:)
On the day the world did not end, I didn't feel the ground shake, didn't hear of anyone claiming to see Jesus up in the sky or walking the Earth - didn't hear of World War Three starting when I listened to my radio. Actually, I heard sirens yesterday evening but that was when I walked to the store to get some cat food for my trusty rescue cat companion. The sirens ended up being fire trucks responding to a fire alert that likely turned out okay as I heard no report of an out of control fire in my region on the radio throughout the evening when I got home from the store. Fire response teams are on particularly heightened alert state and round-the-clocks schedules in my area as there is a province-wide fire ban in my region.
What were YOU doing The Day The World Did Not End?
Harold E. Camping from the USA was the driving force behind some of the "End Of Times" hysteria and phenomena we recently witnessed in/from North America. Although Biblical text is available which says we cannot know the end times or the time of Christ's return, Mr. Camping felt he had calculated a time of Christ's return - AGAIN in 2011. He has done this before in 1988 and 1994...
“But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only. For as were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, and they were unaware until the flood came and swept them all away, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. Then two men will be in the field; one will be taken and one left. Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken and one left. Therefore, stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. But know this, that if the master of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into. Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect. -- Matthew 24: 36-44.
Unfortunately, for some believers in Camping's calculations and message, there were some heavy losses as some people sold their belongings - expecting not to need material wealth and items after May 21 2011...
What is more disturbing than all of this is a general public's brand of ridicule-inducing criticism of all this End Times stuff... Perhaps it's just me - and the fact that I just observed turning one more year older (I'm in my forties) so I may need more calm and less confusion (including energy-sapping DRAMA) in my life - but what on earth DOES criticism do, anyway, if it is not thought out well first?
I have criticisms of Camping's theories - but I do not share a general public's viewpoint that Camping is a madman, an idiot, or any of the negative descriptors used for Camping's character that I have heard as of late. I would love to sit and discuss the topic of End Times with Camping (though I have heard he has taken ill). I would criticize theory, not the man.
Camping was born in 1921 and is an elderly individual... c'mon General Public - speak TO or ABOUT the man WITH your critical thinking skills engaged rather than your reaction mode on full power...
"Camping is wrong because he is an idiot" and "Camping is wrong because he is a whacko" are not reasonable statements that anyone can follow up on... try something like "Camping's literalist interpretation of Scriptures and understanding of Numerology combined led him to believe the world would end/Jesus would return May 21, 2011 - which was an event that did not come to pass." From the latter, we can discuss what went wrong for Camping, where theory, calculations, etc., veer to the side and do not serve us, Camping, followers, a general public, etc.
On the day after Camping (and others) believed the world would end, I was listening to talk radio, various stations, about this End Times phenomena... and heard some distraught followers of Camping say they did not know what to do as of May 22 2011...
For these people, part of their world DID END...
This is tragic.
How are your Oahspe readings going?
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