The part that scares me most about all this nonsense is that these people are allowed to have children and vote. They may be your neighbors and your co-workers. Possibly, the people who believe this may drive your school buses and teach children. They work in positions of responsibility and handle important tasks. They serve on juries and may work at your neighborhood pharmacy, dispensing medicines. They could sit on your school board. People like Michele Bachmann who are inexplicably elected to 
power and make all kinds of chaos for intelligent people.
They are among us but we usually never see them. They will slide back into anonymity come Sunday morning when they find they are still here, un-rapturized. Dates will be revised and a couple of years later, (or next year) the whole nutty cycle will start again.
These people are not making a joke. They are serious. That scares me.
People of faith don't scare me. People of crazy faith do.... and how much are we betting that people will STILL listen to their insanity even after The Rapture doesn't happen on the date their told?
ReplyDeleteYou got it, Dave.
ReplyDeleteFrom what I've seen, depending on the quality of people, any faith can turn goofy and dangerous. Look at how much intolerance is in Christianity and yet the very basis of the faith is loving your neighbor and forgiveness, and treating people with the same respect we ask for.(That's only one example, of course.)
When you ask a person to believe in something- and all rational questions are forbidden- then people can be convinced of anything.
"When you ask a person to believe in something--and all rational questions are forbidden--then people can be convinced of anything."
ReplyDeleteNomad, you nailed it.
I once tried to write a short story about a woman who fell for the Rapture, and it didn't happen. I was trying to figure out what that must feel like. I guessed it must be a little like deciding to kill yourself and having it not work out for whatever reason. Except they don't think they're dying, but I bet they don't even have the sense to feel cheated.
ReplyDeleteIt was a failure story because I just couldn't find a way to imagine how that sort of person thinks without overdoing the idiot tragedy or making fun of them.
I know what you mean. One time I wanted to write about super intelligent people but then it occurred to me I have no idea how a super-intelligent person thinks. (that's not mean to be snarky, either)
ReplyDeleteBy the way, I found a related post I wrote a while back. Did you know that Mark Twain came to Izmir? He wasn't too impressed. I think he got burnt out on travelling just before he got this far. Anyway, he had a story about some Americans who came to Turkey, to await the Rapture. http://nomadicjoe.blogspot.com/2010/02/mr-twain-tells-of-end-of-world-in.html
That last line sort of sums up how I feel too.