I knew it, but kept silence

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Ricardo_Gomez

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“I am going to let everything in God’s hand, for Him to do things for me”, said the addict. " I am going to be baptized next Sunday, and after that everything will be different because God will help me," he replied. As an alcohol/drug co-dependency counserlor, I get to hear this statement over, and over. Three days after he was baptized, however, a woman appeared in his life. Women happen to be one of the reasons my friend falls to a relapse. Despite the fact my friend was baptized, he was not able to finish the program and was kicked out for misconduct (he overexceeded his phone calls). Now he lives on the streets again, while the protestant church keeps on preaching their Rapture’s doctrine, and my friend, the addict asks why?

When I started to write these lines, I was not sure if I could finihshed them because I could be interrupted by the Rapture. Plus, I could be damn for write against the “only way to God’s millenium, the Rapture”. While many people have gain benefit from this doctrine, there are many more that are not so lucky. Some are not so lucky because the theory of the Rapture has its down sides. For example, if I am waiting for the Rapture, why do I have to learn to live among my non-pro-rapture neighbors? Or why do I have to search for God’s blessing when I know that as pro-rapture believer my name is written in the book of life, and I will join Christ in the sky? (Are We Living in the End Times? page 24.) By Tim La Haye and Jerry B. Jenkins.
 
People have been predicting the end times since Christ left the earth, but we are all still here. It still stands that we know neither the day nor the hour, and that he will come *like a thief in the night. *It amazes me that the rapture doctrine, one of the least Biblical and least consistent with Christian teachings, is believed primarily by “Bible” Christians. I highly recommend the book The Rapture Trap by Paul Thigpen, published by Ascension Press. It dismantles the whole idea of the rapture very well. You and your friend are in my prayers. Don’t lose hope for him, pray to God persistently, no matter how frustrating things get.
 
Ricardo Gomez:
When I started to write these lines, I was not sure if I could finihshed them because I could be interrupted by the Rapture. Plus, I could be damn for write against the “only way to God’s millenium, the Rapture”. While many people have gain benefit from this doctrine, there are many more that are not so lucky. Some are not so lucky because the theory of the Rapture has its down sides. For example, if I am waiting for the Rapture, why do I have to learn to live among my non-pro-rapture neighbors? Or why do I have to search for God’s blessing when I know that as pro-rapture believer my name is written in the book of life, and I will join Christ in the sky?
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I’m not worried about the Rapture. I haven’t seen any reliable signs that it is coming today.

I’m more worried about the speeding tractor-trailer truck coming up behind me on the interstate. You know which one, don’t you? It’s the one with my name written on its front bumper.

If that truck shows up today and I’m ready to meet the Lord with a clean conscience and a pure heart, I’m sure I need not be concerned about whether I would be raptured.

In the meantime, staying always vigilant and striving to bring my neighbors to Christ by my example, I’m going to do my best to search for God’s blessing and learn to live among my non-pro-rapture neighbors.
 
IMO, because of the huge dissemination of the “Left Behind” novels and the seemingly Biblical and Christian basis for their anti-Catholic theology, LaHaye and Jenkins are much more dangerous than even Jack Chick. (who is so over-the-top that rational people will laugh him off)

They are poisoning peoples’ minds in the name of God and further dividing the body of Christ. I would trust them all about equally, which is to say, not at all.

Elizabeth
 
I am surprised by how uncompassionate a program would be to kick someone out for making too many phone calls. Sheesh
 
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gelsbern:
I am surprised by how uncompassionate a program would be to kick someone out for making too many phone calls. Sheesh
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Were you ever in a house (before cell phones and second lines) with a teenager? 😃
For example, if I am waiting for the Rapture, why do I have to learn to live among my non-pro-rapture neighbors?
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I suspect most Rapture folks spend time evangelizing and making friends, just like the rest of Christianity. Usually the belief is accompanied by concepts like the tribulation. I doubt they wish their friends and neighbors to fall into it all unsuspecting.
 
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Pug:
Were you ever in a house (before cell phones and second lines) with a teenager? 😃

I suspect most Rapture folks spend time evangelizing and making friends, just like the rest of Christianity. Usually the belief is accompanied by concepts like the tribulation. I doubt they wish their friends and neighbors to fall into it all unsuspecting.
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The program in which I work is an intake program which means the patients/addicts live in there. Every thing is focused on their recovery;there for, they cannot received or call any body but the doctor, sponsor, or the court representatives. My friend called to talk to the girl, and when staff found out, he was kicked out of the program.

It is true that they are evangelizing, but the center of their doctrine is the Ratpure. And the novels The left behind are based on this doctrine, which at the end makes people not to enjoy their lifes in full. After all, Christ will lift only the ones who believe in Him/Rapture, right?
 
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BlueMit11:
People have been predicting the end times since Christ left the earth, but we are all still here. It still stands that we know neither the day nor the hour, and that he will come like a thief in the night. ….
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I attend my partners church (SDA) merely as an observer and to be with him. They ALWAYS are talking about the “end times” and “soon it will be here.Can I get an Amen?” In one of the bible classes one of the women said “I was hoping my kids would be little when the end times came.Now they are teens” Boy did I get a laugh out of that.
~ Kathy ~
 
We have to give them some credit, after all, the prophecy of Israel becoming a nation came true in 1948.
 
Ricardo Gomez:
It is true that they are evangelizing, but the center of their doctrine is the Ratpure. And the novels The left behind are based on this doctrine, which at the end makes people not to enjoy their lifes in full. After all, Christ will lift only the ones who believe in Him/Rapture, right?
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At the rapture itself only the believers are raptured, but that is not the only chance in most rapture systems. During the period of tribulation that follows the rapture, new converts will be made, and these new folks will go to heaven/be saved too.

However, I live in the Midwest, which doesn’t seem to have lots of rapture believers. Maybe in the South or elsewhere the belief system is different. I just don’t know.
 
I understand your point, but there are some particular things that I would like to bring out. The rapture doctrine is like the desire many people have: a desire for a better future. For example, a student sacrificies a lot in order to get a career. Why? A student make sacrifices to get a career because it could offer a better quality of life. The workers save money so they can, one day, have a better life. So the rapture doctrine is like a hope for a better world (millenium). What we must find within our time is the grace of God. How? Through the sacrifice of Christ of course. We need to love Christ by applying his teachings to our lives, but the rapture doctrine make us think that we are better than the non-pro-rapture believers. In short, the doctrine of the rapture teach us how to desire a better future, while ignoring an failing to thank God for another day of life.
 
Ricardo Gomez:
Any body please, I need to be busy come on.
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Sorry! I was online for a bit last night, but I didn’t get to your post.

I do see more of your point now. Some of what you are talking about might be a temptation to the OSAS (once-saved-always-saved) believers or the “eternal security” crowd in combination with the rapture folks. These folks would be absolutely sure they were going to be raptured. If you combine that with the belief that the rapture literally will be five or ten years from now at most, then it could lead to a sort of elitist attitude. For those with much charity in their hearts, however, I don’t think it has to lead to that.

I guess I am reluctant to concede the point because I think of my own longing for heaven (at the second coming or when I die). It is like St Theresa (of Avila) says…hmm, I don’t remember her exact words…our time here will seem like an bad stay in an inconvenient hotel. Or it is like our readings at mass today, “and not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.” From Romans. I guess I am sort of forward-looking myself.

Your point is excellent. We must thank God for each new day and each new opportunity to serve.
 
One thing that bothers me about the Rapture, that is besides it not being True, is the fact that all these people who believe in it seem to ignore.

The fact that thousands, if not millions, of people will die when the Rapture occurs.

What happens to all the people that are flying somewhere when the pilots are Raptured? They die in a fiery crash, not to mention the people on the gound who could be involved in these crashes.

What happens to people riding in a vehicle when the driver is Raptured?

Who responds to these accidents when the emergency responders are Raptured?

What happens at all the world’s nuclear power plants when the operators are Raptured?

What happnes to all the patients who are undergoing surgery when their surgeons are Raptured?

And on and on and on…
 
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