No Apologies or even Admission of Failure from Camping

What happens when you make a bold public prediction—say, for the end of the world—and it doesn’t come true?  Don’t analyze it or even acknowledge it; just pretend it didn’t happen and get on with life.  Maybe no one will notice.

That’s what Harold Camping is hoping about his May 21 prediction of the Rapture and October 21 prediction of the end of the world.

For a stock broker or farmer or scientist—professions where evidence is important—repeatedly and reliably missing predictions would demand a change in profession.  But within Christianity, this kind of inept song and dance seems to work.  Indeed, Camping gets hubris points for claiming that the non-Rapture on May 21 only seemed to be a non-event and that God actually did judge the world.

Men occasionally stumble over the truth, but most of them pick themselves up and hurry off as if nothing had happened (Winston Churchill)

Camping’s Family Radio web site now has deleted all references to its embarrassing and awkward predictions.

Maybe that was part of the plan.  Maybe they served their purpose in getting recruits, donations, and PR, and the ministry can move on to whatever’s next.  Maybe Camping’s been ahead of us all the time, knowing exactly how this would play out and that the rules of evidence don’t apply with Christianity.

[Update 11/1/11: In an October 30 article “Family Radio Founder Harold Camping Repents, Apologizes for False Teachings“, The Christian Post reports that Camping has retracted his claims about the end times.  “Camping confessed, after decades of falsely misleading his followers, that he was wrong and regrets his misdeeds.”

Camping’s Family Radio site has a recording of him backpedaling from his predictions.

Now, if he would only give back the money he received due to those nonsensical teachings …]

Photo credit: Wikimedia

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4 thoughts on “No Apologies or even Admission of Failure from Camping

  1. Camping is not Christianity..He is a cult . And not only is his eschotolgy false, ( as he uses numerology, which is pagen) but his doctrines on the Church..Which is not so glamerous it avoids the news..But Camping thinks the Church age was over like in 1985? Says Christians must stay home to worship and the actual chrurches are demonic.. So Camping is wacked and not a Christian.. So no appology would be expected? Just another false teacher, a counterfit of Christianity. As the Bible warns us true beleivers about continually.

    So as usual your article has nothing to do with true Biblical Christianity.

    • To the Bobs,

      Yes, I don’t think that any serious church, any serious minister, any serious theologian would commit to a specific date for the end of the world. I would even go further: don’t trust those people who say that the end is near. They have no clue about it.

      • Let’s turn to the Good Book:

        But you, brothers and sisters, are not in darkness so that this day should surprise you like a thief [1 Thes. 5:4]

        The end comes like a thief in the night for those who live in darkness. But true Christians (like Bob C, obviously) don’t live in the darkness, so the Last Day won’t come like a thief in the night. Camping is on strong biblical footing when he says that the end is knowable.

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