"Membership in the family of God is neither inconsequential or something to be casually ignored. The church is God's agenda for the world. Jesus said, "I will build my church, and all the powers of hell will not conquer it." The church is indestructable and will exist for eternity. It will outlive this universe, and so will your role in it."
- Rick Warren
Friday, May 20, 2011
I guess I don't pay much attention to the news. Camping is predicting that the rapture will occur tomorrow. I wasn't aware before today, but I know the whole world must be buzzing about it if the UK Telegraph and Jared Wilson (on his facebook page) are both talking about it. I can't believe that the media is paying attention to Harold Camping. I still remember "88 Reasons Why Jesus will Return in 1988" and it's follow-up, "89 Reasons Why Jesus will Return in 1989."
Here's the UK Telegraph, which apparently doesn't know about the "'88" book.
They make it sound like people actually listen to this turkey. And, by the way, I'm not too happy about them mentioning him being "Calvinist".
For the last 50 years, the deep and sonorous voice of Harold Camping has reached millions of listeners of Christian gospel radio in the United States.
The 89-year-old is the president of Family Radio, a California-based religious network which broadcasts to more than 150 stations across America.
Born in Colorado, Mr Camping studied at Berkeley in the 1940s and became a member of the Christian Reformed Church, a Protestant denomination that has its roots in the Dutch Reformed churches and is theologically Calvinist.
In 1958, Mr Camping and some other members of the church jointly purchased an FM radio station in San Francisco and began broadcasting conservative Christian gospel. In the following decade, as the West coast of America embraced counter-culture and the hippy movement, Mr Camping's radio network expanded, adding another 13 stations.
In 1970, Mr Camping published the Biblical Calendar of History, in which he dated the creation of the world to 11,013BC and the flood which Noah survived to 4990BC. His timeframe was based on the idea that the word "begat" in the Old Testament does not necessarily imply an immediate father-son relationship, but could refer to a patriarch and a distant descendent.
He also argues that a calendar exists in the text of the Bible which details the imminent end of the church age, implying that churches are no longer used by God for salvation, and the Rapture, when Christians will gather to meet Christ, and finally the end of the world. The current date for the Rapture is May 21, 2011, and Mr Camping believes, according to Thessalonians 4:15-17, that this is when "the dead in Christ shall rise first. Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord".
Five months later, on October 21, God will completely destroy the earth, according to Mr Camping's prediction. He had previously predicted the Rapture would occur in September 1994.
Please, to those of you in the UK, don't associate him with Christians, preachers, Americans, Calvinists or old people. He doesn't represent any of those groups.
I don't pay attention to the news. How big a story is this, and how did it become one? Can someone tell me what "legitimate" news outlet picked this up first. I'm interested in how the media turned this into a story since this guy has been doing this for over 20 years.
Some major media outlet needs to interview him on May 22nd. Seriously. That would be awesome.
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Comments on "Harold Camping, Go Home.":
3. KenLeonard
- 05/20/2011 8:41 pm CDT
His billboards are all over the place here.
I drove through Boston today, and saw no fewer than five of them. Within 10 minutes of my house in NH, there are three.
4. Tony
- 05/20/2011 9:00 pm CDT
Wait wasn't it supposed to be Dec 2012 ;)
He had previously predicted the Rapture would occur in September 1994.
I read somewhere that he believes now that no one can be saved after Sept. 1994. That wasn't the time of the rapture (2nd coming of Christ) but the "end of the Church age".
Is it OK to not be eager for the Lord's return tomorrow?
Sin is so pervasive is people's lives.
5. Shrode
- 05/21/2011 7:12 am CDT
I didn't know about the billboards.
And to hear that there are lots in New England really gets my blood boiling. That's exactly what the lost people of NH need...to think that Camping is typical of Evangelical Christians. Grrrrrrrr.
Andrew, thanks for the Wikipedia link. I learned a lot.
Why? Is it not true?
I don't know. But even if it is true that Camping is a "Calvinist", I'd rather people didn't know that because he disparages the person and the ideas associated with that term. :-)
As for whether it's true...it appears that Camping holds to the most famous part of Calvin's doctrine (predestination), but I'm certain Calvin himself would think that Camping is a loon, and would disagree with much of Camping's theology, as would the rest of those who claim the term "Calvinist" in the world.
See below from the wikipedia link:
Beginning in the late 1990s, Family Radio began gradually dropping outside ministries because of doctrinal changes in the ministry. As board members left the ministry, they were not being replaced. Harold Camping's views as they were changing became the focus of the ministry. Up to the late 1990s, Family Radio endorsed local church attendance but once Camping stated the church age was over, they are now stating that Christians should NOT be members or attend church services of any type. Today Family Radio produces 95 % of their programming and runs very few outside ministries. Most teaching programs are hosted by Harold Camping himself.
Since leaving the Reformed Church in 1988, Camping has taught doctrines that may conflict with doctrines of the Reformed Church and other church denominations.
Examples of how Camping's teachings vary from past conventional doctrines are:
Departing from doctrines stating no one can know the time of Christ's second coming, he teaches that the exact times of the Rapture and the End of the World are to be revealed sometime towards the end of time: (Daniel 12:9-13) prophecy.
Camping teaches that the "Church age" is over, that Satan now rules in all churches, and that no person remaining in a church at the time of the Rapture can be saved. He distinguishes his ministry from a "church", saying that Family Radio does not have a "membership" or hold "authority".
Camping now teaches that "hell" is synonymous with "death" and the "grave", and that there is no everlasting torment.
Camping now teaches that The Cross was just a demonstration of what had already happened before the foundation of the world.
Camping teaches that the world will end May 21 2011[17] using the following reasoning:
According to Camping, the number five equals "atonement", the number ten equals "completeness", and the number seventeen equals "heaven".
Christ is said to have hung on the cross on April 1, 33 AD. The time between April 1, 33 AD and April 1, 2011 is 1,978 years.
If 1,978 is multiplied by 365.2422 days (the number of days in a solar year, not to be confused with the lunar year), the result is 722,449. (This, however, is a rounded number; taken precisely, the figure is 722,449.0716)
The time between April 1 and May 21 is 51 days.
51 added to 722,449 is 722,500.
(5 x 10 x 17)2 or (atonement x completeness x heaven)2 also equals 722,500.
In my opinion, just because he believes in predestination, he's not necessarily a "Calvinist".
But my biggest problem with the news outlet reporting that, is I'm concerned that your average person in the UK will read that and think, "All Calvinists must be like Camping."
6. Shrode
- 05/21/2011 7:16 am CDT
As an aside, I looked with interest at the list of stations and found it interesting that there was only one in Texas, compared to the amount in many other states.
Also from this link I learned:
In 2010, Marie Exley of Colorado Springs made news by purchasing advertising space in her locality, promoting the alleged Rapture date on a number of park benches.[38] Since then, "Judgment Day" billboards have been erected at locations across the world.[39] Some people have adorned their vehicles with the information.[40]
Family Radio has spent over $100 million on the campaign spreading the word, financed by sales and swap of broadcast outlets.[41] On October 27, 2010, they launched "Project Caravan". Five recreational vehicles arrayed with reflector lettering that declare that Judgment Day begins on May 21, 2011 were sent out from their headquarters in Oakland, California, to Seattle, Washington. Upon arrival, teams are sent out to distribute tracts.[42] The caravan has made stops in Oregon,[43] California, South Carolina, North Carolina, Georgia, Texas, Florida, Utah, Maryland,[44] and other states, as well as Canada and Mexico.[citation needed]
$100 million!?!!? Now I know why people know about this.
I was quite entertained by the following:
Skeptical responses
The group Seattle Atheists formed the Rapture Relief Fund which they will use "to help survivors of any Armageddon-sized disaster in the Puget Sound area";[49] if the rapture fails to come as predicted, the money will fund a camp that teaches children about critical thinking.[50] The group American Atheists has sponsored billboards in several American cities declaring the Rapture to be "nonsense", and are holding a party during the period of the predicted rapture.[36] Other secular groups in the United States are also hosting "Rapture parties".[51] The human rights organization and film foundation Cine Foundation International has called for Harold Camping to donate his life savings to post-Rapture relief, in the same way that many of his followers have done.[52]
Official responses
The New York Police Department (NYPD) stated: "We don't plan any additional coverage for the end of the world. Indeed, if it happens, fewer officers will be required for streets that presumably will be empty."[53]
7. Shrode
- 05/21/2011 7:20 am CDT
Oh, and one more thing. Now I know why the UK Guardian didn't appear to know anything about "88 Reasons Why Jesus will return in 1988."
It's because it wasn't on Wikipedia!
8. Shrode
- 05/21/2011 7:23 am CDT
Dude. Just went to the official Family Radio website. (familyradio.com)
It's pretty funny to see their countdown clock say this: OO Days Left.
9. Shrode
- 05/21/2011 7:30 am CDT
From Family Radio's official website:
What if May 21 ends and nothing occurs?
The Biblical evidence is too overwhelming and specific to be wrong. Christ's people can look with great confidence to this date because God promises His "beloved" He will not come upon them as a thief in the night.
God in His mercy has revealed the vital information needed to know the day. Judgment Day on May 21, 2011 will occur because the bible declares it. Anyone whom God has not saved will arrive at that day with no hope for salvation. God warns simply the "door will be shut."
Nice. All over the website, they "guarantee" that the rapture will occur today.
I wonder if "I didn't study because I didn't think I would be here." will work as an excuse for those students who have finals next week?
10. Shrode
- 05/21/2011 8:17 am CDT
Whoops. It wasn't Camping who wrote "88 Reasons". It was Edgar Whisenant, a NASA engineer.
Sorry for the misinformation.
11. damien
- 05/21/2011 9:09 am CDT
harold camping wrote 1994.
and may we have the next caller please?
12. Andrew
- 05/21/2011 1:11 pm CDT
Hey Shrode,
You may enjoy this article, which chastises the media for covering this story with such glee.
I think it's more innocent than pernicious, but there is something kind of sick about our obsession with this kind of thing.
13. Jared
- 05/21/2011 1:44 pm CDT
Yes, "88" was by Whisenant. I have a copy of that in my library. Was sent to my family by my grandmother, I believe back then. My brother was concerned the rapture would happen before we could go to Disney World that year. I was concerned it would happen and I'd be left behind.
This stuff messed me up big time when I was a kid. We turn the glorious return of our Lord into an urban legend or punchline.
14. Sheila OConnor
- 05/21/2011 11:48 pm CDT
SF: earthquake at magnitude 3.6 (photos) - http://t.co/VaV3fru was Harold Camping right?
15. Sheila OConnor
- 05/21/2011 11:48 pm CDT
SF: earthquake at magnitude 3.6 (photos) - http://t.co/VaV3fru was Harold Camping right?
17. Quaid
- 05/24/2011 12:43 pm CDT
Camping is back at it, moving the date to October 15.
In the words of President George W. Bush:
"Fool me once. Shame on . . . shame on you.
Infulmah can't get fooled again."
(For the record, I was not fooled once, but I thought the quote apropos)
18. Shrode
- 05/24/2011 8:43 pm CDT
I checked the familyradio website. Nothing. All references to the end of the world, and the prediction are totally gone. No explanation. No reference to it whatsoever are present.
19. Shrode
- 05/24/2011 8:48 pm CDT
Andrew,
I just read that article. WOW! Was it good!
An excerpt for those who still might be paying attention:
Here at TNR, we thought about joining the circus. Last week, when we learned that Camping was predicting the apocalypse, I was tasked with spending May 21—the day of the Rapture—with a few of his true-believing followers, who have been filling websites, billboards, and city squares, handing out pamphlets, and generally warning the world to repent. What an amazing story, I thought. I’ll spend time with people who believe the world is going to end, and then be able to watch their reactions when it doesn’t.
But before long, I had second thoughts. First, I ran into some accessibility snags. While the media-friendly end-timers wanted to warn heathens beforehand, they really just wanted to spend their last day on earth surrounded by loved ones, in quiet preparation. Their response to me was something like: Why would you want to follow us around on Saturday? We’re not going to be here anymore. Yes, there was a certain humor to this. But the more I looked into the story, the more it began to turn my stomach to think of spending my Saturday evening in someone’s living room, waiting for that gotcha moment when they realized it was all a lie—leaving me to file a story the next day, poking fun at their gullibility. I decided I couldn’t do it.
Yet the media coverage has continued, and now to me, the schadenfreude has turned sinister. Based on the high traffic the articles are garnering, it would seem as if many of us are intrigued voyeurs, gleeful in knowing the exact day when these people will experience their life’s greatest disappointment. We feel superior, knowing that even though they told us we were heading for death and destruction, now, they get theirs.
It was really interesting to read about how he was going to do the story and then decided not to. Instead he felt sadness for those who believe Camping.
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Funny, I was driving through New Mexico and saw a billboard for this guy and the doomsday date.
I don't really think it's been turned into a big story. I've only heard about it from friends (and I at least try to keep up with the news). While he's not super big, Camping does have enough of a following to merit a report. His Family Radio broadcasts all over the country and has assets in the 100s of millions according to the Wikipedia article. But still I don't think it's a "big story," mostly because I haven't heard any mention of it other than from friends. It gets reported on for the same reason that the 2012 stuff will get air in the next 18 months. It's mildly amusing.
And, by the way, I'm not too happy about them mentioning him being "Calvinist".
Why? Is it not true?