Skip to main content

Mark Your Calendars! Or Throw Them Out.

Apparently, the rapture is happening in six days.

When I first saw on ad in the subway declaring "Judgment Day is Coming: May 21, 2011" I thought it was some sort of gimmick. Turns out, it isn't. The people at FamilyRadio.com honestly believe that Jesus is going to take them to heaven on Saturday evening.I wonder what will go through their minds on Sunday morning. How do you regroup after that? I have seen them out in Dundas Square a few times now. I shied away from them, but I kind of wish I hadn't.

But Beth, you might be saying, don't you believe in the rapture and Jesus and heaven?

Why yes, I might respond, I do. But Jesus said, quite clearly, that no one knows when He'll come back. Simple. (Ok, not fully simple. But talking about the rapture is weird, so I'm almost done.)

An imaginary conversation with a Judgment Day Dude might have gone like this:
JDD: Judgment Day is coming!
Me: It is?
JDD: Yes, on Saturday.
Me: Oh. I don't think I agree with that.
JDD: It is true. Here is a pamphlet that will convince you.
Me: No, thanks. I'd rather just talk to you. Can I ask you a question?
JDD: Of course.
Me: So, it seems to me that you are very prepared for Judgment Day to come on Saturday. Are you prepared for Judgment Day not to come on Saturday?
JDD: Pardon?
Me: I mean, I believe in Jesus and the rapture and heaven. I am guessing you do too (although I am guessing most of our other beliefs are different). I believe that I am ready for that day to come. But I also believe I am ready for it not to come - that I am ready to live another sixty years loving Jesus and loving people, and if the rapture doesn't happen before I die, my relationship with Jesus will be ok. But I am concerned for you, that if Jesus doesn't come back on Saturday, your worldview is going to take a major beating.
JDD: But he is going to come back. Here's a pamphlet that tells you why. And how you can get ready.
Me: Thanks... (takes it and walks away)
---



This afternoon, I walked past opposing protests. One group was pro-Palestine. The other, obviously, Israeli. As I approached, I had to force myself to stay calm. And not to cry.

Calm, because of the palpable tension in the air. It was peaceful, but it was tense. Many police officers were there.
Cry, because it broke my heart to see again that injustice and factions thrive both at home and abroad. I want peace. No one is blameless. But no one deserves destruction.



Ah, religion and dogmatism make me very sad today.
That is all I have to say.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Simone Weil: On "Forms of the Implicit Love of God"

Simone Weil time again! One of the essays in Waiting for God  is entitled "Forms of the Implicit Love of God." Her main argument is that before a soul has "direct contact" with God, there are three types of love that are implicitly  the love of God, though they seem to have a different explicit  object. That is, in loving X, you are really loving Y. (in this case, Y = God). As for the X of the equation, she lists: Love of neighbor  Love of the beauty of the world  Love of religious practices  and a special sidebar to Friendship “Each has the virtue of a sacrament,” she writes. Each of these loves is something to be respected, honoured, and understood both symbolically and concretely. On each page of this essay, I found myself underlining profound, challenging, and thought-provoking words. There's so much to consider that I've gone back several times, mulling it over and wondering how my life would look if I truly believed even half of these thi...
1 comment
Read more

I Like to Keep My Issues Drawn

It's Sunday night and I am multi-tasking. Paid some bills, catching up on free musical downloads from the past month, thinking about the mix-tape I need to make and planning my last assignment for writing class. Shortly, I will abandon the laptop to write my first draft by hand. But until then, I am thinking about music. This song played for me earlier this afternoon, as I attempted to nap. I woke up somewhere between 5 and 5:30 this morning, then lay in bed until 8 o'clock flipping sides and thinking about every part of my life that exists. It wasn't stressful, but it wasn't quite restful either...This past month, I have spent a lot of time rebuffing lies and refusing to believe that the inside of my heart and mind can never change. I feel like Florence + The Machine 's song "Shake it Out" captures many of these feelings & thoughts. (addendum: is the line "I like to keep my issues strong or drawn ?" Lyrics sites have it as "stro...
2 comments
Read more

The ROM, The Earth & Procreation

Disclaimer: This post is intended to generate discussion and a sharing of many opinions. It is NOT intended to judge or condemn anyone's life choices. I had an unexpected moment at the ROM last month. C and I were listening to a presentation for kids on wildlife conservation (or rather, I was listening, and C was eagerly anticipating what live animal would come out next), when a statement caught my attention and still hasn't let go. For most of history, the earth could provide enough resources for the earth's human population. But today, our population is growing rapidly, increasing by 250 000 people every day... Forty years from now, it will require 2 Earths to provide sustainably for our survival as a human species. But we only have 1 Earth. 250 000 people. Every day. That is roughly twice the size of my hometown. In one day. So I did a little math. (First, I rounded down to 200 000, just in case the figures were inflated or failed to account for some sort o...
27 comments
Read more