I've seen it written (on a tee shirt or something along those lines) that stupidity should hurt. And while there is a great deal of stupidity in this world that is greater than Harold Camping's "ministry", Family Radio's founder has gotten an undue amount of press lately, thanks to the stream of, for lack of a better term, utter bullshit that has issued forth from his mouth. Or perhaps it was his anus. Either way, I have a suggestion for what should be done once the sun rises on 22 May, proving once again that Mr. Camping is at best a deluded nutter who actually believes that there will be this rapture before the sun has set entirely on this Saturday and at worst a huckster who has defrauded thousands upon thousands of wide-eyed nimrods to the point where he has been able to build a $100 million radio network.
As far as I'm concerned, his intentions are immaterial because the end result is the same: thousands of people have been decieved, some to the extent of giving up their jobs and spending their savings by today because they believe that there will literally be no tomorrow. Actually, these people have decided to blind themselves, for it even says in their own literature that none shall know the day that their Lord will swoop down and pick them all up and take them to heaven. Everything their religion teaches them outside of Family Radio's sphere of influence, EVERYTHING in their Bible tells them that it is impossible to know when "God's glory" will visit itself upon the Earth and suck all good Christians into the sky. Once again, IT SAYS THIS IN THEIR BIBLE, LITERALLY THE FOUNDATION OF THEIR RELIGION, AND THEY CHOOSE TO IGNORE IT. Along with all of the other reasoned opinions as to why they are on a fool's errand.
So, Harry and his minions have quite obviously chosen to blind and deafen themselves so they can follow him into oblivion. And while I genuinely feel bad for them and for the fact that many of them will be jobless and destitute tomorrow morning, it is important to remember that they have chosen ignorance to reason. It is for this reason that I believe that tomorrow morning, Family Radio's assets should be liquidated and all proceeds donated to charity. Everything must go. Imagine what $100 million could do for people in any of the world's myriad conflict- and poverty-ravaged lands. There are thousands, millions perhaps, who would be helped by such a generous sum of money.
"Wait a second, James," you might be saying to yourself right now. "What about giving the donations back to those Harry Camping tricked? Those people will be destitute, too." This is where I bring it all back around to my opening line: Stupidity should hurt, and losing all that money would hurt quite a lot. Their money's gone anyway; Harry's not giving a single donation back tomorrow and those who have quit their jobs and spent their savings aren't going to be able to return everything they bought. And since this was a choice made consciously by these folks, no one stole anything from any of them, so let's put this money to some good use, shall we?
Is this a harsh lesson? Yes. Is it a steep price for someone to pay for choosing ignorance? Absolutely. But they will at least have the luxury of being able to start the recovery process tomorrow, a luxury some unfortunate victims of their own poor decisions are not afforded. So, here's hoping that Family Radio's listenership wakes up tomorrow morning, has a facepalm moment, realizes that the world not ending isn't the end of the world and carries on the ugly business of picking up the pieces, having learned their lesson and shown the world by their example that listening to eschatological prophecies is a costly mistake.
Now, does anyone know where to start a petition to force the liquidation of Family Radio?
Showing posts with label End of the World. Show all posts
Showing posts with label End of the World. Show all posts
21 May, 2011
07 May, 2011
So, What Are Your Plans for the 22nd of May?
I've actually known for a few weeks at least that there are a few crackpots people out there who believe that Judgment Day is nearly upon us. For the most part, I've gotten a good laugh out of the notion that there are people who would so blindly listen to someone who had already missed a prediction (the sun rose on 7 September 1994, presumably to the chagrin of one Harold Camping, the founder of a $100 million enterprise called Family Radio who now is calling for the Rapture on the 21st). My laughter has been stanched, however, by this article.
Mr. Camping may well and truly believe that Judgment Day is but a couple of weeks away. Many people have in the past claimed to have been able to divine The Divine's design and been able to convince others of their of their staunch belief. And there have been many lives destroyed as a result of these failed prophecies. But something about this article struck me as profoundly sad. The notion that there are those who, like the Martinezes, have planned every last dime to have been spent by the time they're sucked into the sky hadn't really occurred to me before reading this piece. I suddenly became aware that there will be an awful lot of people who face not only emotional devestation two Sundays from now, but financial devestation as well. And some of them, like the Martinez's two-year-old daughter and their unborn child (due after the Rapture) haven't any choice in the matter whatsoever.
It's quite amazing what people are able to convince themselves of in the face of more rational views (the Bible itself, from which Mr. Camping claims to have arrived at the ultimate date, admonishes its readers that no one, not even the Messiah, knows the date). Mother Jones has a very interesting article regarding the mental gymnastics people do to justify their rationale in the face of overwhelming evidence to the contrary. But it's quite distrubing to see what effect this closed-mindedness can have on the irredeemably naive and particularly those who care about them. Now, because of a multimillionaire and Christian, there are families being torn asunder as a result of people's abject unwillingness to listen to reason.
At 89 years of age, Mr. Camping, the leader of these poor, misguided souls, will probably meet his Judgment Day before the vast majority of those who have invested themselves in his prophecy. I just hope it's sometime after 22 May so that he might be able to face the judgment of his flock in a much more corporeal setting. Hang in there, Mrs. Brown, and try not to be too hard on your crestfallen husband.
Mr. Camping may well and truly believe that Judgment Day is but a couple of weeks away. Many people have in the past claimed to have been able to divine The Divine's design and been able to convince others of their of their staunch belief. And there have been many lives destroyed as a result of these failed prophecies. But something about this article struck me as profoundly sad. The notion that there are those who, like the Martinezes, have planned every last dime to have been spent by the time they're sucked into the sky hadn't really occurred to me before reading this piece. I suddenly became aware that there will be an awful lot of people who face not only emotional devestation two Sundays from now, but financial devestation as well. And some of them, like the Martinez's two-year-old daughter and their unborn child (due after the Rapture) haven't any choice in the matter whatsoever.
It's quite amazing what people are able to convince themselves of in the face of more rational views (the Bible itself, from which Mr. Camping claims to have arrived at the ultimate date, admonishes its readers that no one, not even the Messiah, knows the date). Mother Jones has a very interesting article regarding the mental gymnastics people do to justify their rationale in the face of overwhelming evidence to the contrary. But it's quite distrubing to see what effect this closed-mindedness can have on the irredeemably naive and particularly those who care about them. Now, because of a multimillionaire and Christian, there are families being torn asunder as a result of people's abject unwillingness to listen to reason.
At 89 years of age, Mr. Camping, the leader of these poor, misguided souls, will probably meet his Judgment Day before the vast majority of those who have invested themselves in his prophecy. I just hope it's sometime after 22 May so that he might be able to face the judgment of his flock in a much more corporeal setting. Hang in there, Mrs. Brown, and try not to be too hard on your crestfallen husband.
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