And I Just Thought It Was My Birthday...

[Scott Reppert]

'Rapture Parties' Planned to Celebrate Doomsday On Saturday, May 21

Robert Roy Britt,
LiveScience.com Robert Roy Britt,
livescience.com – Thu May 19, 3:06 am ET

With the end of the world looming this Saturday (May 21), non-believers are planning "Rapture parties" to poke a little fun at the Doomsday prediction and also raise awareness for other causes.

Harold Camping, 89-year-old leader of the ministry Family Radio Worldwide, has predicted that a five-month destruction of humanity will commence Saturday with a Rapture, in which believers will ascend to heaven. "Whereas this five-month period will be an enormous horror story for those who have not been raptured, it will be a time of great joy and wonder for those who are raptured," according to the Family Radio website.

Camping uses a mathematical formula linked to prophecies in the Bible. He once predicted Sept. 6, 1994 as Judgment Day, but that math didn't quite work out. This time around, Camping's organization took out an ad in Reader's Digest, stating: "The Bible guarantees the end of the world will begin with Judgment Day May 21, 2011."

A Web group called TalkAndAct.com is sponsoring a Rapture party because "skeptics, activists, comedians and others don't believe his apocalyptic warning for one second," organizers said in a statement Wednesday. The live streaming "Judgment Day Party" will start at 00:00:01 on May 21 and run until midnight, other events permitting, of course.

In Tacoma, Wash., producers of a local talk show "Ask the Atheist" will sponsor a Rapture party themed "Countdown to Backpedaling: The End is Nah!"

A group called American Atheists has a short list of Rapture parties occurring in a handful of other cities.

Might the world really begin to end this weekend? Even many Christians aren't buying it.

"There are a long line of brilliant people who, through intricate calculations, have made predictions about the end of the world," Pastor Joseph Fuiten with Cedar Park Assembly of God Church in Bothell, Wash., told the Seattle Times. "Unfortunately they have overlooked the obvious words of Jesus: 'You do not know the day or the hour' of such events."

Bottom line: Harold Camping is nuts...

[Cameron]

...so some guys in Philthydelphia in the late-1700s took 41 words out of the bible, wrote a book, and then it became doctrine?

Interesting.

[genlock]

Strange women distributing swords from ponds is no way to establish a government.

[Dave Harman]

The broadcast license for the religious stations he owns runs out June 30, and he's working on the renewal process.

It's hard to take what he's saying seriously when he obviously doesn't believe it himself.

[Bob Campbell]

I don't know about any of you guys but I'm not taking any chances. I've already signed up for "Post Rapture Looting".
Starts Saturday at noon. See you there.

[Scott Reppert]

In all seriousness, here is the "theme song for the end of the world".

If the verse from 2:24 through the end of the chorus at 3:24 doesn't chill you...

[David Paleg]

With my luck, my numbers for the Powerball lottery will match the numbers picked at 11:00 pm on Saturday, and the world will end later that hour.

[Dave Harman]

I don't know about any of you guys but I'm not taking any chances. I've already signed up for "Post Rapture Looting".
Starts Saturday at noon. See you there.

It's not supposed to start until 6. Sleep in late.

[Lester]

May 21st is my wedding anniversary.

Doomsday indeed.

[Scott Reppert]

One of the secretaries here at work and I just said that it can't happen on Saturday. It's supposed to be a nice day...

[Jay Nunley]

I am so going to loot, rape, and pillage. It's going to be awesome.

After that I'm going to travel across the country destroying any and all copies of any super hero/comic book movies, Twilight novels, and Coldplay albums. I'm going to do this so when the alien archaeologists get here in five thousand years they won't dig up these items and think, "What the fuck was wrong with these people?"

Happy Birthday Repps.

Happy Anniversary Chris.

[unchoopfan]

Debbie Harry and Chris Stein should see a bump in their royalty check for Rapture after the weekend. I suspect that Blondie hit will see a few more spins on stations Saturday