Rapture Ready (and other End Times paranoia)

[EyeQueue]

My mother isn't fundie, but she's been buying gold bars and squirreling them away in her lair/hobby room for an economic collapse. I asked her once what she would do and and how she would feel if there never was one. The answer: "It doesn't matter, because I still get to surround myself with gold and roll around in it and pretend to be Scrooge McDuck. So even if it isn't practical, it's fun."

That makes me wonder if these preppers are enjoying their panic. 

 

Well, of course they are. They build up their preps, and show them off to others (but keep their locations secret), fantasize about the coming collapse and how they'll be ready while all the others will die in the ensuing Mad Max-style free-for-all, and basically participate in a circle jerk to that effect with other preppers.

So, yeah.  Panic porn.  Prepper porn. Post-apoc porn. 

[browncoatslytherin]

Hard to believe this guy is still relevant anywhere.

 

i honestly forget he's alive most of the time until something on him randomly comes up.

[apandaaries]

Oh my...now when I see the OkToBeTakei avatar, I will think of a demonic chicken, as if it wasn't scary enough lol.

I KNEW there was something off about that chicken.  Now I know it was all the demons residing within.  

[formergothardite]

 

i honestly forget he's alive most of the time until something on him randomly comes up.

I really thought he died a couple of years ago. 

[Rachel333]

Now that (the bolded) really frightens me..But it does to some degree explain the belligerence of many fundie Xtian groups.

By the way, this thread holds the record for making me laugh out loud most times in the fewest number of posts

The blogger Slacktivist (a Christian himself) did a great series recapping the Left Behind books but this post in particular is really enlightening about American Christianity. It's not even just fundies as a lot of American Christians believe in the rapture -- about 40% of Americans in general: http://magazine.good.is/articles/more-than-40-percent-of-americans-believe-the-rapture-is-coming

All of this sounds laudable and is meant to be interpreted favorably. But Rosenzweig also says the Magic Words regarding Carpathia — the words that indicate to every premillennial dispensationalist “prophecy” buff that this man is clearly the Antichrist:

“… a peacemaker and leading a movement toward disarmament. … I believe his goal is global disarmament.”

That word — “peacemaker” — practically screams Antichrist. For LaHaye and Jenkins’ intended readers, it wouldn’t be any clearer if Carpathia had the number “666″ tattooed on his forehead and went by the nickname “Horny Beast.”

This is one of the most astonishing and dangerous aspects of the popularity of the End Times heresies promoted by people like LaHaye and Jenkins. It is one of this biggest reasons why this matters — deeply, truly, seriously matters.

Tens of millions of copies of the Left Behind books have been sold. That doesn’t just mean that tens of millions of our fellow citizens have horrible taste in literature. It also means they are being taught to oppose — to condemn as immoral and ungodly — any effort that goes under the name “peacemaking.”

[Grimalkin]

My mother isn't fundie, but she's been buying gold bars and squirreling them away in her lair/hobby room for an economic collapse. I asked her once what she would do and and how she would feel if there never was one. The answer: "It doesn't matter, because I still get to surround myself with gold and roll around in it and pretend to be Scrooge McDuck. So even if it isn't practical, it's fun."

That makes me wonder if these preppers are enjoying their panic. 

 

I think I would really like your mom. When we were going through my moms things after moving her to assisted living I had her jewelry appraised just in case we needed to sell it for more money. Lots of vintage stuff. He basically wanted to melt it all down to make gold and silver bricks and gave an insulting price. (I was offered better money by collectors) he was convinced silver was the way to go because silver had a lot of industrial uses too. He had quite a collection of silver bricks.

ETA- I went to farm and fleet recently and they were selling buckets of dried prepped food and seeds. Lol.

Edited November 23, 2015 by Grimalkin

[JesusPony]

Oh, I'm glad someone started a thread on RaptureReady. They are certified Grade A batshit crazy. People who post on the forums have been waiting for the Rapture any!second!now! for decades. I think I discovered them early in Dubya's presidency because I used to read Fundies Say The Darndest Things and they were always heavily quoted. They were convinced that 9/11 meant the Rapture was nigh. Then, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan meant Jesus was getting super close to coming back. When Obama was elected, they were like "Please take me now, Jeebus!!!"  

It's kind of sad when you think how these people have pretty much put their lives on hold, or simply given up on life and are just waiting around to go to heaven. But the sadness passes quickly because they are some of the most hateful people on the internet:

 

i see people putting the french colors over their FB profiles and while I am saddened about all of this I refuse to follow suit on my profile pic because it reminds me too much of the gay victory and the rainbow colors. (*)

As America grew, so did the churches. Whether you black folks know it or not, it was white people who introduced you to the Gospel and the Bible. Black folks, you should thank God, for you were a part of this country from the beginning; He made you a citizen from the start. (*)

And also some of the most hilariously stupid:

 

As someone who believes that demons masquerade as "aliens", and are allowed by God to deceive humans, I find it plausible that they could have messed around with the surfaces of planets and laid strange objects out in order to further the alien lie (of course, some of them are just funny looking rocks [goofy smiley] ) (*)

It's not too late to invest in tin foil, people. 

Edited November 24, 2015 by JesusPony
Fixing quotes

[desertvixen]

I believe that Rapture Ready and FSTDT were my gateway drug that would eventually lead me to FJ...

[JesusPony]

@desertvixen Same.

[CyborgKin]

Speaking of demons masquerading as aliens, meanwhile in Creationist land: http://www.alienintrusion.com/ (redirects to book page in store)

[47of74]

It is so culturally  prevalent due to the Left Behind crap, that we have had confirmation kids bring it up. I usually just say someone made that up in the 19th Century (truth) and that the Church does not believe it and that ends it.

It doesn't help when some of the catechists go off on their own about this sort of thing;

Joyce Donahue first became aware of the popularity of the Rapture belief among Catholics a few years ago when a catechist at St. Charles Borromeo Parish in Hampshire, Illinois told her about "all the wonderful things he was teaching his seventh-grade class about the Rapture."

 

 

[Kittikatz]

My mother isn't fundie, but she's been buying gold bars and squirreling them away in her lair/hobby room for an economic collapse. I asked her once what she would do and and how she would feel if there never was one. The answer: "It doesn't matter, because I still get to surround myself with gold and roll around in it and pretend to be Scrooge McDuck. So even if it isn't practical, it's fun."

That makes me wonder if these preppers are enjoying their panic. 

 

This made my night - and I think I love your Mum. Scrooge McDuck was my favourite Disney character, and I've often imagined surfing along piles of precious metals. Glad someone who appreciates Scrouge McDuck gets a chance to live the dream! 

[Katzchen24]

I was today years old when I discovered that the Rapture Index was a thing. On the one hand, I'm so happy.....

On the other hand, there's some nasty xenophobia built into this, along with a healthy dollop of regular batshittery and confusion. For example, Criteria 39 Human Rights is currently maxed out at 5 points. There's no explanation why on the main page, and the explanatory notes only says:

"39. Civil Rights
To have a dictator, there must be a shortage of civil rights, and of human rights.  The time a people least expect their losing their freedom is when they are willingly giving it up."

There's no biblical reference, and no sense that the author understands what they're saying.