Countdown for the end times still on in 5, 4, 3, 2…

October 21st is still being touted by Harold Camping and his ilk as the last day of humanity’s long and lively existence on this planet. Judgement day is upon us at last. Really, truly, and honestly. Time’s up.

Yeah, right. He said time was up on May 21st, too, and what happened? Nobody got raptured and not long afterwards, Camping had a stroke and is still recovering from it. Thanks, God. Way to come through for a true believer.

His Family Radio website offers up an explanation of what really went on with God’s ultimate plan for that day:

We always look at the word “earthquake” to mean the earth, or ground, is quaking or shaking violently. However, in the Bible the word “earth” can include people as well as ground.

In Genesis 2:7 we read:

And Jehovah God formed man of the dust of the ground…

Thus the word “earthquake” can also be understood to teach that mankind shakes.

Oh, so God’s ultimate purpose was to shake the people to the core, not the earth itself? Glad we got that sorted out. Sounds like a bunch of ludicrous backpeddling to rationalize why they were so damned wrong, but maybe that’s just my interpretation of the big fat nothing that actually happened.

the whole world, with the exception of those who are presently saved (the elect), are under the judgment of God, and will be annihilated together with the whole physical world on October 21, 2011, on the last day of the present five months period. On that day the true believers (the elect) will be raptured. We must remember that only God knows who His elect are that He saved prior to May 21.

I’m sorry, but that day just doesn’t work for me. For one thing, Saskatoon Freethinkers has organized an apocalypse karaoke night and if I can’t sing my Patsy Cline standards, I won’t be in a very good mood for the birthday events planned for the weekend itself. And Tom Waits’ new album is getting released next week, besides. God has shitty ass timing, if I do say. Bottom line, I’m too busy to deal with the end of the world right now, dammit!

MSNBC offers up a bit of information regarding this whole doomsday belief habit people tend to fall into:

Believing in the end of the world even without evidence may seem strange, but sociologists say that a belief in doomsday gives followers a clear sense of the world and their place in it. Others have suggested that apocalyptic worldviews stem from the overwhelming feeling that one’s problems are too big, and, as such, the only possible solution is a clean slate. Over the past 40 to 50 years these doomsday beliefs have increased, according to DiTommaso, though not all “believers” are as extreme as Camping.

And yet protesters are taking to the streets in droves to occupy any piece of property that gives them space to raise a sign, so it’s not like there aren’t thousands of hopefuls still out there trying to boost more people into giving a damn about what’s going on with the economy and the world at large. To the best of my knowledge, they’re not asking for a clean slate. I don’t really know what any of them are asking for, beyond the chance to be heard. It has not been an easy few years for many people. I certainly count myself among the fortunate ones who haven’t had to deal with major financial issues like excessive mortgage debt or job loss, but I’m looking at what’s coming down the pipeline in terms of my own chosen “career” and it’s starting to look like I ought to be investing in a life preserver just in case it becomes necessary to jump ship, you know?

It’s a stress I’ve really been hoping I could avoid but maybe the moment is coming when I can’t anymore. Outsourcing is a bitch… I’ve been in a full time term for the past three and some years but after January (unless the miraculous happens) I have to return to my halftime hours elsewhere which will result in a pay increase, but hardly good news when compared to working half the hours I’m used to doing now. I’m not really looking forward to this. I’ve been enjoying my standard of living and wonder about what I’m going to have to give up in order to stay in the black, or what else I’ll have to do job-wise in order to keep afloat. I’m not losing sleep over it, but I keep thinking it’s going to be a good idea to update my resume, just in case…

I see why doomsday preaching becomes such a persuasive voice in people’s hearts and minds. Wipe the slate clean. Wipe away the debt. Wipe away the worry of where the food will come from tomorrow. You may already be a winner in the rapture sweepstakes and God’s ready to take you away from all this with barely a moment’s notice. Hot dog! Come and get me!

Sadly, October 21st is going to come and go like every 21st before it, and nothing will change for anyone. Those who happen to die that day will be gone from the world (not raptured, just dead) and the rest of us will have to think about what’s on tap for the morrow. Rent’s coming due, TV bill wasn’t paid last month, why did we even buy that cell phone for our text-addicted daughter… The world will keep on spinning, and the debt will keep on burning a hole in our collective pockets and people will seek out the next prophet who offers a chance of relief…