My own background used to teach similar ideas, and probably still does. I have moved on from thinking this way and have redefined my thoughts on "the end" which I would like to share. I would say that I am a Christian, even though when I say the word, I immediately think "someone who is going to heaven when he dies" which, for all intents and purposes, I do not believe is biblical. I also do not think that this whole rapture/God destroying the Earth thing is biblical as well. It may all seem biblical when scripture is taken out of context, but lets be real, people can take anything out of context and twist it to mean something completely different and they usually do. I'm actually convinced that many of the "tales" we have about the end were created to instill fear in the hearers and give power to the elite.
Now that I have most likely made a few people mad, it's time to really dig in. I do not believe in the traditional Christian lingo, nor do I adhere to it, simply because I do not see it as a main theme in the Bible. I mean Genesis starts with a supernatural being creating the universe and saying that what was created was good. The rest of it follows a group of people and their struggle to deal with evil, find justice, and get closer. Through that whole narrative you see that same powerful being close by, not giving up on what it called good. You may even see what it's plan for the future is, and it is not to throw it's hands in the air and say "screw it, I'm done" but rather to restore the essence of what was lost. The end of the story comes up and instead of the Earth being destroyed and a select few escaping, such is common thought among many Christians, we see the "old" and "new" merging together to complete the entire picture. Many people do not know this but, the idea that this world is bad and we must escape it is actually Gnostic and not Christian, but for some reason Christianity adopted this type of doctrine long ago and has not let go of it, no matter how many people tell them that this doesn't make sense at all, not even a little bit.
That about sums up my thoughts on why I will enjoy a beer tonight and coffee tomorrow without worry and my hope is that you will not worry either. In case of rapture, feel free to delete this blog :-) Cheers friends!
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If you are curious about some of this "new" Christian thought check out N. T. Wright at www.ntwrightpage.com and a specific article about rapture here.
*Click here to read part 1*
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