May 21, 2011 - Mark That Date on Your Calendar - It's the End of the World!


Described as a loosely organized Christian group, several people united by radio broadcasts and websites are predicting the end of the world. The date? May 21. Exactly. Kind of risky, if you ask me, considering that Jesus Himself said that no one knows the day or the hour. Not to mention the fact that the return of the Lord in glory is pictured as a "thief in the night." Can you imagine a thief broadcasting the exact date of his break in? Well, considering that May 21 is technically the "Rapture," and that this misguided doctrine teaches a secret first coming of Jesus, then maybe the 'thief in the night' thing is kind of covered. Well.....

A major player in this prediction is a retired civil engineer named Harold Camping, the leader of the California-based Family Radio Worldwide, an independent Christian ministry. The 89 year old leader claims that the Bible functions as a cosmic calendar. Considering that he messed up by predicting the end of the world back in 1994, it is surprising any one is taking him seriously. He should stick to engineering.

You can read the longer AP story that describes how various followers are responding at this by going to this site. If you want to see exactly what Family Radio has on its own website, check the link provided above. By the way, Mr. Camping has an interesting way of getting around Jesus' words in one of his online booklets entitled "No Man Knows the Day or the Hour?" Talk about creative exegesis. Or should we say eisegesis?

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Firefighter's Cross

Image
[Note: A similar article to this will be shared with my department at their next meeting. During this Lenten season when we are meditating on the significance and meaning of the Passion of our Lord and the Cross at Golgotha, it seemed like one way to offer a witness to the department that captured their interest and yet was not too heavy.] [Editorial Note: In response to a recent comment on this article I have made some changes to the original version of this article especially in regard to references to the so-called St. Florian's Cross. For any confusion the previous unreferenced information may have caused I apologize. I hope that the changes are satisfactory.] THE STORY OF THE MALTESE CROSS In many ways the familiar symbol to the right requires no explanation. It is the universal insignia of firefighting nationwide. Yet the precise origins of this symbol are less clear. The most popular explanation proposes its beginning in the far distant past of medieval Crusaders fi...
Read more

Historical Roots of the Warham Guild Hood

Image
In doing just a little checking on the internet, it's interesting to see how the Warham Guild hood, which I have as part of my STM degree attire, is actually a throwback to the Medieval hood. One article notes "the work of the Warham Guild in its imaginative renderings of medieval hoods" (reference is from here ). Again, here is my hood: The Medieval hood, which was originally a very practical outer garment to cover a person's head and shoulders, protecting both from the elements, bears striking resemblance to this revived form: This hood was also a part of the garb of monks in that era. The Medieval hood, in some cases, also had what is known as a "liripipe," a long tail hanging from the back of a hood. You can see the modern stylized version of this on my own hood. From an article on "Academic hood development" we read that "By 1463 the favourite dress of doctors was the hood with round bell-shaped cape, and the lir...
Read more

Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed

Image
According to a recent documentary, for all the talk about academic freedom in the world of the large American university system, it would seem that it extends only as far as the system defines it - especially with regards to the subject of origins and science. Noted speechwriter Ben Stein stars as host of the film Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed. Dr. Angus Menuge, professor of philosophy at CUW, highlights the film in an article included in the Concordia University - Wisconsin magazine Concordian , including some seemingly revealing details about the expulsion of talented scientists who apparently were ‘expelled‘ from their positions for mentioning the theory of Intelligent Design: “In the current climate, even when academicians have a relevant doctorate and a track-record of peer-reviewed publication, their careers suffer if they argue that the scientific evidence points to an intelligent source involved in the creation of the world. In 1992, Dean Kenyon, a biology professor at ...
Read more