Is Obama the Antichrist?
People have been wondering if there were any signs predicting the end of the world, maybe something like the appearance of an Antichrist. Media Matters has posted a list of online articles pointing out the possibility that Barack Obama is -- possibly, they're not saying for sure -- just that: the Antichrist.
With the Rapture upon us you might want to do some reading -- you will bang your forehead when your neighbors start ascending to heaven all of a sudden and say to yourself, "Ah! I should have known!"
Note that I am not endorsing any of these authors. I personally feel that it is still entirely possible that President Obama is not the Antichrist. He could be something much more mundane, perhaps a Kenyan Socialist Nazi Muslim terrorist sympathizer, or something like that.
With the Rapture upon us you might want to do some reading -- you will bang your forehead when your neighbors start ascending to heaven all of a sudden and say to yourself, "Ah! I should have known!"
Beck-Promoted Author Richardson: "What Obama And The Antichrist Have In Common."
Obama Is "Potentially The Next To The End Before" The "Tribulation Period Begins."
"I Could Have Sworn [Obama] Was Running For Antichrist."
I May Declare (Obama) To Be The Beast." (video)
Victoria Jackson: "Obama Bears Traits That Resemble The Anti- Christ."
Baker Referred To Obama As An Antichrist Character
"All The Insects And The Rodents Come Out For" Obama "Like They're Attracted To The Devil Or Something."
Obama "Could Pave The Way For A Future Antichrist."
"Many Have Asked: Is Obama The Anti-Christ?"
Note that I am not endorsing any of these authors. I personally feel that it is still entirely possible that President Obama is not the Antichrist. He could be something much more mundane, perhaps a Kenyan Socialist Nazi Muslim terrorist sympathizer, or something like that.
posted by JimK at 9:34 PM
38 Comments:
well, it turned 6pm on May 21 in Tonga about ten minutes ago and no earthquake reports
Still no earthquakes, you nuts!
The Inspiration For Paul Ryan's Profoundly And Explicitly Anti-Christian Budget
I went to Family Radio's website last night and couldn't connect. It's still like that this morning.
It turns May 22 in the Mid-East, where the flood happened, around 5pm EST so you can't say he was wrong until then.
Meanwhile, local churches are setting up to work with people who have been led astray by this.
Personally, I think Harold Camping is a sincere guy who got carried away. He's an engineer by training and those guys take their numbers seriously. Remember, he is 89 years old. Hopefully, the world will cut him some slack. You have to admit, he has always been very civil to those he disagreed with.
Also, I like listening to Family Radio sometimes so I hope they keep going. From what I've heard, most of the staff never agreed with the prediction.
"OAKLAND, Calif. — If Harold Camping and his followers are correct, Gertrude Stein’s famous comment about Oakland — that there is no there there — may finally be true. If not, some local churchgoers say they will set up encampments outside the headquarters of Mr. Camping, the self-proclaimed biblical soothsayer who has prophesied the end of the world on Saturday, with an eye toward consoling the disappointed.
“They are going to be reeling,” said Pastor Jacob Denys of Calvary Bible Church in nearby Milpitas, so he and about 20 volunteers planned to spend Saturday outside Mr. Camping’s compound to let “them to know that God still loves them.”
On Friday, the only concrete sign of anything out of the ordinary was in the window of Family Radio — Mr. Camping’s radio enterprise, which has helped pay for and promote the May 21 prediction — announcing that the offices were closed.
“Sorry we missed you!” the sign concluded.
Family Radio’s representatives did not return calls and e-mails seeking comment on Friday. But whether or not the shuttered offices indicate Mr. Camping’s own pre-apocalyptic plans, what is certain is that the prediction has gained a life of its own.
On Friday, there was little activity at the compound, which includes a two-story suite of offices and a large cinder-block warehouse near the Oakland airport. Between the two buildings is a parking lot surrounded by a chain-link fence, topped with razor wire, containing several vehicles the Family Radio group has used to promote the May 21 prediction.
Inside the offices, a reception desk was unstaffed and the door was locked. Several boxes filled with brochures were visible, showing slogans like “Gay Pride: Planned by God as a Sign of the End.” A calendar on the desk had a red circle around the 21st with a note reading: “Rejoice!”
During a visit on Monday, Mr. Camping told a group at the compound that after Saturday there would be no chance left for anyone else to repent and be saved once the event began. “When the Judgment Day begins, there will be no more salvation, no more possibility of becoming right with God,” he said.
A former civil engineer, Mr. Camping, 89, built a small nonprofit empire in radio, going from a single station in San Francisco to more than 200 radio stations and a pair of television stations, according to The Bay Citizen, which also reported the organization’s most recent I.R.S. financial disclosure filings, showing $34 million in investments, $56 million in assets and $29 million in mortgages.
Mr. Camping has used those resources to buy billboard space across the country and print millions of pamphlets warning of doomsday and explaining his mathematical calculation for picking May 21, 2011: a complex formula involving the biblical flood survived by Noah; a 7,000-year clock ticking from that moment; and the subtraction of a year due to a difference between Old Testament and New Testament calendars.
Mr. Camping’s math has proved to be flawed before. He also predicted the end of the world in 1994. But this time around, Mr. Camping said he was supremely confident. “We’re just a few days away,” he said Monday.
Pastor Dave Nederhood, of Christian Reformed Church in Alameda, said he had met Mr. Camping on several occasions and had followed his radio broadcasts about the apocalypse closely.
“My concern is for the people that have bought into his lie and have sold their belongings, quit their jobs, left their churches and their families and now they are sitting at home listening to Family Radio and waiting for the end,” Mr. Nederhood said. “I’m terribly concerned.”
Although the Family Radio headquarters were mostly abandoned on Friday, the company’s flagship station — KEAR, 610 AM — continued to broadcast religious music, interspersed with sermons and biblically flavored life lessons."
"OAKLAND, Calif. — If Harold Camping and his followers are correct, Gertrude Stein’s famous comment about Oakland — that there is no there there — may finally be true. If not, some local churchgoers say they will set up encampments outside the headquarters of Mr. Camping, the self-proclaimed biblical soothsayer who has prophesied the end of the world on Saturday, with an eye toward consoling the disappointed.
“They are going to be reeling,” said Pastor Jacob Denys of Calvary Bible Church in nearby Milpitas, so he and about 20 volunteers planned to spend Saturday outside Mr. Camping’s compound to let “them to know that God still loves them.”
On Friday, the only concrete sign of anything out of the ordinary was in the window of Family Radio — Mr. Camping’s radio enterprise, which has helped pay for and promote the May 21 prediction — announcing that the offices were closed.
“Sorry we missed you!” the sign concluded.
Family Radio’s representatives did not return calls and e-mails seeking comment on Friday. But whether or not the shuttered offices indicate Mr. Camping’s own pre-apocalyptic plans, what is certain is that the prediction has gained a life of its own.
On Friday, there was little activity at the compound, which includes a two-story suite of offices and a large cinder-block warehouse near the Oakland airport. Between the two buildings is a parking lot surrounded by a chain-link fence, topped with razor wire, containing several vehicles the Family Radio group has used to promote the May 21 prediction.
Inside the offices, a reception desk was unstaffed and the door was locked. Several boxes filled with brochures were visible, showing slogans like “Gay Pride: Planned by God as a Sign of the End.” A calendar on the desk had a red circle around the 21st with a note reading: “Rejoice!”
During a visit on Monday, Mr. Camping told a group at the compound that after Saturday there would be no chance left for anyone else to repent and be saved once the event began. “When the Judgment Day begins, there will be no more salvation, no more possibility of becoming right with God,” he said.
A former civil engineer, Mr. Camping, 89, built a small nonprofit empire in radio, going from a single station in San Francisco to more than 200 radio stations and a pair of television stations, according to The Bay Citizen, which also reported the organization’s most recent I.R.S. financial disclosure filings, showing $34 million in investments, $56 million in assets and $29 million in mortgages.
Mr. Camping has used those resources to buy billboard space across the country and print millions of pamphlets warning of doomsday and explaining his mathematical calculation for picking May 21, 2011: a complex formula involving the biblical flood survived by Noah; a 7,000-year clock ticking from that moment; and the subtraction of a year due to a difference between Old Testament and New Testament calendars.
Mr. Camping’s math has proved to be flawed before. He also predicted the end of the world in 1994. But this time around, Mr. Camping said he was supremely confident. “We’re just a few days away,” he said Monday.
Pastor Dave Nederhood, of Christian Reformed Church in Alameda, said he had met Mr. Camping on several occasions and had followed his radio broadcasts about the apocalypse closely.
“My concern is for the people that have bought into his lie and have sold their belongings, quit their jobs, left their churches and their families and now they are sitting at home listening to Family Radio and waiting for the end,” Mr. Nederhood said. “I’m terribly concerned.”
Although the Family Radio headquarters were mostly abandoned on Friday, the company’s flagship station — KEAR, 610 AM — continued to broadcast religious music, interspersed with sermons and biblically flavored life lessons."
people always say whoever is currently influential might be the Anti-Christ
Obama has really set himself up by turning against Israel
usually though, Anti-Christ candidates are influential single males who might be gay because there are verses that seem to say the Anti-Christ hates women
think Hitler, Henry Kissinger in the early 70s or the Pope
Jim -- Go Google "Bush as the antichrist" and "Clinton as the antichrist" and "Reagan as the antichrist" and you'll find pages and pages of articles on each one.
Camping teaches that all churches have become apostate and thus must be abandoned. He encourages personal Bible study and listening to his Family Radio broadcasts.
What happens when May 21 ends and nothing occurs? Camping doesn't acknowledge this possibility:
"The Biblical evidence is too overwhelming and specific to be wrong. Christ's people can look with great confidence to this date because God promises His "beloved" He will not come upon them as a thief in the night. God in His mercy has revealed the vital information needed to know the day. Judgment Day on May 21, 2011 will occur because the bible declares it. Anyone whom God has not saved will arrive at that day with no hope for salvation. God warns simply the "door will be shut.""
And then there's the letter Camping wrote bidding his employees farewell and telling them to "steadfastly continue to stand with us to proclaim the Gospel through Family Radio." Whatever happens, it sounds like Camping is on his way out.
So what will happen to Camping on May 21?
We wouldn't be surprised if Camping disappears, but leaves the money behind. Family Radio will carry on after demonstrating some Biblical loophole or, better yet, claiming a victory that the rest of you are too blind to see -- say, "The Beginning Of The End Of Times has officially started" or perhaps "The Antichrist has been born today and will destroy the world in a few years."
"Family Radio will carry on after demonstrating some Biblical loophole or, better yet, claiming a victory that the rest of you are too blind to see"
look another false prophet
funny that you criticize someone for making a prediction by making a prediction of your own
you have no idea what they will do
hopefully, they'll just truthfully say Camping misinterpretted scripture
Camping and his believers are fools!
actually, they're not as follish as those who believe there is no God
"SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - With no sign his forecast of Judgment Day arriving on Saturday has come true, the 89-year-old California evangelical broadcaster and former civil engineer behind the pronouncement seemed to have gone silent.
Family Radio, the Christian stations network headed by Harold Camping which had spread his message of an approaching doomsday, was on Saturday playing recorded church music and devotional messages unrelated to the apocalypse.
Camping previously made a failed prediction Jesus Christ would return to Earth in 1994.
In his latest pronouncement, he had said doomsday would begin in Asia, but with midnight local time come and gone in Tokyo and Beijing and those cities already in the early hours of May 22, there was no sign of the apocalypse.
The Oakland, California, headquarters of the network of 66 U.S. stations, which has international affiliates and had posted billboards around the country warning of a May 21 Judgment Day, were shuttered with a sign in the door that read "This Office is Closed. Sorry we missed you!"
The headquarters, which appears to be normally closed on Saturday, was also shuttered on Friday.
Camping, whose deep sonorous voice is frequently heard on his radio network expounding the Bible, could not be reached immediately for comment on Saturday.
On Friday, the shades were drawn and no one answered the door at his house in Alameda, California.
In New York, at least one of Camping's followers continued to hold out hope that Judgment Day would come.
Retired Metropolitan Transportation Authority worker Robert Fitzpatrick, 60, said he spent more than $140,000 of his savings on subway posters and bus shelter advertisements warning of the May 21 Judgment Day.
"God's people are commanded to sound the warning, to sound the trumpet so to speak so people know," Fitzpatrick said of his advertising blitz.
Fitzpatrick said Camping led him to believe Judgment Day would be May 21, but added that he disagreed with the broadcaster's prediction it would begin in Asia.
In Fitzpatrick's view, from his reading of the Bible, Judgment Day would begin around 6 p.m. Eastern Time. He said on Saturday that he still had no doubts Judgment Day would come this day.
"I wouldn't even entertain that question because there's too much proof from the Bible," he said."
intersting that you weren't posting that yesterday
intersting that you weren't posting that yesterday
Sue Espinoza was planted before the television, awaiting news of her father's now infamous prediction: cataclysmic earthquakes auguring the end of humanity.
God's wrath was supposed to begin in New Zealand and then race across the globe, leaving millions of bodies wherever the clock struck 6 p.m. But the hours ticked by, and New Zealand survived. Time zone by time zone, the apocalypse failed to materialize.
On Saturday morning, Espinoza, 60, received a phone call from her father, Harold Camping, the 89-year-old Oakland preacher who has spent some $100 million — and countless hours on his radio and TV show — announcing May 21 as Judgment Day. "He just said, 'I'm a little bewildered that it didn't happen, but it's still May 21 [in the United States],'" Espinoza said, standing in the doorway of her Alameda home. "It's going to be May 21 from now until midnight."
But to others who put stock in Camping's prophecy, disillusionment was already profound by late morning. To them, it was clear the world and its woes would make it through the weekend.
Keith Bauer, a 38-year-old tractor-trailer driver from Westminster, Md., took last week off from work, packed his wife, young son and a relative in their SUV and crossed the country.
If it was his last week on Earth, he wanted to see parts of it he'd always heard about but missed, such as the Grand Canyon and the Painted Forest. With maxed-out credit cards and a growing mountain of bills, he said, the rapture would have been a relief.
On Saturday morning, Bauer was parked in front of the Oakland headquarters of Camping's Family Radio empire, half expecting to see an angry mob of disenchanted believers howling for the preacher's head. The office was closed, and the street was mostly deserted save for journalists.
Bauer said he was not bitter. "Worst-case scenario for me, I got to see the country," he said. "If I should be angry at anybody, it should be me."
Tom Evans, who acted as Camping's PR aide in recent months, took his family to Ohio to await the rapture. Early next week, he said, he would be returning to California.
"You can imagine we're pretty disappointed, but the word of God is still true," he said. "We obviously went too far, and that's something we need to learn from."
Despite the failure of Camping's prediction, however, he said he might continue working for him.
"As bad as it appears—and there's no getting around it, it is bad, flat-out—I have not found anything close to the faithfulness of Family Radio," he said.
Others had risked a lot more on Camping's prediction, quitting jobs, abandoning relationships, volunteering months of their time to spread the word. Matt Tuter, the longtime producer of Camping's radio and television call-in show, said Saturday that he expected there to be "a lot of angry people" as reality proved Camping wrong.
Tuter said Family Radio's AM station in Sacramento had been "severely vandalized" Friday night or Saturday morning, with air conditioning units yanked out and $25,000 worth of copper stripped from the equipment. He thinks it must have been an angry listener. He was off Saturday but planned to drive past the headquarters "and make sure nothing's burning."
Camping himself, who has given innumerable interviews in recent months, was staying out of sight Saturday. No one answered the door at his Alameda home, though neighbors said he was there.
By late afternoon, a small crowd had gathered in front of Camping's Oakland headquarters. There were atheists blowing up balloons in human form, which were released into the sky just after 6 p.m. in a mockery of the rapture. Someone played a CD of "The End" by the Doors, amid much laughter.
There were also Christians, like James Bynum, a 45-year-old deacon at Calvary Baptist Church in Milpitas, holding signs that declared Harold Camping a false prophet. He said he was there to comfort disillusioned believers.
"Harold Camping will never hand out poisoned Kool-Aid," Bynum said. "It's not that kind of a cult. But he has set up a system that will destroy some people's lives."
Tom Evans, Family Radio Board member, and his colleagues with the California-based network seem to be clinging to shreds of hope that their Judgment Day prophecy will materialize, even though their proclaimed 6 p.m. local time deadline has come and gone for New Zealand, Australia and other nations in that region of the globe — with no earthquakes, no raptures reported.
“We’re waiting patiently for the day to be completed and see what happens,” he said from his home in California.
But Evans added that once we reach midnight local time in the holy city of Jerusalem — about four hours away as I type this, unless like Family Radio I’ve miscalculated — he will be ready to concede that today’s rapture is a bust.
“If it’s not going to happen then, it’s obviously not going to happen today,” Evans said, “and we were wrong.”
Evans clarified that his “hope in the word of God has not changed at all.” He did remain with Family Radio in the wake of company president Harold Camping‘s failed 1994 rapture prediction. But Evans wasn’t prepared to elaborate on whether he would continue to work for Camping after a second failed prophecy. He did say that Family Radio’s board will have to sit down for a serious meeting with Camping if today passes without rapture.
“If nothing happens at 6 p.m. or before the end of this day, then we’ll certainly have to sit down and discuss where to go from here,” Evans said.
Well, May 21st is nearly over.
A flood of biblical proportions is slowly gouging its way down the US midsection, and more rain is on the way. A giant earthquake and tsunami wiped part of Japan off the map last month, and steaming nuclear reactors are barely being kept from going critical. It may only be a matter of time before they render many square kilometers of Japan uninhabitable.
Last year, some of the worst floods ever seen hit Pakistan, and fires raged unchecked through Russia.
Heterosexual moms have started microwaving their babies:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/2647805/Mother-convicted-of-killing-baby-by-microwave.html
The anti-Christ is in control of the Whitehouse.
Christians always said that a time of tribulation would mark the days before the end of the earth, and here it is.
But before that happened all of the truly righteous ones would be saved.
Did anyone notice any of the Christians missing?
I haven’t.
But did you really expect to, given their history?
We’re all in this together, kid.
Have a nice day,
Cynthia
"We’re all in this together, kid."
yes, we are
and God is the God of everyone
Harold Camping was an very old man who always had a preoccupation with the symbolism of numbers in scripture and, in this late season of life, got carried away and happened to be in a position to get a lot of publicity
and he did lead some people astray
but still, he's not a bad guy
and the larger evangelical Christian community, that never really put any creedence in Camping's prediction, is already moving to minister to these sincere believers, of small number, who have taken some foolish actions pursuant to his claims
btw, some Christians have been calling Camping a false prophet but he doesn't qualify
he never claimed any direct revelation from God but only said he had gained special insight into scripture from studying it
he was just wrong
back to that thing about how we're all in this together kiddo
one fun thing has been to see secular figures start reading the Bible and learning what it says about the end times
they did it to prove Camping wrong but actually began to study and argue based on scripture
if scripture can start to be the basis of everyone's conversations, Camping will have made a contribution
here a verse to wrap this all up:
Romans 8:28
And we know that for those who love God, all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.
CHICAGO (Reuters) - Some prominent Jewish Americans are rethinking their support for President Barack Obama's 2012 re-election bid after he effectively called on Israel to give back territory it has occupied since 1967 to Palestinians.
The backlash after Obama's keynote speech on the Middle East has Democratic Party operatives scrambling to mollify the Jewish community as the president prepares to seek a second term in the White House.
Obama on Thursday called for any new Palestinian state to respect the borders as they were in 1967, prompting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to tell him bluntly that his vision of how to achieve Middle East peace was unrealistic.
``He has in effect sought to reduce Israel's negotiation power and I condemn him for that,'' former New York Mayor Ed Koch told Reuters.
Koch said he might not campaign or vote for Obama if Republicans nominate a pro-Israel candidate who offers an alternative to recent austere budgetary measures backed by Republicans in Congress.
Koch donated $2,300 to Obama's campaign in 2008, according to filings with the Federal Election Commission.
``I believed that then-Senator Obama would be as good as John McCain based on his statements at the time and based on his support of Israel. It turns out I was wrong,'' he said.
Anon noted:
“and he did lead some people astray
but still, he's not a bad guy”
And he made MILLIONS of dollars doing it. Some people lost their life savings believing the crap this guy was selling. But he shouldn’t be singled out for retribution. Religious leaders have been using the Bible to control people and extract money from them for centuries. The Bible is an extremely effective tool for that, ingenious, really. What better way to keep people in line than an angry, vengeful, all powerful, omnipotent, yet still anthropomorphic God deciding your fate based on behaviors given to you by special persons “guiding” you on the right path, with your “donations” to help pave the way.
Great scheme. L. Ron Hubbard, unsatisfied with the money he was making with science fiction got a piece of that action too, and started Scientology. Makes me wonder if I’m charismatic enough to give up the engineering job and make some real money writing fiction for a church.
“he never claimed any direct revelation from God but only said he had gained special insight into scripture from studying it
he was just wrong”
It’s typically only a small percentage of folks who claim they have a direct revelation from God. They typically go on to form their own religion, like David Koresh and Joseph Smith. Lots of people claim they have insights to scripture from studying it. It would be more convincing if they didn’t come up with so many different and contradictory interpretations, and if their “revelations” didn’t conform to what the already were planning on doing anyway.
Perhaps Camping’s biggest failure was not reading the news, and finding out the Jesus is already here, and he’s in Siberia:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2002/may/24/russia.iantraynor
That may have changed his attitude a bit. At least he should have TALKED to the guy to see what his plans were anyway.
Yet people who call themselves “Christians” still have the nerve to call me and my kind “delusional,” in print, on the web, and in testimony before local governments.
“one fun thing has been to see secular figures start reading the Bible and learning what it says about the end times”
Actually, it’s even more fun to watch Jack Van Impe and his wife Rexella talk about the end times:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ba7jGqRTKQU
They can go on like that for HOURS. I’m sure they’ve made a few bucks in their day for that too.
“if scripture can start to be the basis of everyone's conversations, Camping will have made a contribution”
He’d make an even bigger contribution if he sold off all his assets and gave them to the people who followed his hair-brained ideas. I’m not holding my breath though. Jesus’ contemporaries thought they’d see his second coming within their lifetime. Decades later, when it was obvious it didn’t happen, they had to re-think, “re-interpret” and re-write their thoughts on the matter. Now they don’t know when it will happen. They just know that it will. Jesus, my horoscope this week was more informative than that. Come to think of it that’s probably why Nancy Reagan kept an astrologist at hand – you really need someone that will come up with some more concrete and timely suggestions.
“they did it to prove Camping wrong but actually began to study and argue based on scripture”
Some of my classmates in engineering school were devoutly religious. Guys from different sects could argue for days on end about their interpretation of scripture. Few of them ever budged from their initial positions though.
How many angels can dance on the head of a pin?
You and argue ad infinitum when all you have to go on are stories and allegories. It is the lack of actual facts that will allow these arguments to go on forever.
It’s a shame Camping wasn’t better grounded in the real world. He was an influential guy and a lot of people could have used his help, if it had been based in reality.
These are difficult times, and it’s humans here on earth that are going to have to work through all this mess.
We’re all in it together kid:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RqtUI4XfhMM
“Sam, what ARE we going to do with you?”
It’s only a state of mind.
Have a nice day,
Cynthia
"And he made MILLIONS of dollars doing it."
here's a link to a picture of Camping's house yesterday at 6:01pm:
http://sfist.com/2011/05/21/harold_campings_house_in_alameda_at.php
at 89 years old, he must have been spending all that money on drugs because he obviously wasn't sinking it into his house
also, he didn't take a salary at Family Radio
you can't say that about the people who make a living pushing the GAY AGENDA
or how about the MILLIONS Al Gore makes pushing alarmist misinformation about global warming, which he says will soon end the world as we know it
or any of the other leaders of non-profit advocacy groups
the Family Radio radio stations don't sell commercials and are completely listener supported
their programming is filled with all kinds of other topics than this
indeed, this topic never came up that much except on Camping's daily call-in show in response to questions from callers
his show is daily from 8:30-10
the money was used for the station and their main assets were FCC licenses
"Some people lost their life savings believing the crap this guy was selling."
these people, who did some stupid things, were not encouraged to do so by Camping, who advocated that people continue their regular activity until the end
"What better way to keep people in line than an angry, vengeful, all powerful, omnipotent, yet still anthropomorphic God deciding your fate based on behaviors given to you by special persons “guiding” you on the right path, with your “donations” to help pave the way."
you could try telling them that the world as we know it will end unless we give half of all our money to the government
oh, that's right
Barack Obama is already doing that
except he's shooting for more than half
and he's taking a higher salary than Camping
"Great scheme. L. Ron Hubbard, unsatisfied with the money he was making with science fiction got a piece of that action too, and started Scientology."
except Camping didn't do that
"Makes me wonder if I’m charismatic enough to give up the engineering job and make some real money writing fiction for a church."
to ally any regrets, you're not
the "have a nice day" thing is pretty lame
"It’s typically only a small percentage of folks who claim they have a direct revelation from God."
and Camping wasn't one of them
"Lots of people claim they have insights to scripture from studying it."
so do people who study anything
so what?
"It would be more convincing if they didn’t come up with so many different and contradictory interpretations,"
you could say the same about any topic
are you against discussion and debate?
have you ever read about string theory and quantum physics?
"and if their “revelations” didn’t conform to what the already were planning on doing anyway."
now, you're going after Al Gore again
"Some of my classmates in engineering school were devoutly religious. Guys from different sects could argue for days on end about their interpretation of scripture. Few of them ever budged from their initial positions though."
sounds like liberals
"You and argue ad infinitum when all you have to go on are stories and allegories. It is the lack of actual facts that will allow these arguments to go on forever."
and that's a bad thing because..?
"It’s a shame Camping wasn’t better grounded in the real world. He was an influential guy and a lot of people could have used his help, if it had been based in reality."
oh, I think, on balance, his organization has been a positive force and probably will move and continue to do so
"These are difficult times, and it’s humans here on earth that are going to have to work through all this mess."
Family Radio are involved in doing this in very practical ways. You should listen to it sometime.
Then, your opinions might have some basis in the real world.
Jim, I posted some facts to counter cinco's scurrilous claims about the "millions" that Harold Camping has made but it didn't show up
I don't want to post them again and clutter things up
“Jim, I posted some facts to counter cinco's scurrilous claims about the "millions" that Harold Camping has made but it didn't show up”
Apparently you didn’t see the news from the Christian Post:
( http://www.christianpost.com/news/harold-campings-doomsday-prediction-a-scam-50374/ ):
“Each site, which claimed no affiliation to each other, advertised May 21 as Judgment Day, yet most continued to ask for donations.
Just recently, EBible Fellowship posted a message that it was "no longer accepting donations due to the shortness of time until May 21, 2011."
But it went on to state, "If you still wish to make a donation, please make it to Family Radio" and provided the ministry's Oakland, Calif., address along with a link to a "secure donation form."
Currently, the Family Radio website is down.
According to MinistryWatch.com, which grades Christians organizations on financial transparency, Family Stations, Inc. (dba Family Radio), which Camping founded, has a transparency grade of "C."
The organization relies mainly on contributions, MinistryWatch.com reports.
Its total assets as of 2007 – which was the most recent year MinistryWatch.com had financial statements for – was $152 million. Contributions in 2007 totaled nearly $16 million. In the period between 2003 and 2006, the organization received around $13 million to $15 million in contributions each of those years.
IRS filings indicate that in 2009, contributions totaled around $18 million. Total assets were also recorded for that year as $72 million.
Though Camping does not receive a salary or other financial compensation, according to Family Radio, he and his ministry have been accused of running a scam.
And with high interest surrounding the end times, Pastor Juan Sanchez, preaching pastor at High Pointe Baptist Church in Austin, Texas, acknowledges there is a market.
"Whether it’s 'The Left Behind' novels or 'The Left Behind' movies, there has always been a market," Sanchez said.”
Have a FABULOUS day.
Cynthia
OAKLAND, Calif. — Whew.
With the clock running out on a much-hyped — and much-ridiculed — apocalyptic prediction, it appeared on Saturday that humankind had survived, with few if any signs of the end of the world. (Except, of course, another year without a Triple Crown winner in horse racing.)
The prophecy, made by Harold Camping, an 89-year-old Christian radio entrepreneur, had gained traction in the popular imagination in large part as a result of a multimillion-dollar advertising campaign, paid for and promoted by Family Radio, Mr. Camping’s nonprofit network of more than 200 religious radio stations.
The blitz also included thousands of billboards and millions of pamphlets announcing — in no uncertain terms — that May 21, 2011, would be Judgment Day. (“Have you heard the awesome news?” read one ad. “The End of the World is Almost Here!”)
But as of late Saturday, planet Earth seemed to continue to spin in the cosmos, even as the jokes seemed certain to continue to percolate through sports radio, comedy clubs and David Letterman’s Top 10 list (“Top 10 Things I, Dave, Need to Do Before the End of the World: No. 4. Tell Oprah that I love her”) .
Those jabs came as several church leaders in the Bay Area offered outreach to disappointed believers. Dave Nederhood, a pastor at Christian Reformed Church in Alameda, said he was particularly concerned about those who may have given away possessions or left jobs in the days leading up to Saturday.
“This guy is not an evangelical, he’s not a minister,” Mr. Nederhood said of Mr. Camping. “He is self-deluded.”
Mr. Camping said that he had calculated the exact day of the end of the world using a mathematical method involving various dates — and prophecies — derived from his reading of Scripture.
Calls and e-mails to Family Radio were not returned on Saturday. But at the group’s offices near the Oakland airport, a crowd gathered at 6 p.m. — the time Mr. Camping had predicted the end of the world would begin on the West Coast — mostly to party and poke fun.
Ed Holmes, who goes by Bishop Joey in the satirical group First Church of the Last Laugh, led several countdowns to Armageddon as revelers drank beer, danced and released helium balloons with blowup dolls attached.
“There’s a lot of gullible people in the world,” said Mr. Holmes, 65, adding that the Bible was a “Bronze Age fable” being exploited by Mr. Camping. “This guy needs to be exposed.”
Some struck a more serious tone, including a group from the Calvary Bible Church in nearby Milpitas, which planned a 10 a.m. service Sunday to comfort believers of Mr. Camping’s preaching.
“We are here because we care about these people,” said James Bynum, a church deacon. “It’s easy to mock them. But you can go kick puppies, too. But why?”
Still, some true believers had not given up hope. Gary Daniels, 27, of Newark, Del., who quit his job because of the prediction, said Saturday afternoon that he was convinced the end was nigh.
“We’re still watching and waiting for Christ’s return,” Mr. Daniels said, adding, “It’s a beautiful night for a rapture.” He said that while there had been a few dramatic geological hiccups this weekend — an earthquake in New Zealand, a volcano in Iceland — it was nothing compared with what the end would be like.
“A volcano is a volcano!” Mr. Daniels said. “This is the end of the world — that’s not even an hors d’oeuvre!”
Where were you on the day the world didn't end?
Did you, like many thousands of others, turn to a social network and confess to the world something you had kept hidden? Did you laugh it off and make jokes about not having to go to work Monday? Did you pick your favorite end-times pop song and blast it on the car stereo?
Did you maybe scoff a little while wondering — just a teensy bit, in a tiny place in the very back of your head — what you might do if Saturday were indeed your final day on the planet?
Or maybe it was all of the above. Regardless, as multiple media outlets put it Sunday — in precisely the same wording — "We're still here."
The curious buildup happened like this: An American minister captivated believers and aroused skeptics by using math and the Bible to predict that Saturday, May 21, 2011, would begin the rolling global destruction of Judgment Day. The day ended with no discernible apocalyptic events, but the prediction produced an unusual cultural moment: a brief window where the odd and the humorous, the faithful and the commercial and the cosmic all blended into ... well, something.
Clearly something about the prediction from Family Radio International touched a nerve. And unsurprisingly so: In uncertain times — and these are most certainly those — it's hard to avoid wondering just how bad things might get.
Less than five months old, 2011 has already brought us a cataclysmic earthquake, tsunami and nuclear crisis in Japan, another tremor in New Zealand, major tornadoes in the American heartland and, on Saturday, a volcano eruption in Iceland. Manmade events, from the uprisings in the Mideast to the killing of Osama bin Laden to the ongoing struggle of the global economy, also contribute to the sense that things are moving at a dizzying pace. And a tiny earthquake near Family Radio's California headquarters Saturday night probably didn't help perceptions much.
Lots of fodder for conversation. So when the hour of Harold Camping's prediction was approaching, people — a lot of people — had something to say.
Bloggers blogged and blogged again. Newspapers editorialized about it — and some took Camping's money and ran his advertisements, which also appeared on billboards in many countries. Cable news anchors spent big chunks of Saturday chatting about it — about not just the believers, but about we, the people, and how we might behave if the end was (to employ a word rarely used elsewhere) nigh.
"For every generation, there's been somebody who's saying, `Oh, the end of the world is going to be, say, April 11, 1985.' So when that happens every generation, it's kind of hard to take seriously," said Jory Burson, 27, a multimedia producer in Stillwater, Okla.
But, she added: "I do think that people stop and consider all the tragic events that have happened recently — the earthquakes in Haiti and Japan, things like that — and, I'm speaking of my Christian friends here, that they might think maybe there's an element of truth here. But I think it makes people stop and reflect on tragedies and think about how we're treating the world and how the world's treating us."
As with so many curious cultural blips, from the balloon boy to the angry flight attendant, it's easy to say that attention to this was created and fed by the media. But that doesn't account for the social networks — for the millions on Twitter who made topics like "(hash)rapture" and "(hash)judgmentday" trend throughout the day. And for the ones who answered the call to confess secrets and assemble Judgment Day playlists (it was a good day for Blondie's "Rapture" and R.E.M.'s "It's the End of the World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)"; no word Sunday on Journey's "Don't Stop Believin'" ).
The whole affair, unastonishingly, proved friendly to sundry marketing opportunities — even beyond the T-shirt trade. One major electronics manufacturer urged customers to use its cameras to chronicle the end times. The Daily News in New York dedicated its entire tabloid front page Saturday to this headline: "BUY THIS PAPER! ... if it's the last thing you do."
Yet behind the wink-nudge flavor of it all, some of the talk and even a bit of the humor felt tinged with tentativeness: Sure, it wasn't going to happen. But — lower your voice a bit — are we all absolutely certain? That's always the question with faith in uncertain times, and people from more than one religion — and even a few atheists — admitted to being a bit introspective about the world on this particular weekend.
That was true for Maddie Calhoon, a Unitarian Universalist from St. Paul, Minn., who was at a gathering Saturday night that guests renamed a "rapture party."
"We said, `We're just glad we're all together.' And it was a joke," said Calhoon, 24. "But of course it made me think about things, and about how I don't reflect often about what I'd do if my time was coming to an end."
In the aftermath, as Camping's followers expressed disappointment and bewilderment, some of the people watching from afar worried about their fate — and about how other, more mainstream groups of faithful might process the doomsday that wasn't. After all, such predictions are hardly new; specific predictions about Christ's return at a certain time have been made almost since Christianity began. One Facebook group called "I'm not bragging, but this is the 5th end of the world I've survived" had drawn almost 45,000 followers by Sunday afternoon.
"Many individuals, past and present, have made false and misleading claims about the end times," said a commentary on the website of the United Church of God, a U.S-based Christian denomination. "While such people feel like they are doing the work of God, in reality they are producing skepticism and a lack of faith when their prophecies fail."
By midday Sunday, most of the Judgment Day-related hashtags had slipped from Twitter's trends list. Two, however, were still going strong, nestled in among Iceland, Lady Gaga and Mitch Daniels.
One was "Harold Camping." The other, slightly higher, was "God."
Rapture Countdown
the Family Radio website is back up, for those interested
they probably had to take it down and take off the end-times prophecy stuff
there's a lot else going on there:
"Harold Camping resurfaced at his home and said the weekend was “tough” after his prediction of global rapture failed to materialize on Saturday.
Related
“I’m looking for answers,” he said, admitting that he was “flabbergasted.”
The Family Radio president had proclaimed that May 21 (at 6 p.m. in each time zone) would be the start of Judgment day and the rapture.
He said he had nothing else to say and that he would be back to work on Monday, when he will have more to say about the failed end of the world prediction."
Harold Camping on Monday is expected to deliver his first public statement on his failed Judgment Day prediction.
Asked why Camping has been silent until now, the Christian radio broadcaster told IBTimes that he needed time to "think and recover" after the rapture didn't happen.
According to the international paper, Camping will "explain everything" in Monday's public forum.
The exact time of the public forum was not announced.
Camping's comments to IBTimes revealed much more information than San Francisco Chronicle, the only other media outlet that has been able to reach the Family Radio president post-May 21.
Anon stated:
“here's a link to a picture of Camping's house yesterday at 6:01pm:
http://sfist.com/2011/05/21/harold_campings_house_in_alameda_at.php
at 89 years old, he must have been spending all that money on drugs because he obviously wasn't sinking it into his house”
And here’s a picture of Warren Buffet’s house:
http://infozblog.com/interesting-facts-about-warren-buffet/
Not that much bigger. This shows that part of Camping’s business acumen derives from what many wealthy people know: be pragmatic in all your purchases and live below your means. Spending money unwisely is a good way to fritter away millions. At least the business part of Camping’s mind is still intact.
“also, he didn't take a salary at Family Radio”
Theresa can fill you in on all the tax advantages of this. Being head of a multi-million dollar (tax free) corporation and not getting a salary is an ingenious way of avoiding taxes – right up there with GE, just on a smaller scale. I wouldn’t be surprised if he actually got subsidies from the government because his “income” is so low. This camping guy is a tax GENIUS. You may want to take some notes, Theresa.
“you can't say that about the people who make a living pushing the GAY AGENDA
or how about the MILLIONS Al Gore makes pushing alarmist misinformation about global warming, which he says will soon end the world as we know it”
It’s interesting how you put Camping’s campaign in the same category as the GAY AGENDA and Al Gore.
Gay people don’t claim they have the key to people’s salvation, and suggest they give them money for it.
Global warming has been a concern among world scientist for decades. I recall seeing science shows about it in the seventies. It’s not anything new, and the predictions they made then are coming to pass.
The problem conservatives have is that they somehow believe Democrats, the same people who couldn’t get a government option health plan for the US passed even when they controlled both houses of congress and Whitehouse, somehow have the political expertise and organization to convince 90% of the world’s scientist to play up a “global warming” scare.
“you could try telling them that the world as we know it will end unless we give half of all our money to the government
oh, that's right
Barack Obama is already doing that”
Actually, that started under the Bush administration, when our private national banks were socialized and Bush signed into law 700 billion dollars of bail out money from US tax payers to pay off the losses of giant, private, multi-national corporations.
“to ally (sic) any regrets, you're not”
Indeed. As a group, engineers aren’t known for their charisma. I should probably just stick to writing, perhaps under a pseudonym, like “Christian Thomas;” I’m sure that would help book sales.
“the "have a nice day" thing is pretty lame”
Thanks for the feedback. I’ll be sure not to use that in my books.
In an earlier post I noted: "Lots of people claim they have insights to scripture from studying it."
Anon retorted:
“so do people who study anything so what?”
Well, this was in response to an earlier Anon post:
“he never claimed any direct revelation from God but only said he had gained special insight into scripture from studying it”
If you don’t see the point in that, than neither do I.
“Family Radio are involved in doing this in very practical ways. You should listen to it sometime.
Then, your opinions might have some basis in the real world.”
And:
“the Family Radio website is back up, for those interested”
Listening to Family Radio would be useful as a case study in how not to become a two-time, world renowned, apocalyptic fool. However, since I have no inclinations to be that anyway, I think I prefer to waste my time watching YouTube videos of Scottish Fold kittens – they are so CUTE and ADORABLE!!!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m6QWsMYHIEc
Meow!
Cynthia
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