I'm reporting to you from what is supposed to be the site of the rapture, judgment day, the day jesus came to town. There isn't much happening....in fact it seems pretty much business as usual. This reporter is of the opinion that things will stay just as they are. I'm not saying everything is gumdrops and rainbows. There are still innocent children suffering from disease and abuse. The guy who volunteered at the homeless shelter, and always had a wave and a smile as he passed by had a heart attack. The drug addict who broke into your house last week, sold your shit and used the money to get loaded, the same guy who beats his wife every Friday night....he is still walking around. Babies are being born, and a wife is being told her husband didn't make it through surgery because of complications. A group of high school kids are drinking their parents vodka and smoking a joint down at the park. A local cop has pulled over a pick-up truck because it was driving in more than one lane at a time. And you can hear the lady who lives next door moaning as her current love interest tries to stay interesting.
Business as usual...this is bad news for a certain group of religious believers.
Poor Harold Camping didn't quite get the math right, not his fault really, no one could have arrived at the correct answer given the circumstances. I feel kinda bad for Harold. It's not that I wanted him to be correct about judgment day happening today but I really wish someone could or would have done something to keep him from making a fool of himself.
I know some of you are thinking that Harold is just a con man and I will admit I had some suspicions myself. But then I thought about the hour I spent talking and listening to Mr Camping, he didn't seem like a con man.
At the end of the interview I paused before hanging up the line and Harold could be heard saying "Well that went pretty well. They learned some things they never knew before. That's the reason they are Atheist you know" and then I hung up the line because to listen any further didn't feel right.
Those few words don't really say all that much until you add the fact that Harold didn't know we were listening. I think he really was hoping to help us poor Atheists to see the light. And even though it wasn't quite the kind of help Harold intended to provide, I think he has done those of us who would like to see organized religion fade away a huge favor.
From where I sit the Atheist have come out in full force, using the claims of Family Radio as a prime example of what religion results in. Sure even a lot of religious people think that Harold is crazy because he tried to pin down May 21 as the day of judgment but is he really any more crazy than a christian who thinks no one knows the date of the rapture only that it will occur at a future date?
Another way Harold has done some good is by causing people to stop and wonder about their own beliefs. When someone who believes in the same basic things as you takes those beliefs and makes them appear silly it makes you feel silly too. When a christian tries to point and laugh at Harold the tip of that finger is aimed a little too close to their own face for comfort I would think.
The catholics have mishandled the abuse by priests on a scale whos magnitude would even impress god. Scientology has turned out to be made up of con men and bullies. The muslims keep running around yelling and blowing things up, like women and children. The christians act like lunatics and want to force their god on you whether you like it or not. People are starting to realize all these things. The Atheists? Well we get to get to sit back laughing as we watch more and more people bring their lawn chairs over to our side of the park.
No comments:
Post a Comment