Harold Camping, the Preacher Who Wrongly Predicted ‘Judgment Day,’ Is Dead

[alp227]

Radio evangelist Harold Camping was so certain that the Rapture would occur on May 21, 2011 that he staked his entire reputation on it. His company, Family Radio, spent more than $5,000,000 on 5,000 billboards announcing the date and a media frenzy followed.



Late tonight, his family announced that Camping died on Sunday...

Camping was singled-out as a laughingstock, no doubt. But his beliefs were no different than those of 79% of Christians in America who think Jesus is coming back one day and the 20% of American Christians who think it’ll happen in their lifetime.

full: http://www.patheos.com/blogs/friendlyatheist/2013/12/16/harold-camping-the-preacher-who-wrongly-predicted-judgment-day-is-dead/

I live in the Bay Area, and Family Radio has presence in local media via both a low-powered TV station and AM radio station. The TV station would often have Camping's call-in "Open Forum" show or some other show or event hosted by Camping. I can't say I miss Camping, but at least in 2013 we don't have to deal with either this kook or Sylvia Browne anymore. (And I did NOT know Browne died in San Jose.)

[Mz Pip]

1. Well then.

I wonder who gets all the money he conned out of the ignorant and gullible people who funded his lunacy.

[edbermac]

2. I hope he dressed lightly.

It's very hot for where he's headed.

[Warpy]

3. I think he was likely a broken man

after the world stubbornly refused to end after he'd ordered it to. I have a feeling the lawsuits from people who had given away everything they had to follow his caravan of freaks around the country were piling up.

I have to feel sorry for anyone that delusional. Back in the bad old days before Reagan got into politics, we'd give them vacations at state mental hospitals and medicine that would make all the voices go away.

[Live and Learn]

12. +1 nt

[cherokeeprogressive]

4. "...his beliefs were no different..." What bullshit.

Because LOTS of people thought JC was coming back that day??

[LeftyMom]

6. It's hair-splitting to say that because he set a date and others insist "any day now"

that there's any great difference in the beliefs of various pretribulation rapture believing evangelicals.

[cherokeeprogressive]

8. Oh bullshit.

This argument is as stupid as what color skin a mythical man in a red velvet suit has.

"Any day now" is as old as the scriptures themselves.

[LeftyMom]

10. The particular brand of "any day now" and the expectations of what happens then are >200 years old,

they're nearly exclusive to American Evangelicals, and yeah, they're all variations on that particular theme.

I read whackdoodle religious stuff as a hobby, trust me, I could get really arcane and technical about the various sorts of rapture believers, the history of the rapture ideology, etc. Suffice it to say, what he believes isn't that uncommon within American Evangelicals (and their various church plants and mission fields overseas.) The smarter hucksters avoid date setting for obvious reasons, but even the ones who do get to shuffle the dates around a few times with lame excuses before the believers catch on.

Rapture believers also tend to shift the current events that they believe are signs of the impending rapture rather easily. In the 80's everything in Revelation was about the Soviets. Now it's all about The Muslins. In another decade the same preachers will probably say the same verses are talking about China and the end is still totally nigh.

[lpbk2713]

5. May 22, 2011

[TreasonousBastard]

7. His judgment day certainly came...

although he didn't predict it.

[Luminous Animal]

9. I wonder if he saw that one coming.

[Lint Head]

11. Wrong again.

[Javaman]

13. I don't think anyone could have predicted this...nt