The Best Judgment Day Ever!

This past weekend Heather and I and a group of leaders from Kairos went on a houseboat trip to celebrate the past year of ministry. We had a very good time laughing and talking, reading and writing, eating and sleeping, playing and relaxing. One of the highlights of the weekend was having one of the leaders confirm that Saturday was, "the best Judgment Day ever!" Of course the Saturday that he was referring to was May 21st. He was tubing behind a ski boat when he was flung 20 feet across the water and landed in the frigid water, bobbing up and down waiting for the boat to retrieve him. Once he boarded the boat, the now famous line was emphatically delivered: "this is the best Judgment Day ever!"

What I find hilarious about this comment is the logical implications that come with it: 1) When he said "best", what other Judgment Days did he have to compare with that would lead him to think Saturday was the best? Very interesting question. 2) He thought the May 21st Judgment Day was silly, but what was not silly is being thrown across a lake full of snow run-off water at 25MPH...that was what made this Judgment Day the best.

I talked with a woman at Barnes and Noble about what didn't happen on Saturday. The conversation just sprang up as I perused the Christian Living section of the bookstore. She is a self-proclaimed "intellectual"; too smart for religion. Although she did so rudely, she asked, "Aren't you kind of embarrassed by the end of the world not coming?" Wow. So, I answered her in the most honest way I could: "not any more than you are."


What did I mean when I said that? Well, basically I was letting her know that although she was not a Christian and I was, that we had this one day as common ground between us. I didn't believe Saturday was the end and neither did she. So, we shared a brief conversation that I found rather engaging. When all was said and done she affirmed me by saying that I had helped enlighten her. No thanks necessary, it was my pleasure.

Here's how it went:

ME: not any more than you are

HER: what do you mean?

ME: I knew that it wasn't going to happen so it wasn't embarrassing for me. I think it was embarassing for Harold Camping though.

HER: Well, aren't you a Christian?

ME: Yeah.

HER: And you're not embarrassed?

ME: No. That guy doesn't speak for the Christians of the world. It's just one guy spouting off a bunch of trash about things he is under-qualified to speak on. The whole thing was ridiculous.

HER: I saw that billboard that said "the bible guarantees it." Is there more than one bible then? Because he sure talked like it was going to happen and it didn't. If the bible says it will happen and it doesn't, then it makes the bible wrong. It's just so sad to see people throw their life away believing a book about magic and made up people.

ME: Or, it means that he was wrong in the way he read the bible and in the conclusions that he drew. Honestly, the bible does guarantee that someday there will be an end to the world, but it also guarantees that nobody knows that day...so really, the bible provided a reason to believe its truthfulness. It says that people will come and talk about dates and times and people to try and trick and deceive, but the things they say won't happen and that will be the evidence that their wrong and the bible is right. So, he spoke about things that the bible say are impossible to know and the bible proved true in this case. I'm not embarrassed at all.

HER: I heard on NPR (National Public Radio) that this is a Christian belief and that all Christian believe in a rapture and that only 144,00 people get saved and the rest are left to wonder. Why in the world would you believe in something like that? That just seems wrong and far-fetched. They also said that it is a belief that has evolved over the years and is just a play to get more people in churches. It's all about money anyway.

ME: It is a Christian belief that Jesus of Nazareth will return to earth at some point in human history. It is not true that only 144,000 people will be saved - that is a Jehovah's Witness belief and the two are not the same at all. If you mean that this Theology has been refined over the years then I would agree, but if you mean that it has sprung up out of thin air then I would say that you and NPR are severely mistaken and a little bit ignorant.

SHE: I just would be so embarrassed to be a Christian when your whole belief system has been shown to be unfounded and unreliable. I'm just so sorry for people oppressed by religion.

ME: To be honest with you, it sounds presumptive of you to think Harold Camping is the arbitrator of Christian beliefs. Truth is, he's so far removed from historical Christian theology that it's questionable to even say he is Christian. One of the things he believes is that churches are an evil place of people who have strayed from God. They are unreliable, blinded, and lost. He has totally ignored and isolated himself from Christians and churches. So, when you look at it from that perspective, he speaks for not a single person that attends church because he is against church, not for it. I personally, attend church and am a church-goer. Therefore, he speaks, not as someone for my opinion, rather, he speaks against me and my opinion. I am not embarrassed because he is not speaking with any authoritative representation of Jesus, the church, or Christians. He is a man that is speaking out of his own cleverness and opinion. His opinions are contrary to the plain reading of the bible and he is not to be seen as a man with an opinion that really has any merit. I'm really not embarrassed. Not any more than you.

SHE: Oh, I didn't know he was like that.

ME: Not many do. That isn't news worthy.

SHE: Guess not.

ME: Have you read the bible to see if what he was saying was true?

SHE: (laughing) not a chance. Too unbelievable.

ME: Have you ever read it?

SHE: No reason to, really. I'm more of an intellectual. I guess I'm too smart for religion.

ME: I don't know about that. Everyone doesn't know something. Like, you didn't know that the bible clearly says that the end of the world wouldn't be on saturday. If you would have read it, then you would have known.

SHE: I knew it without the bible. (She begins to walk away) All I have to say is: open your mind. You're still young and there is still time for you to be free.

ME: Try reading the bible sometime. Start in the Gospel of John. Open your mind because you never know maybe something in there is something you didn't know, maybe something true. (Smiling) And you can be REALLY free.

For some of us, the so-called Judgment Day was silly and not anything to be taken serious. For others, it was an opportunity to mock and ridicule Christianity. For me, it was the best Judgment Day - that is, until the real one - which is guaranteed to come and guaranteed to not be predicted.