At 7am this morning I was enjoying the jokes and humour and laughter about the rapture. How silly that a group of people really think the world is going to end today at 6pm and they will be raptured.
I even wrote the previous post "today is judgement day" in a slightly mocking style. Although to be honest I was just jumping on the rapture bandwagon to share a great piece of music.
But now it's 8am and after an hour reading tweets and blogs I am angry and disappointed by the overt mockery. And it's not the general public that I'm referring to, them I excuse. It's those who should know better, who are called by God to care for souls and nurture lives and guide the lost. And they are mocking, and it turns my stomach. I respect and admire these people and perhaps that's why I feel so strongly; I'm disappointed that this is their response.
And to make it worse this is all on the week that the Gospel in the lectionary is "I am the way, the truth and the life" in John 14. This passage speaks to me about love of all, about the fact that Jesus died for us all, that there is room for us all. It shows the disciples confused and not understanding. If they found it hard then is it any wonder so many of us find it hard to explain our faith now. And how did Jesus help the disciples understand? He loved them and explained and nurtured and illustrated for them; he was there for them.
So we should today follow Jesus' example. We should not mock those who have followed one man who thinks the rapture is today. We should not make jokes at their expense. We should not degrade them through our actions.
We should pray for them, be ready to help them cope after today, love them and help them know that God has their spaces ready for them.
Jesus would not mock, he would love.
So should we!
I agree totally Emma. Like you I was finding the funny side of it all until in the same sentence we were laughing and then asked to pray for them all. Patronizing self righteous twaddle. no I don't t think Jesus would mock.
ReplyDeletePersonally I suspect he would have got angry, called them "Vipers" etc. for misleading God's Children and distracting them from his calling to love beyond the boundaries etc. At least that is the way he speaks to people in the Bible who do similar things with Religion!
ReplyDeleteI know what you are saying and I agree in the case where the rapture humour has become personal and abusive. But what makes us thing those who are making light of this are not also prayerfully engaged in the situation. Thing is this has become a global news story because of the resources Camping has plowed into sharing his message, it is for the rest of us to engage in a way that says to the world that not all believers are fundementalist - and to get the message - sometimes humour is the way to do that. The workd is laughing not at Camping but all who share his position. I may have a different understanding of what he calls rapture, and I may nit agree with him but few are going to be willing to listen to a theological rebuffal esp on Twitter and the like. Humour is a good way to engage in order to be able to talk to folk who have no understanding of faith and who otherwise would simply mock. I hve had a handful of 'good'conversations with folk on twitter in response to some of the humour posts about rapture that have been seen. It is always too easy to mock, and to decry the actions of others and we all need to tread that thin line in this and in all areas where we have the chance to engage others in the gospel.
ReplyDeleteI think we've been as good-natured as we could.
ReplyDeleteAnd I do feel sorry for those who have been lead astray in this. They've some real facing-up to do, and mockery to face. But I'm angry that this power and ego-trip = because that is what it is - has been allowed to wreck people's jobs, lives and hopes and made the Gospel a laughing stock.
I don't think we are mocking the followers but we are mocking the leaders whose vision of the Christian way is so narrow that they think it is right to spend millions of dollars publicising their opinions about when the world will end, rather than helping those in need, and who have led others astray. And I think the Bible shows that Jesus would do a lot more than mock such leaders - he would call them all the names under the sun - look at Matthew Chapter 23.
ReplyDeleteThis has been a brilliant opportunity to show that Christians do not all have nutty beliefs, but can disagree using humour rather than fighting each other - which is good for the image of the faith in the wider world.
I agree with you. Whilst I also believe that people like this guy do not help the public view if Christianity I think the huge mocking has been frankly, awful and I've tried to avoid it where possible! Well said Emma.
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