When I first heard about a fringe Christian radio host’s rapture prediction, which claimed that the end of the world was to come on May 21, 2011, my initial response was to laugh it off. There have been numerous predicted doomsdays in my time, and this was just one more. However, the more I thought about it, the more it upset me. This was real to the people who believed it—and that was no laughing matter. Good people with great faith, even faith misplaced, do not deserve our ridicule. They deserve our compassion—and they deserve a society that would not take advantage of their willingness to believe.
People have given up their life savings, their personal belongings, and their pride over this most recent religious debacle. One must question not only the personal impact this is going to have on people, but the moral one. One must question how much money Harold Camping was able to make off desperate, scared believers through his supposed doomsday awareness campaign. According to CNN, he has received over eighty million dollars in “donations” since beginning the campaign. One must consider what is going to become of all those who gave up all they had, only to learn that they had been misled. I think of the people who will struggle financially now, while Camping is off living the good life with their money, and I shudder.
My upcoming release, Myths of Gods, takes a critical look at those who use religion as a means of controlling the masses or accruing wealth. I respect people who practice religious beliefs, but I also think it is important for all religious people, no matter who they are or what they believe, to take a closer look at their dogma—and their leaders. Faith is not a bad thing, but faith used as an excuse to commit wrongs against others is immoral on so many levels. There are too many examples for me to choose one or two (and I don’t want this thread to turn into a religious bashing party), but they exist on every religious front. No exceptions.
I know atheists who put down religious thought, saying that belief in anything so farfetched as any dogma warrants their scorn. I say belief is personal, individual, and an aspect to being human. I think it is something that should be respected—as long as no one is getting hurt. Of course, that’s just my personal belief.
People have given up their life savings, their personal belongings, and their pride over this most recent religious debacle. One must question not only the personal impact this is going to have on people, but the moral one. One must question how much money Harold Camping was able to make off desperate, scared believers through his supposed doomsday awareness campaign. According to CNN, he has received over eighty million dollars in “donations” since beginning the campaign. One must consider what is going to become of all those who gave up all they had, only to learn that they had been misled. I think of the people who will struggle financially now, while Camping is off living the good life with their money, and I shudder.
My upcoming release, Myths of Gods, takes a critical look at those who use religion as a means of controlling the masses or accruing wealth. I respect people who practice religious beliefs, but I also think it is important for all religious people, no matter who they are or what they believe, to take a closer look at their dogma—and their leaders. Faith is not a bad thing, but faith used as an excuse to commit wrongs against others is immoral on so many levels. There are too many examples for me to choose one or two (and I don’t want this thread to turn into a religious bashing party), but they exist on every religious front. No exceptions.
I know atheists who put down religious thought, saying that belief in anything so farfetched as any dogma warrants their scorn. I say belief is personal, individual, and an aspect to being human. I think it is something that should be respected—as long as no one is getting hurt. Of course, that’s just my personal belief.
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