It's the End of the World and I Feel Fine

Remember the run up to May? In America there were billboards warning of the coming Rapture on the 21st. Radio shows talking about how Earthquakes would take place and the "saved" would go to heaven. The rest of us suffer until October 21st and then go to Hell. Yet another doomsday prediction from Harold Camping. A Christian radio broadcaster who claimed that the Bible yielded knowledge on how to calculate the date of the rapture, and finally the end of the world.

Apparently this guy made similar predictions before. Again May 21st on 1988 and on September 6th 1994. Naturally you'd think after these 2 his credibility would have been destroyed. However there was a big fuss over the 2011 predictions. Billboards, radio campaigns in America, and even here in my home town were a group who bought it, leaving warnings taped to Chick Tracks.

May 21st came, I did my Saturday shift as normal and came out and don't recall any of the natural disasters Camping claimed would take place. No earthquakes, no fatalities. Just a normal Saturday.

Does Camping admit being wrong? Did the donations sent by his followers to spread the warning get refunded? No. The weasel just simply changes the details. He claimed the Rapture did take place, but rather than all the "saved" go to heaven, they now stay with the rest of us, oh and the Earth won't suffer from disaster until the end at October 21st.

The months rolled by. The warnings became understated. Downplayed, but remembered. It is now morning on the day of judgement. In my location the sky is a pale blue. The news sites report nothing out of the ordinary other than Gaddafi's death. Being in the UK, I realise there are other parts of the world that have been 21st of October longer. I can safely conclude that the end once again never happened.

You'd think people would disassociate with people who made false predictions. After all, Making a big claim and getting it wrong. Yet, people accept the excuses they make, or in some cases make the excuses for them. This has been the case since the early days of that funny cult of Christianity.

If the gospels are to be believed, we have Jesus himself claim that many of his early first followers will not taste death before the end comes. That his is the last generation. That his disciples will not finish preaching to the whole of Israel before the end comes. Even on foot, I doubt it takes 2000 years to walk. After Jesus left, Even his successor Paul believed he was in the last days.

Here we are, almost 2 millienia later, and those who clutch to these broken promises claim without reason that they actually refer to a future generation. And usually that means us living today.

Jehovah's Witnesses make excuses now for the failures of the end to come in 1917, 1918 and 1975. And yet, they still have high numbers of members.

I never understood why they seek an end to the earth they live on, but anyone making a prediction of a set date, don't be so quick to sell everything to spread their message.

The Good Person (Short Story)

(This is purely fictional)

I keep my hands in my coat pockets as I walk along the dark street. It's queit until I am stoped by an man holding out a leaflet. "Are you a good person?" he asks. "Reasonable" I reply. "Well let's just see, mind if I ask you some questions?" I look at my watch. I believe I have time. "Ok" I reply.

"Have you ever told a lie?" he asks. "Hasn't everyone?" I respond. "And what do you call a person who lies?" "A lier" I shrug. "Ok, have you ever stolen anything, like a pen from work?" "Yeah, so? Are you a cop or something?" This guy is starting to annoy me now. "And what does that make you then?" he asks accusingly. "Want me to say 'I'm a theif'?" I sharply respond. "It's Gods law" he replies, "Now have you ever looked at a woman you're not married to with lust?" "Your mother."

"Now now, no need for that" He says trying to put on a goofy smile. "You see, Jesus said if you look at a woman with lust, you have already commited adultery with your heart." "Not my prefered organ" I respond. "An have you every been angry with anyone?" I shot him a dirty look. "It's just Jesus says that you have commited murder in your heart." "no doubt you're gonna tell me I'm gonna go to hell after I die." "You don't have to. You see, Jesus died for your sins, and if you just ask him for forgiveness, all your sins will be gone." "Is that so? All sins?" "All sins" he replies, "but you have to ask now." "Ok, I will, but one thing first." I grap his neck, plant my knee a couple of times into his crotch and toss him aside. While he is on the floor, I stamp on his neck and hear it snap. I see him there dead on the floor. I get down on my knees. "Forgive me Jesus for I have sinned. I accept you as my lord and savior."

And this is how I was saved. I now finish writing this as my execution comes close. I have killed many people, mostly for fun, but hey, every time I asked Jesus for forgiveness, so it's all good. So now, one jab, and I get to meet the big guy who set this sweet deal.