Post by RLWI don't trust /anyone/ who claims that they know what god
wants anyone else to know or to do.
That's why I like the Quakers and Witnesses. They say, "If
god wants you to know something, he'll tell you himself."
Amen, brother!
Post by RLWPost by Ether St. VyingIf god wanted them to know that stuff, he would have put
it in the Bible.
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From a Canadian Snowbird & Theologian
http://www.tomharpur.com/articles/Star2005/FEB1205.asp
Rapture awaits in the Florida Panhandle
TOM HARPUR
Last month, as we usually do, we motored down U.S. Interstate
75, to the emerald waters of the Gulf of Mexico and the shores
of the Florida Panhandle. It's a time to catch up on serious
reading, walk the pristine white quartz beaches, watch for
pelicans and passing dolphins, and do some research on the
ever-fascinating phenomenon of American religion.
The whole coast from Panama City on the east to Pensacola on
the west, apart from having the most beautiful beaches in the
world, is the focus of some of the most intense conservative
evangelical activity in the entire U.S. Superchurches, training
schools, and all kinds of crusades abound.
You know you are in a different culture when you enter the U.S.
We always enjoy the flagrant billboards along the highway.
Shortly after entering Ohio, a large sign trumpets a coming "Gun
and Knife Show;" this one was followed shortly by another
equally vast board touting "Microsurgery: Vasectomy Reversal a
Specialty Money Back Guarantee!"
In rural Georgia, a rather beat-up Pentecostal Church had a big
sign: "Road Rage? How would Jesus drive?" Another advertised a
Bible Factory Outlet with drastic savings on both new and used
Bibles. Then there was the enormous Wal-mart store with a sign
at the customer service counter: "No refunds on guns and
ammunition." Guess they meant use them or lose them, but
don't bring 'em back.
At first impression, the religious scene in this Bible Belt terrain is
upbeat, vigorous, prospering in numbers, properties, and
outspoken leadership. There is an agenda both spiritual and
political as well as the people and money to make it happen. But,
when you pay close attention to the message being driven home
by every possible technical medium and skill, you meet some
deeply disturbing, even frightening realities.
Let me illustrate by describing an all-day Saturday conference at
one of the largest Protestant churches I have ever been in, The
Village Baptist Church in Destin, Fla. The facilities there are
gleaming, spacious, comfortable.
The theme of the day was Left Behind: A Conference on Biblical
Prophecy about End Times, and it featured three of the leading
voices in the U.S religious right today: Tim LaHaye, Gary Frazier,
and Ed Hindson.
LaHaye was one of the leaders included in Time magazine's
Jan.31 story on evangelicals most influential in the presidency of
George W.Bush. He appeared, for that reason, a few nights ago
along with three other prominent evangelicals on Larry King
Live.
LaHaye has written about 50 non-fiction books and is particularly
noteworthy because of his multi-million dollar Left Behind series
of novels dealing with end-of-the-world themes.
Following the "Rapture" the supposed moment when Jesus
Christ will suddenly appear and all the saved will be "caught up to
meet him in the air" leaving the rest of Earth's billions to
plague, pestilence, famine and war, there will be seven years of
the "Tribulation."
How the Christian "God of love" treats those "left behind" makes
for lurid reading indeed.
To sum up the essence of the three speaker's messages all that
long Saturday, I have never heard so much venom and
dangerous ignorance spouted before an utterly unquestioning,
otherwise normal-looking crowd in my life. For the $25 fee, the
800 devotees certainly got a plateful.
There were stunning statements about humans having been only
6,000 years on Earth and other denials of contemporary geology
and biology. And we learned that the Rapture, which could
happen any second now, but certainly within the next 40 years,
will instantly sweep all the "saved" Americans (perhaps one-half
the population) to heaven, leaving the United States as "a Third
World country" with the European Union becoming the revived
Roman Empire.
But these fantasies were harmless compared with the hatred
against Islam that followed. Here are some direct quotes: "Islam
is an intolerant religion and it's clear whose side we should be
on in the Middle East." Applause greeted these words: "Allah and
Jehovah are not the same God ... Islam is a Satanic religion ...We
will never be able to understand their (Muslim) mentality ...
They're going to attack Israel for certain. ..."
Gary Frazier shouted at the top of his lungs: "Wake up! Wake
up!" And roughly 800 heads nodded approval as he added that
the left-wing, anti-Israel media "for example, CNN" will never
tell the world the truth about Islam. According to these three and
the millions of Americans they lead, Muslims intend ultimately "to
impose their religion on us all."
The idea of peace in the Middle East was denounced specially
any accord granting any land whatever to the Palestinians.
The two-state concept is unacceptable to American Christians,
they argued, because "God gave that land to the Jews through
Abraham" long ago. If the Palestinians want a state they must go
to Jordan or elsewhere.
A terrible, final war in the region is inevitable.
Frazier, Hindson and LaHaye all teach at Rev. Jerry Falwell's
Liberty University. They have the ear of the President of the
world's sole superpower.
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(Gulp ... )