For me, the most thought-providing bit was this: "Do the end-timers seem ignorant? Yes. Are they insane? Possibly. But should our reaction to them be chuckling glee or something more like sadness?":
Should we feel sadness that there are people whose lives are so miserable they spend their days dreaming about being taken away to Heaven?
Perhaps.
And we should probably also ask why we take such delight in mocking them. (I know why I do it... I'm a mean-spirited bastard. Don't know about anyone else, though.)
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Yes... I think we should feel sorry for the End-Timers. Like you said, they are a sad sad group who seem to think that an imaginary Heaven is more Important than their lives. Fantasy, as opposed to a responsible reality.
ReplyDeleteI think the Catholic Church says that Suicide is a Mortal Sin that would send you to Hell... so, is "praying" for an Apocalypse" the same as suicide, in that it takes away the responsibility of ending your own life?
I think that there are a lot of things in the Neo Testament where JC tells us to be happy and responsible for our own lives... and that Heaven will not ever come... that it is here now... and what we make it
JC was likely a kid that was "spirited" away by some monks at age 16 and after 14 years of study came back to his town to teach them about life... and the Apostles and his followers were such a dim batch that they didn't really get it (Maybe Thomas got it... hard to tell).
And then at the Council Of Nicea the Powers That Be, as is their usual wont, saw Christianity as a way to control the mindless and superstitious among us.
Thanx for all the great posts, sir!
I think many of the "End-Timers" would say that Catholics are pre-destined for Hell anyway, due to their eeeevil idolistic ways, so the suicide thing can be written off as just another false teaching. Although, I do find your thought an amusing one. :)
ReplyDeleteAnd thanks for the kind words about the picture posts... I hope you'll swing by again some time!