Prophet Catfight

Started by Pointless Digression, May 17, 2011, 09:33:30 AM

Previous topic - Next topic

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Pointless Digression

William Tapley (AKA Third Eagle of the Apocalypse) has some harsh words for Family Radio's Harold Camping and his prediction of the coming Rapture (Camping says that it will be this Saturday, May 21st). He accuses Camping of bringing discredit upon true prophets of the end times.


If the name William Tapley is at all familiar to you, it may be because you remember that he was the one that hillariously predicted that the end times tribulations would begin in October, 2010.

As a general question to begin the conversation, is believing that the end of the world will begin according to religious prophecy on May 21st more absurd than the belief that it will come at some unspecified, unpredictable date in the future? Why or why not?

If you think that the two beliefs mentioned in the previous two paragraphs are equally absurd, then here's one: how is believing that the world will end in accordance with religious prophecy more absurd than the belief of a god who made a sacrificial offering of itself to itself in order to appease itself and thereby save humankind from itself?
         

Oniya

I'd say that putting a date to it is the more absurd claim.  It's guaranteed that the world will end at some unspecified point in the future, if only from solar death and/or entropy (depending on whether or not you think that life could somehow survive the red giant phase).
"Language was invented for one reason, boys - to woo women.~*~*~Don't think it's all been done before
And in that endeavor, laziness will not do." ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~Don't think we're never gonna win this war
Robin Williams-Dead Poets Society ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~Don't think your world's gonna fall apart
I do have a cause, though.  It's obscenity.  I'm for it.  - Tom Lehrer~*~All you need is your beautiful heart
O/O's Updated 5/11/21 - A/A's - Current Status! - Writing a novel - all draws for Fool of Fire up!
Requests updated March 17

Pointless Digression

Quote from: Oniya on May 17, 2011, 11:47:13 AM
I'd say that putting a date to it is the more absurd claim.  It's guaranteed that the world will end at some unspecified point in the future, if only from solar death and/or entropy (depending on whether or not you think that life could somehow survive the red giant phase).

I may be using an overly narrow superlative, but I was careful to qualify myself. I referred to belief that the end of the world would come about in accordance with religious prophecy; Judgement Day, Armageddon. That sort of thing. [understatement]Not the mundane end of the world predicted by science. [/understatement]
         

Oniya

My mistake - I had not realized that 'according to religious prophecy' distributed over both.  I saw "the end of the world will begin according to religious prophecy on May 21st" and "the belief that it will come at some unspecified, unpredictable date in the future".

Taking a purely religious approach, (and a Christian one at that), it very clearly states in Scripture that 'none will know the time of His coming'.  As a result, making any solid prediction of a date is absurd, whether it's May 21, 2011 or December 21, 2012.
"Language was invented for one reason, boys - to woo women.~*~*~Don't think it's all been done before
And in that endeavor, laziness will not do." ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~Don't think we're never gonna win this war
Robin Williams-Dead Poets Society ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~Don't think your world's gonna fall apart
I do have a cause, though.  It's obscenity.  I'm for it.  - Tom Lehrer~*~All you need is your beautiful heart
O/O's Updated 5/11/21 - A/A's - Current Status! - Writing a novel - all draws for Fool of Fire up!
Requests updated March 17

Starlequin

#4
I don't normally post in this thread, since I've already learned that most of y'all are probably smarter and more informed than me, but i don't think a question here would hurt anything. Namely:

What up with all the 21sts?
You live for the fight when it's all that you've got.

Oniya

I don't know about the May 21 bit, but December 21st is the Winter Solstice.  Older civilizations like the Celts, the Aztecs, etc., who used the movements of the sun and moon to keep track of the seasons and years tended to use this, the shortest day of the year, as one of the 'benchmarks' to anchor the calendar.  At this time, the sun was lowest in the sky at noon, and rose the furthest north of true east.  There are many myths that refer to this as the day when the Sun starts its journey back from death.  The 'rebirth' of the Sun is also the reason that the Christian churches set the festival of Christ's birth in December - the Bible refers to shepherds sitting out with their flocks at night, which doesn't happen in mid-winter.  Any historical Christ (and I don't dis-count that there may have been one) would have been born in spring or summer by that description.
"Language was invented for one reason, boys - to woo women.~*~*~Don't think it's all been done before
And in that endeavor, laziness will not do." ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~Don't think we're never gonna win this war
Robin Williams-Dead Poets Society ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~Don't think your world's gonna fall apart
I do have a cause, though.  It's obscenity.  I'm for it.  - Tom Lehrer~*~All you need is your beautiful heart
O/O's Updated 5/11/21 - A/A's - Current Status! - Writing a novel - all draws for Fool of Fire up!
Requests updated March 17

Starlequin

Ah, I see. Was familiar with the solstice facts and the reappropriation of a pagan holiday as J.C.s' birth (i think it was the birth of Mithras, but who knows where I got that from so dun quote us on it), but we were just wondering if the number had any other obscure meanings to it, and why a fundie crackpot picked it special. Probably nothin impressive, im guessing. Thanks, miss Oniya.
You live for the fight when it's all that you've got.

Oniya

I'm suspecting he latched onto the 21 from the other 'important sounding' dates, and couldn't be bothered to wait until June (which would have been the summer solstice.)  It's much cooler to announce 'The end of the world is this weekend!' I guess.
"Language was invented for one reason, boys - to woo women.~*~*~Don't think it's all been done before
And in that endeavor, laziness will not do." ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~Don't think we're never gonna win this war
Robin Williams-Dead Poets Society ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~Don't think your world's gonna fall apart
I do have a cause, though.  It's obscenity.  I'm for it.  - Tom Lehrer~*~All you need is your beautiful heart
O/O's Updated 5/11/21 - A/A's - Current Status! - Writing a novel - all draws for Fool of Fire up!
Requests updated March 17