The world will end on May 21 2011! Wait, wait, wait. I totally meant October, 21 2011. Sorry, my bad.
Originally the word from on high, or low, depending on your take of the whole "end of the world" thing was that the rapture would occur on May 21 and the whole Armageddon thing would last until October 21. Now, according to Harold Camping, the guy who was making the prediction in the first place, the rapture and the end of the world will occur simultaneously and bypass that whole pesky Armageddon thing.
This is either good news or bad news. It is good news for those of us who were hoping to cut out the middle man and bad news for those who were on the fence and were hopping for some time to repent should the rapture actually happen. Here again we have an example of god being gracious and loving, or a complete dick.
I am, generally speaking not a big fan of organized religion (I know, it is shocking to find that out about me, huh?)and things like this are why. It doesn't bother me that people believe god will smite the world, hell, I firmly believe that a zombie apocalypse will occur any day now (ready your ZCP!)but things like this some people take as permission to behave like an ass.
Consider this:
"My mom has told me directly that I’m not going to get into heaven,’’ said Grace Haddad, 16. “At first it was really upsetting, but it’s what she honestly believes."
Gotta love mom there, huh? Now, admittedly, I don't have kids, but isn't just a teeny bit cold to tell your kid, in all seriousness that they are going to hell?
I also find it disturbing that the kid is okay with it because "it’s what she honestly believes." If I honestly believed punching random strangers in the naughty bits would make large sacks of gummy worms appear in my kitchen, that doesn't give me permission to start swinging away. It sounds as if maybe a bit of the crazy may be starting to seep on down the bloodline. Here's hoping they find a good therapist before they become little batshit copies of their parents!
The Haddad family, I would imagine, is now in a bit of a pickle. She quit her job, they stopped working on the house and stopped saving for the kids college. Now that May has passed, they are gonna have to find a way to skate by for the next five months. I hope their savings were considerable. Now, the article doesn't say whether or not the father works, just that she quit her job to travel about with him to spread the work so, presumably, he is out of work too. Here is another little bit of trouble that the family might have now that the date has been pushed back: Travelling costs money. When I said their savings had better be considerable, I take it back, the family had better be monstrously wealthy.
Another disconcerting thing about this particular family story is that the job she quit, was being a nurse. Now, correct me if I am wrong, but doesn't any job in medicine have more to do with science rather than beating someone over the head with a bible. I can just imagine this scenario:
"Well, Mr Smith, the good news is that your heart surgery went flawlessly, a complete success! The bad news is that you will soon be burning in everlasting torment. Enjoy your jello!"
Here is another heart warming quote:
“I don’t really have any motivation to try to figure out what I want to do," said Joseph Haddad, 14, “because my main support line, my parents, don’t care."
I got all misty on that one. You can truly feel the love. If this is indicative of the kind of folks one would have to live with in heaven, save me a place by the fire. An old friend of mine, when asked if he wants to go to heaven replied brilliantly: "That depends. Are you going to be there?".
I am sure there will be many many stories like this one between now and October, and probably after. Let's hope they are few and far between.
One last thing from the Haddad family:
The children, however, have found something to giggle over.
“She’ll say, ‘You need to clean up your room,’ " Grace said. “And I’ll say, ‘Mom, it doesn’t matter, if the world’s going to end!'"
You gotta love that!
The original article can be found here:
http://articles.boston.com/2011-05-20/news/29565433_1_prophecy-judgment-day-nonbelievers
Rant Over...for now
Just sharing
12 years ago
