Atheist here - I come in peace

[bigbang123]

Hi everyone,

I was wondering how you feel about Harold Camping and his prediction for the Rapture in 23 days.

Cheers, Sean

Semi-Deist here - You are welcomed in Peace

regarding Harold Camping - he is a bible scholar idiot who has made unrealized predictions like that before.

for those who believe that the bible is the word of God (I do not)

one of the best bible verses for Camping is

Deuteronomy 18:21-22
21"You may say in your heart, 'How will we know the word which the LORD has not spoken?'
22" When a prophet speaks in the name of the LORD, if the thing does not come about or come true, that is the thing which the LORD has not spoken The prophet has spoken it presumptuously; you shall not be afraid of him

 

[Town Heretic]

Hi everyone,

A friend of mine suggested I try this site to share some articles with you and get your opinions.

:thumb: My personal favorite? Some. But then, I've always had a soft spot for the partitive.

Unfortunately, I found out last night I must have five posts prior to posting a link on this site.

We like encouraging virtue here.

In the meantime, while I get my five posts under my belt, I was wondering how you feel about Harold Camping and his prediction for the Rapture in 23 days.

Hadn't heard? Was he predicting a personal event, or a more general occurrence?

Welcome! :e4e:

 

[Lovejoy]

Hadn't heard? Was he predicting a personal event, or a more general occurrence?

Welcome! :e4e:

I forgot, only two weeks left to the end! However, given that he is nearly ninety, you may be right in suspecting the personal nature of the event.

 

[Stripe]

...the partitive.

You're Finnish'd!

 

[Lovejoy]

:thumb: My personal favorite? Some. But then, I've always had a soft spot for the partitive.


:e4e:

I think you meant partum, in which case, as I am on the clock, you should be concerning yourself with moving your wife from the peri on to the post. Thank you.

 

[Eggasai]

Hi everyone,

A friend of mine suggested I try this site to share some articles with you and get your opinions.

Unfortunately, I found out last night I must have five posts prior to posting a link on this site.

In the meantime, while I get my five posts under my belt, I was wondering how you feel about Harold Camping and his prediction for the Rapture in 23 days.

Cheers, Sean

I see by your avatar you are a Broncos fan, for that I absolve you from being an atheist since you cheer for those wretches. I'm a transplant from Indianapolis to Colorado Springs and they kind of remind me of the pre-Manning Colts, snatch defeat from the jaws of victory time and time again.

Any hoot, welcome to the boards. I checked out your blog and while it interests me little it seems tastefully and respectfully written. If your really interested in looking closer at religion in America I suggest you take a good look at Revivalism, I expect you will find many an article out on the net. It's a trend toward an emotionally charged worship, probably fostered in the wild frontiers and tent revivals brought in doors.

As far as your question, I'm in favor of the rapture being in 23 days, it gets my vote. The problem is that no one knows the hour of the day, not even Jesus himself.

The thing is that Christians have set their hope on the return of Christ. The tendency is to get a little anxious. There are two subjects that will draw a crowd to any revival, preaching on the gifts of the Holy Spirit and end times. I must confess I have a weakness for two things, end time scenarios and conspiracy theories. Don't get me wrong, I believe in the 7 year tribulation, the antichrist and all the seal/trumpet/vials wrath judgments but the apocalyptic literature is actually quite simple compared to books like Hebrews and Romans. Once I got past the speculative nature of eschatology (study of end times) it became a fairly simple subject to pigeon hole.

I've spent a lot of time on the creation/evolution controversy btw, if your ever looking for a sparring partner.

Grace and peace,
Mark

 

[JustSean]

I see by your avatar you are a Broncos fan, for that I absolve you from being an atheist since you cheer for those wretches. I'm a transplant from Indianapolis to Colorado Springs and they kind of remind me of the pre-Manning Colts, snatch defeat from the jaws of victory time and time again.

Any hoot, welcome to the boards. I checked out your blog and while it interests me little it seems tastefully and respectfully written.

Grace and peace,
Mark

Mark - Sorry for the late reply! Just revisited this thread this morning.

Thanks for the welcome and thanks for taking the time to visit my little diversion (my blog ). I'm heartened that you found it tasteful and respectful - it is never my intent to mock people's faith, only to stand up for a segment of society that is fairly voiceless - especially when you consider representation in politics, etc.

I still hold out hope that we are best served by working together toward common goals than setting up camps on the opposite sides of the political spectrum - but the more I see, participating in discussion forums, we are clearly a nation divided - fueled by a media-created news cycle designed to feed our prejudices and views without regard for, or respect for compromise.

Anyway, thanks again

Sean

 

[CabinetMaker]

Mark - Sorry for the late reply! Just revisited this thread this morning.

Thanks for the welcome and thanks for taking the time to visit my little diversion (my blog ). I'm heartened that you found it tasteful and respectful - it is never my intent to mock people's faith, only to stand up for a segment of society that is fairly voiceless - especially when you consider representation in politics, etc.

I still hold out hope that we are best served by working together toward common goals than setting up camps on the opposite sides of the political spectrum - but the more I see, participating in discussion forums, we are clearly a nation divided - fueled by a media-created news cycle designed to feed our prejudices and views without regard for, or respect for compromise.

Anyway, thanks again

Sean

I am late to this thread so I may have missed a bit but I saw your statement highlighted above and I had to say something.

I think that there is very little common ground between atheists and believers. We may have commonality in terms of social issues, education, politics and the like but our fundamental world views are mutually exclusive.

The atheist world view is to save people from God as they see faith as a foolish belief and a crutch. The believers world view is to save people to God as we see faith as the cornerstone to life. A life of faith verses a life devoid of faith. Mutually exclusive in our basic goals even if we share common interests one single issues.

How do you reconcile that?

 

[JustSean]

I think that there is very little common ground between atheists and believers. We may have commonality in terms of social issues, education, politics and the like but our fundamental world views are mutually exclusive.

How do you reconcile that?

I meant on these types of issues, but you are right, our fundamental world views make even the former harder and harder to achieve.

Most atheists I know are motivated to help people and are the most charitable people I've met - not saying Christians are not - that too would seem to be an area of commonality, although it falls apart when questions arise regarding the motivations behind the charity...I don't have the answers, but hope that civil dialogue can help get it there...

 

[graceandpeace]

Welcome to TOL. Look around get engaged in some of the discussions. You'll find more of your kind around here.

Regarding Campings silliness:

Matt. 24:36

I agree...only unwise men think they are God.

 

[graceandpeace]

I meant on these types of issues, but you are right, our fundamental world views make even the former harder and harder to achieve.

Most atheists I know are motivated to help people and are the most charitable people I've met - not saying Christians are not - that too would seem to be an area of commonality, although it falls apart when questions arise regarding the motivations behind the charity...I don't have the answers, but hope that civil dialogue can help get it there...

You are right..God placed within man a conscience..some use it for good, others use it for bad..non believers can use it for good...what a non believer cannot do is have hope past the good they do in this life...and, if you are ok with that; that too, is a choice.

 

[nicholsmom]

May 21st is good for me :thumb:

I only learned of this prediction from my atheist brother, but I'm pretty sure that such a public proclamation of a date for the end pretty much eliminates it as a possibility - but what do I know? Maybe that date is the one least likely, and so the most likely. Either way. I'm good.

:wave: Welcome to TOL

And I am sorry to be so late with this welcome...

 

[Gsusis]

If the world ends it will not be because of Gods judgement, so therefore not the end, only another sign of the fact that we are in the end times, because there is still way to much that needs to happen before the "rapture" and the pouring out of Gods vial judgements.