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Betting Against the End of the World
The Atlas Society - The Center for Objectivism ^ | May 17, 2011 | Edward Hudgins

Posted on 05/18/2011 1:24:23 PM PDT by Ed Hudgins

Throughout human history and especially in recent centuries, cults of all kinds have predicted the end of the world. You’ve probably noticed that they’ve all been seriously wrong.

The latest such silliness has come from 89-year-old Harold Camping’s Family Radio network of 66 stations. Based on his study of the Bible, Camping calculates that doomsday will be on Saturday, May 21, 2011.

Christianity is particularly prone to such nonsense. After all, the Book of Revelation is all about doomsday, though with details from a clearly delusional mind. The “son of man” appears out of the clouds with a two-edged sword coming out of his mouth: that makes it tough to eat and talk! He has seven stars in his hand: a star is a million miles in diameter and a million degrees at its core, making things pretty hot and crowded on the Earth. You get the picture.

American history is full of cults that saw no future for the world. Starting in 1843, William Miller and his followers predicted a dozen doomsdays. One would think that after the first few predictions failed, followers of the cult would disappear. Remarkably, more such cults and followers followed.

The problem is not only found in fringe Christian sects. The landscape of the twentieth century is littered with the failed predictions from a plethora of mystic and New Age groups. The members of the Heaven’s Gate flying saucer cult, to get ahead of the game, all committed suicide.

Rich Suckers

What is perhaps most disturbing about the adherents to cults that make such failed predictions or, more generally, are as crazy as March hares, is that they are not just the most poor, ignorant, or downtrodden in society.

(Excerpt) Read more at atlassociety.org ...


TOPICS: Culture/Society; News/Current Events; Philosophy
KEYWORDS: armageddon; doomsday; endoftheworld; judgementday
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To: humblegunner

Well, obviously you’re not gettin’ a Harley.

I was flying today but didn’t fly away.

[well, zooming over the old one lane stone arch bridge whilst standing on the foot pegs got me a *lot* of air but I did come back down]


101 posted on 05/21/2011 9:46:21 PM PDT by Salamander (I'm your pain.)
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To: Allegra

“We got half an hour...we need to blow some stuff up.”

I always see billboards with “What will *you* be doing when Jesus returns?”

I don’t think anybody can top “blowing stuff up”.


102 posted on 05/21/2011 9:52:27 PM PDT by Salamander (I'm your pain.)
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To: TheOldLady

Gunner’s Hell Hounds.

Toldja it’d come to this.


103 posted on 05/21/2011 9:57:46 PM PDT by Salamander (I'm your pain.)
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To: Bean Counter

There’s a naked chick with long red hair in the background.


104 posted on 05/21/2011 9:59:39 PM PDT by Salamander (I'm your pain.)
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To: Salamander
I don’t think anybody can top “blowing stuff up”.

And blow some stuff up we did.

105 posted on 05/21/2011 11:35:59 PM PDT by Allegra (Hey! Stop looking at my tagline like that.)
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