von_geisterhand

As you may or may not be aware, there was supposed to be an apocalypse at the weekend, or, to be more precise, the Rapture. Now, obviously the whole thing happened a fair bit different to the way it was supposed to pan out or maybe, it just happened somewhere else entirely. Alternatively, there is the very bleak Slayer/Einstürzende Neubauten-option, which suggests that the Rapture did take place and that it was simply a matter of nobody making the grade to be taken up, leaving God(tm) all alone in his attic, playing with the angels and a rifle.

But that's not the issue here.
What I wanted to say was just how much I object to the whole concept of the "Rapture" that was put forward recently and energetically. This isn't even about Jesus or Christianity as such, this is very specifically about the projected scenario.
For a start (and yes, I mean this seriously): We don't need this kind of apocalypse.
The whole "Rapture"-idea has always struck me as the Hollywood/american take on Christianity, all dramatic piles of clothes left behind and hordes of the faithful flying up while the John Williams score swells. Which might be nice for some but just doesn't work for me and quite frankly, just like we did not need to start copying the american way of doing crime shows on TV or doing Christmas, we certainly do not need to copy the american idea of an apocalypse. Not when there is a long, colourful and highly creative history of apocalyptic scenarios in European art. Just think of Bosch and Blake.

More profoundly, what I hate about the whole idea is that it is such a hateful idea. Nobody ran around, handing out leaflets, calling TV stations and informing the world of the fact that paradise is near, that Jesus/God is about to make it all good and that from the 23rd on, you would not have to worry about your diet anymore. It was all doom, gloom and threat of punishment.

In a way, this was just a large-scale-spanking scenario: Either you were certain that you yourself are flawed/sinful/bad and therefore waiting for God to finally come round, tell you what a piece of shit you are and then sentence you to eternal torment, or you thought that you were good, or more specifically, better than everybody else, and therefore waiting for God to come round and sentence everybody else to torment while patting you on the back.
Both versions speak of incredible egotism and a severely disturbed emotional connection to the world around you IMHO.

Of course you may say "But let people believe what they want to." and, you know, on the whole, I do. But spreading this sort of aggressive, threatening material really is something I have very little patience and even less tolerance for.

... where BBC Radio 4 still has the power to offend.

"Christian Concern for our Nation are probably wishing they lived in Ireland right now. In their latest mailshot they urge readers to complain to the BBC about “blasphemy” on Radio 4’s Now Show:

The BBC Radio 4’s Now Show has allowed a blasphemous satirical tirade against the Lord Jesus and the Word of God. We urge you to complain to the BBC (click here) at the offence caused to Christians and the corrupting effect of this kind of behaviour on a vulnerable audience.

They also helpfully provide a pdf transcript of Marcus Brigstock’s tirade, in which he opines uncontroversially that the Bible contains

acts of wanton genocide, infanticide, fratricide, straight murder, rape, pedophilia, enslavement, brutality and frankly, a level of sexism that would make John McCririck go “woo steady, now give the little ladies a break”

(ctd. on http://www.mediawatchwatch.org.uk/2009/07/24/bbcs-satirical-tirade-provokes-christian-complaints/)

Also:


Shake Mr. Brigstocke's hand when you see him, please.

:-D I could not resist. Never has blasphemy sounded so uplifting.

(Contains strong language and blasphemy. So if you are not hot on either, listen to something else instead.)



Enjoy.

Growing anti-gay sentiments in parts of the US, influenced by Russian fundamentals

http://www.alternet.org/rights/64336/