Did I say May 21st? What I *really* meant was...

[RandomGuy]

October 21. Yup, that guy is at it again.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110524/ap_on_re_us/us_apocalypse_saturday

:rolleyes:rolleyes:rolleyes:rolleyes :rolleyes:rolleyes:rolleyes:rolleyes:rolleyes
:rolleyes:rolleyes:rolleyes:rolleyes :rolleyes:rolleyes:rolleyes:rolleyes:rolleyes
:rolleyes:rolleyes:rolleyes:rolleyes :rolleyes:rolleyes:rolleyes:rolleyes:rolleyes


Here we go again. I wonder how many fucking dolts will cling to this turd raft this time.

[RandomGuy]

But he said he wouldn't give away all his possessions ahead of Oct 21.

"I still have to live in a house, I still have to drive a car," he said. "What would be the value of that? If it is Judgment Day why would I give it away?"

He won't put his own money where his mouth is. That says volumes to me.

If your faith was that rock solid, give your money to the poor for the last few months. It would be the right thing to do.

[Nathan Explosion]

3rd time's a charm?

[Technique]

You posting this and taking him seriously speaks volumes to me.

[RandomGuy]

You posting this and taking him seriously speaks volumes to me.

???

Taking him seriously?

Maybe you missed the twenty rolling eye smilies and the allusion to his predictions as being akin to a "turd raft".

It it less matter of taking something seriously, and more a matter of finding something amusing enough to share.

[4>0rings]

Oct.? He's off by a year and 2 months, tbh.

[Tinystarz]

wanna get away?


http://i56.tinypic.com/n1ba7a.gif

[phyzik]

How long before the government goes after this guy for fleecing the gullible believers?

As much as I like to laugh at people for believing such nonsense, eventually someone has to protect them from their own stupidity.

Before anyone misinterprets my words, I'm not saying believers in religion are stupid, just that those who follow this nut are. Look to your own book. If there is any truth at all to it, no man knows the date except for this supposed god figure you people worship. Yes, I failed to capitalize the name god, thats only reserved for beings who actually exist.

[pawe]

You posting this and taking him seriously speaks volumes to me.

Idiotic statements like these made by people like him should always be posted so we can all get to see him backpedal his way out of the bullshit he makes.

[Technique]

Who's backpedaling out of what, moron.

Go earn your 2$ an hour doing whatever it is that you do in the Philippines.

[pawe]

Who's backpedaling out of what, moron.

Go earn your 2$ an hour doing whatever it is that you do in the Philippines.

Why are you getting angry? :lol
Are you Harold Camping's son? Learn to read the flow of the thread so you'll know who I am referring to.

Sigh, these new posters and their low IQs.

[Technique]

:lol

[CubanSucks]

How long before the government goes after this guy for fleecing the gullible believers?

As much as I like to laugh at people for believing such nonsense, eventually someone has to protect them from their own stupidity.

Before anyone misinterprets my words, I'm not saying believers in religion are stupid, just that those who follow this nut are. Look to your own book. If there is any truth at all to it, no man knows the date except for this supposed god figure you people worship. Yes, I failed to capitalize the name god, thats only reserved for beings who actually exist.

how do you know it doesn't exist

[ALVAREZ6]

How long before the government goes after this guy for fleecing the gullible believers?

As much as I like to laugh at people for believing such nonsense, eventually someone has to protect them from their own stupidity.

Before anyone misinterprets my words, I'm not saying believers in religion are stupid, just that those who follow this nut are. Look to your own book. If there is any truth at all to it, no man knows the date except for this supposed god figure you people worship. Yes, I failed to capitalize the name god, thats only reserved for beings who actually exist.

No, they really don't.


"We're not in the business of financial advice," he said. "We're in the business of telling people there's someone who you can maybe talk to, maybe pray to, and that's God."
:lmao crazy people





















Yet the majority of the fucktards running this country are the same type of shitheads that believe this kind of shit... :depressed

[DMC]

I guess I have to quit my job again....

This time I am not sucking any cock to get it back like last time.

[Soul_Patch]

I guess I have to quit my job again....

This time I am not sucking any cock to get it back like last time.



Lol... :toast

[Bukefal]

Stupid idiots will always be stupid idiots.

I think its just such a shame for all the millions his blind sheep idiot followers have donated and spent on putting up posters for that day all over the world. Every country in Europe in every city had these posters on the streets.

So much money, gone for this bullshit, for nothing. Just like that.

Someone mentioned the government, doing something to stop him. But, they won't, just because of freedom of religion. It's not the fault of this old dude doing this (he probaby makes sure his pockets are filled with money without doing anything, so he is pretty smart) or the government not stopping him, its the fault of ignorant people actually being stupid enough to support, believe and follow him.

[mrsmaalox]

Follower Jeff Hopkins said he spent a good deal of his own retirement savings on gas money to power his car so people would see its ominous lighted sign showcasing Camping's May 21 warning. As the appointed day drew nearer, Hopkins started making the 100-mile round trip from Long Island to New York City twice a day, spending at least $15 on gas each trip.

"I've been mocked and scoffed and cursed at and I've been through a lot with this lighted sign on top of my car," said Hopkins, 52, a former television producer who lives in Great River, NY. "I was doing what I've been instructed to do through the Bible, but now I've been stymied. It's like getting slapped in the face."


Unbelievable :lol

Been reading about people like this all morning :bang

[ALVAREZ6]

Unbelievable :lol

Been reading about people like this all morning :bang

Religion-influenced people are smart people. See: mouse.

[pawe]

At least they stimulated the economy.

[BlackSwordsMan]

how awesome would it be if he really was wrong and meant oct 21 and a zombie outbreak happens

[NASpurs]

Religion-influenced people are smart people. See: mouse.

:lmao it's not like the atheists on this board are MENSA members

[Drachen]

how awesome would it be if he really was wrong and meant oct 21 and a zombie outbreak happens

[Grabbing my CDC Pamphlet] I am ready!

[RandomGuy]

:lmao it's not like the atheists on this board are MENSA members

You would be surprised.

A better response would be that mouse is hardly representative of "religious-influenced" people, and that there are quite a few very smart people that hold religious beliefs here and elsewhere.

Picking any one person or other as *the* representative sample of either religious or non-religious people is both not logical, and a little unfair, no offense, ALVAREZ.

[mingus]

so the guy uses religion for his own selfish purposes...that's NEVER been done before...he's an attention whore and he's probably made a KILLING from all of this. that's all that he's doing. it was clear after he got it wrong the first time (he predicted Judgement Day originally in the early 90's and then took it back and "re-calibrated" his prediction). he's trash.

[2pac > Kobe]

ight, I'm loading up on ramen and water

[xellos88330]

Told you that crazy ass guy was going to say something about the mistake being some sort of "spiritual" beginning of some sort.

[DMC]

I cannot believe people listen to the dick wad. There are millions of retards all over the world, why give that one any attention?

[z0sa]

I cannot believe people listen to the dick wad. There are millions of retards all over the world, why give that one any attention?

Lots of people are hoping he's right. Just knowing he's not. That's the main reason why he gets attention, tbh

But there's also the fact they are announcing it day and night, "warning" people, and putting big signs on their cars and causing the posting of billboards etc etc, so . . .

[ALVAREZ6]

You would be surprised.

A better response would be that mouse is hardly representative of "religious-influenced" people, and that there are quite a few very smart people that hold religious beliefs here and elsewhere.

Picking any one person or other as *the* representative sample of either religious or non-religious people is both not logical, and a little unfair, no offense, ALVAREZ.

No shit, it was a trollish post. Mouse isn't even a Christian...or at least that's what I think his stance is, since he's a big backer of alternative design :lol.


Sure, no shit, there are people of all varieties. There are smart religious people, there are smart nonreligious people. There are dumb religious people and dumb nonreligious people. There are smart, religious republicans, smart, nonreligious republicans, dumb religious republicans, and dumb, nonreligious republicans. The same goes for democrats. There are smart people who mainly wear white sneakers, and smart people who mainly wear black sneakers. There are white basketball players and there are black basketball players. There are even basketball players of other races/ethnicities as well.

Good thing it's been established that there are all kinds of different people. One thing is indisputable however, that nonreligious people tend to have higher IQs than their religious counterparts. Which is nothing new, obviously.

[TheNextGen]

tbh, he said oct 21 long time ago..may 21 was when it would start. dumbasses who cant read.

[mingus]

lots of religion bashing in this thread. broad generalizations & slanted takes. i'm not very religious myself, but lets not forget there's a lot of good being done throughout world by religious people. in a month i'm going to a Ethopia for a month do hardcore charity work. i'll be doing what i can do to help out in some of the poorest areas in the world. it's being funded about a church and organized by two priests. not that i looked, but i seriously doubt theres any athiest organizations offering this kind of opportunity in my community.

[RandomGuy]

lots of religion bashing in this thread. broad generalizations & slanted takes. i'm not very religious myself, but lets not forget there's a lot of good being done throughout world by religious people. in a month i'm going to a Ethopia for a month do hardcore charity work. i'll be doing what i can do to help out in some of the poorest areas in the world. it's being funded about a church and organized by two priests. not that i looked, but i seriously doubt theres any athiest organizations offering this kind of opportunity in my community.

Atheists are a fairly small minority in the U.S. by any account. There is a reason it is called "organized" religion, heh.

Quite frankly, the atheists I have known have almost invariably tended to be more ethical than the really religious people I have known.

[mingus]

Atheists are a fairly small minority in the U.S. by any account. There is a reason it is called "organized" religion, heh.

Quite frankly, the atheists I have known have almost invariably tended to be more ethical than the really religious people I have known.

to your first point, even though there is a small minority i don't see any of them organizing far-raching charity opportunities. even when Christianity or Judaism were minority religions, the few believers that existed at the time (in numbers probably way less than current athiests & agnostics) did significant charity in their society. they had a moral obligation to do so.

to your second point, i really don't know what to say about it. a lot of factors that can be accounted for that aren't. i've noticed a lot of really religious people aren't raised right is one thing. they had apathetic parents/family that threw a Bible in their face from the time were young and hey expected that to suffice for parenting. a lot of that going on. hard to pin anything on religion without more details.

[phyzik]

to your first point, even though there is a small minority i don't see any of them organizing far-raching charity opportunities. even when Christianity or Judaism were minority religions, the few believers that existed at the time (in numbers probably way less than current athiests & agnostics) did significant charity in their society. they had a moral obligation to do so.

to your second point, i really don't know what to say about it. a lot of factors that can be accounted for that aren't. i've noticed a lot of really religious people aren't raised right is one thing. they had apathetic parents/family that threw a Bible in their face from the time were young and hey expected that to suffice for parenting. a lot of that going on. hard to pin anything on religion without more details.

You dont hear about Athiest charities because they dont need or want to sensationalize their charity, unlike Religion that seems to need to broadcast that they are a "giving" group. Oh, just dont mind all of the persicution of non-believers.

Why is that?

Here are just a few Athiest charities....

Atheist Centre of India
http://www.atheistcentre.in/default.html

Atheist Centre of India supports intercaste marriages and actively works to end child marriages and caste separation. The also provide aid to women in distress such as single mothers and prostitutes and promote equality of the sexes. Their education campaigns are designed to fight dangerous superstitions and practices such as witch hunts which can result in harm to innocent people. (Yes, there are still witch hunts based off of religious beliefs).



Foundation Beyond Belief
http://www.foundationbeyondbelief.org/node

Foundation Beyond Belief is an atheist charity which launched January 1, 2010. Each quarter Foundation Beyond Belief features ten charitable organizations, one each in the categories of animal protection, child welfare, education, environment, health, human rights, Foundation Beyond Belief itself, peace, poverty, and The Big Bang Fund - a small charity with a big impact. Members can choose which cause or causes to support from the featured causes.


EARTHWARD, Inc.
http://earthward.org/mission.shtml

Earth's Atheist Resistance To Holy Wars And Religious Devastation or EARTHWARD provides humanitarian aid to victims of religiously motivated violence. EARTHWARD provides aid suited to the victims usually in the form of food, clean drinking water, temporary shelters and medical aid.



Fellowship of Freethought
http://fellowshipoffreethought.org/

Among their outreach activities, the The Fellowship of Freethought organizes blood drives, collects food for local food banks, participates in holiday toy drives for needy children, and collects donations for deployed soldiers.



International Humanist and Ethical Union
http://www.iheu.org/

The International Humanist and Ethical Union (IHEU) is a union which includes more than a hundred atheist, secular and freethought organizations from 40 different countries around the world. IEHU fights for freedom of expression, human rights, and separation of church and state. They support the victims of religious persecution and superstition. IHEU fights to end untouchability, caste systems which place people in abject poverty with no hope of escape due to accident of birth.



Thats just a few.... They just choose not to advertise. They dont need to..... Actions speak louder than words.

[Homeland Security]

"Intelligent" religious people simply use their intelligence for self-delusion. You can convince yourself of all kinds of things if you really want to believe them. Smart people come up with craftier fallacies, that is all.

Arguing about who is more charitable is silly. Who gives a shit about charity? If it makes you feel warm and fuzzy inside to do something nice for someone you don't know and who can never do anything for you, then knock yourself out. But don't act like you're better than those of us who don't give a shit.

[Homeland Security]

But if you *do* want to talk about charities, there is a vast number of nonreligious as opposed to atheist charities, which makes sense because the absence of belief in something is not a very strong principle around which to build an organization.

[Homeland Security]

You dont hear about Athiest charities because they dont need or want to sensationalize their charity, unlike Religion that seems to need to broadcast that they are a "giving" group. Oh, just dont mind all of the persicution of non-believers.
Your argument is laughable bullshit. My argument is better. Most religious charities you probably have never heard of because they are not looking for publicity. Your teeny handful of atheist charities basically would be the exception that proves the rule.

Stop kicking the ball into your own net. Don't try to formulate another argument; you're better off just nodding your head in agreement with me. My point about secular charities carries the round on this pointless argument.

[Homeland Security]

This is pretty sad that I don't really even give a crap about charity but my reasoning crushes that of somebody who ostensibly cared. You shit-for-brains are soooooooooooo beneath me.

[NASpurs]

If it makes you feel warm and fuzzy inside to do something nice for someone you don't know and who can never do anything for you, then knock yourself out. But don't act like you're better than those of us who don't give a shit.

:lmao what a fucking dumbass

[mingus]

"Intelligent" religious people simply use their intelligence for self-delusion. You can convince yourself of all kinds of things if you really want to believe them. Smart people come up with craftier fallacies, that is all.

Arguing about who is more charitable is silly. Who gives a shit about charity? If it makes you feel warm and fuzzy inside to do something nice for someone you don't know and who can never do anything for you, then knock yourself out. But don't act like you're better than those of us who don't give a shit.

i am better for doing it though. and you can delude yourself into thinking i'm not if it makes you feel warm and fuzzy inside.

[NASpurs]

These are the same assholes who look for handouts when some kind of devastation happens to them but after they're on their feet again, forget about being charitable.

Gimme gimme gimme!

[mingus]

the absence of belief in something is not a very strong principle around which to build an anything.

+1

[NASpurs]

i am better for doing it though. and you can delude yourself into thinking i'm not if it makes you feel warm and fuzzy inside.

:toast

[Homeland Security]

These are the same assholes who look for handouts when some kind of devastation happens to them but after they're on their feet again, forget about being charitable.

Gimme gimme gimme!
You don't know what the fuck you are talking about. There is this thing called insurance which I pay for. I have family members, friends, and an extended network with an implied understanding of reciprocity.

I pay taxes, part of which go to support that segment of the population which not only fails to add any value, but actually subtracts.

Beyond that, I have no regard for the excess humanity who think they have some general claim on my resources for whatever bullshit reason they come up with.

[Homeland Security]

I used to buy into that Jesus crap and give of my time, money, energy, etc. I expended a lot of myself in order to propagate a lie. I made apologetics on this very website in defense of a lie.

Won't happen again.

[NASpurs]

You don't know what the fuck you are talking about. There is this thing called insurance which I pay for. I have family members, friends, and an extended network with an implied understanding of reciprocity.

I pay taxes, part of which go to support that segment of the population which not only fails to add any value, but actually subtracts.

Beyond that, I have no regard for the excess humanity who think they have some general claim on my resources for whatever bullshit reason they come up with.

Good for you. Insurance does protect YOUR ass. Must be nice to be born in a country where such things are available. Can't blame you numero uno, you don't know what the fuck is going on in the world though.

[NASpurs]

I used to buy into that Jesus crap and give of my time, money, energy, etc. I expended a lot of myself in order to propagate a lie. I made apologetics on this very website in defense of a lie.

Won't happen again.

Suuure.

[Homeland Security]

Good for you. Insurance does protect YOUR ass. Must be nice to be born in a country where such things are available. Can't blame you numero uno, you don't know what the fuck is going on in the world though.
I know what is going on in the world, but I simply don't care. Of the 7 billion people in the world, only 1 billion are necessary. This excess population crisis was caused by do-gooders thinking that vastly increasing the food supply by the "green revolution" was a good thing. In response, humans, who are deep down just cognitively advanced animals, kept fucking and reproducing until the population swelled to gobble up the increased supply. So, the same percentage of people are suffering, but because the population is higher, there are more of them. Since the food supply is reliant upon petroleum products and is therefore unsustainable, eventually the food supply will crash and there will be vastly more suffering than there would have been in the first place if people had just followed my example and not given a shit.

[Homeland Security]

Back to the original topic, this guy is probably the 100,00th or so Christian leader to predict a date and be wrong. There are lots of splinter groups, sects, etc., i.e. the Jehovah's Witnesses, who started off this way.

The "orthodox" version where "nobody knows the day nor hour" works out really well because when it keeps not happening, they end up "vindicated" even though the reason it keeps not happening is because it is all made up.

The early Christians were *convinced* Jesus was coming back in the 1st century. The reason for that is because Jesus promised them it would happen in the apostles' lifetimes. That promise can be found in the Gospels. Only when the last of the apostles died off with no sign of a Second Coming did that promise have to be, ahem, "reinterpreted."

[RandomGuy]

This is pretty sad that I don't really even give a crap about charity but my reasoning crushes that of somebody who ostensibly cared. You shit-for-brains are soooooooooooo beneath me.

:rolleyes


"Intelligent" ... people simply use their intelligence for self-delusion. You can convince yourself of all kinds of things if you really want to believe them. Smart people come up with craftier fallacies, that is all.

HS' petard, meet HS.

[RandomGuy]

Back to the original topic, this guy is probably the 100,00th or so Christian leader to predict a date and be wrong. There are lots of splinter groups, sects, etc., i.e. the Jehovah's Witnesses, who started off this way.

The "orthodox" version where "nobody knows the day nor hour" works out really well because when it keeps not happening, they end up "vindicated" even though the reason it keeps not happening is because it is all made up.

The early Christians were *convinced* Jesus was coming back in the 1st century. The reason for that is because Jesus promised them it would happen in the apostles' lifetimes. That promise can be found in the Gospels. Only when the last of the apostles died off with no sign of a Second Coming did that promise have to be, ahem, "reinterpreted."

Which is essentially what the jackwagon in the OP did. The literal rapture got converted into a allegorical, not-literal rapture.

People interpret the bible literally when it agrees with what they are inclined to believe, then figuratively when it gets to the kinds of shit that militant atheists always bring up in conversations like these, i.e. the old testament sections on who should be stoned.

There are some lines of thinking that say that the entire new testament was simply written some time in the 4th century.

Personally I find it quite telling that the earth shaking miracles depicted in so many ancient passages just stopped happening about the time the ability to write became widespread and the first glimmers of true science came about.

[mingus]

Which is essentially what the jackwagon in the OP did. The literal rapture got converted into a allegorical, not-literal rapture.

People interpret the bible literally when it agrees with what they are inclined to believe, then figuratively when it gets to the kinds of shit that militant atheists always bring up in conversations like these, i.e. the old testament sections on who should be stoned.

There are some lines of thinking that say that the entire new testament was simply written some time in the 4th century.

Personally I find it quite telling that the earth shaking miracles depicted in so many ancient passages just stopped happening about the time the ability to write became widespread and the first glimmers of true science came about.

but people who are religious generally don't respond to the Bible on a logical level. you point out to them that the "earth shaking miracles" aren't happening anymore and they will give you a response that DEFIES logic. it's not that they're stupid either (neccessarily). for a lot of the religious people i've been around (esp. many of them who live absolute abject poverty) it wouldn't make any sense to pay any attention to the facts because RELIGION is all they got. GOD is all they got. it gives them reason to be optimistic. why would they flood their brains with facts that might undermine that god exists? wouldn't do them an good. problem with that is you get some of the ignorance that comes along with some of those passages that are in the Bible. but hey, it's a life-sustaining force for a lot of them. you gotta take the good with the bad from (from my prespective at least--i'm just a theist).

it's always the people who are in relatively favorable, positive circumstances pointing out that the Bible on many levels is fallacious. and they're right. it's is fallacious. it is stupid in alot of ways. but from up here (gotta say i got it pretty good) it's also stupid to eat out of a trashcan or eat rotten food, or drink diry water. tray telling that to a poor person though and they'll laugh at you and call YOU stupid.

[ALVAREZ6]

but people who are religious generally don't respond to the Bible on a logical level. you point out to them that the "earth shaking miracles" aren't happening anymore and they will give you a response that DEFIES logic. it's not that they're stupid either (neccessarily). for a lot of the religious people i've been around (esp. many of them who live absolute abject poverty) it wouldn't make any sense to pay any attention to the facts because RELIGION is all they got. GOD is all they got. it gives them reason to be optimistic. why would they flood their brains with facts that might undermine that god exists? wouldn't do them an good. problem with that is you get some of the ignorance that comes along with some of those passages that are in the Bible. but hey, it's a life-sustaining force for a lot of them. you gotta take the good with the bad from (from my prespective at least--i'm just a theist).

it's always the people who are in relatively favorable, positive circumstances pointing out that the Bible on many levels is fallacious. and they're right. it's is fallacious. it is stupid in alot of ways. but from up here (gotta say i got it pretty good) it's also stupid to eat out of a trashcan or eat rotten food, or drink diry water. tray telling that to a poor person though and they'll laugh at you and call YOU stupid.
....:wtf

don't really understand the point of this post, it's pretty understandable for very poor people to be religious and I don't blame them, I doubt anyone here is arguing otherwise, and eating out of a trashcan and drinking dirty water is NOT stupid if that is your only option and your goal is to survive because your other option is a slow death.

[mingus]

The purpose of my post was to point out that bringing in facts & logic to "expose" the Bible doesn't do any good for people who respond to it on primarily emotional level and are dismissive of the anything that is going undermine belief system

[Nathan Explosion]

What I've always wondered is why a lot of atheists find it their life's mission to expose the bible. Why even bother? Just let things go and live your life. If nothing is going to happen when you die, then why waste so much time and energy when all you have is this time on Earth.

Religious people believe they have something to work for, so they can waste time and energy doing these type of things. What's the point for an atheist? Instead of arguing with the "idiots", how about you enjoy yourself because it'll all be over soon and then......nothing.

[RandomGuy]

but people who are religious generally don't respond to the Bible on a logical level. you point out to them that the "earth shaking miracles" aren't happening anymore and they will give you a response that DEFIES logic. it's not that they're stupid either (neccessarily). for a lot of the religious people i've been around (esp. many of them who live absolute abject poverty) it wouldn't make any sense to pay any attention to the facts because RELIGION is all they got. GOD is all they got. it gives them reason to be optimistic. why would they flood their brains with facts that might undermine that god exists? wouldn't do them an good. problem with that is you get some of the ignorance that comes along with some of those passages that are in the Bible. but hey, it's a life-sustaining force for a lot of them. you gotta take the good with the bad from (from my prespective at least--i'm just a theist).

it's always the people who are in relatively favorable, positive circumstances pointing out that the Bible on many levels is fallacious. and they're right. it's is fallacious. it is stupid in alot of ways. but from up here (gotta say i got it pretty good) it's also stupid to eat out of a trashcan or eat rotten food, or drink diry water. tray telling that to a poor person though and they'll laugh at you and call YOU stupid.

Don't get me wrong here. There is some wisdom to be had from the Bible, as there is wisdom in many religions. One doesnt' have to buy the entire thing to think that helping the poor is a good thing, or that being good to other people is the way to go through life.

[Nathan Explosion]

Don't get me wrong here. There is some wisdom to be had from the Bible, as there is wisdom in many religions. One doesnt' have to buy the entire thing to think that helping the poor is a good thing, or that being good to other people is the way to go through life.

Don't kill, don't steal, be kind and love your fellow man. These are all things that religion teaches us. However, these are all things that we should all follow, regardless if a book teaches us this or not. We should all not kill, steal, and be kind to everyone. So it goes either way.

[Fernando TD21]

lots of religion bashing in this thread. broad generalizations & slanted takes. i'm not very religious myself, but lets not forget there's a lot of good being done throughout world by religious people. in a month i'm going to a Ethopia for a month do hardcore charity work. i'll be doing what i can do to help out in some of the poorest areas in the world. it's being funded about a church and organized by two priests. not that i looked, but i seriously doubt theres any athiest organizations offering this kind of opportunity in my community.
:toast



Don't kill, don't steal, be kind and love your fellow man. These are all things that religion teaches us. However, these are all things that we should all follow, regardless if a book teaches us this or not. We should all not kill, steal, and be kind to everyone. So it goes either way.
In a ideal world we wouldn't need religion. But unfortunately a lot of people only embrace this type of morality when they have something to fear or to encourage them (hell, God, etc.).

[Muser]

The world ends on my 20th birthday, fuckin' A.

[mingus]

Don't get me wrong here. There is some wisdom to be had from the Bible, as there is wisdom in many religions. One doesnt' have to buy the entire thing to think that helping the poor is a good thing, or that being good to other people is the way to go through life.

yeah but i find that religion and a belief in a higher being will cause people to get off there ass an actually do those things instead of just talking about them.

[RandomGuy]

yeah but i find that religion and a belief in a higher being will cause people to get off there ass an actually do those things instead of just talking about them.

I think the kinds of people who are motivated to help others will do so regardless of religious beliefs.

It would be an interesting question to study.

[Blake]

yeah but i find that religion and a belief in a higher being will cause people to get off there ass an actually do those things instead of just talking about them.

I find many reasons for people to motivate themselves to help others.

[RandomGuy]

Jon Stewart quipped at the time "actuarially speaking, [the 89 year old Camping] isn't far off" in his predictions of the end of the world.

Homeslice might not live to see October and the third failure of his worldview.

Rapture Preacher Suffers Stroke, Now in Hospital (http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=13828612)

Our reverence for religious beliefs or variations thereof are probably the only thing keeping him out of jail.

[easjer]

Here's my question, as I haven't studied this much at all - did followers give money to Camping? Or use their own funds on their own to promote his message? I read a year or so ago - and again when this all didn't go down - about people selling their homes, cashing in their retirement packages and going on the road to proselytize. But that's not the same sort of fleecing that say, Bernie Madoff, was into. He wasn't directly taking their money for the most part, right? I know he probably received donations through his foundations or whatever, and is probably paid through them as well, but I'd guess those books are pretty clean.

[Bukefal]

He received huge amounts of donations from his blind followers. Ive read somewhere around 70 million. With that money he paid for all the huge posters he put up in almost every bigger city in the USA and Europe.

[easjer]

But he wasn't keeping the money himself or treating friends and family to expensive vacations to await the rapture/apocalypse in lavish style, right?

I donate to March of Dimes, and raise money for them. This spring, they gave money and support to the campaign for KV Pharmaceuticals to get exclusive marketing rights to a drug called Makena (formerly 17p) for the next seven years. This drug has been made in compounding facilities for many years and the primary research on the drug was done years and years ago, and very little research costs were incurred by KV Pharmaceuticals.

The drug itself is proven to help women like me who have a history of pre-term labor without clear cause (well, my cause was known, but it can assist in keeping me pregnant longer with few side-effects and no danger to the fetus) in a way that tocolytics don't seem to help.

With MoD support, KV won the patents and the rights and promptly took a drug that used to be $15 a shot on average (1 shot per week, from weeks 16 to 36 of pregnancy), and raised the cost to $1500 per dose. Because they could. They've since come down to under $700 per shot, but it doesn't change the way I personally feel about money I solicited in my son's name and money I earned and donated going to support this.

Doesn't make it illegal, however.

Which it seems is what is happening here. Trust and faith are finicky things, and so long as his followers were ok with how that money was spent and so long as they weren't living in ultra-luxury . . . well, it sucks, but you can't protect individuals from parting with their money if they are determined and believe the cause a worthy one.

[Bukefal]

I have no idea, if the money really end up where he said it will end up. Probably not, because usually these kind of 'sects' are just a scam by a smart leader who manages to brainwash and get his followers so stupid so that they give up their money, jobs, possesions and everything for that leader, under the guise of 'its for a good cause'.

Meanwhile the leader fills his pockets very well and turn out to be the smart scammer.

In this case I dont know. He did actually spend a lot of money for this, because these posters and leaflets and radio shows were literally everywhere. Even in europe, in almost every town at bus stops and walls you saw his bullshit.

But still, because of all other cases like this, you tend to be sceptical and thats why I dont believe he didnt fill his own pockets.

[florige]

But he wasn't keeping the money himself or treating friends and family to expensive vacations to await the rapture/apocalypse in lavish style, right?

I donate to March of Dimes, and raise money for them. This spring, they gave money and support to the campaign for KV Pharmaceuticals to get exclusive marketing rights to a drug called Makena (formerly 17p) for the next seven years. This drug has been made in compounding facilities for many years and the primary research on the drug was done years and years ago, and very little research costs were incurred by KV Pharmaceuticals.

The drug itself is proven to help women like me who have a history of pre-term labor without clear cause (well, my cause was known, but it can assist in keeping me pregnant longer with few side-effects and no danger to the fetus) in a way that tocolytics don't seem to help.

With MoD support, KV won the patents and the rights and promptly took a drug that used to be $15 a shot on average (1 shot per week, from weeks 16 to 36 of pregnancy), and raised the cost to $1500 per dose. Because they could. They've since come down to under $700 per shot, but it doesn't change the way I personally feel about money I solicited in my son's name and money I earned and donated going to support this.

Doesn't make it illegal, however.

Which it seems is what is happening here. Trust and faith are finicky things, and so long as his followers were ok with how that money was spent and so long as they weren't living in ultra-luxury . . . well, it sucks, but you can't protect individuals from parting with their money if they are determined and believe the cause a worthy one.




Just looking at the modest house he lived in doesn't seem to be any kind of scam. From the outside the poor old guy really thought that he would be right on this time. I was fully expecting to see some sort of lavish palace after this was all said and done.

[Agloco]

He had a stroke. Bad juju?

http://religion.blogs.cnn.com/2011/06/13/leader-of-may-21-doomsday-movement-suffers-stroke/?iref=NS1



Harold Camping, the leader of the apocalyptic movement that predicted the end of the world would begin on May 21, has suffered a stroke, an employee at his radio ministry said Monday.

Camping suffered a “mild stroke,” last Thursday, said an operator at Family Radio, Camping's California-based broadcast ministry.

“He’s presently recuperating in a local hospital and doctors are pleased with his progress,” said the operator, who would not give her name.

[boutons_deux]

"He had a stroke"

There have been and will be plenty more just like him, spouting the same nihilistic "Christian" garbage.

[Fabbs]

He received huge amounts of donations from his blind followers. Ive read somewhere around 70 million. With that money he paid for all the huge posters he put up in almost every bigger city in the USA and Europe.
70 million?

And what did he do with the leftover money? (70 million - billboard costs?)
Me guesses one can do all those billboards for 3 million easy.
67 million left?

[Bukefal]

70 million?

And what did he do with the leftover money? (70 million - billboard costs?)
Me guesses one can do all those billboards for 3 million easy.
67 million left?

I have no idea. I've read it somewhere a while ago. But, yeah that's why I think he has a lot of money left which probably ended up in his own pocket, because usually thats the case with these kind of idiots.

[Spurminator]

http://s3.amazonaws.com/theoatmeal-img/comics/rapture/1.jpg
http://s3.amazonaws.com/theoatmeal-img/comics/rapture/2.jpg
http://s3.amazonaws.com/theoatmeal-img/comics/rapture/3.jpg