May 21, 2011

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I have already asked this question in another forum -and will try on this one as well. My cousin, who is a devout Catholic, has been sharing with me about some Christian radio person who is writing and speaking widely about what he purports to be the end of the world on May 21, 2011. He apparently backs his ideas up with many Biblical references. My question is twofold: First - has anyone any knowledge of this? And secondly - if so, what would be your guidance on this? Thanks!
 
Matthew 24:36 – "“But of that day and hour no one knows, neither the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone.”
 
Hi,
Your friend is referring to Harold Camping. Look him up in Wikipedia. I won’t go into specifics about his Family Radio ministry or his teachings. Let’s just say that Fr. Mitch Pacwa of EWTN has told callers to his TV and radio shows that he is willing to have a cup of coffee with Mr. Camping on May 22, 2011.

As for what he teaches, I am reminded of Acts 1:7:
“He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority.”

If Mr. Camping adheres to Sola Scriptura, I cannot find any verse in the Bible that gives him the authority to predict the end of the world much less one that gives the exact date for the parousia. Of everything I have heard him say with his number-crunching and such is that he conveniently left out the adoption of the Gregorian calendar (24 Feb. 1582) in his calculations.

Hope this helps,
Joe
 
Jguerra said:
Let’s just say that Fr. Mitch Pacwa of EWTN has told callers to his TV and radio shows that he is willing to have a cup of coffee with Mr. Camping on May 22, 2011.
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Maybe Father should modify that and say May 23rd as May 22nd will actually still be May 21st on the other side of the dateline. 🙂
 
Jguerra said:
Hi,
Your friend is referring to Harold Camping.
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Yes, he has really been pushing this idea lately. Of course, 20 years ago, he was doing the exact same thing, predicting the second coming of Christ in 1994. His book on that subject is still available through Amazon.com
 
Thanks everyone for your replies. I thought as much - but wanted to float the question to see if anyone else out there had heard the same thing. Much appreciated all!
 
There’s also a few websites with the date, in varying forms, as the address. I hand’t heard anything about it until this week, so I clicked on one of the sites. It was so poorly written (grammar, spelling, punctuation) that I couldn’t struggle through two paragraphs. As others have said, looks like a bunch of hooey!
 
Praise the LORD! I used to be scared of this, but after reading this, I feel less afraid! Thanks for making me sure that 5/21/2011 will be an ordinary day, as with 10/21/2011, 12/21/2012, and so on! I’m going to NJ over a month from the “proposed” day of rapture, and I’m going on with my life!
 
I’m not really afraid about his “prophecies”, I’m afraid about his followers.

There’s some poor people who have given everything they have to support this campaign, this people really believe the end will start on May 21, and they won’t believe that “rapture” never happened, they will believe they were left behind to die in a terrible way, so many will choose suicide.

There’s also the danger of some creating chaos to make us believe Camping’s new prediction was true.

God help them.

Iván

PS: Camping doesn’t have one failed prophesy, he has like 8, including, September and then December (Christmas 1994), he also predicted another date for 1995 if I’m not wrong, I simply can’t understand how people still believe him.:
 
ivan_2068 said:
Camping doesn’t have one failed prophesy, he has like 8, including, September and then December (Christmas 1994), he also predicted another date for 1995 if I’m not wrong, I simply can’t understand how people still believe him.:
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Exactly. The poor man has made so many predictions based on sums made of random numbers mentioned in the Bible, stating that “the end will come on such in such a date” on so many differen occasions. His persistence would be admirable if it wasnt for two things, one being that he scares so many people by doing it (I certainly do not believe him and yet he manages to freak me out a little so goodness knows how those who do believe him feel) and the second being that it is so contrary to what Jesus teaches us about his second coming. He says he will be like a theif in the night and that no one will know the time or the place so what makes Harold Camping think that he is the exception to everyone else on the planet in the history of man kind of the last 2000 years?
 
Please do not be offended by this poor man, nor of course should you be afraid of the ramblings of someone so obviously out of touch with reality. If he has managed to frighten some who do not have the warm and loving support of our good Mother Church, you should pray for them. I often listen to him on the radio when I am driving because irritation is a great antidote to highway hypnosis. He should not have any greater effect than that on those of us who are within the loving embrace of God’s spouse, the Catholic Church. Still, like all who preach great errors, he has a germ of truth in what he says, which is this: we should ALWAYS be ready for our own last day. “If the master of the house knew when the thief was coming he would be ready. (Since he does not he , he has to stay ready all the time)”. ( This is not an exact quote, just the best that I can remember right now.)

If at every moment you are doing your best to do God’s will, you need not fear whether tomorrow, or later in the year, or century, is your last day. If part of God’s will for your life includes the ordinary prudence of adult and responsible people, do that to enact God’s will in your life. Go to work, buy groceries, pet the dog, smell the roses, not because some poor deranged fool says that the end of the world is coming, but because that is what God wants you to do at that moment.

The end of the world for many people in Japan last week had nothing to do with the man on the radio. I hope that they were prepared to meet God.
 
CrazyRachel said:
Exactly. The poor man has made so many predictions based on sums made of random numbers mentioned in the Bible, stating that “the end will come on such in such a date” on so many differen occasions.
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I don’t believe he’s a poor man, the poor people are those naive fanatics who believe in him, like a woman who has taken all her money and sold her house to support a caravan and billboards.

What’s the fate of this poor woman? She will live in the street or become a burden for society, and Camping has been clear saying “I don’t ask for money, people give it voluntarily” (Sorry is I’m cynic, but legally, this is a disclaimer), he may say he’s sure, but he’s taking good care of protecting his radio.

If he’s so sure…Why doesn’t he donate all his money to support this people sent to poverty by his false prophecies, being that according to him, the “rapture” will destroy everything.

My impression as a lawyer, is that the radio is making a lot with donations and massive audience, if nothing happens (as it won’t happen), he will find an excuse saying that his calculations were wrong or that God changed his mind because of their prayers, and more people will follow him.

It’s a pity, but as PT Barnum said, a fool is born every minute", and sadly also somebody ready to exploit this fools.

Oliver Wendell Holmes said that shouting fire (when there’s no fire) in a crowded theater is a crime, Mr Camping is shouting “rapture” in a crowded country desperate for God and he should assume the consequences if there’s no rapture (that won’t happen).

We must be ready for the second comming of Christ…But we shouldn’t make profit with false dates.

Iván
 
talfonso said:
Thanks for making me sure that 5/21/2011 will be an ordinary day
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There is no guarantee of this. But there is no reason to suspect that day as opposed to tomorrow or next year or next millennium.
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dcrowmik:
Maybe Father should modify that and say May 23rd as May 22nd will actually still be May 21st on the other side of the dateline.
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Since Fr Pacwa is on EWTN television and radio on a regular basis, I assume he either lives in Alabama or is frequently there. Regardless, he must live in North America, like most of us here and like Camping. At this time, early afternoon for most CAF members in the Americas, it is tomorrow morning for Australia and Korea and so forth. If Pacwa wants to have an early morning cup of coffee on the 22nd it may still be the the 21st in Samoa, but by my calculation after 6 AM in Alabama it will the 22nd or later all the way around the world.
 
talfonso said:
Praise the LORD! I used to be scared of this, but after reading this, I feel less afraid! Thanks for making me sure that 5/21/2011 will be an ordinary day, as with 10/21/2011, 12/21/2012, and so on! I’m going to NJ over a month from the “proposed” day of rapture, and I’m going on with my life!
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People like this “Camping” person make me mad! :mad: They create a lot of fear and an atmosphere of hysteria! I don’t know how they manage to carry on, having been wrong so many times, where do their followers come from that they cant’ google the person and see that the “prophecies” haven’t come true???

Ridiculous!

:mad:
 
Digitonomy said:
There is no guarantee of this. But there is no reason to suspect that day as opposed to tomorrow or next year or next millennium.Since Fr Pacwa is on EWTN television and radio on a regular basis, I assume he either lives in Alabama or is frequently there. Regardless, he must live in North America, like most of us here and like Camping. At this time, early afternoon for most CAF members in the Americas, it is tomorrow morning for Australia and Korea and so forth. If Pacwa wants to have an early morning cup of coffee on the 22nd it may still be the the 21st in Samoa, but by my calculation after 6 AM in Alabama it will the 22nd or later all the way around the world.
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By the contrary, if he’s in Alabama he has more or less until 5:00 PM of May 21, because he said the rapture will occur according to Jerusalem time, so when it’s 5:00 PM in Alabama it will already be May 22 in Jerusalem.

Iván
 
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