Concerning radio evangelist Harold Camping’s apocalypse prediction fiasco, the Christian Post this afternoon reports on a specimen of the human wreckage. Here’s what the past year has been like for the Martinez family (after Adrienne and Joel came under the spell of the May 21, 2011 rapture meme):
Listener Adrienne Martinez, 27, and her husband, Joel, had quit their jobs in New York City and moved to Orlando about a year ago after hearing and believing Camping’s May 21 prediction. Martinez had planned to attend medical school but decided not to because she believed that the world would soon end. The couple, who has a two-year-old daughter and a second child due next month, said they spent the past year distributing tracts and reading the Bible.
“We budgeted everything so that, on May 21, we won’t have anything left,” Adrienne told NPR.
Tuter thinks it is unlikely that the ministry will reimburse donors and those who participated in the nationwide Judgment Day ad campaign.
Expect similar tragic stupidities to result from next year’s 2012 doomsday date.
Prometheus Unbound 
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It is hard to feel sorry for people who chose to embrace the idiotic.
I feel sorry for these people who are so misled! God must be looking down and shaking his head. Nobody knows the day or hour…..
Maybe there is no day or hour.
—Santi
On one level I feel sorry for this people (I suppose), but, on the other hand it’s absolutely inexplicable to me that anyone could hear a fellow “mortal” espouse this nonsense and buy such a story hook, line, and sinker. The Bible’s been around, in various forms, for 2000 years but – oddly – this retired Civil Engineer is the only one to glean this particular information. It’s transparently crazy -and, contrary some of the fundamental tenants of the Christian Bible. This simply reaffirms my belief that there are an extraordinary number of totally kooky people running around planet, utterly hopeless, and willing to believe virtually anything. Religious fanaticism is frightening, whenever it rears it’s ugly head.
And another thing…!
I am so tired of hearing Christian folks (and people of other faiths, as well) use the word “truth”, in a variety of contexts, to imply a real “knowing” – knowing, in an earthly, un-supernatural sense. By throwing around phrases like “Biblical truths” followers consistently – and somewhat surreptitiously – endeavor to paint their “belief system” as incontrovertible fact. In reality, it is a belief in the supernatural and….well, it’s a belief system. A religious belief system is completely antithetical to a “fact”, or, a “truth”. By definition, honest people could agree that (1) such beliefs systems could prove to be true, but, (2) until they are proven to be true it is misleading to present them as facts – or truths. And to denigrate others for believing differently is idiotic, and, often dangerous.
Guy, are you a religeous person? What do you believe in?
Harold Camping’s predictions and “prophecies” prove once again, why it’s so important to let the Bible have the last word. Many are so surprised as to why conservative Christians insist on the authority of the Bible. Well, this is why. To avoid following theologians like Camping. Any theologian who comes up with predictions that contradict what’s in the Bible, thinks he’s smarter than Christ.
I think it’s safe to say that what Jesus Christ said should be enough, regarding his return. He said that no one knows the day or the hour, except God the Father. It’s in the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 24.
Camping bases his stupid predictions on a chronology invented by him. He dates things according to his own calendar. He says Abraham was circumcised and became a monotheistic believer in 2068 BC. 🙂 How does he know that, since the chronology of the Bible doesn’t lead to that conclusion?
The vast majority of conservative Bible believers don’t follow his predictions and chronology. But Camping is being used by the Devil to destroy the credibility of Bible believers, in a world where many people were innoculated to think it’s stupid to take the Bible seriously.
This is so well said!!! No further explanation needed! People like Camping really do give a bad name to other christians…….. I find that very dissapointing, because there are alot of us christians that are nothing like him.
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