I just heard on the radio that 45% of American Christians believe in Armageddon.

really? and if so, does that solely mean the rapture? I mean, does nuclear armageddon count, since it's hardly god's work?

53% of things you hear on the radio are false.

98% of statistics are made up on the spot.

90% of the stuff you hear on the radio is just banter from the DJ until the weather guy gets off the lou.

If God is the creator, it's all his work.

right, 67% of all statistics are false...


edit: damn you hegel- you are my archnemisis for the day.

signed, bertrand

probably, but I still was trying to figure this out. It was this guy that said it.

The Rapture is different though, at least from where I sit. A prophesy regarding Armageddon is mentioned in Revelation. Armageddon is a place (Har Megido in Hebrew), but I don't think the Bible says exactly what happens there. It's up to interpretation. The Rapture is a pretty new concept, and isn't exactly spelled out in the Bible, if I can recall.

I am rusty on my Bible Study, however, so I may be wrong. I was reared with a Southern Baptist background however, and didn't hear jack squat about the Rapture until some weirdos in college were preaching to us.

I'm not going to click on yr link from the guy, cause judging from the url--"americadynasty" it would probably just make me upset.

my god we are retarded.

yeah, he's a real hippie. One of those dope-smoking Nixon strategist hippies.

I'm not doubting the stat is wrong. I'm more wondering if it's ENTIRELY off or more just an exaggeration.

I wouldnt say that the stat is wrong- Im not sure- I could definitely believe it- the US is a big country, lots of rocks to look under

Depending on how you define "Armeggedon" and "Christian" I would think it could be higher.

Almost half of Americans believe God created the world 10,000 years ago, so it's safe to assume 45% of American Christians believe in some sort of supernatural/biblical Armageddon.

holy shit that's terrifying. what's the fucking point of working towards a future if half the country thinks the worlds about to be blowed up?

I think you are working with unnecessarily narrow definitions here.

Also, the 45% makes no account of when this is supposed to happen, just that it will.

I'm prepared to accept wacko American religious nuts provided they put out albums as good as 'The Texas Jerusalem Crossroads'

okay, this is fair. But I mean how hard is it for convince at least half of them that it's happening with one more national disaster. or just saying it is on the 700 club for that mattr.

Every time a year ends in three zeros, everyone expects Jesus to drive his Cadillac down to pick up all the believers, but Christians have been gypped twice. I don't understand their logic at this point, but maybe they're shooting for 3000.

That's probably more difficult that you think. People have been yelling at the top of their lungs about the endtimes for quite some time now, and the LORD hasn't yanked ol' Oral Roberts up to heaven for coming up short on fundraising yet.

Boy, it sure is! The way I understand The Rapture will take place is that you'll get in your car and drive all night until you see a light that comes right down and lands on the ground, where a man from Mars will proceed to shoot you dead and eat your head, at which point you ACTUALLY BECOME the man from Mars and subsist largely on a diet of Cadillacs, Lincolns, Mercurys and Subarus.

And I think Jesus is supposed to return in the form of Fab Five Freddie.

Rapture-- not really in the bible especially in the context that it is being used within this thread. There is referrence to "those who are dead in Christ" raising up and going to Heaven, however the rapture has come to mean that one day all of a sudden all the christians will disappear. This is not the case, at least in my understanding. There is a widely held belief, not so much in "Armageddon" or a "rapture" but in a tribulation. Supposedly 7 years before the second coming of Christ. 3.5 years of the "anti-christ" gaining power and love and respect and then a remaining 3.5 years of "terror" from this same "anti-christ".

The issue of the rapture is widely argued upon within the christian community. Pre-tribulation beliefs, post-tribulation beliefs, mid-tribulation beliefs. Armegeddon? I have never once, in all of my years in church, heard this term outside of a couple Bob Marley songs. Typically, at least in the protestant churches I have been a part of it is always referred to as the Second Coming.

As for, "why do Christians try so hard... if the world is just gonna be blown up...?"

It's more of the general belief that there is much more to the physical world here than the earth and the time we spend on it. Generally speaking, christians tend to think that getting to heaven is going to be much better than being on earth. That doesn't mean the prospect of nuclear war or any such wide-ranging destruction of the earth is not scary. Even if a Christian does believe all that, I have never met one that is uber-excited to be a part of it.

Anyway, those were some thoughts that came into my head after some of the questions.

As for the 700 Club...what's funny is that the headline in our newspaper today is that The 700 Club's donations have risen by 21% over the past year. People around here are amazed that this has happened. What with Pat Robertson's running of the mouth. haha. Ah, good ole Southeastern Virginia.

Now that I have extricated myself from the catholic church, I am obsessed by how fucking crazy we Americans are. Has anybody read "Under the Banner of Heaven"? I just started it. Seems like Mormonism is swirling around the zeitgeist pretty regularly these days. It's a massive religion.

Fundamentalism of any sort is the biggest threat to life as we know it.

This is a Rapture that I'm down with. Religiously speaking.