So another Doomsday has come and gone, and here I got myself all dressed up for nothing.
Probably a lot of you are already bored with the whole Rapture Day thing, but me... man, I was just getting started. I think I'm gonna miss it come tomorrow. One thing's for sure: those handful of hardcore "End Times Christians" have gotta be feeling pretty idiotic right about now-- either that, or seriously pissed.
Will they henceforth abandon their silly notions about Kingdom Come? Eh, I doubt it. It's just too bitter a pill to swallow. They'll mark it down to a miscalculation, or they'll say that God deliberately threw a spanner in the works just to keep us on our toes.
Maybe a few of them-- a VERY few-- will actually stop to re-think the bizarre turn their lives have taken. Maybe they'll actually get on with things and stop fantasizing about some Make-Believe Fantasy Kingdom where the scales balance at long last and start living in THIS world, trying to make it a little better whenever possible.
I say MAYBE. But maybe not.
I get it, I really do. Sometimes this world is very nearly unbearable if you're someone who really feels and thinks. It can be overwhelming. In the darkest moments, who hasn't longed for another world? One where good is rewarded and there's no more pain or suffering and Mercy and Justice are sancrosanct? All the things that don't really exist here... but man, we can THINK of them, so therefore they must exist somewhere, right? Not just in our fondest desires...
But the problem with End Times advocates is a simple one and one that should seem obvious-- it's not just about going to a better place. It's also about an unspeakable cruelty. It's about taking comfort from the agony of others-- that is, all those "non-believers" who'll be left to suffer out the End of the World while all the believers go to join up with the J team.
So it's not just an escape fantasy. It's a revenge fantasy. And a particularly cruel one.
But let's be honest. It's kind of a cruel religion anyway. The entirety of the Old Testament is one long revenge fantasy.
Anyway. It's over, for the time being. Until the next Doomsayer arises to get everyone's hopes up, everyone's fears bubbling, everyone's sense of humor peaked.
So, considering all the awful stuff I just said about the End Times Folks, why did I get so excited about it? Obviously, I don't believe in it. But you know... I've always been a little in love with chaos and destruction. I can't help it. The Rapture Day gave me a great opportunity to have a little fantasy of my own.
I had that in common with the End Times Christians, anyway. Let's do it again, okay? Next year. I vote that we have Rapture Day on May 21 every year, just to reflect a little on our own darkest desires.
You really think those cultists are a major representation of the christian faith? Do you really think that Christians as a whole get some sort of satisfaction from others who will be left behind to suffer? I know you are referencing the particular cultists, but then you bleed over to generalize on the whole of the christian faith. All christians believe in the end times so to speak. You mock the christians who have spread the good news around the world and have gave up there lives to makes sure as little as possible get left behind. From the martyrs to those annoying people who knock on your door to hand out tracks. You speak with authority about the old testament, when you really don't understand a thing about it. You forget about the Christians that have helped you and attempted to make a difference in your life. I think you sordid imagination is bleeding into your real life.
ReplyDeleteJim, Christians WANT the world to end. That's just part of the deal. And according to the Old Testament, it's already determined who goes to Heaven and who goes to Hell (I have actually read it, so I assume my understanding of it is equal to yours, how would it not be?) and the fact that Christians are okay with millions of people being condemned to Hell tells me it's a cruel religion. The very fact that they could even come up with such a monstrous idea says plenty.
ReplyDeleteYes, I know a handful of Christians who are good, kind people who I am very very fond of, you being one of them. But their religion is STILL cruel.
And actually, I kinda thought I was being pretty sympathetic with them...
ReplyDeleteBuddy, who says Christians are okay with millions of people suffering or going to hell.The whole mandate of the Christian faith is to be fishers of men and convert as many as possible just so they won't suffer. It's the individual choice. You may think it is cruel, but say I read the burglary law to you and tell you the consequences if you are caught, and you burgle anyway. Who's fault is it if you go to jail? The old testament is the most misunderstood part of the bible. You really need to study it. What is more cruel? To give someone hope in a better place or to take the hope away? Whether death is final or not-what allieves suffering at the end?
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