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Atheist Last Days
Atheist Last Days Question: Do you believe we’re in the ‘last days’? KEVIN SMITH is on the board of directors for the Centre of Inquiry, Canada’s premier venue for humanists, skeptics and freethinkers. The latest Debbie Downer is Harold Camping. He’s the American Christian radio broadcaster who predicted the exact date of the end of the world — May 21, 2011. He believes all good Christians, dead or alive, will be taken to Heaven and the rest of us miserable mortals will remain on Earth to experience extreme hardships and wars and famine. Ever the eternal optimist, this Methuselah has predicted the Rapture at least three times.
He is in the same camp as evangelist Pat Robertson, who associates every earthquake with the deterioration of society, the main culprits being homosexuals. God’s shaking of the Earth, causing the deaths of thousands of people, is a “birth pang” that will precede the glorious Second Coming. Although Robertson represents the fatuous fringe of the Christian family, and is an embarrassment to the majority of them, there are millions who base their lives on his delusional musings. Their trinity is a right-wing, anti-environmental and pro-military doctrine.
God’s proclamation to “Have dominion over the Earth” provides their excuses for exploiting Mother Nature and gives them hope for eternal salvation. They believe God is on their side of good as their nations execute shock and awe against the evildoers. Theirs is a self-fulfilling prophecy: a perfect storm for the end of the world as we know it. It’s going to be a Hell on Earth — Hallelujah! For centuries the Camping types have anticipated this beautiful doomsday would occur during their lifetime. Several generations from now their predictions may come true. Climate change is impacting food production and we’re using oil like there’s no tomorrow. There is an Apocalypse approaching but Jesus won’t be coming to save us.
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