Harold Camping, R I P

The Official Blog of the End of the World Notes the Passing of Harold Camping. We would be remiss if we did not do so. Camping, 92, was one who predicted unsuccessfully (We note that we are still here) the end of the world, on three different occasions.

People may differ on his motivation for doing so, but the sorrow, hardship and poverty that followed in the wake of his misguided prophecies are indisputable. Camping's beliefs stemmed from the fact that he believed one shouldn't use commentaries to interpret the Bible, because those are the thoughts of men. He believed that the Bible should be interpreted by the Bible alone. Over the years, he wrote numerous study guides based solely on his own studies, that promoted his beliefs. Over time, ironically, those became a de facto commentary, but not the only spiritual blind spot in his life. One studies commentaries not because they are infallible, but because they give insight into what other believers believe, and counsel about the pitfalls of sin, such as pride, even though we might be blind to them ourselves.

Jesus said that no man would know the time or the date of his coming. Camping was not the only man to deceive himself into believing that somehow he was exempt from the rest of humanity in this. Whether or not you believe in the literal Second Coming of Christ bringing the world to an end, there is a sense in which every generation faces the end of the world, in that they experience the end of their own world. For Harold Camping, the world ended in December 2013.

Camping died from a fall in his home. One that was preceded by a fall in his public ministry, which was ultimately preceded by the fall of our progenitor Adam. As the old horn book says, "In Adam's fall, sinned we all."

Harold Camping was a sinner. Now it's up to his Boss to set him straight.

Mayans, and Tigers, and Bears! Oh, My!

Maya Con Dios - End of the Calendar or End of the World?

We wouldn't be the Official Blog of the End of the World™, if we didn't note at least in passing, the Mayan "prediction" of the end of the world tomorrow, Dec 22. As we pointed out the last time the world was going to end, the old New York Times joke:

World Ends Tomorrow! Women and Minorities Hit Hardest!

Obviously, if the world ends tomorrow, there will be no discrimination according to gender or race. Or Christmas, one would suppose. That must really be disturbing to all you who did your Christmas shopping early!

The first time I heard that the Mayan calendar was coming to an end, I thought of an old key chain I once had as a kid. Wait just a minute! Follow me on this! It was a perpetual calendar in the shape of a tube, about three and a half inches long, with a cap that rotated on the bottom. By rotating the cap, the calendar would be correct for years and years and years. I can't remember what the end date on the calendar was. Sometime far into the future.(If it was 2012, boy is MY face red!) But when the calendar came to an end, it was just because it was a clever device, but not perfect. It didn't mean the world was coming to an end. This is what I suspect happened to our Mayan friends. I have a stack of old calendars in the closet. None of them marked the end of the world when they expired.

By the way, rumor has it that the fall of the Mayan civilization was a result of them trying to carry this on a keychain:


But, on a serious note, the world will end tomorrow...for someone. Someone's world will end because of cancer, or the car they didn't see coming or a body that's just worn out. Tragically, the world ended a week ago for 20 young children and six adults at Sandy Hook Elementary school. They had no idea that it would, but it did. It happens that way to people without a care in the world and people who have suffered for so long they look forward to the release.

Assuming for a second the Mayans were right. How are you going to spend the last few hours of your life? Assume for the moment they were wrong. That's still no guarantee that these might not be the last few hours of your life.

Don't get me wrong! I'm not trying to be morbid. I'm a realist. And I know that far too many people pass through the days without really living. Without paying attention to the important things in life. After the mayhem at Sandy Hook, many parents hugged their children their children tightly that night. Shed tears for them. Shed tears for the pain that others were feeling.

I guess what I'm saying is, why should it take a tragedy, or the end of the world for you to see what is most important in your life and live accordingly?

I want you to think about that, and then bookmark this blog, if you haven't already, just in case the world doesn't end, so you can come back. I'll be taking attendance!

Signs of the Apocalypse - Does Twinkie Shortage Mark TEOTWAWKI?

In keeping with my reputation as The Official Blog of the End of the World™, I figured it was time for an update. The signs and portents that led to Harold Camping's predictions have come and gone, but the end of the Mayan calendar on December 21 is fast approaching. What did those wily Mayan boogers know that we don't???

One totally unexpected foreshadowing omen of the Signs of the Apocalypse is...a worldwide Twinkie Shortage. People are rushing to the stores and cleaning the shelves of Hostess goodies as though they were battening down for a hurricane or some other natural disaster.

Could the absence of delicious, creme filled sponge cakes be a sign of The End of the World as We Know It (TEOTWAWKI)? Come to think of it, TEOTWAWKI does sound like it could be the name of a minor Mayan deity, doesn't it? Could another baker buy the rights and recipe for Twinkies? Almost certainly, but not in time to appease the wrath of TEOTWAWKI by December 21.

As dire as the prospects of a world without Ho-Ho's, I believe that we can weather this catastrophe as well. Just as we survived the loss of Sugar Jets, Sugar Smacks, Sugar Pops, and Sugar Frosted Flakes, this too, shall pass!

And remember! Just because the world isn't ending December 21st. doesn't mean you can't get hit by a bus, so let's be careful out there!


Update:
And since I'm not the only one with this particular earworm, let me share the wealth...

World Ends Again Today!

As the Official Blog of the End of the World™, I said,

As the Official Blog of the End of the World™, we'll keep you posted on October 21st.

So far, so good. Well, not good for Mr. Camping, who has hit the proverbial three strikes and you're out, but for the rest of us!

On his Family Radio Network website, Camping noted that Doomsday predicting is not easy.

"There's a lot of things that we didn't have quite right, and that's God's good provision," he says. "I really am beginning to think, as I restudy these matters, that there's going to be no big display of any kind. The end is going to come very, very quietly, probably within the next month. It will happen, that is, by Oct. 21."

After May 21 came and went, Camping -- who blamed a similar 1994 misfire on a math error -- did readjust his assessment by saying "God's judgment" was completed on that day, and the final sword would fall today.

"Thus we can be sure that the whole world, with the exception of those who are presently saved (the elect), are under the judgment of God, and will be annihilated together with the whole physical world on Oct. 21," he says.

So, he made his first prediction in '94. We didn't see the End of the World, but we did suffer through Bill Clinton, which was more of a localized disaster!

Camping, not willing to finally admit that "no man knows the hour of the Lord's return", figured that just his "math" might have been off. (We'll put Camping in the Barbie™ school of "Math is hard" prognosticators.)

And again, after the End of the World failed to materialize when he predicted it again for May 21, he'd convinced a number of people of the certainty of that date, and they, like adventists of old, who dressed in white robes and sat on the mountaintops waiting for end to come, sold everything they had to spread the word. After all, what need would you have for material possessions after the world ends? Quite logical, given your presupposition.

But, they presupposed wrong. Now if Camping had just been some codger sitting on his front porch rocker (than than being off it), telling you about the date the world will end, you might have said something like, "Bless his heart!" But Camping had access to a large, and otherwise faithful, Christian broadcast network. I do not want to judge Mr. Camping, but the Good Book says, "By their fruits, ye shall know them." It also says that "Pride goeth before destruction..." Pride can be very insidious. If you genuinely thought that you were the only man in recorded history to ever figure out this great mystery, which God himself proclaimed would not be known unto any man, it would be very, very difficult not to be affected by pride in some way, shape or form.

But, instead, celebrate! This is the day the Lord hath made, and you are alive to see it! And there are people today who will draw their last breath, and to them, it will be indistinguishable from the end of the world. And I believe that is the point. Live every day as if it were your last, because one day, it will be true.

More End of the World stuff here.

World's End Prophet Harold Camping's "Open Forum" to End

Doomsday preacher Harold Camping, who is recovering from a mild stroke, will stop airing his Open Forum show at the end of this month.

Camping took questions live from listeners every weeknight on Family Radio's Open Forum program. Ever since the 89-year-old broadcaster suffered a stroke on June 9, Family Radio has been airing re-runs of his 90-minute program. Family Radio will air pre-recorded segments of the Open Forum program from Camping's May 23 to June 9 broadcasts to fill up the schedule until the end of June then wrap up the show, according to the Oakland Tribune.

"When those are completed, we will have other programming that is scheduled to run in that time slot," -Family Radio's program department secretary Judi Rathbone

Not sure how much of the program change is due to the stroke and how much to his discredited proclamation of the end of the world, or both. (It was discredited, right? Are we still here? Is this thing on?? *thumps microphone* )

When his prophecy for the May 21 rapture failed, Camping held a press conference to insist that his predictions were overall correct. He said he made a mistake in forecasting that Judgment Day for May 21 would be physical but clarified that the judgment did occur in a “spiritual” sense.

In the days following his public statement, Camping continued to assert his prediction that the End of the World is still on for October 21, 2011, but acknowledged that he moved the rapture date from May 21 to Oct. 21.

Up until his stroke, angry listeners have used the Open Forum segment as a time to directly chide Camping for shamelessly standing by his false teachings. The callers to the program also included followers of Camping, some who said they still believe in his predictions and others who told the preacher that they lost their faith.

Family Radio programs are broadcast on over 100 stations throughout the U.S. and reach listeners as far away as sub-Saharan Africa.

I've known some good people over at Family Radio. Hopefully, the stroke will limit Camping's influence (and doctrine) on the organization and they can go back to what they were doing best. Only time will tell.

As the Official Blog of the End of the World™, we'll keep you posted on October 21st.

Harold Camping Suffers Stroke

ALAMEDA -- Harold Camping, the Doomsday radio preacher who sparked international media attention by predicting the end of the world last month, has been hospitalized after suffering a stroke at his Alameda home Thursday night.

The 89-year-old radio evangelist and president of the Oakland nonprofit Family Radio was taken by ambulance from his house Thursday night, a neighbor said, but his well-known, gravelly voice that led many believers to donate millions of dollars to his cause may never be the same.

I would imagine Camping has been under a lot of stress since erroneously, and most would say foolishly, predicting the end of the world. Some of his followers sold everything they had, not believing they would be in need of their possessions after the end of the world. Logic, as always, is only as good as its presuppositions.

I met Harold Camping a number of years ago. I do not believe those who claim he did this for any kind of personal gain. I believe he was sincere and was sincerely wrong.
In matters of faith, sincerity is not enough. One may believe literally any number of things and be sincerely, completely, utterly wrong.

And some may now, in light of the unintentional damage and pain he's caused so many people, rejoice in his illness. I do not. I just feel sorry for him.




H/T Mememorandum
Cross posted at Say Anything

End of the World Could Be Game Changer for Obama

By now, most of you know that the world did not come to an end last weekend. Residents of Berkeley will undoubtedly find out soon. My prediction is, that their response will be, "Whoa, Dude!"

But if the whole "world is going to end" thing weren't bad enough, a poll has been taken to determine what effect the Rapture might have on next year's election. I.Kid.You.Not.

Public Policy Polling has taken a poll to "figure out how big of a political game changer the rapture would be."

"The Rapture", for those of you not schooled in such things, is the belief, that at the end of the world, as things get really bad, God will deliver his people from the devastation at the end of the world. That they will literally rise up and meet Christ "in the air", while those left behind have to suffer untold hardship, pain and agonizing regrets. (Think: The Obama administration on steroids.)

First off- no one really believed the Rapture was going to happen last weekend, or at least they won't admit it. Just 2% of voters say they thought that was coming on Saturday to 98% who say they did not. It's really close to impossible to ask a question on a poll that only 2% of people say yes to. A national poll we did in September 2009 found that 10% of voters thought Barack Obama was the Anti-Christ, or at least said they thought so. That 2% number is remarkably low.

Did you catch that last part? "That 2% number is remarkably low." Are they saying that they expected it to be higher? Or the fact that it was brought up at all?? (I apologize. When I first read this, I thought they were referring to the percentage that thought Barack was the "Anti-Christ". My bad. I really should finish my second cup of coffee before reading statistics.)

11% of voters though think the Rapture will occur in their lifetimes, even if it didn't happen last weekend. 66% think it will not happen and 23% are unsure. If the true believers who think the Rapture will happen in their lifetime are correct- and they're the ones who had the strongest enough faith to get taken up into heaven- then that's going to be worth a 2-5 point boost to Obama's reelection prospects...if the Rapture occurs it would be an even more immediate boost to Democratic electoral prospects.

Hear that? I think what this poll is saying, that after all the really good people are taken out of the equation, Obama gets a majority from those who are going to Hell! So, in addition to getting votes from dead people, Democrats get votes from those who are as good as dead!

This could go a long way in explaining the tactics of Democrats to bring in "the faithful". Too funny!



H/T Memeorandum
Cross posted at LCR.

New Date For End of the World - *Sigh*

I really hate to bring this up again, but as the Official Blog of the End of the World™, I have an obligation to stay current. In case you haven't heard, Harold Camping is at it again. Mark October 11th on your calendars.

In spite of making predictions in the face of pretty clear scriptural teaching that "no man knows the day or the hour", and getting it wrong not once, but twice, you'd think he'd learn just a little bit more humility, wouldn't you?



My own predictions center around the number of desertions, as Family Radio staffers find other employment or other ministries that might make better use of their talents.

Mr. Camping, I expected better from you. Still, if I were you , with your track record, you should work on your press release for next October 12th.

H/T theblogprof

The World Ended Last Night...

..and you're not reading this! Reports of the world coming to an end, like the earliest reports of Mark Twain's death, seem to be a bit exaggerated.


You can always see it in the movies!

Inhabitants of New Zealand, scheduled to be among the first to meet the apocalypse according to a US fundamentalist preacher, this morning confirmed they were still in existence as the appointed time was reached in their time zone.

There were also unconfirmed reports that Tonga has, thus far, failed to boil into the Pacific.

Eighty-nine-year-old tele-evangelist Harold Camping had prophesied that the “Rapture” would begin with powerful earthquakes at 6pm in each of the world’s regions, after which the good would be beamed up to heaven.

This morning, Kiwis confirmed there were no signs of the dead rising from the grave, nor of the living ascending into the clouds to meet Jesus Christ.

Twitter users were disappointed by the absence of Armaggedon.

I myself, upon awaking,sorting through a number of strange dreams from last night, finally realized that I was indeed awake and the place was still here! A reason to be thankful, I thought, for the promise of a new day.
And then, as I fixed my breakfast, the other thing about the "prophecy" occurred to me, about some folk getting "left behind". "A fine development this is!", I thought to myself. What's the best way to prove this? Wait until tomorrow morning, go to church and look at all the empty pews? Or, go to church and look at all the full pews of folks who thought they were going to make it and didn't?

I figured the quickest way was to go online and see if the earthquakes had started, because if there was no "end of the world", there'd be no one "left behind".

So, here we are. The world didn't end. What are you going to do about it? Have a good laugh at those church people and then life your life exactly the same as you did before? Or maybe give some thought to what's really important in life and be thankful you still have the opportunity to pursue it?

Me? I've got to finish painting the bathroom. You know there's a lot of chores I could have put off, if I only I could have counted on that whole pesky "end of the world" thing! Later!

(Such a lovely word, "later"!)


H/T Mememorandum

Cross posted at LCR.

"The Rapture Is Not Saturday -- It's Tonight"

The Rapture Is Not Saturday -- It's Tonight




Like Elvis and UFO sightings, we wouldn't want you to miss it!

LOS ANGELES -- In his relentless study of the Bible, 89-year-old Oakland-based Harold Camping has seen the signs. You may have also seen them recently.

They read, "Judgment Day: May 21, 2011 -- Cry mightly onto God," followed by a bright yellow stamp that proclaims, "THE BIBLE GUARANTEES IT!"

The end is near ... very near, according to the billboards and Camping. Indeed, it's this weekend.

The end of the world will be at exactly 6 p.m. on May 21, 2011, says Camping, who along with his organization, Family Radio, are behind those billboards across the country forecasting the Rapture this Saturday. The Rapture, the Last Days, Armageddon and the Final Days of Judgment are all interchangeable. It's when God will destroy the Earth to show his love for humanity.

Is that Eastern Standard or Pacific Standard Time?

Neither, says Camping, whom I interviewed recently for my online news show TYT Now. The Rapture is at 6 p.m. on May 21, 2011, where ever it's 6 p.m. first, with the "fantastically big" world-ending event taking place on a time zone by time zone basis.

That means we can expect the Rapture to start when it hits 6 p.m. at the International Dateline at 180 Longitude -- roughly the between Pago Pago, American Samoa, and Nuku'alofa, Tonga. We'll know it's Judgment Day because there will be an earthquake of previously unprecedented magnitude, Camping predicts.

So, according to these calculations, the Rapture will actually begin like a rolling brown out across the globe at 11 p.m. PST on Friday, May 20th. "Everyone will be weeping and wailing because they'll know in a few hours it'll come to their city," said Camping

.

One way or another, another 24 hours or so and we can go back to our nasty, brutish and short lives. Stay tuned.

H/T Memeorandum

World Ends Tomorrow! Women and Minorities Hit Hardest!

Sorry. That's the punchline to an old New York Times joke. Obviously, if the world ends tomorrow, there will be no discrimination according to gender or race.



And, although I can't quite bring myself to believe that the world is truly ending tomorrow, it did get me thinking: If I knew the world was going to end tomorrow, what might I do differently today?

I've heard some talk of sex parties on the beach, others might run up huge debt, knowing they'd never have to pay it off. But ask yourself, is that what's really important to you?

The first group would be considered hedonists, living for pleasure, living for the moment. If that's you, then consider whether or not your constant quest for pleasure has any meaning beyond the moment or it it ultimately satisfies you.

The second group are materialists. "He who dies with the most toys, wins!" And some people take pride and pleasure from their possessions, but, in the end, the person who dies with the most toys is still dead.

A third group might be the kind of person you'd like to be. The kind you would be if you just weren't so darned busy! If you knew the world was going to end tomorrow, is there someone you would call, just to say hello? A child you would hug? Someone to whom you would say, "You know, I really don't say this often enough, but, I love you" ?

And then, I think there's a fourth group, whom if they knew the world was going to end tomorrow, wouldn't change anything at all. An admittedly small group, but can you imagine living a life where you have no regrets for what you might have done, because you did it? A life lived conscious of the fact that life is short and uncertain, and that for someone you care about, there may be no tomorrow, so you need to let them know today.

I wondered why the Almighty would allow Mr. Camping to wander so far astray that he would be setting dates for the end of the world. Maybe, it's to teach some of us a lesson. There's the obvious one about "not stetting dates for the Lord's return", but also that someday, someone you thought would always be there will be gone. And you will have regrets over missed opportunities to spend time with them and let them know how you feel.

I have a hunch that on Sunday morning, a bunch of people are going to wake up feeling a little foolish, and some embarrassed and some even wondering how they are going to live, having taken, in some cases, a life's savings to buy advertising, out of a concern for the souls of their fellow men.

These are good hearted people. They didn't hunker in the bunker saying, "I've got mine, the rest of you can go to blazes". Literally. They tried to help in the best way they knew how.

So, cut them some slack next week. Such a lovely thought: "Next week". How we would crave it if we could not have it.

Life is a gift. You've only got one. As they say, this isn't a dress rehearsal. Go out and live your life with purpose and meaning and with joy. And if you can't do that, find the reason why. Today. It's all any of us have for sure.



While I was thinking of what I would say on this occasion, this song kept coming into my head.

Less of Me

Let me be a little kinder
Let me be a little blinder
To the faults of those about me
Let me praise a little more

Let me be when I am weary
Just a little bit more cheery
Think a little more of others
And a little less of me

Let me be a little braver
When temptation bids me waver
Let me strive a little harder
To be all that I should be

Let me be a little meeker
With the brother that is weaker
Let me think more of my neighbor
And a little less of me

Let me be when I am weary
Just a little bit more cheery
Let me serve a little better
Those that I am striving for

Let me be a little meeker
With the brother that is weaker
Think a little more of others
And a little less of me

Proof Positive: Official Blog of the End of the World™

On the day before the supposed end of the world, look at how many visits a day have been logged:




Coincidence? I think not! I think that makes this the official blog of the Apocalypse!