What are we talking about today?

I'll get back to theme days once I find a groove of posting regularly. In the meantime, most of my posts are about some variation of books, bikes, buses, or Broadway. Plus bits about writing, nonprofits, and grief from time to time.

This blog is mostly lighthearted and pretty silly. It's not about the terrible things happening in the world, but please know that I'm not ignoring those things. I just generally don't write about them here.

22 May 2011

The World May End, but This Blog Will Go On

Since everyone in the world is sure to be noting that we're all still here this morning, who am I not to join in? Yeah, my resolve not to jump into current events has really been strained lately.

I'm sure this completely failed to
happen yesterday. Whatever this is.
Source.
I don't mind someone thinking that he's found some message that no one else has noticed for 2000 years. Really, I don't. Once something is written down, people are bound to misunderstand it (for example, all the people who insist that Lord of the Rings is allegory when J.R.R. Tolkien said it most definitely is not). I can't even write a couple of sentences on this goofy little blog without my husband, the person who knows me best of anyone in the world, asking me what the heck I meant. People began sniping over what religious works of all sorts meant pretty much as soon as they were written, so it's not likely that sort of thing will end any time soon.

No. That's not what bugs me about this whole scenario. What bugs me? 1. You cannot, and should not, scare people into thinking the same thing as you, and 2. This is the kind of thing that makes all Christians look really dumb/useless/not credible/jerky (choose your favourite adjective).

Back in the day of hellfire and brimstone sermons, ministers used to have success with this tactic, notably Jonathan Edwards. But a major difference there was that his hearers already believed what he had to say, and he was just scaring them into slightly better behaviour than before. What have non-believers been doing these past couple of weeks? Shrugging off doomsday predictions, planning "Yay, the annoying Christians are gone" parties, and otherwise having a laugh. Great job, doomsayers. This doesn't make all Christians look stupid *at all*. Grrr. The one (rather dubious) upside to all this was the mileage we would-be comedians got from mocking. Which, I suppose, was also not helpful, but it was the only way I could refrain from sending ugly emails to the perpetrators.

So, how was your non-Rapture weekend? Did you do anything special?

14 comments:

Anonymous said...

What did we do? Enjoyed every day and hoped there would be more. When the time comes the time comes but in the meantime live each day to the fullest. Besides, I like surprises.

Unknown said...

I was en-raptured in some TV. And then I raptured some boxes of stuff to give away because I'm moving (not to heaven but to a nearby city). I wish I could be raptured away to some place that's not so hot like London or Paris...

Happy weekend!

mshatch said...

I did what I always do. I wrote, blogged, wrote and played Fallout #. Oh, and I raked a little in the yard yesterday when the sun came out for 5 minutes.

Mary@GigglesandGuns said...

I mowed. Certainly didn't want anyone talking about how I left my grass. LOL

Rusty Carl said...

Well, I mowed, I may have accidentally let a rapture joke or two slip out, and hung out with the family.

As someone who isn't a Christian, the whole May 21 thing wasn't something I came across until it became unavoidable during the past week. But the best I could tell, out of the roughly 2 billion or so souls that are in someway affiliated with, or consider themselves Christians, how many actually believed this was real?

Best I could tell it was a few hundred. I don't think anyone remotely rational would blame the whole of Christendom for the folly.

J E Fritz said...

This Rapture thing was so silly. I really hope no one thinks all Christians believe this sort of thing. Because all the Christians I know sure weren't.

Mary Mary said...

Can't agree with you more! This kind of thing just makes Christians look ridiculous and that's the last thing we need. People with thoughts like this need to keep them to themselves.

We hung out with my mom who's in town for the week. We've had a good time!

Su said...

You guys are great! At least we were all un-raptured together. ;)

Trisha said...

Yeah I'm still here too ;) But then I wouldn't be going to heaven anyway, as I'm a heathen atheist :D

Michelle in a shell said...

I caught up much needed sleep! Glad to wake up to everyone still being alive though!

Su said...

Hee. Still glad to be unraptured with all of you! At least none of us is here alone.

Karen M. Peterson said...

Most of my friends and family are some variety of Christian or another. I am thankful that not one of them actually believed the Rapture was coming this weekend.

Of course, most of my group doesn't actually believe in the Rapture anyway. We're weird.

KM Nalle said...

I kind of felt the same way. I'd rather not be lumped in with the ridiculous crowd, but I suppose every group has its outspoken outliers. I did feel kind of bad for the guy though. He believed so strongly. What a let down for him. How do you live that down not once but twice?

Su said...

@Karen: I don't, either.

@Kari: No kidding. And all the people who quit their jobs and sold everything...what did they do today?