What happens when your end-of-the-world prediction is wrong

[progressoid]

On Oct. 7, eBible Fellowship recommended that everybody listen to its last-ever question-and-answer podcast with Chris McCann, because McCann believed that Oct. 7 would also Earth’s last day. On Oct. 8, the world was still here, and McCann had the unenviable task of explaining what had happened.

“Since it is now October 8th it is now obvious that we were incorrect regarding the world’s ending on the 7th,” he wrote in a statement sent to the many reporters who had reached out to him about his prediction. The statement was also posted on his Web site.

“There was much biblical information pointing to this date and we freely shared it with all. Yet, consistently stressing throughout the entire time period that the world ending on that date was a ‘strong likelihood,’ ” he wrote.

...snip...

Religion Dispatches followed some of those who believed May 21, 2011, would be the day a series of earthquakes would herald God’s judgement. Those who had eagerly anticipated the day constantly revised their theories with each other, including on a now-defunct message board.

Religion Dispatches writes:

When the sun rose on May 21, they were taken aback. Maybe it would happen at noon. When noon passed, they settled on 6 p.m. When that came and went, some thought it might happen at midnight. Or perhaps it wouldn’t happen until May 21 was over everywhere on the planet. “It will still be May 21st in American Samoa (last time zone before the International Date Line),” someone posted on Latter Rain, an online forum for believers.

By Sunday morning, new theories were floated. “It was God’s plan to warn people. It was His purpose to hide the true meaning behind May 21. It’s about us suffering what He went through,” a believer commented.

A year after the prophecy passed, the article found, Camping’s followers were left with real emotional and financial distress.

More..

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-intersect/wp/2015/10/10/what-happens-when-your-end-of-the-world-prediction-is-wrong/?tid=sm_fb

[WhollyHeretic]

1. Seventh Day Adventists were formed from the teachings of a man who claimed the end

of the world would be 1843 and 1844 and after it didn't happen they decided to to create a church from his teachings? A guy predicts the end of the world 4 times and gets it wrong 4 times but somehow they think he has some inside information? I have tried many times over the years to understand religious people but I just don't get. I just end up with a headache when I try.

[trotsky]

3. It's religion.

You can't understand it. You're not supposed to.

[AlbertCat]

4. but I just don't get.

I kinda do.

It's an "I'm so special" kinda thing. They "know" or have been included in the cool kids group that "knows" something major.... that everyone else will laugh at, but they KNOW something the hecklers don't...something really big!

EGO.

Everyone wants their lives to be special. Just start talking about...oh... wisdom teeth problems... and everyone will have a story.

As Richard Feynman would say:

"OH man! You'll never guess what happened to me today!"

"What? What?"

"Absolutely nothing."

[mountain grammy]

2. “THE WORLD’S CONTINUATION IS NOT A JUSTIFICATION OF THE WORLD,”

Now there's a profound statement.

[Warpy]

5. Cults generally find NM inhospitable

but we did have one clinging to the northeast corner. Its leader is sitting in the state pen for getting a little too friendly with girl children in the cult but before he got caught, he did predict the end of the world and his own metamorphosis into an obvious god. When it didn't happen, the cult simply denied such predictions had been made. This is the nature of unshakable belief, you believe whatever god's go-between tells you to believe on any given day.

[A HERETIC I AM]

6. Ahhhh...good ol' Harold. What a card!

I used to listen to him on and off while driving OTR.

He once talked to a young, teenage girl who called that was worried about what kind of music her friends listened to. Old weird Harold told her the ONLY music she should listen to was that music that was specifically written to glorify god.

He essentially told a 16 year old girl to only listen to 16th century church music so she wouldn't be tainted!

He told one caller (and I'm sure he did it many many times) that (hear this in his low, long drawn out voice, now); "The bible should neeeever be questioned"

Yeah, right Harold. Your dopey followers might just find out it's a bullshit story.


I'm betting he was a gas at parties.

So...where is he now? In heaven? Hell?

Neither.


He's fucking dead, that's where he is.

[mr blur]

7. What a card?

[A HERETIC I AM]

8. Hee hee....yup!

He was fun to listen to.

He attracted a certain type of bible literalist that would call to challenge his views on who gets saved, etc., plus his views on the Sabbath day.

His radio show was a real gem. It's the kind of thing that is all you can find on the radio at the 285 mile marker on I-80 in Wyoming at 2 AM.

Ahhhhh...."Brother" Camping. Only in America. Well...maybe not only, but we gave him the radio waves.

What I found REALLY interesting when I learned it, is that he broadcast from Berkley, CA of all places!

[Lordquinton]

10. Berkely is very open and welcoming to all types

Part of that whole liberal thing, being actually welcoming and all that.

[onager]

9. Hilarious Xian schadenfreude over Camping

Camping had some followers in the area where I'm living now - the buckle on the Bible Belt in the rural South.

They went around telling all the slightly less insane Xians that only Brother Camping knew the Day and the Hour when Jesus would return, etc. etc. And evidently they were pretty arrogant and stroppy about the whole thing.

I've heard some good stories. Like some of the Apocalyptists were opportunists who took out 2d/3rd mortgages, and ran up their credit cards to the max. Because Jesus would make sure they never had to pay it back when the world ended!

And they didn't necessarily turn that money over to Bro Camping to buy his billboards. Some spent it on splurgy family trips to places like Mouschwitz/Orlando or Myrtle Beach. To "say good-bye to the sinful material world" etc.

Their preaching to other believers certainly came back to bite them in the ass. On May 22, they were broke, homeless and carless.

And where did many of them go looking for charity? The same churches they had previously criticized for not believing in the prophecy.