Skeptic Project

I'll definitely check that out.

I don't really care about Christians anymore than Atheists, I know quite a few, them being the largest religious group on Earth. I'm definitely not one of those "lulz, Christians are stupid" types of Atheists, people like that annoy the shit out of me.

The Christians are usually ok. It's those denominations...

But even then, as long as you don't talk about religion, it's fine.

Why be an Atheist? Have you ever considered trying it out?

"Why be an Atheist? Have you ever considered trying it out? "

Wasn't a choice, I was born that way!

I'm dating a girl who would like me to start going to church. I'm willing to go to church provided it is one that preaches tolerance towards others. I have no desire to attend a church that believes you are going to hell for being born into a culture with the wrong religion, hates homosexuals, and uses fear to get people into church with tales about the rapture and the NWO among other things.

What is the rapture?

Rapture? That's, you know ...

uhm, it's a Tuesday night thing

soundofsinner "What is the rapture?"

It's a belief of most US Christians that started in the US around the late 1800's through the dream of a young girl.

Basically that there will be major things happening before "the end".

It's like this. Before Jesus comes back (so look busy!), there will be several events. In this order:

1: During a great war in the middle east, any country from the North of Israel will that is attacking will fail. Like, planes just crashing or whatever.
2: All "true believers" of "Christ" will just disappear out of thin air. Anything earthly (like clothes and fillings in teeth) will be left here.
3: The "anti-Christ" will claim that he (or she, because satan is sexier as a woman) was the person behind help Israel and will work they way to be "leader of the world". (this COULD explain why so many NWO theorists are christian and living in the US)
4: Everyone will have to take "the mark of the beast" to show that they are loyal. Anyone who doesn't take it, will be executed. (And rightfully so! damn haters! all joking aside, it's said that those that don't take it are most likely christian)
5: After 7 years of this, that's when Jesus comes back. So make sure you look busy and if you're wearing a mark, you're pretty fucked then.

I know this, because my mother was strict about us kids knowing this when I was younger. She still has books written about these "end times" that talk about these times and such and what it will be like.
The books are shitty. Although I will admit, having a phone implanted into your hands and ears is pretty cool.

@Diane

LEFT BEHIND! Those are the books!

Diane,

I first learned of the NWO when my parents sent me to a fundy school when I was a freshman fearing I wouldn't survive a large high school. The teachers believed they were living in the last days (I wondered why we had to go to school if I wasn't going to graduate).

I didn't even know there were secular NWO believers until I was a freshman in college when I discovered some crack snorting atheists who believed it.

Didn't Hal Lindsey used to be on that Barney Miller show?

@ Babybackribs

1: During a great war in the middle east, any country from the North of Israel will that is attacking will fail. Like, planes just crashing or whatever.

This is already happening.

2: All "true believers" of "Christ" will just disappear out of thin air. Anything earthly (like clothes and fillings in teeth) will be left here.

This isn't happening....yet.

3: The "anti-Christ" will claim that he (or she, because satan is sexier as a woman) was the person behind help Israel and will work they way to be "leader of the world". (this COULD explain why so many NWO theorists are christian and living in the US)

In the bible they say that he will come from the east, the bible was written in the middle east and east could be any country from Lebanon to Japan. China seems to be a huge red flag.

4: Everyone will have to take "the mark of the beast" to show that they are loyal. Anyone who doesn't take it, will be executed. (And rightfully so! damn haters! all joking aside, it's said that those that don't take it are most likely christian)

Credit Cards and RFID chips.

Apart from woo-woo beliefs promoted by some American christians which have influence over American foreign policy, Israel just doesn't matter that much in the scheme of things.

And, ironically, Israelis display low levels of religious belief which make them look more like Europeans than like Americans in the South:

http://www.gallup.com/poll/114211/alabamians-iranians-common.aspx

>> 1: During a great war in the middle east, any country from the North of Israel will that is attacking will fail. Like, planes just crashing or whatever.

Are you talking about countries from the north of Israel, attacking Isreal?

>> 2: All "true believers" of "Christ" will just disappear out of thin air. Anything earthly (like clothes and fillings in teeth) will be left here.

This won't ever happen. This isn't in the bible, so even if the bible is 100% literal, this is 100% never going to happen. I'm not sure how this is reconciled with Christians suffering along side others during the "tribulation". The concept of the rapture is most popular in the United States because it was invented there in the 1800s.

>> 3: The "anti-Christ" will claim that he (or she, because satan is sexier as a woman) was the person behind help Israel and will work they way to be "leader of the world". (this COULD explain why so many NWO theorists are christian and living in the US)

The anti-Christ is supposed to save the world and rebuild the temple in Jerusalem, which means he (the bible says it's a he and even today most "good leaders" in society are men, not women, sexiness has little to do with it) will have to either move the Dome of the Rock, destroy it, or move the temple. The only viable one to make him look good is the move the temple, but that's a whole different problem in of itself.

>> In the bible they say that he will come from the east, the bible was written in the middle east and east could be any country from Lebanon to Japan. China seems to be a huge red flag.

Yes, I'm sure a Chinese Communist is going to become the ruler of the world. Many disponsationalists I've talked to believe he will either be from Europe (likely from Crete, Sicily or some island around there) or from Palestine/Israel and be related to the same tribe as Jesus.

>> 4: Everyone will have to take "the mark of the beast" to show that they are loyal. Anyone who doesn't take it, will be executed. (And rightfully so! damn haters! all joking aside, it's said that those that don't take it are most likely christian)

Either on the hand or forehead, both are very unattractive and I can't imagine people actually going for this.

>> Credit Cards and RFID chips.

Since when are credit cards and RFID chips "marks"? I recall Pat Robertson and John Birch years ago claiming it was going to be tattoos and barcodes.

Your view of the anti-Christ and the end times is that of American Protestants, and most of the ~2.5 billion Christians in the world don't agree with it, it's just too silly and too impossible. You should take a gander at where "he has to do this" or "he will do this" or "this has to happen first" come from, read the verses, and also read them in context with the verses around them.

Some like "the State of Israel must exist" (I can't seem to find the verse right now) make little sense out of context and seem to have nothing to do with the topic at hand.

I find books/films like Left Behind just mind bogglingly hilarious. Consider that most people in the US know of the various dispensationalist end time stories, they already know of all the warning signs, and so forth. So why, all of a sudden, would everyone except a very few amount of people know this stuff? If the anti-Christ is real, and will take over the world, following what's in the bible is the worst way to do it, because he'll be caught even before he's done. Thanks to people like Pat Robertson, TV, the Internet, all of the world people are familiar with many of the ideas behind the American-Protestant view of the anti-Christ and end times, making his job much harder if not impossible.

What's more likely: that the book of revelation is an allegory for Christians under the boot of pagan Rome, or a set of impossible circumstances that for the last 1500 years believers have said "well, any day now!"