Do I understand correctly..post-rapture, all fundamentalist will be gone?!

[drmom]

If this is the case, I've never wanted to believe in something so much in my life...

Can you imagine how much better things will be with them gone?!!!!

[The Backlash Cometh]

1. We could have avoided this whole crisis of wars if it had happened

six years ago.

[MADem]

2. Well, I'll bet social services expenditures would be cut drastically

if all those bastards took a powder.

Funny how those who think that OTHERS are sucking off the gubmint teat are always getting a check or whatnot from that very same gubmint....o-course, THEY deserve it, while others don't....

[WhiteTara]

3. if that's so, BRING IT ON!!! And then will

the "meek" inherit the earth and we get to live in peace for the next 12,000 years?

[leesa]

4. Unfortunately, most Fundies THINK they'll be going but won't be.

So they'll be LEFT BEHIND and very pissed off.

[ConsAreLiars]

5. Please Gawd: Take ALL of them away, regardless of affiliation!

Every damn one of them Chimpy, bin Laden, Falwell, the MegaChurchers, Kim Il Nutso, Franklin Graham, KKKulter.... Too long a list, but take them ALL NOW!

[Mz Pip]

6. Oh make it so.

THe world without these fundy crackpots would be so much more pleasant.

But it's all just mythology. Plenty of myths out there that have the "good guys' saved at the last minute by some mythical creature. Of course they really aren't the good guys. They just think they are.

I do wish there was some tidy way of making them all go away , though.

Mz Pip
:dem:

[hyphenate]

7. Except in reality

We'll all still be here and the fucking fundies will still be around, creating more trouble than ever. If I had a solid wish in this shit, it would be that the fundies wake up and smell the sulphur before it's too late.

[Nite Owl]

8. Peace on earth!

Halleluia! Hope it's before November then even Deibold can't make the dems lose this one!

Does this mean Nancy Pelosi will be the new President?

[rasputin1952]

9. No, if there is a "Rapture", Christians are supposed to be swept up...

fundies will still be here, they have little to do w/true Christianity...:evilgrin:

[ConsAreLiars]

12. Do you think anyone you would call true "Christians" are actually

rooting for Armageddon real soon now? If so, I would suggest they are utterly insane and deserve to be swiftly taken away, by any means.

[rasputin1952]

13. No, no one I know is "rooting" for Armaggedon...

In fact, the Christians I know are hoping and praying that this whole mess gets under control.

Some feel that God has to take a hand, but most of the Christians I know, believe that humanity has to challenge the 'evil' they see and deal with on an everyday basis. They try to live by the example given by Jesus, love, tolerance, equality, forgiveness.

Fundies, on the other hand, are a whole different situation. Many of them believe the earth is doomed, and they are actually actively pursuing an agenda that would place the whole world in jeopardy. They have little concept of the teachings of Jesus, and are caught up in the hellfire/brimstone world of vengeance and horror. They are filled w/fear, and they believe that by ushering in Armageddon, they will somehow find favor w/God.

Seems to me, fundies forgot, "Blessed are the peacemakers, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven".

[ConsAreLiars]

19. I agree - I think the origina post

was about those Fundies, not only Xtian, in my view, who have more in common with Pol Pot than the author of the Beatitudes, who in turn has more in common with Buddha than with the Pope or any nationally known Xtian preacher you can name. Sad times for Xtians, when none who who are well known and claim that affiliation have even the merest shred of human decency about them.

[rasputin1952]

21. The Gloom and Doomers are the ones that get the Press...

There are thousands of Mother Theresa's out there quietly making a difference in peoples lives; they get no press coverage.

I know many Christians, Jews and Muslims that go about quietly helping others, they wish for nothing more than doing good for others, and ask only that the recipient of said good, tries to pass the good on to another.

No one can use fear to bring people to peace, it takes wisdom and understanding; it takes compassion and empathy; it takes love and forgiveness, regardless of the religion, (or lack of religion) of the individual.

[tinfoilinfor2005]

27. Amen! n/t

[parasim]

10. No kidding... They're all puckered up, waiting for their "bridegroom"...

to come whisk them away. I say, "Come on, Jesus, hurry it up, let's get this show on the road! The sooner the better!

[last1standing]

11. Can anyone here point to the part in the bible that refers to a rapture?

I'd be very interested in knowing exactly what it says in that regard as I've always heard that the whole rapture phenomenon started in the 1800's.

[rasputin1952]

18. You are thinking of the Millerites...

Miller took a formula and decided that the second coming of Christ would happen in 1824, he was wrong. He changed the dates around, and sold "Salvation Robes". Quite a few followed him up the mountain at the appointed time; some pranksters were in trees and blew trumpets at the appointed hour, and many nearly dropped dead.

Anyway, nothing happened. (except that Miller got rich off the sales).

The Rapture is in Revelations. There are many notions as to what it means...most believe that people will be caught up and transported to heaven en masse. Those left behind are to face horrid battles and terror for 7 years. Actually, the antichrist brings peace for 3.5, and then does a 180 and horror is the result for the next 3.5. Then Jesus returns and tosses the antichrist into hell, chained for 1000 years.

Many have said that the Holocaust was the Great Tribulation...but if religious forces that have no concept of the true meaning of Christianity or Islam get much more power, anything can happen.

Most people I know that are knowledgeable in Christianity believe that it is up to humanity to find answers to the problems we face...the old "God helps those that help themselves" attitude.

[tenshi816]

23. The word "rapture" itself isn't mentioned in the Bible.

According to this,

It may come as a surprise to many Christians, but the doctrine of the Rapture is not mentioned in any Christian writings, of which we have knowledge, until after the year 1830 A.D. Whether the early writers were Greek or Latin, Armenian or Coptic, Syrian or Ethiopian, English or German, orthodox or heretic, no one mentioned a syllable about it.

I thought the Miller nonsense happened in 1844, not 1824.

[rasputin1952]

25. My bad on the date...

:)

And there is no mention of the word "rapture" as far as I know. However, the word itself has become the nomenclature for the event. It is not the word that is important anyway, it is the event itself that is considered important.

There is much discussion as to whether the event would ever happen as described. Considering that the Bible is filled w/many inconsistencies and 180's, has had many scholars question the event. When one adds to the equation that a significant number of Biblical scholars question Revelations and what is described, there is no clear consensus of what, if anything may happen.

During the current era of thought of those that believe in a literal interpretation of what they read, believers feel that they will be caught up bodily and rise to meet Jesus in the sky. It could be an instantaneous event, or some believe they will "float" up to Jesus. In either case, if this did happen, it would certainly be an event that would garner a lot of attention from those, "left behind".

Which brings us to the "Left Behind" series of books by LeHay. I hold that these are pure speculation on the part of LeHay, and based on his interpretation of events. He sells books through fear, and most of what he writes could be considered standard science fiction.

I am skeptical of anyone who has a literal interpretation of events in the Bible. Considering the subjective nature of many of the readings, it is nearly impossible to come to conclusions that would satisfy all of the interested parties. Just as in everything else, the possibility exists that this event might take place, but I doubt that it will. In any case, speculation will run its course until either the event happens, or it becomes a moot point because of it being a non-event.

As an aside...I often wonder just how bush, or the others that claim to be Christian, as well as those who rule in Muslim countries that claim to support Mohamed in the name of Allah ever think that they just might be offending said deity by killing people in their name. Seems to me, that if one had to stand before said deity, and state something to the effect, "Look how many infidels I killed in your name", would tend to bring the wrath of said deity rather than any form of praise or reward. Ticking of a deity does not seem to me to be a way of winning favor.

[tinfoilinfor2005]

29. Wow! I have never in my life

heard anyone use the word nomenclature in a sentence.

You are awesome! :bounce:

[rasputin1952]

30. LOL...One of my favorite instructors and I use stuff like that all the

time. She and I, (she's an Eng instructor), try to beat each other in the use of arcane language skills...:D

Pages actually fall out of both of our Thesaurus' from overuse...:D

[tinfoilinfor2005]

35. Well I AM impressed!

P.S. This past March when I was in St. Petersburg Russia, I saw the spot where Rasputin went over the bridge after being poisoned/stabbed/shot/etc. I did not go to the new erotic museum where they proudly display his...ummm, well you know. Supposedly it is three times the size of Napolean's, which oddly enough is also kept in a jar in Paris. Just a little trivia for you. You may be the master of the word, but I am the fountain of useless information. :)

[rasputin1952]

36. I have seen a pic of said member, it was said to be ...

14" long, flaccid. It is in a jar w/formaldehyde.

Napoleon's member is said to be in a box, mummified and looks like the average pinky finger.

Rasputin was an interesting character, they just couldn't kill him off...he finally drowned after all the other things went horribly wrong.

I have no idea why i chose it as a username, just sounded interesting...:)

[LostinVA]

32. The Rapture is not Biblical -- it was a 19th-century religious movement

Thus, Fundies are not biblical!

[EFerrari]

14. It's like never having to buy Advantage again!

:rofl:

[Liberal In Texas]

15. Well, that's the hope.

Unfortunately, there no rapture, or tribulation, or any of that crap.

(I almost wish there was, to get rid of them.)

They've been trumpeting this meme for about 200 years or more, like maybe 500 or a 1000. They're Apocalyptics. They're just nuts. They've been around for a long time.

It's just that they've never had this kind of power before.

It really is like being in Nazi Germany when the Party was seizing power. Only this time, they're religious nutbags intent on overthrowing our government with their Christo-Fundo fachism.

Be afraid.

Be very afraid. Not about 757s flying into skyscrapers, but to the takeover of our democracy, our republic, by jack-booted Christo-Taliban corportists.

We are on the verge of losing our freedom, ironically in the name of it.

War is Peace
Freedom is Slavery
Ignorance is Strength.
Oceania was at war with Eurasia: Oceania had always been at war with Eurasia
-1984

[countmyvote4real]

16. How about a home self-indused rapture kit?

I don’t mean suicide, but something to make the body (and soul) more accessible to being plucked up from the earth’s gravity. I think lots of ephedrine to shed unwanted pounds will make you float up that much faster to get a good seat at whatever hand of Christ you can get or deserve.

Of course, it will include a to-do list:

1) Reassign the GOP as the beneficiary of all your current assets.*

2) Take out the garbage much more frequently. You don’t want to confuse neighbors with the smell of your rotting corpse and your garbage even if you have already flown away.

3) Plan ahead. Start selling your shit on ebay. (See #1.)

4) Take out some Rapture Liability insurance. In the event of your unexpected departure, you don’t want your estate sued for damages that could better serve the GOP. (See #1.)

*Not all GOP leaders and members are guaranteed to be raptured with you. Some may come later and will need your support until they can actually join you in your new-found bliss. Promise. Cross my heart.

[Jamastiene]

17. I live in the middle of the Bible Belt, fundieland for sure.

Long ago, when yet another one of them told me I was going to hell for disagreeing with them, I came up with an observation:

The presence of fundamentalists in the afterlife doesn't necessarily indicate that you have gone to Heaven, because there can be no peace with fundies around. How can Hell live up to its reputation if there are no fundies there to make it horrendous?

[kywildcat]

24. The Rapture happened-Jesus did n't like the fundies enough to take

them either. When they start talking smack about the end of the world, I tell them looks like Jesus didn't like them either-

[tandot]

20. I am still praying very, very hard for them to be gone...

Can you imagine the world without them: Peace, Freedom, Liberty...and all the great things...please, let them be raptured up...

[mwb970]

28. It's a sweet dream, isn't it?

Imagine an America without right-wing hate radio, without blind-faith fundies and their apocalypse, Rapture, etc. Imagine an America where people believed in evolution, global warming, stem-cell research, and other scientific truths. Where logic ruled instead of emotion.

No Robertson, no Phelps, no Dobson, no Falwell. Of course, no Coulter and no Limbaugh. No Fox News!

Whoa, I'm hallucinating now. Better quit while I'm ahead.

[longship]

22. No. That's just what they think.

In reality, what will happen is while all the Bush fundie nutcases are sitting on their roofs in their pajamas praying, "Jeebus. Jeebus," and waiting to be taken skyward, suddenly all the liberals on the planet will vanish in a twinkling leaving only the nutcases on the planet to fight it out amongst each other.

That's the way it will happen.

[dysfunctional press]

26. only those that are pure and without sin in their hearts...

so, no- they'll ALL still be here.

[AuntPatsy]

31. One can only hope thats the case.

[KyuzoGator]

33. Those who espouse TRUE Christian principles will be gone.

Meaning, most of us.

[HeeBGBz]

34. No. They just think they will

God doesn't want anything to do with them.