Um, because he's the figment of someone's imagination? (I realize this isn't the most original explanation, but I just can't think of any other!)

The author of the article writes: "Even though many people sold their homes and spent their life savings to help pay for ads promoting Camping's May 21 Rapture prediction, effectively destroying their lives on behalf of an empty promise, God will forgive him."

I have to say, I don't see this as a problem. Anyone stupid enough to think that this guy could predict the second coming - well, they dug their own hole. Even if you are a believer, there is absolutely no point in selling your stuff anyway. It's not like you can take your money with you, any more than you can take your house with you.

Maybe Jesus was busy with his 72 virgins?

He was working on his sweet Halloween costume. It took forever to get those little devil horns perfect.

Because "you do not know the day or the hour"? It's right there, in black & white. Matthew 25:13.

It's not like you can take your money with you, any more than you can take your house with you.

Ah, but it is easier for the poor man to enter the Kingdom than a rich man. And who is poorer than the one who sells all their posessions and gives it away, likely to the poor?

Hey, how do we know he didn't? (Actually, he showed up in Japan.)

Yes we know not the day or the hour.

But we do know we are supposed to KILL homos, anyone who eats shrimp, anybody claiming to be a priest of god who isnt from the tribe of levi, all missionaries and worshipoers of any other gods, children who backtalk, any woman who isnt a virgin on her wedding night, any man who uses any form of birth control, anybody who approches a church on the "wrong" day, and anybody who wears a cotton/polyester blend

Funny how the religious have to ignire so many of gods commandments in order to feel good about themselves - you blasfemers ever consider that god wont ever comeback until you start obeying his fucking commandmnets to kill 90% of the people around you?

Because he's coming in 2012, duh!

Lujip, did you read that book about the guy who follows all the bible rules for a year? "A Year of Living Biblically" or something like that?

Good read.

Ask those soap box guys that save people at Pershing Square in Downtown L.A. (if they are still there). One of favorite pastimes as kids was to hitchhike to downtown and get saved.

I wonder if Camping figured Jesus would pop fully formed and adult out of some call box ala Doctor Who?

luj, which part of that seems divine, and which part seems like it was written by men?

Anyway, for all those people who actually believe in some kind of ultimate being, of whatever religion, what makes you think that you know or understand exactly what the being is going to do?

Guys like the camping guy do more damage to people's faith than anyone. It is my belief that they will be judged especially harshly for leading their flocks astray.

And Eugene, I've heard that manga is pretty funny, I'd love for it to get licensed on J-Manga.

He was too busy planning Earth's birtday party. (October 22nd for all you non-Ussher fans out there). Party on, dudes.

Nicole, I read that book. By A. J. Jacobs. I thought it was hilarious. He's a very engaging writer.

Since you liked that one, I'd highly recommend his previous book, The Know-It-All: One Man's Humble Quest to Become the Smartest Person in the World. He also has a new book out, which I've bought but haven't read yet: My Life as an Experiment: One Man's Humble Quest to Improve Himself.

He tried to show up, but he was going to appear at the OWS camp in New York. The Field of Stupidity kept him from being able to actually materialize, so we'll just have to wait another millennium now.

Lujlp: As I understand it, the warped commandments of Leviticus were meant to apply to the Chosen People (ancient Israelites). No sane modern Christian or Jew is going to follow those commandments. (As for the insane ones, few people will listen to them anyhow.)

No sane modern Christian or Jew is going to follow those commandments.

I don't know about Jews, but plenty of modern Christians do believe in Leviticus 18:22 (while, of course, conveniently ignoring other verses in the same book.) You may consider them insane for believing that but, unfortunately, many people do listen to them.

"Guys like the camping guy do more damage to people's faith than anyone."

Maybe he's not such a bad guy after all, if he gets some people to wake up to the fact that these are myths that have been passed down in similar form since the days of Adam and Eve (kidding!) and I am sure that in 1000 years there'll be another incarnation of "god," "satan," "saviour" "judgment," etc.,and a thousand years from then, the same thing all over again.

P.T. Barnum was **so** right, and people who follow religions are the proof.

I follow a religion, but I wouldn't presume to tell anyone when Jesus is coming...or even when Jesus is merely breathing hard. (Was that blasphemous?)

I can only conclude that Jesus is messing with this guy. And if that's his guilty pleasure, I don't blame him one bit.

I think my favorite observation about scripture is the famous one attributed to Hillel, who was an elder contemporary of Jesus. When asked by a gentile to summarize the Torah, he answered:

"What is hateful to thee, do not unto thy fellow man: this is the whole Law; the rest is mere commentary."

I have a book here, "A Directory of Discarded Ideas", which is a simply marvellous collection of fads, fallacies, pseudoscience and suchlike. The last chapter is a list of end-of-the-world predictions, with dates, current at the time of its publication back in 1981.

I find it comforting, somehow, to look at just how many apocalypses, armageddons, and eschatons I've apparently made it through.

(Extra credit goes to the one predictor who claimed that actually, the world _had_ ended on his schedule, but it was a very _quiet_ Apocalypse whose effects would take some years to become fully manifest. Quick thinking, that chap!)

"It seems embarrassing for Family Radio. But God was in charge of everything. We came to that conclusion after quite careful study of the Bible."

Glad to see he agrees.

Or maybe He's already here, but nobody recognizes Him, expecting to see someone else, or no-one at all.

I follow a religion as well.

From a safe distance, so that I can avoid the exhaust.

Camping takes a well deserved beating for being so apocalyptically wrong.

So why do Dr. James Hansen and His Goreness not come in for the same treatment?

"So why do Dr. James Hansen and His Goreness not come in for the same treatment?"

Because some doctrines' adherents are more shrill and less accommodating than others?

How do we know it didn't end, and we're all figments of our own collective imaginations anyway?

Because he's been dead for over 2,000 years.

Reasons Jesus hasn't come back:

1) Can't get through scanner at airport.

2) Saw celebration of his torture and death everywhere.

3) Still on hold, waiting to talk to Rush.

4) Doesn't know contract has Him stepping and fetching for Earthly blowhards.

5) Grooving at Elvis/Jackson/Brown concert.

6) Fox canceled Firefly.

7) Busy serving in the White House; admiring Nobel Prize.

8) Austerity measures mandate that He walk everywhere.

9) Trumpet players not answering casting call.

And the rude one: 10) Busy seeing that Mary Magdalene comes first!

And #6 still pisses me off

Lujlp: As I understand it, the warped commandments of Leviticus were meant to apply to the Chosen People (ancient Israelites). No sane modern Christian or Jew is going to follow those commandments. (As for the insane ones, few people will listen to them anyhow.)

Posted by: mpetrie98

And yet according to the bible, Jebus hismeslf said all of the old law was in effect for his followeres and none of it was to be questioned or interperated

But then again, what the fuck would Jesus know about the religion he started? Am I right?

luj, which part of that seems divine, and which part seems like it was written by men?

Seems to me like all of it was written by man, hell for a monothiestic cult get order directly from god, god didnt even bother to clarify whether or not he was the only god - seems like piss poor writting to me

Anyway, for all those people who actually believe in some kind of ultimate being, of whatever religion, what makes you think that you know or understand exactly what the being is going to do?

Which is why I find deism to be a more logically supportale assertion than thiesm, especially given how often theists supporting paraphanellia contradicts itsself

"2) Saw celebration of his torture and death everywhere."

Radwaste nailed it.

I just hope he predicts the world will end on a Thursday next time. That's the day I usually clean the house and I'd like to get out of it.

Here is a classic video on the whole homosexuality debate: www.youtube.com/watch?v=rHaVUjjH3EI

I have always remembered it and think of it whenever someone comes up with "listen to God's (Jesus's) words.

And yet according to the bible, Jebus hismeslf said all of the old law was in effect for his followeres and none of it was to be questioned or interperated

But then again, what the FUCK would Jesus know about the religion he started? Am I right?

I find the FUCKING notion that Jesus would FUCKING have me follow every FUCKING commandment in the Old Testament, so that I would be obligated to FUCKING stone adulterers and FUCKING kill homosexuals -- who, contrary to some beliefs, can't FUCKING help their feelings -- FUCKING appalling.

I'm NOT going to FUCKING kill adulterers and homosexuals. Fortunately, most Christians have enough of a FUCKING conscience not to support such an interpretation, in my FUCKING opinion. I wouldn't support such stuff, either. I guess that makes us all FUCKING lousy Christians (hopefully).

(BTW, I believe I have previously stated on this forum what I'd like to see done to religious extremists, Christian, Jew or Muslim: have them dropped into the middle of the FUCKING ocean and left there to swim with the FUCKING sharks.)

Sorry mpetrie, it isnt up for interpretation, Jesus said such laws were not to questioned. It does make you a lousy chrititian, as you are a choosing to activly ignore gods commandmnets

Now that you have reached this point where you understand that your conscience forbids you from following your gods commandments I want you to ask yourself this.

How does a loving, caring god command his followers to commit such horrible atrocites? And over such trival things?

And then ask yourself why you willingly worship such a being.

Does Camping have to make a third absurd and verifiably false prediction before people realize he's full of it?

He needs to take lessons from Al Gore. Gore failed divinity school, but he's got believers who stick, even when he's proven wrong.

Believe it or not, lujlp, after my head exploded at your tart retort, I copied your phrase about Jesus admonishing people to follow the old law, corrected the misspellings, and entered it into the Google search box. Turns out you're apparently correct: Jesus said that the old laws still apply, and that He was there to fulfill them. Most Christian interpretations since seem to think that some of the old law does not apply.

As far as me worshipping God, who said I worshipped Him? I was just telling you what I had read about the old law. I like the Do Unto Others part, which, IMO, pretty much wipes out the whole "killing homosexuals and stoning adulterers" part. I don't see much cause to worship Him right now. If it's true that He created me, He must have been having a bad day, since I suffer from chronic acne and OCD.

As for me, I guess I'm glad I'm a lousy Christian, at least the way you see Christians.

The above comments remind me of this - can someone please explain it?

I first found it in Sam Harris' "The End of Faith"(2005).

From "Why I am not a Christian" (1957) by Bertrand Russell: "The Spaniards in Mexico and Peru used to baptize Indian infants and then immediately dash their brains out: by this means they secured these infants went to Heaven. No orthodox Christian can find any logical reason for condemning their action, although all nowadays do so. In countless ways the doctrine of personal immortality in its Christian form has had disastrous effects upon morals.”

I mean, I don't understand the line "No orthodox Christian can find any logical reason for condemning their action, although all nowadays do so." What about "thou shalt not kill"?

There's more here -

http://www.vexen.co.uk/religion/babies.html#Killing

- but I'd appreciate others' perspectives on why there is no "logical reason" for condemnation by Orthodox Christians.

lenona, keep in mind that to the religious, words don't mean the same from one use to the next. It makes it easier to profess that some things possible in antiquity can't be done now, but the real reason is to allow "faith" to continue in the presence of impossible statements.

So, it's "logical" for OCs to avoid addressing "thou shalt not kill" because the subhumans the Spaniards were killing weren't OCs to start with. Better that they should die, like a favorite puppy, than live with the knowledge their parents were, ugh, savages.