A serious question for atheists and agnostics....?

Question

I assume you have all read the Book of Revelations.How will you explain away the millions of people who will disappear during the Rapture?How will you explain away the mark of the beast,666?How will you explain away the 7 year tribulation period and all that will happen during that time? All these things were prophesied and written about over 2000 years ago,and will soon come to pass.
I don't want answers like"This won't happen so I don't have to worry about it." I know you don't believe it all to be true,but just keep an open mind for a bit,and give me an honest answer. When all the things written in the Book of Revelations happens,will that finally convince you that God does exist,and if not,how will you explain it?

As usual,you people took my question all wrong.I am not a doomsdayer,or anything like that.It was a simple question,and all I wanted was a simple answer,from open-minded people,just as I am being open-minded to your way of thinking.Sarcasm wasn't warranted in this case.I was simply curious,but thanks for once again proving that you can't answer a question without being rude and sarcastic,just because I believe differently from you.I wasn't forcing my beliefs on anyone. I would never,and have never done so.

Answer 1

Sure, if all of that happens just as it says in the bible... sure... I'll believe.

However I'm 99.9999999999999999999999999999999999% sure none of that will come to pass ever, and 100% sure it won't come to pass in my lifetime.

Answer 2

This is not a question related to Christianity, but to modern American fundamentalism, which is a very different kind of religion from Christianity.

Christians know that the document called "The Apocalypse as Revealed to St. John the Divine" and commonly known among the ignorant and illiterate as "the revelation," or "the book of revelations," is actually an old Greek play about the downfall of the Roman Occupation of Judea.

The text of the play contains political cartoon language, stage directions, descriptions of masks and costumes, and much other marginalia that account for it being such a bizarre, boiling piece of prose. It doesn't make sense at all in modern English, and you can only understand it if you understand the history of Hellenic culture and the Greek theatre.

And, most importantly, while wise and devout people in many generations have read the Apocalypse as describing impending events, the fact is that the events described in the Apocalypse all took place before or during the year 79 CE in the vicinity of Jerusalem.

Therefore it is not necessary to consider your question as a serious question at all. Everything described in the Apocalypse has already taken place. It is not about our time and our world at all.

What you must realize, if you want to grow spiritually, is that the Fundamentalist religionists are using scripture to frighten you and distort your understanding of things, to secure better control over you. You can set this aside any time you wish. A spiritual counsellor from a Christian denomination, (for example, the Methodist, Presbyterian, Lutheran, Episcopalian, or Roman Catholic churches) can help you. Seek out the pastor of one of these denominations near you, and ask him or her to explain what I have said here.

I promise that will be the first step toward a better and more calm life. Good luck.

Answer 3

Please, provide us with a timetable for these occurrences. Do you have any idea how many times the so called prophets, wise men, preachers and doomsayers have predicted the end of the world?

The only answer you can come up with is, it's in the Bible. So are, giants, flying wheels, dragons, staffs that change into snakes, food that falls from heaven on a daily basis. Why not believe what is written in the Arabian Nights? Those stories are equally valid. Just once, I would like to see a prediction in the scriptures based on a date, for example, on December 14th. in the year 2006, in a city called New York, in a country that none of you have ever heard of called the United States Of America such and such will happen. Heck no! all you get is minutia that can be interpreted a thousand ways. It's the same kind of garbage that people believe about Nostradamus and equally as ridiculous.

Answer 4

"When all the things written in the Book of Revelations happens,will that finally convince you that God does exist,and if not,how will you explain it?"

As the old homely says, that horse will have already have left the barn, right? Your point will be moot.

I would suggest that you take a look at the works of Joseph Campbell. Here is a good website for you to check out. He has exceptional insight and a very creative and different take on the whole subject of religious mythology.

http://www.context.org/ICLIB/IC12/Campbell.htm

Answer 5

I've always had an open mind to religion and I've always respected the different religions of the world.. But until one of them can be proved to me, I can't believe.

If there was proof.. If someone or something could prove to me that "God" exists.. I wouldn't try and explain it away. I'm just one of those people who finds it nearly impossible to believe the words in a book that was written thousands of years ago, by men, about a God that I can't see or hear for myself.

Answer 6

I think that Christians need to worry more about their present soul and stop worrying about the book of Revelations. Think about the goodness inside of you and in others. Stop worrying about the end of the world. We DON'T KNOW WHEN IT WILL HAPPEN!!!! Just pray and be the best Christian you can be.

Doomsdayer Christians aggravate me. There are better things to do than read between the lines of the book of Revelations.

Answer 7

It hasn't passed, and you have no proof that it will pass so I have nothing to explain. If it does happen I'll believe it, but until then I'm not holding my breath. Those prophecies are incredibly vague, and they're pretty easy to make. It doesn't take a genius to know that some time in the future a lot of people will die of pestilence, war, and famine. If you want call it the Rapture then fine by me, but I think it's damn simple-minded of you. Animals just go extinct, it's not necessarily the wraith of God.

Answer 8

First, It won't happen.

Second, for the sake of argument, let's say all these things do happen. It would depend on how they happen. If half the world disappears in nuclear holocaust that plagues the world for seven years, and the number on the bomb is 666, well then, I would call it a self-fulfilling prophecy.

And, if it did happen in such a way to convince me that god exists, I would call him a very, very sick and demented man.

Answer 9

First of all the bible cannot be taken as a factual story.

Do u believe that god really created the world and Adam and Eve?. If u do it's up to u. But atheists and agnostics DO NOT believe.

The mythical bible stories do not hold water in any real scientific tests.

Answer 10

Why would you read that crap if you are a true atheist? Unless you are a poser? By the way, the bible may not be true but it is still a good book to base your life's rule on, that is unless you like living with thieves, trash, and child molesters. I myself will just shoot you f'rs if you try hiding out at my house during the rapture. I'm going to have a PS 3 party. I'm Rick James Bitc*

Answer 11

The material in much of the bible is an obvious projection of people's ego thought systems. It's why we have god as a deity that punishes, rewards, judges, believes in sin, etc. This is a god that is feared and its followers strive for a lifetime to make it into heaven and get his reward and avoid his punishment. It's a horrible image of god that is found in MOST religions -- most of us don't want the real god of unconditional love and, so, we act like the 'good son' in the prodigal son parable who doesn't 'get it' and makes god into what he thinks he should be like. The irony is that whenever I bring this up to anyone who is a fundamentalist, they NEVER open their minds to consider this. Many of my christian friends who are NOT fundamentalists see the truth in this; they realize that much of the bible was a misinterpretation/misrepresentation of Jesus' message.