I'm just thinking here. I'm wondering what is going on in his head as the date approaches. He has to be secretly thinking about what he will say, think and do if the rapture doesn't happen. I'd love to read his mind today and over the next few days. May 21 is this Saturday...the day after tomorrow.

Funny... Sure doesn't FEEL like the end of the world as we know it.

I guess we'll have to wait and see. (or we could use reason to determine how we live. No? ok. Back to magic.)