REVELATION-With another empty promise in the books that was assured to everyone by end-of-the-world, Rapture touting premillennialist Harold Camping, a wildly unbecoming characteristic of believers from contending denominations and other religions as well has reared its beastly head. Comments about how "stupid," "idiotic," and "absolutely crazy" the people that follow this guy must be are plentiful throughout headline articles, Facebook, newspapers, internet forums, and daily conversation. Obviously, it's a given that Mr. Camping was wrong about his grand prediction, but I want to bring into light the lip service that so many are delivering while pointing out that anyone who could believe in a claim so ridiculous such as Harold Camping's Biblical-based forecast that May 21, 2011 was the date for the Rapture, must be "idiotic." Many of the same people that shout from their self-righteous, "I would never believe such stupidity," soapbox amazingly (at least to me) believe in the following: Balaam's talking donkey (Numbers 22:30), a virgin birth (Matthew 1:18), resurrections (2 Kings 13:21 plus many others), parting the Red Sea (Exodus 14:26), feeding 5,000 people with 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish (Luke 9:16-17), Samson killing 1,000 men with the jawbone of a donkey (Judges 15:16), a talking snake (Genesis 3:4), Noah's Ark (Genesis Chapters 6-8), a man walking on water (John 6:19), stopping the sun in the sky for Joshua (Joshua 10:13, even though Earth revolves around the sun. Ecclesiastes 1:5 also mentions that the sun moves around Earth), and human beings living 900+ years (Genesis 5:27 and many others.)
I just have a few questions: are these things not far more ridiculous than someone predicting the end of the world and getting it wrong? What is different from one religion's claims about God compared to someone else's such as Mahatma Gandhi, and his "experiences" with his Hindu gods? What makes him wrong and you right? What makes _____ (insert any God here) real and Zeus a myth? I urge everyone to take a look in the mirror and examine your own beliefs before calling others crazy because it just may be that you believe in some pretty outrageous stuff yourself. However, if you grant yourself the common "exception" regarding supernatural beliefs, that somehow your "miracles" are different from every other religion's "miracles," I'm sure you won't think so. ;)
Additional Note: I would like to mention that I fully support the freedom to believe anything you want. I am simply utilizing the right to voice my opinion the same as a preacher uses her right to voice hers. To sum up my point, people often get offended when anyone criticizes their religion or beliefs, yet they seem to have little problem throwing their own stones and calling others "crazy."
