Harold Camping And The Allure Of Fundie Rapture Nonsense

Donovan Nagel
Written by Donovan Nagel

Should I even bother mentioning all that stupid kerfuffle that was generated by an Evangelical who runs ran a quasi-Christian radio station over in the US?

I will briefly.

He’s certainly not the first nutcase to come out and predict the end of the world.

Other fundies and JW’s have been doing this for years.

But what I don’t get is how people (especially someone claiming to be a theologian) can disregard a verse as straightforward as “No one knows about that day or hour…”.

It’s right there in black and white - give up trying to make predictions and live every day like it’s the last.

Why save charity, repentance and good will toward your fellow man for your last moment when you’ve had all this time to do it?

So many foolish people out there went and gave away their life savings for Camping’s Rapture nonsense and now regret it.

They deserve their self-inflicted predicament.

One thing has occurred to me.

People all over the world were quick to believe Harold Camping, not because they did their own research, but because he convinced them that he was certain.


UPDATE: Harold Camping had a stroke several days after I wrote this, and passed away 2 years later.


Certainty scares the heck out of people, even if it’s far-fetched nonsense like the Rapture.

It also confirms that so many people the world over are in doubt and looking for someone give them that ounce of certainty for all the big questions and doubts they have.

It really says a lot about the human psyche.