I take that the people who believe in the 21 May Rapture do so as a matter of faith

As in, there really doesn't have to be any kind of concrete quantification for one to believe that it will occur… It simply "will".

They're not taking into account that it really won't, right?

When it doesn't, how will the non event affect their faith in something that didn't happen when their faith dictated that it would? And of course, they won't even consider the possibility that it won't happen from the lips of reasonable people, correct?

So what will they do...

Get a new faith? Compensate somehow, yet maintain a faith in something that has let them down? Come to REASON?

I take that they don't think that they need answers, if they insist in pursuing some kind of faith based belief system that has no basis in reality.

It's pretty silly.

People like that have no business in dictating the direction of a free society for us all.

It's best that they just retire to someplace else and let the adults run things around here.

We have things to fix.

i hope you know that almost no christians except for this guys radio following are 'preparing for this
jesus said that when someone appears acting like they know that they are a lying douchebag (new street version)
and it is unlikely the 300 or so misguided folks who bought into his doucheiosity are keeping anyone from doing anything
i almost feel like this whole OP is a call out over religious beliefs

Please don't tell me this is another 'stop persecuting us Christians' type complaint. If it is, you really need to cultivate a thicker skin and a less-jerkier knee.

"you really need to cultivate a thicker skin and a less-jerkier knee." Can we tell that to those of Muslim faith the same thing?

and thanks for popping in to prove my point, Jack.

The OP is speaking only about the people who believe in this.

It seems like a decent question. There has been a specific date set - tomorrow - for when this big event is supposed to actually occur. There will be no spinning it when it doesn't happen. There will be no way to leave it up to a "mystery" or declare it to be "open to interpretation." Nor will it be far in the future when people can just pretend they never even thought of it.

What will all the people who sincerely believe this event will happen do when it does not?

Probably because they haven't hated on the atheists enough.

but more than a few will move on and away from this false prophecy.


Like Milleniarites, these guys are are a very small and fringe group.

And I hope that like them... it finally kills the third great Revival.

Read on the Great Disappointment, serious... (and no, not just Christians have this ... in the 1700 some in Eastern Europe, Jews to be specific, repeated this phenomena point by point. When they were not magically transported to Jerusalem... can't remember his name... been a while, he fled to Constantinople fearing forhis life.

"I'm making shit up, I have no facts to back me up, how dare you question me, let's change the subject, they had weather in Peoria, bless their god-forsaken souls." "Faith" means "I'm lying to you to your face right now."

with many of Camping's followers, if not Camping himself. I think they would say that they have "faith" that Camping's calculations of time periods contained in the books of Daniel and Revelation, while not strictly facts, are enough for them to base their actions on.

I really, really doubt that most of Camping's followers have any attitude of "I'm lying to you to your face right now;" I think it much more likely that they really believe that Camping's calculations represent an accurate interpretation of the time periods mentioned in Daniel and Revelation. I can't imagine any reason most of Camping's followers would do what their doing unless they were honestly convinced; they have nothing to gain, materially, and are subjecting themselves to open ridicule.

As for Harold Camping...who knows what his motivations are; he may honestly believe what he's saying.
On the other hand, he's the only one in a position to make a buck on this whole thing.

Lots and Lots of bucks.

.

They will say there was a mistake in figuring the date, or that because of their devout prayer, etc., they interceded and got the date postponed for the sake of all mankind.

But will they stop believing this nonsense? No.

Like the Book of Ecclesiastes says, there is nothing new under the sun.

Now THAT is faith.

Many Christians are trying to differentiate between those who buy the Family Radio hoopla and the rest of the "normal" flock. Yet, what does that say about the so-called non-loonies? They still believe this type of scenario is possible, but just at some point in the non-specified future. And that's supposed to be the "sane" position? IMO, it shines a bright light on the irrationality of religion in general.

1. Their belief that the Bible is God's revelation, over time, to the human race

2. The belief in a physical Rapture of the saved based on their interpretation of the scriptures, especially 1st Thessalonians 4:15-17.

3. The belief that the day (and hour, apparently) can be calculated from time periods laid down in the books of Daniel and Revelation, using the year/day principle and calculating (according to their website) from a starting point of 11,013 B.C.,"the day God created this world" according to Camping. http://www.familyradio.com/facts/


As so many have already observed, it's a replay of Millerism in many of its particulars.

Edited: to add "Their belief that" to the first sentence.

They will either blame the lack of rapture on human error, or they will think their faith was so strong, god (or aliens) delayed or canceled the rapture.

Camping used the "human error" excuse for his failed prediction in 1994.

Of the three basic groups that emerged from Millerism after the "Great Disappointment" of October 22, 1844, one group decided attempts at date-setting were unbiblical and a waste of time.

Another group decided they had been wrong about the nature of the event, not the date; i.e., Christ's "cleansing of the sanctuary," which William Miller had interpreted as the destruction of the earth by fire, was reinterpreted as the cleansing of a "heavenly sanctuary" and became the basis for the SDA doctrine of the Investigative Judgement.

I expect some variation of the above, or the complete loss of faith in the Bible. Either way, it's bound to be a sad day for these folks.

Edited: to break up a paragraph.
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You do reallize that this date is indicated no where in the bible. All this is, is some guy getting his name out there. He is the one who came up with this date.

actually appear?

It would seem that there are differences between the ardent in this. Camping seems to posit an 11,000 year old earth and calculates from there. Others in this line of "thought" posit a 5000 year old earth, which when these calculations are applied, makes the date 6000 years in the future.

Many of those Quakers who bother with such things count it as birth being the first coming and resurrection being the second coming, and therefore find all this stuff was over and done with 2000 years ago. Most of the original Quakers from the 17th century found that which some of us still call Christ was / is already here.

or man who may have existed but died 2000yrs ago coming back to life or even the Christian god as described in the Bible...But if I am going to play make believe for a minute I would wish for the Rapture to happen & cure America of Evangelical Christians, Catholics & anyone else who thinks the Universe is 6000yrs-10,000yrs old, thinks stopping abortion is actually a good thing, think teaching children sex education is bad, thinks birth control is bad, stopping same sex marriage is a good thing, stopping medical research is a good thing, thinks Bronze Age Creation Myths should be taught to any child anywhere other than in the context of nothing but a Bronze Age creation myth, etc.

America would be such a beautiful place if these people vanished!

translating passages from the bible. Those folks who will be sorely disappointed on Sunday will hopefully lose faith in that man.