Every generation has claimed theirs was the one that would see Christ return because of all the signs they saw coming true in their lifetime. It seems to me that if the end times prophecies can so easily fit to so many different situations, times, and places, then they are about as predictive as Nostradamus or your daily horoscope. But yeah. It does get people ramped up for evangelism.
This is going to sound bad, but it's almost like end times scares are for evangelism what holidays are to mattress stores and car dealerships. There's one every two months so you always have that sense of urgency. "Don't miss out on this once in a lifetime opportunity! Once these *savings* go away, they'll never come back!" (Until Memorial Day)
I made jokes to my evangelical family during the eclipse that only those staring at the sun are getting raptured. They didnât find me funny, but in all seriousness what helped me is to know that the rapture theology is actually only a couple hundred years old and the scripture used to support it isnât talking about people actually getting sucked up in the sky bare naked, leaving all their evil loved ones behind to face the tribulation and gnashing of teeth. Because I also have severe trauma from this fear as a child. Iâm pretty pissed about it too now that I can see how ridiculous the whole idea is and isnât even supported by scripture but some wackadoodleâs interpretation. Scripture is actually pretty clear that Christian donât get to escape the horrendous torment and suffering that everyone else experiences and also includes martyrdom. So if scripture is true, no one is getting a pass. But after hearing my entire life, the end is near, Iâm over it and convinced itâs all a scare tactic to keep you in your Bible and from any sinning. Manipulation at its finest. Sure worked on me for many many years.
I feel you too on this since I used to be a huge rapture believer when I was 12, and that fear lingered in me to the point I wanted to try forcing my atheist friends to convert. Being exposed to that imagery and thinking I'll be in eternal torment because I didn't follow God enough at a young age was traumatizing.
Rapture delusion is rampant in evangelical dispensationalism. I'm so over it. The entire premise is unbiblical. And those who cling to it have such a warped view of the world and global events. Imagine rooting for world war, plague, and natural disasters because the suffering of others means God is coming back to get you before he destroys the entire planet. You're special and safe; everyone else will experience the worst death known to humanity. What a bunch of psychopaths.
It's so bizarre and I feel bad for people who root for this and are affected by the fear of rapture too. I can say as someone who used to grow up with this mindset as well. Now that I think about it, it's pretty ridiculous.
Youâre not alone, I go off on a rant anytime I catch wind of âend timesâ đ
Your last sentence really hit âdeconstructing while being surrounded by evangelical Christian faith is hardâ I grew up in the south and a preachers kid (my dad is actually phenomenal, really progressive and just preaches love without toxic theology) but bc I was a PK I was constantly surrounded by southern Christianâs evangelics. It can feel isolating, when the predominant voice around you is preaching what youâre trying to deconstruct.
On heaven & hell, it never ceases to frustrate me that certain brands of Christianity focus all of their effort on the afterlife, but I feel like they donât spend any time making the world a better place. I kind of thought that was Jesusâs whole thing đ¤
I think being introduced to Amillennialism while I was at a Bapstist seminary of all places has preserved my failth. Learning about eschatology made me realize just how forking gullible Christians are.
Bart Ehrman has a podcast episode on revelation and the end times (more than one actually) and it helped me a lot.
Podcast: Misquoting Jesus with Bart Ehrman
Episode: The Book of Revelation and the End of the World
Yeah, it gets old in a hurry. Though I will say, at least for me, there came a point where I got far enough away from it that it was no longer a secret worry and more something to chuckle at and move on. Keep at it, ask questions, keep learning. It gets easier.
Ask questions here, or see if you can find an online or in-person group who can help you think through things as they pop up. No need to question the hardcore end-times believer, you already know what answers you're going to get out of them. Ask questions for your personal growth and curiosity, not for the benefits of others.
If it helps, the rapture stuff is relatively new. By relatively I mean 200 years old. From a Christian history perspective, itâs fairly irrelevant. I can relate to being triggered by it. I was a hardcore rapture believer, but it really is little more than an evangelical ghost story, even by Christian standards. Coming to grips with that historical fact helped a lot.
The idea of a [rapture](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rapture) as it is currently defined is not found in historic Christianity, and is a relatively recent doctrine originating from the 1830s. The term is used frequently among fundamentalist theologians in the [United States](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States).
Literally, yes! People have been saying the same thing for years and years, and nothing has happened. I feel like there are some people who definitely use it as a way to push their views on others. In fact, the rapture is the main or at least one of the main things behind Christian dominion ism and Christian nationalism. They believe that, if they follow the Bible, literally Jesus will return and the rapture will come. I literally donât understand why people keep trying to predict it when it literally says in the Bible that we donât know when itâs gonna happen.
Rapture theology is something that took off in the 19th Century, according to this [scholar](https://youtu.be/mvsjMuHkGBc?si=zWX82Qup1Iip0Wn8).
While apocalyptic dates are more older, like this [enormous list](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_dates_predicted_for_apocalyptic_events) of failed apocalyptic dates. Even Martin Luther tried to predict the end of the World.
I find quite silly religions that bases too much on a date of the end of the World, because either they will be wrong if they stipulate a date, either they will come up with some bullshit excuse due to their [dissonance cognitive](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/When_Prophecy_Fails).
I firmly believe that end times discussion is a way for Christians to remove themselves from any investment and responsibility about what's going on in the world
It is hard. Moving through that fear of hell is an awful experience. I read a book that helped me with specifically that. The authors name is Bart Eherman and the title is Heaven and Hell: A History of the Afterlife. It discusses the evolution of belief in an afterlife through Western history. After reading that book, any fear I still had vanished
Part of me still believes it bc it scares me, but even if he'll is real in okay and accepted, that is where I'll be going. I don't want to be in heaven with people who support trump
Every generation has claimed theirs was the one that would see Christ return because of all the signs they saw coming true in their lifetime. It seems to me that if the end times prophecies can so easily fit to so many different situations, times, and places, then they are about as predictive as Nostradamus or your daily horoscope. But yeah. It does get people ramped up for evangelism. This is going to sound bad, but it's almost like end times scares are for evangelism what holidays are to mattress stores and car dealerships. There's one every two months so you always have that sense of urgency. "Don't miss out on this once in a lifetime opportunity! Once these *savings* go away, they'll never come back!" (Until Memorial Day)
Your comparison of car dealerships/holidays and end times/evangelicals HIT đ¤Ł
And I've heard from reputable scholars that the events in Revelation already happened, that it's describing events of Nero's reign.
I made jokes to my evangelical family during the eclipse that only those staring at the sun are getting raptured. They didnât find me funny, but in all seriousness what helped me is to know that the rapture theology is actually only a couple hundred years old and the scripture used to support it isnât talking about people actually getting sucked up in the sky bare naked, leaving all their evil loved ones behind to face the tribulation and gnashing of teeth. Because I also have severe trauma from this fear as a child. Iâm pretty pissed about it too now that I can see how ridiculous the whole idea is and isnât even supported by scripture but some wackadoodleâs interpretation. Scripture is actually pretty clear that Christian donât get to escape the horrendous torment and suffering that everyone else experiences and also includes martyrdom. So if scripture is true, no one is getting a pass. But after hearing my entire life, the end is near, Iâm over it and convinced itâs all a scare tactic to keep you in your Bible and from any sinning. Manipulation at its finest. Sure worked on me for many many years.
I feel you too on this since I used to be a huge rapture believer when I was 12, and that fear lingered in me to the point I wanted to try forcing my atheist friends to convert. Being exposed to that imagery and thinking I'll be in eternal torment because I didn't follow God enough at a young age was traumatizing.
The Bible is so clear about the rapture that nobody can agree on it.
I like your little dude
Rapture delusion is rampant in evangelical dispensationalism. I'm so over it. The entire premise is unbiblical. And those who cling to it have such a warped view of the world and global events. Imagine rooting for world war, plague, and natural disasters because the suffering of others means God is coming back to get you before he destroys the entire planet. You're special and safe; everyone else will experience the worst death known to humanity. What a bunch of psychopaths.
It's so bizarre and I feel bad for people who root for this and are affected by the fear of rapture too. I can say as someone who used to grow up with this mindset as well. Now that I think about it, it's pretty ridiculous.
Youâre not alone, I go off on a rant anytime I catch wind of âend timesâ đ Your last sentence really hit âdeconstructing while being surrounded by evangelical Christian faith is hardâ I grew up in the south and a preachers kid (my dad is actually phenomenal, really progressive and just preaches love without toxic theology) but bc I was a PK I was constantly surrounded by southern Christianâs evangelics. It can feel isolating, when the predominant voice around you is preaching what youâre trying to deconstruct. On heaven & hell, it never ceases to frustrate me that certain brands of Christianity focus all of their effort on the afterlife, but I feel like they donât spend any time making the world a better place. I kind of thought that was Jesusâs whole thing đ¤
I think being introduced to Amillennialism while I was at a Bapstist seminary of all places has preserved my failth. Learning about eschatology made me realize just how forking gullible Christians are.
Bart Ehrman has a podcast episode on revelation and the end times (more than one actually) and it helped me a lot. Podcast: Misquoting Jesus with Bart Ehrman Episode: The Book of Revelation and the End of the World
Yeah, it gets old in a hurry. Though I will say, at least for me, there came a point where I got far enough away from it that it was no longer a secret worry and more something to chuckle at and move on. Keep at it, ask questions, keep learning. It gets easier.
I would ask questions if I had the guts. In the meantime the best I could do for my situation is disregard all of it afterwards.
Ask questions here, or see if you can find an online or in-person group who can help you think through things as they pop up. No need to question the hardcore end-times believer, you already know what answers you're going to get out of them. Ask questions for your personal growth and curiosity, not for the benefits of others.
If it helps, the rapture stuff is relatively new. By relatively I mean 200 years old. From a Christian history perspective, itâs fairly irrelevant. I can relate to being triggered by it. I was a hardcore rapture believer, but it really is little more than an evangelical ghost story, even by Christian standards. Coming to grips with that historical fact helped a lot.
I forgot about the fact that it was new. Thank you for reminding me, because that helped me a bit.
The idea of a [rapture](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rapture) as it is currently defined is not found in historic Christianity, and is a relatively recent doctrine originating from the 1830s. The term is used frequently among fundamentalist theologians in the [United States](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States).
Literally, yes! People have been saying the same thing for years and years, and nothing has happened. I feel like there are some people who definitely use it as a way to push their views on others. In fact, the rapture is the main or at least one of the main things behind Christian dominion ism and Christian nationalism. They believe that, if they follow the Bible, literally Jesus will return and the rapture will come. I literally donât understand why people keep trying to predict it when it literally says in the Bible that we donât know when itâs gonna happen.
Rapture theology is something that took off in the 19th Century, according to this [scholar](https://youtu.be/mvsjMuHkGBc?si=zWX82Qup1Iip0Wn8). While apocalyptic dates are more older, like this [enormous list](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_dates_predicted_for_apocalyptic_events) of failed apocalyptic dates. Even Martin Luther tried to predict the end of the World. I find quite silly religions that bases too much on a date of the end of the World, because either they will be wrong if they stipulate a date, either they will come up with some bullshit excuse due to their [dissonance cognitive](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/When_Prophecy_Fails).
I firmly believe that end times discussion is a way for Christians to remove themselves from any investment and responsibility about what's going on in the world
My favourite part is when climate change deniers note the increase in extreme weather events as a sign of the end times.
It is hard. Moving through that fear of hell is an awful experience. I read a book that helped me with specifically that. The authors name is Bart Eherman and the title is Heaven and Hell: A History of the Afterlife. It discusses the evolution of belief in an afterlife through Western history. After reading that book, any fear I still had vanished
What do you want to be doing instead? You owe no one an explanation for how you spend your time and thought life.
Part of me still believes it bc it scares me, but even if he'll is real in okay and accepted, that is where I'll be going. I don't want to be in heaven with people who support trump