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December 17th, 2013
01:43 PM ET
Radio preacher who predicted doomsday dies(CNN) - The broadcast preacher who predicted the world would end in 2011 and spread his doomsday message through billboards and RV caravans has died, according to a statement from his Family Radio network. Harold Camping died Sunday afternoon after suffering a fall in his home on November 30, the statement said. He had suffered a stroke in June 2011, a few weeks after his doomsday date came and went. He died at age 92, an operator at Family Radio said. "He passed away peacefully in his home, with his family at his side," the statement said. Camping is survived by his wife of 71 years, Shirley. For months in early 2011, Camping predicted that Jesus Christ would return to the earth on May 21 that year, and that a select 2% to 3% of the world’s population would be raptured, or 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, 2011. MORE ON CNN: Road trip to the end of the world When his May 21 prediction failed to pan out, Camping took the radio airwaves to say that he had misinterpreted the nature of the rapture but that the world would still end on October 21. The following year, Camping admitted he was wrong and said he was getting out of the forecasting business. "We humbly acknowledge we were wrong," Camping and his staff members wrote in a letter to supporters posted on Family Radio's website in March 2012. "We must also openly acknowledge that we have no new evidence pointing to another date for the end of the world. Though many dates are circulating, Family Radio has no interest in even considering another date." 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 had gathered many followers. Some gave up their homes, entire life savings and jobs because they believed the world was ending.
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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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Wow... Married for 71 years. RIP. This man is greater and has accomplished far more than the losers posting negative comments on this board.
Like you, pen-day-ho?
Because he was married?
Because he was faithfully married for 70 years, started a large nonprofit, and his only fault was a wrong prediction which he owned up to. Of course the religion haters will always spew their venom.
Aw Alex, that's cute! Sweeping this guy's delusions under the rug? That's a pretty big rug. All little old innocent him ever did was make a wrong prediction on the radio!!
Panicked his idiot sheep followers into getting rid of all their stuff
Watched them tell their kids world is ending, all gonna die
WHatta guy!
Political talking heads and economists make incorrect predictions all the time. And yes some ppl take it as gospel, and make big financial moves. Its a lesson in personal responsibility.
No, this con-artist made MULTIPLE false predictions, and was still able to fleece religious dimwits of millions of dollars; I don't know which is more disgusting, the fact that slimy weasels like Camping are so successful at ripping people off, or the fact that some people are so gullible that they can't wait to be taken advantage of.
Pretty sure convincing people that the world would end is a little more than messing up a stock report, wiseass. Plus, those people get fired when they do a bad job.
No one held this fool anywhere near accountable enough.
You're a poor apologist.
Economists that missed the financial crisis are still in business and that affected far more than this guy. Some ppl choose to pay for prophecies and other forms of hidden knowledge. You may not agree but there is a market for it as long as ppl are interested in the esoteric.
He was con man. He created a family of con artists that will carry on his criminal legacy.
>>Some ppl choose to pay for prophecies and other forms of hidden knowledge.
Or BS, apparently. I guess that makes it all okay!
:: slow golf clap ::
married 71 years?? no wonder he was longing for the end
It's like the old joke "Why do husbands usually die before their wives?" Answer = "They WANT to!"
How so?
He has accomplished nothing but filling people's heads with horsesheet. You must be a real idiot to remotely think this is a good man.
yes alex...look at what he accomplished.
I could not even begin to ruin as many lives as he has.
Well, he was right, HIS dooms day has come to pass.
I'm actually glad. This moron duped many people into selling everything so he could preach his lie, I mean dooms day message. Then again, those morons deserved to lose everything. I don't believe the bible or that there is a god or anything, but even your own freaking book says that Armageddon will be like a thief in the night, you will not know when it will come. It also says in another passage that only the father knows the day and time that the end will come. Yet these so called moronic believers fall for this crap everytime.
now that you are dead, maybe you can get the real date, and keep it secret, not scare people like you have done your whole life.
Well, when I heard that he passed away..I knew I just had to stop by and see the comments on here. I was disappointed at all. So many heart felt comments, it really shows the beauty of the human spirit.
*wasn't*
Who th e"F" are you to judge? Take a walk, Gomer!
I am myself and that is enough. Learn to accept it.
Well guys, since someone is posting false info in my name, this will be my last post. Anything after you can know is a fake. I can see that no matter what evidence I give, you have a hardened heart and I don't think you would believe it if God did give you a personal sign of his existence. Lots of people from OT times saw the miracles, signs, and presence of God and a lot of them still didn't obey God. So I hope you will keep your heart open and when I see you on judgement day, I hope you are on the right side with me. Merry Christmas.
don't let the door hit you in the backside
merry christmas
I know it's difficult to do, because of the fear from the message of eternal damnation, but you need to be honest with yourself about the inconsistencies, errors, immoralities, contradictions, revisions, and bigotries that are in the bible, and when you come to your senses, as Teresa MacBain did, you'll feel much better and will be able to live a far more fulfilling life without punishing yourself daily.
I'm a Christian and I don't punish myself daily. I think people who do though are drunkards, drug addicts, and other sinners who haven't been set free from their constant sin.
Who farted?
faith is a drug, lucas. you are a junkie
"I'm a Christian and I don't punish myself daily. I think people who do though are drunkards, drug addicts, and other sinners who haven't been set free from their constant sin."
Why don't you listen to what Teresa MacBain, who was a Christian Minister, has to say about Christian self-punishment – the link for the video on youtube is shown in my name.
It couldn't be because you have run away from every bit of debate when shown to be wrong, oh no. It's because " somebody stole your name." Sure.
Jack, I hope you have more chances in your life to witness to others. I enjoyed reading your posts and didn't know there even was that much scientific evidence of the Bible. Maybe someone will read and be free from the burden of sin. Merry Christmas.
There is no such "scientific evidence."
The talking snake is what passes for "scientific evidence" in their bizzaro world.
Jack, You have given no evidence so don't be surprised that it's not convincing. Still tomorrow's another day – same posts, different handle.
Jack, speaking to these people is standing in front of a bunch of mules with no sense of direction and don't know where they are heading tomorrow.
Well, you could put this whole debate to bed so easily – provide the evidence for a god, explain why you accept Bronze Age superstitions over modern scientific knowledge, why your god is superior to all the others, ....
And how do you know you are on the right side?
'Merry Christmas' in this case translates to the standard Xtian 'screw you'.
Who are you that we have to listen to you. do you have some superior knowledge? Are you a messenger from God? Get a life.
Bye!!
This guy was a real nutcase. I do wonder though, if maybe those ears of his might have been picking up a few too many frequencies than what the brain can handle.
B.S. in civil engineering from UC Berkley. Just another crazy scientist freak.
You're joking right? I'm certain that it wasn't the engineering training that made him crazy.
He started out crazy. Smart and crazy are mutually exclusive.
I used to have a turtle that looked just like this guy.
Here is another putdown on you religious freaks..
If the American event of 9/11 were predicted by your babble.. then what of the following or sub-sequent likely event that falls on that same day, but in another 20 or 30 years from now?
Will you be able to precisely note and USE that EXACT same babble passage as your explanation ~ once again?
Or will it not be logical;
~~ to conclude that the same event will occur because THAT day will mark an anniversary; thus it will have another deadly impact.
b)
the quotes below regarding 9/11 are likely from a Poe and are not in the bible at all. Nostradamus was not a prophet in the bible.
Good riddance.
This scammer was responsible for many people losing everything.
One of my best friend's sister believed so much in what he preached that she quit her job, sold everything she had and joined one of those bus caravans he instructed his listeners to join to spread the end of times bul ll.
She is now desti tute and trying to feed her two children.
Does not excuse her stupid actions and belief in myths, but does not excuse him either for being a complete fraud.
And he did this same thing in the 80's.
You believers are so friggin dumb.
More gracious and kind words due to an old man's death.
Please, don't hold back how you really feel. It shows the depth of human compassion.
" It shows the depth of human compassion." I would agrue this is not a particularly "compassionate" venue to begin with.
Oh – and sincere or not, the guy caused more harm in his life than not, so why should I feel anythig other than relief at his passing? Unadulterated compassion is a sign of naivety, not emotional maturity.
A testimonial from John Compere, PhD
"I was a fifth-generation Baptist minister, ordained at age 18, while in college. I served until age 32 when I left the ministry and the church to get a PhD in Clinical Psychology. I had already completed a three-year seminary degree following college, which only increased my doubts about the authenticity of the theology I had learned from childhood. Leaving the ministry was not an easy decision to make since all my friends and family were in the church. But it was a decision I ultimately HAD to make if I didn't want to risk being publicly phony and privately cynical. I became an agnostic, then an atheist, NOT because I hadn't read the Bible, but because I had! An atheist, by the way, is simply someone who does not believe in a supernatural being. I am convinced that the evidence supports that view. All religion suffers from being bound by unchanging myth.
As a psychologist, I continued to try to help people find meaning in their lives. I taught at the university and medical school, had a private clinical practice, and then became a professional speaker on "Psychology You Can USE!" I seriously doubt that life has any ultimate meaning, but I'm convinced that we can make our own meaning, and I have spent the last 45 years since I left the ministry trying to help people do just that. Success is not the goal - all therapists have dealt with many a successful person who was miserable - life satisfaction is the goal.
When I made my career change, I was essentially on my own. I wish something like The Clergy Project had been around then. I could surely have used it. The goal of this project is not to try to convince believing clergy to give up their faith. Rather, it is to help those in the clergy who, for their own individual reasons, are no longer able to believe, to try to figure out how to make a huge sea-change in their lives. It may well be the absolutely most challenging career change anyone can make. We simply want to help make it easier."
==quote==
"but I'm convinced that we can make our own meaning,"
==end==
For you religious people that want true understanding of atheism..
~Understand that one line!!
"but I'm convinced that we can make our own meaning,"
As the Joker would say in this situation, "Different joke, same punchline."
Let me say this I doubted many times in my faith. Finally I realized the statement " I do not understand that I may believe I believe that I may understand. " I believe not because people are great, and the world can be a better place but just the opposite. In short my belief in the Traditional Catholic Church helps me gain the necessary peace and calm that allows me to get through.
Who cares which fairy tale you believe in?
"I do not understand that I may believe I believe that I may understand." Definition of confirmation bias. If believing gives you peace, that's great. But please just keep in mind we live in a pluralistic society that is supposed to allow all the "pursuit of happiness".
Here is the hard logic for you religious freaks to consider ~ for the future.
Count the number of pages in your babble. Mark the number of passages.
Have you asked your self ~yet~ of how many of the same passages are/were used already to describe the events that have already taken place in our planet's history? Or rather that of mankind's history?
Do you understand that you have already used ONE passage to define ONE EVENT?
Do you understand that ONE passage when used will NO LONGER be relevant to a future event?
Do you think that relationship to the number of passages that exist in your babble will carry onwards perpetually to future events? Get real. Think.
You dumbass freaks.
he was predicting his own doomsday. That's all.
Does your pathetic babble tell us about how small is the smallest object?
Does it tell us about the absolute highest density matter out in the existence of the universe?
Does it tell us how hot is the hottest temperature?
Does it tell us about the force of gravity and how it works?
~~ Just shove your babble up your backside; you moronic religious freaks!
Earthshaking fire from the center of the Earth, Will cause tremors around the New City. Two great rocks will war for a long time, Then Arethusa will redden a new river. – Nostradamus
9/11 predicted!!
The two greatest ones of Asia and of Africa, From the Rhine and Lower Danube they will be said to have come, Cries, tears at Malta and the Ligurian side.
From the depths of the West of Europe, A young child will be born of poor people, He who by his tongue will seduce a great troop; His fame will increase towards the realm of the East. – Nostradamus
Hitler predicted!!
We laugh at the scientific proof of a hundred years ago, but if Nostradamus wasn't the one who knew all this stuff, then who? Obviously it was God!!
Tell us when you will die. Predict that.
Jack, That's a stretch even considering the nonsense you've been posting all day.
It's the freaks daily confirmation spiel to uphold their bubble of insecurity.
The constantly need to re-affirm it to themselves.
I've been scammed. Someone used my name to post this. I do not believe 911 was predicted and I definitely don't look to Nostrodomas or whatever his name is.
Whoever forged this post with my name: I'll pray for you. You must have felt threatened by my truth to do such a childish thing.
"You must have felt threatened by my truth to do such a childish thing."
Yeah, that's it. All that "scientific truth" you got slammed on in the thread below. Someone must be real, real jealous of your fantastic reasoning and grasp of science.
I'm pretty sure this is a poe as he is comparing the below poster and biblical prophecy to that of Nostradamus who was most certainly not a biblical prophet.
The post was not from me, someone posted using my name. I do not believe any of it!
" I do not believe any of it!"
Good! That's a healthy start. Now think why you don't believe in it and imagine that others may feel the same way about your beliefs. It's a good exercise to try and it keeps you honest about your own beliefs.
H.G. Wells described "heat rays" nearly 60 years before the first lasers were invented. He also predicted biological warfare, genetic engineering, and even automatic doors. Jules Verne predicted electric submarines, tasers, TV newscasts 30 years before TV was invented, videoconferencing, and space travel to the moon, complete with splashdowns. So far, science fiction writers have been more accurately prophetic than religious authors and professional prophets.
Yes, because those men were in tune with their niche in society. They were people who were interested in what other people were thinking on about in those times. They could envision the various avenues of progress and were right about it.
There's also the argument that these were overly imaginative authors whose fans became inspired to help make their visions into reality. Many prominent people in the space race claimed inspiration from them, for example.
Harold would have made an outstanding weatherman.
In the book of Job, the inspired writer in one verse reveals two scientific principles not known to man until much later. “He stretcheth out the north over empty space, And hangeth the earth upon nothing” (Job 26:7). There is a place in the North where no stars exist, which cannot be seen with the naked eye. How did the writer of Job know this? Also, the same verse declares that God hangs the earth on nothing. We know this is true, but we have only known it for about 350 years. God’s inspired writer told us over 3,000 years ago that the earth is held in place by gravitational forces!
Many archaeologists have explored the land of Palestine. Has any one of those scientists ever discovered anything which disproves the Bible? No. Many archaeological discoveries have confirmed the Biblical record. However, none has ever contradicted the Word of God. This ought to be very reassuring to those of us who believe the Bible to be the inspired Word of God. At the same time, it ought to convince the skeptic, the agnostic, and the atheist, that this Book is God’s Book. Therefore, not only does God exist, but He has revealed His Will to man.
If your god has revealed anything to the whole wide world ~ it's the fact that it is an idiot.
this Book is God’s Book
---–
What are your thoughts on why God didn't simply "inspire" a group of humans on ALL continents, in ALL cultures, to write the same words, so there would be no dispute that it's actually the word of God, and not the word of man? Why just a few peeps in the middle east?
God has no power to do that .. inspire everyone.. you're crazy!
"There is a place in the North where no stars exist, which cannot be seen with the naked eye."
There's a place on earth where no stars exist?
Jack
Maybe God suspends the earth over nothing because it isn't suspended at all in the author's imagination?
Also, in verse 11 it states "The pillars of heaven tremble". So, are there actually pillars up there?
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Christianity is built upon a LIE ...
................ because ....................
..... http://www.GodIsImaginary.com ...
... and thank goodness because he ...
............. emanates from the .............
...................... http://www.EvilBible.com
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'There is a place in the North where no stars exist, which cannot be seen with the naked eye. How did the writer of Job know this?'
What are you on about now? where are you talking about?
'Also, the same verse declares that God hangs the earth on nothing.'
Well seeing as the Earth doesnt 'hang' as all its a pretty poor statement. Now if Job has said the Earth floats like a bubble in the sky, then that would have been a bit closer.
"There is a place in the North where no stars exist, which cannot be seen with the naked eye."
LOL... source please. That is some of the most unbelievable nonesense I've ever heard...
Although the Bible is not primarily a book of science, it does contain numerous scientific facts. We laugh at the scientific knowledge of just a hundred years ago. If man alone were the author of the Bible, we would expect to find many such humorous errors contained in it. However, if we examine the scientific data of the Bible and find it to be accurate to present-day knowledge, then we have powerful evidence for divine authorship. The scientific facts we are about to examine are not only accurate, but were revealed thousands of years before man discovered them for himself. The Bible does not contain any errors typical of the time in which it was written. Would we expect anything less from a book written by God?
The water cycle was not fully understood until about 30 B.C. by a Roman engineer named Marcus Vitruvius. Yet every aspect of the water cycle was fully revealed to mankind in 1600 B.C.! The Bible's description is in perfect harmony with modern science. Eccl 1:6-7; 11:3; Job 26:8; Amos 9:6. Vitruvius was 1600 years too late!
You may be surprised to learn that the Bible revealed that the earth is round. Job 26:10, Prov 8:27, Isaiah 40:22, Amos 9:6. Today, we chuckle at the people of the fifteenth century who feared sailing because they thought they would fall over the edge of the flat earth. Yet the Bible revealed the truth in 1000 B.C. 2500 years before man discovered it for himself!
You religious freaks are a boor.
Your babble "facts" are definitely amateurish. Take for instance the shape of the earth: it can only be a) round b) spherical c) cubic and d) triangular. Just pick a shape and you'll have a 25% chance of getting it right.
The idiots that were "inspired" only jot down information on what they could find in the radius of probably about 5km from their residence.
Just spend time and figure out what those facts really pertain to when it comes down to real information. They couldn't give you the depth of knowledge that our modern day science has put forth. Like the actual structures of the cell. They couldn't even tell you what the color of white light were composed of.
So much of your vault praises for these amateur facts are just "fluff."
"However, if we examine the scientific data of the Bible and find it to be accurate to present-day knowledge, then we have powerful evidence for divine authorship."
You mean like talking snakes and donkeys, the sun "standing still", and that a guy got two of every animal onto a tiny wooden boat which then floated around while enough rain fell to cover Mount Everest and kill every living thing on earth? That "scientific data"?
Bat's are "birds", spiders have six legs, Pi = 3, etc. Like he said, there ARE many humorous mistakes in the bible.
Jack
A round earth isn't a spherical globe, but a flat table. The Bible describes the pillars of the earth, solid foundations on the four "corners" of earth. That's why Job says that the earth isn't "suspended" over anything; they thought that it was on solid foundations.
The water cycle was known longer than 30 BCE. The idea that the water cycle is a closed cycle can be found in the works of Anaxagoras of Clazomenae 460 BCE and Diogenes of Apollonia 460 BCE. That's around the same time as much of the OT was being written.
'You may be surprised to learn that the Bible revealed that the earth is round. Job 26:10, Prov 8:27, Isaiah 40:22, Amos 9:6. Today, we chuckle at the people of the fifteenth century who feared sailing because they thought they would fall over the edge of the flat earth. Yet the Bible revealed the truth in 1000 B.C. 2500 years before man discovered it for himself!'
Except they use the term circle, which is a flat 2d shape, which the Earth most certainly isnt. As for 2500 years before man discovered for himself.......again wrong as the Ancient Greeks had it figured out in 600BC.
There is an interesting story around this idea of the Second Coming. In Matthew's Gospel, Jesus is talking about the imminent coming of the end of the World and he admonishes his apostles to be prepared because the last day would be any day now, but that nobody knows the exact date: "No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.”
This passage was written in about 80 CE, before Jesus had been definitively elevated in Christianity to be a part of the Holy Trinity. Many centuries later, after Jesus was firmly entrenched as a part of the Christian god, this passage became problematic for many Christian scribes. This is for the obvious reason that it makes no sense that Jesus could be a part of an all-knowing god and yet not know when the end of times was coming.
So, a Medieval scribe simply deleted the words “nor the Son” from the passage. This sanitized version of Matthew’s Gospel was the one used by the compilers of the King James Bible, the most influential English interpretation, which is why it the words “nor the Son” do not appear in this quote from Jesus in many English translations of the Gospel of Matthew today.
The King James Bible does say only the Father knows and the main Bibles today say only the Father knows and includes the added "not even the son".
In the verse you speak of Jesus was still man. After His death and resurrection he knew the day and the hour because he joined the Father.
OK – that's a new one – you don't believe Jesus was "the christ" until after his ressurection? That would seem at odds with him being the pre-existant Logos...
Jesus had to run from being stoned, was a child growing up and basically went though what we do in our environment. When He rose on the third day He moved through walls ascended etc. which is very different. Jesus while man allowed himself the same physical constraints we are familiar with.
My personal opinion is that Jesus was in our time and space as we know it while God does not exist in our time and space. God is eternal whereas Jesus was finite. It is only outside the constructs of our space and time that past, present and future can be viewed without limitation. That view would contain the exact point of the End of Days but only have meaning outside of our construct (here it has not happened yet)