The Rapture? Really...

"The Rapture of Psyche"

Artist: Bouguereau

So many people are buzzing about the end of the world. 2012 and the Aztec calendar has been a major focus for many over the last year or so, but the current trend is to lament the second coming, and the occurrence of "The Rapture". Who will be saved? Who will be left behind for the last days before "Doomsday"? Okay, now, who (besides me) thinks this is just something to needlessly cause mass hysteria and expects to be here going about their daily life for years to come?

The source of this predicted date of the second-coming is an 89 year old radio broadcaster in California named Harold Camping. He predicted the coming of "The Rapture" in 1994, but alas the man's math was off. (Feel free to detect a modicum of sarcasm there...)

What exactly is supposed to happen? Well, two-days from now (May 21st) has been designated as Judgement Day. All of those who are saved (Camping has been quoted as saying it will be 200 million) will rise up and go to heaven. At 6:00 pm (I wasn't able to find out if that's eastern or pacific standard time) the arrival of Christ will be signaled by a "Global Earthquake" that will cause mass destruction. The saved folks will be plucked up, and the rest of us heathens will stay here on the planet "ruled" over by Christ. For 5 months we will endure famine, floods, quakes...a lot of disastrous events that will spread chaos far and wide. Things will be so devastated that we will have to revert back to more primal means to survive. Then right before Doomsday, which is said to happen on October 21st, Jesus and Satan will throw-down ~ Jesus coming out the winner. Doomsday will happen on October 21st, the planet will be destroyed and the remaining will all die. Yes, this is a very general albeit watered down description of what the various sources said, but you can get the picture...

Do I believe this is all going to go down? No, I don't. I am a spiritual being, not a religious one. Let me say here that if you are religious and believe in "The Rapture"...if that gets you through the day...more power to you. We as individuals do not have to believe in the same thing. For me, spirituality is an all encompassing umbrella that includes all beliefs. Think of spirituality as a multi-faceted gem. 'Organized Religion' is just one facet.

Artist: Gustav Dore

There is quite a lot on the Internet about Campings' prediction. I read information on several sites, and it raised a question...do the people who seemingly support Campings' claims actually consider themselves "believers"? One particular site went on and on about Camping, and were quite detailed in breaking down the prediction. They have paragraph upon paragraph of information; bulleted lists; statements urging people to embrace Christianity so they can be saved. At the bottom of the page? Ordering info for a t-shirt that says "I Survived Judgement Day, 2011".

I think that kind of says it all...