Rapture Irresponsibility in Action

A little iPhone journalism, from our Italian correspondent*, on irresponsible religious politics in action. In case you can’t read it, the sign says, “There’ll be no need for hybrids in heaven! Revelation 21: 1-8.” Ugh. Why try to save the Earth, after all, if God’s going to care of things tomorrow?

In an earlier post, I attacked Reverend Hagee for focusing so narrowly on “the Rapture” as to neglect the world of the living. But there’s another problem with legislating towards the Rapture: if one neglects to fix the world himself, firmly believing that God will fix everything in the not-so-distant future, when He inevitably fails to do so we will all be worse off for the waiting.

Politics and basic human responsibility mandate that we take care of our own problems ourselves. If God chooses to make our task easier by magically appearing and curing those remaining ills, so much the better, but we cannot count on God to handle our problems for us. Thomas Jefferson once famously said that the World ought to belong to the living: increasingly, too, I believe that the World ought to belong exclusively to those who embrace their role as being among the living, rather than those who seem to deride their presence on Earth as a minor layover, to be treated as such.

For your information, Revelation 21:1-8 is reproduced below.  Below the line, you’ll also find a thanks to our Italian correspondent (currently in Texas) for this picture, and a closing.

Revelation 21:1-8…

And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.

And I, John, saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.

And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.

And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.

And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful.

And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely.

He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son.

But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.

The Book of Revelations was a fable designed to help a persecuted people deal with their difficult lives, as are all apocalypse stories. It, like other eschatalogical documents, ought to be treated as such – as historical texts, not as political road maps or guide posts.

*: when I say “our Italian correspondent,” I refer to a friend of mine who’s signed up to post to this site but, like Tim, has been too busy to post lately. Thanks to her for this picture.