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May 23rd, 2011
05:04 PM ET
Preacher now says end of the world will happen in 5 monthsBy Kim Hutcherson and Dan Gilgoff, CNN (CNN) - Harold Camping is sticking to his apocalyptic guns. In his first radio broadcast since his doomsday prediction failed to pan out in a spectacularly public fashion, the California preacher insisted his was an error of interpretation, not fact. What's more, he has another calculation for the day the world will end - October 21, 2011. Camping had kept a low-profile since Saturday, the day he had forecast for the return of Jesus Christ to Earth. He and his devoted followers have been warning for months that on May 21, a select 2% to 3% of the world's population would be taken to heaven. Those left behind would face months of tribulation before perishing in the Earth's destruction, which Camping said would happen on October 21. This is the basis for his new prediction, which Camping claims is not new at all. He told listeners on his Family Radio broadcast Monday that God is "loving and merciful," and had decided not to punish the humanity with five months of destruction. But he maintains that the end of the world is still coming. "We've always said October 21 was the day," Camping said during his show. "The only thing we didn't understand was the spirituality of May 21. We're seeing this as a spiritual thing happening rather than a physical thing happening. The timing, the structure, the proofs, none of that has changed at all." However, Camping said his group would not be mounting another advertising push. In the months leading up to May 21, Family Radio billboards popped up across the country, warning that the end was near. "We're not going to be passing out tracts," Camping said. "We're not going to put up any more billboards. We're not going to be advertising in any way. The world has been warned. We did our little share and the media picked it up. But now the world has been told, it's under judgment." Fred Store, who led one of four RV caravans that toured the country in recent months to spread the word about judgment day, said he and other followers heard Camping's broadcast "and we were quite happy - it will be interesting to see what the next couple of months will bring." "It appears as though this whole [rapture] thing happened in a spiritual, rather than a physical way," said Store, 66. The retired electrician said that he and the other nine members of his five-RV caravan were still at an RV park where they waited for the rapture to arrive on Saturday. He said the park was within 100 miles of Boston, Massachusetts, but didn't want to disclose the specific location. He said the caravan was waiting for word from Camping's ministry, Family Radio, about arranging the return of the vehicles to the broadcaster's Oakland, California, headquarters. Store said he and the others in his caravan were not disappointed that the dramatic events associated with the rapture had not come to pass. "We think that judgment day did happen," he said. "It didn’t result in an earthquake, and there were a number of things that weren't exactly the way we said they would be, but we were only reading from the Bible. We’ve been humbled by the whole experience." Camping founded Family Radio, a nonprofit Christian radio network with about 65 stations across the country, in 1958. It received $80 million in contributions between 2005 and 2009. He first inaccurately predicted the world would end in 1994. Despite his poor track record, he has gathered many followers. Some gave up their homes, entire life savings and jobs because they believed the world was ending. Reporters who were allowed to ask questions during the broadcast Monday pressed Camping on this issue, but he would not admit that he bore any blame for his followers' predicaments. "I don't have any responsibility," Camping said. "I'm only teaching the Bible. I'm telling ... this is what the Bible says. I don't have spiritual rule over anybody ... except my wife as the head of the household." Experts in apocalyptic movements said that reinterpretations like Camping's are not uncommon in the wake of failed doomsday predictions. “Historically, failed prophecies tend to result in disillusionment, with members deserting the group, or, more typically, a faith-saving (and face-saving) statement to the effect that while divine revelation remains infallible, human calculation is not,” said Lorenzo DiTommaso, author of the forthcoming book “The Architecture of Apocalypticism” and an associate professor of religion at Concordia University in Montréal, Canada. “In short: The math was off, and it’s back to the drawing board,” he said. “If the logic seems a bit self-serving, recall that in the apocalyptic mindset, faith precedes theory, and theory informs the evidence." –CNN's Jessica Ravitz contributed to this report. soundoff (4,998 Responses)« Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120 121 122 123 124 125 126 127 128 129 130 131 132 133 134 135 136 137 Next »
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The CNN Belief Blog covers the faith angles of the day's biggest stories, from breaking news to politics to entertainment, fostering a global conversation about the role of religion and belief in readers' lives. It's edited by CNN's Daniel Burke with contributions from Eric Marrapodi and CNN's worldwide news gathering team.  |
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@Some Sheeps & @Bucky Ball
Looky !
http://www.freesmileys.org/smileys/smiley-dance019.gif
This man is not a preacher, he's a criminal. Lock him up!!! I can't believe people are still believing this idiot. but then again that's what you do in a cult. People, follow GOD, not man.
'god' is an idiotic idea promoted by immoral people to pacify and control the weak minded people. It's a rediculous story made up by men, nothing more.
Looking to the Bible for guidance is entirely acceptable under the First Amendment, but those who do so need to understand that it carries no weight whatsoever for those of other religions and those who simply do not believe. There seems to be a curious blind spot in folks who insist upon quoting scripture to support their view of things–as if they don't know that large numbers of people do not see any relevance in passages written in the iron age by people who had no clue what disease was, that the earth was round and revolves around the sun, or that it wasn't a dance, sacrifices or pleading to an invisible being that brought rain, but shifts in conditions within the natural world. The wisest man three thousand years ago was far more ignorant than the average fourth-grader is now. Quoting the advice of such men in support of any argument in the year 2011 is beyond ludicrous to any rational person.
Why is this guy even getting publicity. He's a extreme religious fanatic that is also a major loon. Enough already.
Couldn't think of a good rapture joke? Don't worry, it's not the end of the world.
American Sheeple....Awww... sad are you now? It is the truth though. Foxnews has the destruction of Joplin as its headline, CNN has Obama taking a European trip. I can see if it was a G8 summit but while the rest of us here are suffering with high gas and unemployeement our president is walking down a street in Ireland drinking beer.
Come on, when the Chilean mine disaster happened their president left a summit to fly home. Wehave almost 90% of a town wiped out and Obama will be meeting with the Royals. Heck, they do not even have any real power. 🙂 Sorry dude, should leave Foxnews out of it, they are number one for times like this.
Interesting, I just checked Foxnews.com and the Camping story is right there on the front page.
Looks like you missed more than the rapture!
125 pages of comments. Maybe the message has been missed. As we all joked about it throughout the days leading up to it, how many said "what if"? I don't care either way so don't bother replying. Sometimes things aren't as they seem.
Hes not even a preacher!!! Hes an engineer or some crap. And didnt he say months ago he was 100% sure this time? Whatever Ignore this idiot and his cult. The bible says "no man not even jesus or the angels in heaven but only god shall know when the end will come." Beleive the bible not some attention hungry old fool. Like the opposing billboard said, "2000 years of any day now"
I think he means his world will end in 5 months lol
It's always win-win with these morons.
What if –
What if Judgement Day really did happen on May 21st, and the chosen 2% to 3% of humanity did pop on up to heaven – But it wasn't Camping and his groupies that were seleced
Perhaps someone should plant that seed with the Campers.
If all the religious fanatics disappeared off the face of this planet - man...wouldn't that be just great? The world really would be a better place.
STOP GIVING THIS ASSHAT PUBLICITY
after a failed prediction, now he says another date. . . while his subordinates are busy collecting dollars from people who they can lured in watching his tape.
what a scam??????????????????
Why do you give this idiot more air time!!
The End is near! Send Money!
IT WILL NEVER END!!!!! MWAHAHAHAHA!!!
Can we have another story please? CNN wore this one out days ago.
Mark from Middle River,
Your comment isn't pertinent and is a display of how those that would destroy our Republic try to divert the conversation.
"correct" his math, or make it work in his favor so he doesn't look like a schmuck and not have to repay all of his followers...
How does he know it didn't happen and he and his followers just didn't make the cut? Or maybe he just needs a new battery in his calculator.
This man ran a Ponzi scheme, and he (or his fake religion) is extremely wealthy. All those who were suckered by this bozo should take him, and his estate should he conveniently die, to court and sue to get their money back, and his sorry saggy ass should be in prison for bilking them.
"should he conveniently die,".... good grief dude. All life is precious from the Atheist to this guy. You might disagree with him but to wish or hope for his death is a bit much.