"Never mind!" will not do it, Harold.
In response to a New York Magazine interviewer’s question about how he could be so sure the world was going to end on May21 (that’s tomorrow, folks!), Harold Camping, the leader of the imminent rapture movement, said this:
“God has given sooo much information in the Bible about this, and so many proofs, and so many signs, that we know it is absolutely going to happen without any question at all. There’s nothing in the Bible that God has ever prophesied–there’s many things that he prophesied would happen and they always have happened–but there’s nothing in the Bible that holds a candle to the amount of information to this tremendous truth of the end of the world. I would be absolutely in rebellion against God if I thought anything other than it is absolutely going to happen without any question.”
The Rapture’s not happening on May 21st, but on May 22nd this good and pious man will have a big ethical decision to make. Will he apologize for a false prophesy that has raised the hopes of many while terrifying others? Will he recant his 100% guarantee that the world would end, and take full responsibility for the error? Will he admit that the Bible is fallible after all? Or will he simply resort to the all-purpose religious punt, saying that God works in mysterious ways, and he is only a humble agent of the almighty?
I only hope that Mr. Camping’s unshakable faith hasn’t prevented him from having a Plan B, Plan A being to ascend to Paradise with Jesus. It is irresponsible, not to mention foolhardy, to tell those who trust and rely on you that anything outside of your direct and complete control is certain to happen, even if you believe it yourself. It is unethical to assert false certainty when it affects the plans, actions and emotions of others.
He had better be ready with an abject apology, a good explanation, or a note from Jehovah. If Harold isn’t willing to be accountable for this false alarm, I’m going to insist that he be left behind with me, Newt, and Fick when the real Rapture happens.
UPDATE: Howard flunked.
Ethics Alarms 
Jesus said of the day of the rapture, “But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. Be on guard! Be alert! You do not know when that time will come.”- Mark 13:31-33
Not even the Messiah, the Son of God, knows the day nor the hour when He will come for the believers, aka rapture! Jesus will come for the true believers when the Father tells Him to do so not before and not when some man says. The Creator does not answer to the created.
The Bible is not fallible. It is totally INFALLIBLE! There is no mistake within the whole of canon. It does not contradict itself. It is the written Word of God not the whims of any man.
Whether you are right or not, nobody said that Harold is infallible. He’s made a big splash claiming that tomorrow’s the big day, and he’s full of beans. The post was about what he’s going to do about it. I’m hip to the whole Bible Catch 22: It’s 100% infallible, but human beings interpreting it can make mistakes. They said the same thing about Tarot cards and chicken entrails, by the way.
I am with JD. This isn’t a matter of the Bible being fallible. It says over and over again that no one knows when end days will come. It does say there will be false prophets, as well people surrounding themselves with teachers only saying what they want to hear while putting sound doctrine aside. This is a matter of Harold Camping, or people in general, being fallible. One person chose to get some publicity, and other people decided to buy into it instead of reading up for themselves. Religion is a lot like politics. People do not educate themselves on their own beliefs, and make themselves more ready to be victims of false information. Only getting your religious beliefs from Harold Camping is a lot like learning about politics from only Newt Gingrich or the environment from only Al Gore. It’s just a bad idea.
This isn’t the first time he’s predicted Judgement Day. He predicted it would happen back in September, 1994. He said he miscalculated.
…maybe he was right the first time, but was left behind. At least that is what the Flying Spaghetti Monster said to me in a dream.
The guy’s a sociopath. There will be no apology, just rationalizations and the destroyed lives of his credulous followers.
My son says the Flying Spaghetti Monster revealed to him that the world will soon drown in a flood of Pomadoro sauce. True? If so, i have to load up on garlic bread.
I myself am a devout Pastaferian. Your son is wise to trust in the FSM and his noodly appendage. He is infallible.
Amen. Ziti.
In an interview with The Atlantic Camping was asked if he regrets being wrong in 1994, and he stated that he’s not a bit embarrassed by it. Nothing’s likely to change. And beyond his own attitudes, he’s kept followers since that mistake; he’ll keep them after this one. Such faith sure is a funny thing.
This also explains why Newt Gingrich has supporters.
Let’s all just sit back and relax and see what happens. Hey if he is wrong, then maybe he got people to think a bit about what is important in their lives, but also help them to grow. If he is right, well that is another story. Bottom line everyone dies sooner or later, what happens afterward is what has puzzled man since man came into being. Maybe he got people to think about their own mortality today to what will happen to everyone in the future.
The report I read said six o’clock p.m. is the appointed hour. So listen, if this really happens, will one of you water my lawn and collect the paper? If there is a chance to go on a free trip, I’m there.
It is doubtful Camping will apologize.
Eastern? Mountain? I’ve got a 6pm flight in the Mountain time zone. Would be nice to be airborne when the ground falls out.
And with the first round overall pick of the 2011 BIBLICAL RAPTURE Draft, God selects….
MACHO MAN RANDY SAVAGE! Ooooh Yeahhhhhh!!!!
highly doubtful he will apologize… since he is 100% sure that he is not wrong… but now you have to worry… that when proven wrong for yet another time.. if he would resort to having his followers that he sooo messed up thier live if he would convin ce them into a mass suicide like many other false doomsday cult leaders done prior to him when thier predictions failed to come.
It’s crazy that anyone is paying attention to it… Like the first post said, Jesus said no-one would know the day or the hour…
so if you’re a Christian then you can believe that, and if you’re not then you don’t believe in the rapture anyway….
Good idea to make the most of every day we have though. :] xx
The end of the world is a personal thing. for every man, the end of the world is his time of death.
It makes sence.
The “the Lord will come like a thief in the night” is totaly true for the individual.
You called May 22 Camping’s integrity test. Well, I pose the notion that he has no integrity based on the sole fact that the man has the arrogance to think that he knows more than the God in whom he claims to believe. Any person who states knowing the exact year, month, day, hour or second that the rapture will occur is a child of Satan, the father of lies and not of God.
Camping is a delusional, old man bent on gaining notoriety for himself rather than preaching the truth of the gospel (which means good news).
The truth is
…that no one knows when this event will take place but God, Himself;
…that Jesus died on cross in the third decade of the first century of the common era;
…that Jesus did come back to life and was witnessed as having done so by no less than 500 people (hard to discredit);
…that if you believe in your heart that Jesus rose from the dead and confess with your mouth, “Jesus is LORD!” you will be saved from hell;
…that every person has sinned and come short of God’s glory;
…that none of us is good, righteous, or perfect outside of God;
…that no one can work their way to heaven, buy their way to heaven, or deserves their way to heaven;
…that Jesus is THE WAY, THE TRUTH, and THE LIFE and NO ONE can come to God except through Him; and
…there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we MUST BE saved other than Jesus the Anointed One (Messiah/Christ).
The
So I gather that you think he flunked then.
Not only did he flunk, he failed to learn anything from his lies. He has “recalculated” his prediction that the complete, utter destruction of the entire universe is slated for Oct 21, 2011-10/21/2011.
(Anyone see a pattern or parody of the 12/21/2012 predictions? A bunch of 0s, 1s, and 2s in the dates?-haha)
The Bible is clear:
Above all, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires. They will say, “Where is this ‘coming’ he promised? Ever since our ancestors died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation.” But they deliberately forget that long ago by God’s word the heavens came into being and the earth was formed out of water and by water. By these waters also the world of that time was deluged and destroyed. By the same word the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly.
But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.
But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything done in it will be laid bare.
Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming. That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat. But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, where righteousness dwells.
So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him. Bear in mind that our Lord’s patience means salvation… (2 Peter 3:1-15a)