If you haven't heard, there are some people that believe strongly that May 21, 2011 is officially, Judgment Day--the Rapture--as it is known by Christians. Some have gone so far as to spend their entire fortunes (like this guy) on ad campaigns aimed at letting the world know of the impending doom so that they can be "saved". He's part of the somewhat cultish "familyradio.com" group (followers of Harold Camping who falsely predicted an apocalypse in 1994) doing an "ad campaign" nationwide to get sinners to realize that the end is near. Roguemutt has blogged about all the billboards going up in Detroit. Well they are also here in Salt Lake City. However, what I wanted to say here is that I find the people taking this stuff so seriously to be of incredible interest.
I'm atheist which essentially means, I've no faith in any religion at all. I don't believe in the existence of a being in a place called heaven, with a traditional white beard, keeping score on good deeds and bad. Nor do I believe that he had a son and threw another dude out of heaven who became the devil, etc.
However, what I do find fascinating in particular is how terrifying a world you Christians live in. It's absolutely amazing. It's very liberating to my peace of mind to dismiss it all as fiction because if I truly believed in this stuff, I would want to run and hide at reports of the Queensland floods (biblical perhaps?), fish being washed up on shore, or mass bird die-offs. I would spend a lot of time at church and give away my hard-earned income for the chance at a golden ticket to salvation.
Basically, all I'm saying in this post is that growing up in a culture like this and believing this stuff must really fire your imagination. It prepares the mind (if you will) in a certain way to be more creative in coming up with stuff that is entertaining, incredible, and brilliant. Thanks to Christianity, we have prophecies, we have angels and demons, we have a son of God, and relics like the magical Holy Grail (used to great effect by Dan Brown ala the Davinci Code). We have the Knights Templar and all sorts of conspiracies involving Masons and secret societies, etc. Just look at Percy Jackson and the Olympians...at one time, people believed in those gods too. Now when I watch the movie, I think, how awesome it was for Rick Riordan to visualize the old Greek gods using the Empire State Building as Mount Olympus. Maybe an overactive imagination is perhaps the greatest boon to a person that aspires to write fiction.
If the Rapture does happen on May 21st, then any of you that are prepared for it have a great time. I'll be watching Saturday Night Live with Lady Gaga as the musical guest. I had my chance to believe from this lady in this video (and she failed to convert me):
I'm atheist which essentially means, I've no faith in any religion at all. I don't believe in the existence of a being in a place called heaven, with a traditional white beard, keeping score on good deeds and bad. Nor do I believe that he had a son and threw another dude out of heaven who became the devil, etc.
However, what I do find fascinating in particular is how terrifying a world you Christians live in. It's absolutely amazing. It's very liberating to my peace of mind to dismiss it all as fiction because if I truly believed in this stuff, I would want to run and hide at reports of the Queensland floods (biblical perhaps?), fish being washed up on shore, or mass bird die-offs. I would spend a lot of time at church and give away my hard-earned income for the chance at a golden ticket to salvation.
If you were to look at it from a fiction writer's perspective (which I am) and separate yourself for just a moment, I think you might be able to agree with me in some small part (assuming that my words haven't inflamed you to the point that you just stopped reading this post). To elaborate, let's look at some of this stuff.
Old Testament aside (with its talking snakes, floods, people that can split the Red Sea, etc.) the New Testament is just as scary. We have resurrections, the son of God and his second coming, Judgment Day, the horsemen of the Apocalypse...and holy crap...the Book of Revelation. All I have to say is...wow. The New Testament and religions spawned from it (L.D.S. for example believe that Jesus appeared in America)...are interesting. It's kind of like the authors that take old fairy tales like Cinderella and do stories that take place a day later, or who like Gregory Maguire, spin tales like "Wicked" that as you know, tells the story of the wicked witch of the west from The Wizard of Oz.
Old Testament aside (with its talking snakes, floods, people that can split the Red Sea, etc.) the New Testament is just as scary. We have resurrections, the son of God and his second coming, Judgment Day, the horsemen of the Apocalypse...and holy crap...the Book of Revelation. All I have to say is...wow. The New Testament and religions spawned from it (L.D.S. for example believe that Jesus appeared in America)...are interesting. It's kind of like the authors that take old fairy tales like Cinderella and do stories that take place a day later, or who like Gregory Maguire, spin tales like "Wicked" that as you know, tells the story of the wicked witch of the west from The Wizard of Oz.
If the Rapture does happen on May 21st, then any of you that are prepared for it have a great time. I'll be watching Saturday Night Live with Lady Gaga as the musical guest. I had my chance to believe from this lady in this video (and she failed to convert me):