E-mail updates
Follow on Twitter
Subscribe to RSS"Rapture bombs" reappear as another doomsday prophecy fails.
Today's countdown to the predicted end of the world was a bit like watching a rerun of reality TV … been there, done that doomsday. Nevertheless, radio preacher Harold Camping's Rapture rerun provided a good opportunity to revive the old jokes and prepare for the new doomsday hype ahead in 2012.
The hype was a lot heavier five months ago, when Camping set a high-profile date for a biblical-style ascension of the elect to heaven. Millions of dollars were spent by Camping's Family Radio International as well as followers who spent their savings to get out the word about the end of the world. During this week's spaceflight conference in New Mexico, one of my colleagues on the space beat, Jeff Foust, happened to mention that he saw a billboard that still touted Judgment Day's approach on May 21.
The hubbub sparked a backlash of black humor — ranging from animated cartoons to "Rapture bombs," which involved setting out clothes and shoes, as if the wearer had been transported (nude) to the pearly gates. The Sociolatte and Mashable websites revived some of the best of the bombs, including "Rapture Dad," a photo that shows Kyle Riesenbeck surrounded by the leavings of his luckier family members. (Kyle kept the meme going, but according to his Twitter account, Rapture Dad has "decided to take it easy on the Rapture this time around.")
That's just one of the signs that the Rapture has really run its course. Camping may well come up with yet another explanation for why prophecy failed, and yet another set of arcane calculations that reveal doomsday is just a little further down the road. But based on the weak ratings for today's Rapture rerun, the 90-year-old Camping is finished as a prophet of doom. The Freedom From Religion Foundation is even capitalizing on his past pronouncements in a new "Fool Me Once" billboard campaign.
Still more evidence of Rapture fatigue comes from a Crimson Hexagon analysis of 55,537 Twitter mentions related to Camping's October prophecy, gathered from Oct. 16 to today:
- 14 percent of the mentions expressed negativity toward Camping, many indicating they thought he was crazy or an idiot.
- 26 percent shared jokes or were sarcastic about the rapture and Camping’s predictions.
- 18 percent mentioned that Camping was at it again, and dubbed this prediction as Rapture 2.0 or Rapture2s.
- 13 percent expressed excitement for the end of the world and saw it as an excuse to throw a party.
- 14 percent shared the report that today was the predicted date of the Rapture.
- 8 percent voiced a religious response, such as saying Camping was a false prophet.
- 7 percent wondered whether the Rapture was for real this time.
For years, doomsayers have been talking about the prospects for a 2012 apocalypse foretold by the Mayan "long-count" calendar, even though there's really no scientific or even anthropological basis for the alarm. I've tried to provide some reality checks for the 2012 worries — including concerns about solar storms and the supposed return of Planet X. But today's non-Rapture may be an even more valuable lesson for anyone who's concerned about 12/21/2012: Just because someone makes a big to-do about the end of the world doesn't mean that it's coming.
So what do you think about the Rapture and other doomsdays? Heard any good end-of-the-world jokes lately? Feel free to add your comments below.
Review all of the postings from Rapture 1.0 by checking CosmicLog.com/Rapture. You can also connect with the Cosmic Log community by "liking" the log's Facebook page, following @b0yle on Twitter or adding me to a circle on Google+. And for something completely different, check out "The Case for Pluto," my book about the controversial dwarf planet and the search for new worlds.
Leave a Comment:
I feel sorry for predictions that don't come true, so as a creationist, I am creating something: a new iPhone app called iRapture that will take all your data from your phone, move it to iCloud, never to be seen again. I predict that If you use it, your data will disappear on Nov. 24th, 2011.
The Rapture didn't happen because no one had been Rapture Certified. The Rapture Card guarantees you VIP access to Heaven during the Rapture or your money back. Visit getrapturecertified.com
The Rapture hoax is the result of latter day apostasy, i.e., modern religions falling away from the truth of the historic Christian church. The Rapture dogma of evangelicalism/pentacostalism is not a true Christian religion and it is heresy and unknown to the true churches of Christ.
I bet you are a Roman catholic. How would I guess? They always say they are the one true Church.
BTW, did the old bird ever give back any of that money he collected for the last Rapture? Maybe that got applied to The Rapture Lay-A-Way Plan.
A "young cabana boy"? That sounds friggin creepy, you cougar...
hahahaha
Hey, I can wish, can't I?
LOL
I'd like one, too, but I think my husband would get upset.
It still makes for a very pleasant dream.
Don't despair Mr. Camping. My cat was raptured on the original day, May 21, 2011. See the video at: www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mde5roRxP7E
He died for everyone's sins and ONLY if you believe he was real, was the son of GOD and accept him into your life , you go to heaven!
The way to heaven is very narrow and many will make the mistake of thinking the path is as wide as they think it is.
God bless everyone
I was an agnostic until I found out that a small minority of people sincerely believe themselves to be hereditary telepaths. That is physiologically impossible, but I suppose someone in control of far-more-advanced-than-human particle physics could put white holes transmitting words into the 'telepaths' cerebral cortex. I believe there is such a "God", but a very alien one. An honest God would have an occasional press conference to expose the hatemongers and con men.
We are still HERE !!!!
Maybe we were ALL raptured to heaven, and it just looks amazingly like the earth we were on before and none of you realize it.
Well, then it better get nicer in a hurry.
For all you Bible-thumpers and other holy book believers out there I would like to edify you with my thoughts. To wit, every new-born is an athiest! It is only when they are growing up are they indoctrinated by others to one religion or another or none.
A doctor of divinity from Baylor U who was born in Baton Rouge or Biloxi and brought up attending Sunday School will probably be a Christian. But if by happenstance he was born in Baghdad or Islamabad and had Muslim parents he would in all likelyhood be a Muslim. The same goes for an Imam if he were born in Biloxi or Baton Rouge.
As Tevye sings in, "Fiddler on the Roof," it's TRADITION. In another Broadway play, "South Pacific," there is a song, "You Have to be Carefully Taught," which although it pertains to racial prejudice can also apply to religious beliefs. Some of the lyrics are applicable, "You have to be taught from year to year, it has to be drummed into you young little ear, etc, etc."
Thank you for reading this and if Obama is not reelected next year I hope he ends he farewell speech with, "God help America."
Sorry Pal but I only had to read your first paragraph before I stopped. Look up "Akiane"-the child prodigy painter. Regardless of what explanations for what happened to her, she was raised by a former atheist mother and a lapsed Catholic father and God and religion were never spoken in her home. She was also homeschooled and at about age 3 started having visions of God and heaven. Of course Mom didn't believe her until she started painting gorgeous paintings, regardless of your religious beliefs, they are beautiful pieces of art. So your first statement is dismissed. I didn't feel I needed to read the rest of your babble.
The world has already ended a long time ago. The forces of God and Satan had fought their battle and God has lost. That is why you see today the greedy, and heartless getting ahead and becoming filthy rich,while most people who work hard and play by the rules, struggle and suffer in poverty. In case you have not noticed, this is hell.
Nettle-
"Today"?
The greedy and heartless have ALWAYS gotten ahead and become filthy rich.
Nothing new there...
very interesting...the republicans have there people and there demands,so do the democrats,so do other partys and movements..it seems thing are becoming very "polarized" lately
abit like an acceleration constant,maybe its due to the internet and communications advances?maybe not
ill use an odd example that i think will make my point..now days: a person messaging and being activist on facebook...alot of revolutionist activity has been coordinated via facebook lately...but indeed the ones that have been sucessfull are only a drop in the bucket compared to the total of revolutionist groups on facebook (btw i define "success" with a revolutionist as "monolithic society change)
history period: 1900 to 1950,no internet at all,perimitive telephone and telegraph communication routes,major highway system was alot smaller than it is today,two world wars,many millions dead (with the exclusion of nuclear warheads,mainly fought with technology far less effective than todays),whole handfulls of nations and empires were obliterated in that time period...some nations and/or dictatorships spawned and then ceased to exist through the resulting course of world upheavel in those 50 years
history even further back: as the saying goes,if you werent storming a castle those days,you were a complete loser (sarcasm),the black plague,death,etc. killed a good chunk of earths population at that time and killed more people than both world wars combined i beleive,also the "fiefdom" turnover rate was extremely bad and so was the fighting,even less advanced communication methods back then
in conclusion,it seems from an observational standpoint that both the pace of revolutions and the pace of revolutionist activity is slowly grinding to a halt...now let me explain this remark
the media coverage of todays troubles is indeed intense,and by a modern human`s perception,there is alot of change going on...but obviously compared to the change,death,violence,etc that went on just shortly before in the eye of history...events are smaller,slower and less pronounced...
which brings me to another point...peoples inflammatory rhetoric,armaments,and "legions" ("legions" referring specifically to any group with a large amount of devoted followers) are growing at an ever accelerating pace...more weapons are prodced now by the world almost every year than was made and used in both world wars...and people and there factions are polarizing...
im sure everyone can agree with me that anything today is abit like walking on eggshells,solid foundation but brittle and prone to cracking...the "politically correct" measures and what have you...it seems like the slightest thing these days can start something...and as any person would know from looking at things,especially visceral quip have a tendency to snowball
and with more armaments,people,factions,polarization and rhetoric than ever before...it seems likely that it wouldnt take very much to start the third world war,just for anyone to be in the right place,at the right time,with the potent kind of inflammatory message so often used today,might make it happen
though with that said,and the strength of the current system,and people`s reactions under disaster situations,it should take a while for things to come crashing down...
this is just a rough guess,but im thinking in the next 200 years at the minimum...
heck by then the earth might be uninhabitable with the global warming ideas going around today
MSNBC ARTICLE TITLE SAYS: RAPTURE HUMOR RESURRECTED
...a good opportunity to revive the old jokes... So what do you think about the Rapture and other doomsdays? Heard any good end-of-the-world jokes lately? Feel free to add your comments below. ... That's just one of the signs that the Rapture has really run its course.
I saw a few days ago MSNBC posted a similar article by a life science writer and now this one from a science editor of MSNBC.com.
What business does an MSNBC Science writer have posting religious jokes and inviting additional jokes against a religion. I feel this is an invitation to CYBER BULLY. Religion is not a joke and does not present a "GOOD" opportunity. In business and the workplace, harrassment and discimination on the basis of religion is illegal and not tolerated. Innocent people in the real world can be harmed when others form real biases from jokes and use jokes, or apply a jokes message, to perform actual harmful acts against people, on the basis of religion, or other legally protected categories. What has happened to reporting the science news?
indeed,sensationalism is a painfull thing at its best
but its more the fault of the masses of malevolent people out there..websites like msnbc make money due to page veiws and ad space...so almost everything on the website is a result of a cold,mechanically calculated thing on what will get the most veiws,keep msnbc in business,and keep the jobs of people that work for msnbc alive...
the only way to solve this is a new enlightment era so that people will put aside there differences and cooperate...
but this most likely wont happen until some kind of cataclysm comes...
my personal favorite is the zombie apocalypse whats yours?
It's not. It's inviting jokes about the "end of the world" predicitions that once again...didn't come true. But religion is pretty funny too.
It's an invitation to use that free speech. How is it ok to try and scare people with predictions of doom and attempt to blackmail people into following some ridiculous religion, but not ok to laugh at it?
It most certainly is a joke...and presents us with endless opportunities for a laugh...all of them good.
Right. Harassment of people. Not ideas. Ideas are free game.
Oh grow up. Religion has been vilifying women, other races and homosexuals for centuries...and gotten away with it. I didn't hear you whining then. Now that the shoe is on the other foot, you've decided to suddenly acquire a little sensitivity?
Oh...well let's not forget how relgion has also vilified science for the last couple of millenia...ridiculed it, joked about it, denigrated it, tried to make it illegal, imprisoned it's practitioners....I think it's only fair that science gets to play too.
No one is making fun of your religion; you are free to believe
that the world is flat. Or that man
speaks for god.
Religion becomes a joke when some charlatan with a Nostradamos
Disorder declares that the world will end on a specific day.
The idea that any human being can predict when human life on
the planet will end is in itself a joke.
How can you expect anyone that can count to ten to take
these folks seriously? Starting with the
birth of the Christian Religion, someone in your community has predicted the
end of the world.
This farce serves a purpose; it frightens the simple minded
and makes the so called “seers” lots of money.
The simple fact is that they have NEVER been right. Thousands of times each one of them have been
dead wrong. How many times do you have
to be dead wrong before your methodology what ever it is; is discarded?
In any other conscious endeavor this practice would be discarded as nothing more than a bad case of unconscious speculation. In the Christian World, all that is required
is a declaration that you speak for god, all subsequent pronouncements can defy
the laws of nature, it won’t matter the minions will be there with their check
books.
I always thought that the subject of religion was a good target for jokes, because most religious people take themselves and the world WAY too seriously.
What are we going to do about Y2K when all the computers quit working?
More used tea bag circular logic. There isn't sufficient water on the planet to
flood the whole land mass.
Exactly where is this additional water coming from?
Using a flood in two or three low lying countries is light years
away from flooding the whole planet.
Holland, Bangladesh,
the coastal plains of most river deltas are flood prone. To flood the whole planet you are going to
have to manufacture lots of additional water.
Obamanatic says "there isn't sufficient water on the planet to flood the whole land mass".
Thank you for proving Christianity wrong. After all, doesn't the Bible say that the entire landmass was submerged during the great flood, hence the need for Noah to construct the Ark? Of course Mount Ararat is not the tallest mountain on Earth, and I am still curious how Noah managed to gather all of rare and dangerous animals from Australia, North and South America, the penguins from Antarctica, all which were unknown continents at the time, but I digress. So where did all the water come from to create the Biblical flood?
Didn't get any unicorns. %^(
@!$%# Religion.....all it does is seperate people and make everyone hate each other.
BIBLE FIGHT!!!!
i say we rapture that idiot
Damn... I thought he was talking about my Braun drink mixer... Having properly mixed drinks is critical when Zombies are coming. I'm just sayin'.
Immersion blenders are cool.
further proof that religion is dangerous thing!!!
Seems to me it should be 12/20/2012.
It seems like the rapture date should be 12/20/2012 not 12/21/2012.
DAMN...this @!$%# is getting old !!!!
Harold Camping, Tim LaHaye and the imminent rapture nuts should be run out of town on a rail along with the kooks who believe their ridiculous theories. GIVE ME A BREAK FROM THIS NONSENSE !!!