Why We Can't Just Dismiss As Foolish All the Rapture Rap

Here's the second part of the rapture rap (with the latest due date of August 22nd now just a week away) I started before, and I think it's the most important. Rational humans tend to dismiss this "end of the world as we know it" dialogue as claptrap. But let me argue the point that we should not just file it away mentally, and why. Yet, as you'll read, it is not because I believe such an eventuality is real.

To me, this boils down to about three major points:

1. That a large number of people are already living their lives assuming "end times" are real and already upon us
2. That politicians, whether or not they believe the whole "rapture" deal seem very willing to play into the fears and fantasies of those who believe in Revelations from the Bible which in turn is hurting everyone on the planet
3. That our ability to work through a Middle East peace and involve ourselves in peacemaking anywhere is being influenced by the Rapture crowd

First, I don't think we can dismiss it out of hand because a significant number of people really DO believe we are approaching, if not at, end times. Sure, it is true that at one time or another, probably a majority of people believed many silly things such as:

• the earth was flat
• people of color were inferior to those who were pinkish white
• a woman could get pregnant just from sitting on a toilet seat
• that a woman could not get "raped" unless she "wanted it"

While it's true that a majority of people can be wrong, I still think we have to accept, at least cognitively, that there are large numbers of people who are living their lives with the belief that the world will soon end. For example, we've seen studies that show that many fundamentalist Christians in the deep South:

• feel we do not need to take any action against global warming because "the rapture" will occur well before the human race burns itself up
• believe we do not need to worry about limited fossil fuel reserves because end times will make this silly to fret over
• feel that they have to elect candidates who recognize and accept their core religious beliefs because it will matter how the country/world is handled during the coming armageddon
• believe they don't have to make provisions for their retirement because the end times are upon us

Second, while most of us are dismissing the Rapture rap, others are not. In fact, we're seeing a growing number of politicians, of movers and shakers in the world, of influential business types all signing onto the Apocalypse manifesto. While I doubt they "buy" the end times themselves, they know they will score points with extremist fundamentalists who do. They're hood-winking these people, that's true enough. But we can't just ignore them because they're influencing U.S. and foreign policy, affecting future decision making, and even what can be taught in schools. The same people who buy into Rapture are also more likely to fight the teaching of evolution, sex education, and real science in public schools. We cannot afford to allow stupidity to reign supreme.

The third point is that we have to understand more of how this rapture rap affects us every day. For example, you've no doubt noticed how badly anything labeled as a "peace initiative" or "diplomacy" is received these days. Extremist fundamentalists - and a growing number of people who are more in the "mainstream" of fundamentalism - are being taught that the Bible considers diplomacy as "the work of the AntiChrist. I kid you not. They also see peace as the work of the 666 crowd.

Crazy? You bet. But these people are out there affecting the vote, affecting everything. If we just dismiss them, we're going to be hit in the head and ass by them later on when they've gained even more power. I think we have to find a way to educate them better so there aren't these strange fringe interpretations of the Bible (which I happen to believe is NOT the word of God but the work of men who would like to be revered as Godheads to the unintelligent majority).