I've been re-reading a very interesting book by Carl E. Olson, Will Catholics be "Left Behind"?: A Catholic Critique of the Rapture and Today's Prophecy Preachers and am finding a lot of it to be quite intriguing. So here are a few questions here for people:
1. Do you believe in the Rapture?
2. Why or why not?
3. If you answered yes to #1, are you a Pre-Tribulation(it'll happen before seven years of horrible stuff) or Mid-Tribulation (3.5 years in)?
4. Do you know who is credited with starting the modern Rapture movement?
5. If you answered no to #1, do you believe in the Parousia of Christ (Second Coming)?
6. The Left Behind series: a lot of truth mixed in with the fictional account or a lot of dangerous bunk that undermines Christianity?
7. (Because I know some will want to say it anyways ): Is all of the above a bunch of hooey and not worth believing, whether it's Rapture stuff or Christianity in general?
8. Those Rapture bumper stickers:
a) I laugh when I read them, then shake my head in disbelief
b) I smile and agree with the sentiment
c) I proudly display one on my car
d) What the hell is a Rapture?
9. Should the Apocalypse of John/Revelations be viewed literally or metaphorically?
Bah, I'll just stop at 9 and see what answers are given. I just hope that people can agree or disagree civilly, but is that asking for too much here?
Dylanfanatic
Illusions fall like the husk of a fruit, one after another, and the fruit is experience. - Narrator, Sylvie