Did you know that the world is coming to an end? Did you know that it is going to happen sooner than you think? Have you read the billboards warning you God’s judgment “will” take place on May 21, this Saturday?
The source of this prophecy is Harold Camping, president and general manager of Family Stations, Inc., also known as Family Radio. In a recent interview on National Public Radio's “Morning Edition,” he said there was “absolutely no doubt” the world would come to an end May 21 based on his interpretation of Biblical readings.
This is not the first time Mr. Camping has warned the world about Judgment Day. He wrote a book, '1994,' which proclaimied the end of the world that year. When the world did not end as he predicted, he went back to the Bible to find out where he made a mistake. A misinterpretation of verse 22 of Matthew 24 resulted in the miscalculation of the true apocalypse date.
What is of interest to me is why a person might be drawn to such a belief. What is so appealing about the idea of a final, and predictable, end of the world? Is it true faith, or is it a revelation of a deep faithlessness?
Faith is not an intellectual affirmation to a particular tenet or creedal formula. Rather, it is a trust that by living faithfully what is good, right, just, beautiful and holy will surface in one’s life and in the world.
Faithlessness leads one to conclude these virtues cannot take place in this world. In despair, one’s hope turns away from the world to a hope in another. Out of hopelessness one begins to hope for the end of this world so another might take its place.
True faith suggests at its foundation the creation as a good and beautiful thing. It leads one to cultivate the good and beautiful aspects of life in all one does. Faithlessness assumes the natural world is critically corrupted and only a cataclysmic overthrow of the world through a supernatural event can allow true goodness to find a home.
Life can be discouraging at times. In the midst of wars and rumors of wars we might feel disheartened. The current economic uncertainty, combined with a cultural imperative which suggests true success is ultimately a matter of economics, life can be a dispirited enterprise.
In a world where everything seems to be changing at breakneck speed, and where we have very little control over our lives, depression can overwhelm us.
Without a faith, a trust in the ever-present goodness, all the fearful and dark insecurities of life can be overwhelming.
Faith and trust helps us see, and shows us how to bear and share a light of hope in the darkness. Without faith, the darkness is dark indeed. Faithlessness turns us toward a hope in a miraculous, supernatural occurrence that would force things right.
We cannot judge Mr. Camping’s heart. Has he concluded there will be a miraculous, supernatural event that will justify his life in a world he interprets as dark and corrupt. Is he a product of his fear? Maybe he's simply a charlatan, preying on the fears of others.
How might we live with one another so fear would not dominate so many hearts?
Affirming that faith trusts in the world as good and beautiful is a start. Goodness and beauty will rise to the surface as we live faithfully.
As more people choose to live faithfully, more will find the world to be wonderful, and fewer will, out of fear, hope for an end to the world.
The source of this prophecy is Harold Camping, president and general manager of Family Stations, Inc., also known as Family Radio. In a recent interview on National Public Radio's “Morning Edition,” he said there was “absolutely no doubt” the world would come to an end May 21 based on his interpretation of Biblical readings.
This is not the first time Mr. Camping has warned the world about Judgment Day. He wrote a book, '1994,' which proclaimied the end of the world that year. When the world did not end as he predicted, he went back to the Bible to find out where he made a mistake. A misinterpretation of verse 22 of Matthew 24 resulted in the miscalculation of the true apocalypse date.
What is of interest to me is why a person might be drawn to such a belief. What is so appealing about the idea of a final, and predictable, end of the world? Is it true faith, or is it a revelation of a deep faithlessness?
Faith is not an intellectual affirmation to a particular tenet or creedal formula. Rather, it is a trust that by living faithfully what is good, right, just, beautiful and holy will surface in one’s life and in the world.
Faithlessness leads one to conclude these virtues cannot take place in this world. In despair, one’s hope turns away from the world to a hope in another. Out of hopelessness one begins to hope for the end of this world so another might take its place.
True faith suggests at its foundation the creation as a good and beautiful thing. It leads one to cultivate the good and beautiful aspects of life in all one does. Faithlessness assumes the natural world is critically corrupted and only a cataclysmic overthrow of the world through a supernatural event can allow true goodness to find a home.
Life can be discouraging at times. In the midst of wars and rumors of wars we might feel disheartened. The current economic uncertainty, combined with a cultural imperative which suggests true success is ultimately a matter of economics, life can be a dispirited enterprise.
In a world where everything seems to be changing at breakneck speed, and where we have very little control over our lives, depression can overwhelm us.
Without a faith, a trust in the ever-present goodness, all the fearful and dark insecurities of life can be overwhelming.
Faith and trust helps us see, and shows us how to bear and share a light of hope in the darkness. Without faith, the darkness is dark indeed. Faithlessness turns us toward a hope in a miraculous, supernatural occurrence that would force things right.
We cannot judge Mr. Camping’s heart. Has he concluded there will be a miraculous, supernatural event that will justify his life in a world he interprets as dark and corrupt. Is he a product of his fear? Maybe he's simply a charlatan, preying on the fears of others.
How might we live with one another so fear would not dominate so many hearts?
As more people choose to live faithfully, more will find the world to be wonderful, and fewer will, out of fear, hope for an end to the world.
