Having been raised an Episcipalian (which is essentually a Catholic without the Pope and with no Latin) I missed most of the odd corners of Christian beliefs. Everything from Kabalistic numerology to speaking in tongues has been outside my upbringing.

Now, all of a sudden, the rapture is showing up. A few days ago I was looking for something to listen too while driving. Our city library had Left Behind by Tim Lahaye and Jerry B. Jenkins -- the first in the series of novels that hypothesize what happens after the rapture.

And then I was reading Amy's Living Reflection of a Dream blog and she mentions a Pentagon report that predicts catastrophic weather changes in the next 20 years (a report supressed by the American admintration and only finally <a href="http://observer.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,6903,1153513,00.html"reported by the British Guardian</a> ).

But, in her lament over the head-in-the-sand response by the American government, she says that everyone in the current administartion is probably figuring they will be saved by the rapture.

Ok, it's just a coincidence. But I don't think the topic has come up once in the last 10 years of my life. And now, this super Christian-centric, magical, cataclysmic event comes up twice in one week. The believers would say God is "speaking to me". The rational would say that many people are looking for supernatural solutions to humanities continuing tough problems. I think I'm more in the latter camp -- I need to continue doing God's work and not rely on Him bailing me out when things get hairy.

Comments:

amy ( 2004-02-29 07:34:53 +0000 ): I hadn't thought of hearing about the Rapture more often recently as being a message to me to reform.. :) I was raised Catholic and had never heard of it until 60 Minutes did a story on it a few weeks ago. My mouth was hanging open the whole time. Catholics were explicitly mentioned as among those who would not be included in the Rapture, so I guess I'm doomed. I've mentioned it a few times on my site because I'm just so amazed that people believe this stuff. I think you're hearing more about this for a couple of reasons. A. Bush's church is among those that believe the Rapture and B. the Mel Gibson movie expounds the same beliefs these people have. I don't know about the movie being some message to the unsaved.. if you're going to believe in messages like that how do you discount the fact that the guy playing Jesus in the movie was struck by lightning, dislocated a shoulder, got pnemonia and had a lung infection during the filming? Hope you are recovering from your surgery well and enjoying your weekend.
Misterblue ( 2004-02-29 10:16:09 +0000 ): The Rationalist movement was in response to the excesses of government by belief and that was the philosophic camp our founding fathers came from. I am bothered that that has been forgotten. It is known that people can believe almost anything and that groups can believe and promolgate the most amazing things -- from suicide for joining comet flying space aliens to The Rapture. We all must believe something, but that is not the basis for civil government policy.
Misterblue, 2004-02-27 10:27:09 +0000