LJ-SEC: (ORIGINALLY POSTED BY sunfell)

Here's another Rockridge Institute forum about the "Rapture Cult Heresy".

The Rapture Cult Heresy by Carol Wolman

Millions of Americans are caught up in a delusion I call the rapture cult. This heresy teaches that God intends to destroy life on planet earth. Those who believe in the rapture theory and voted for Bush will go to a better place, and the rest of us will be destroyed in a nuclear holocaust or some such catastrophe. Meanwhile, it's fine for the cult leaders to get as rich as possible as quickly as possible, and to indulge their lust for power, blood and oil as much as they want, with no regard for the teachings of the Prince of Peace.

Unlike most cults, the rapture cult has the power to destroy not just its own members, but all life on earth. It has taken over the government and the military of the world's only superpower, and seems hell-bent on destruction.[Emphasis mine- ed.]

Most Bush voters are not getting rich, of course, but are becoming increasingly impoverished, just like the rest of us. Still, they cling to their delusion because they believe the false prophets, who say that the Bible predicts doom for life on planet earth, and because they want to "be with Jesus" forever. They buy Bush's "faith-based" rhetoric that ignores the reality of a corrupt, morally and economically bankrupt administration, that is losing a ruthless war that never should have occurred - and what's worse, uniting the rest of the world against us.

How can those of us who have retained our sanity reach out to the deluded rapture cultists and save them and ourselves from extinction? We must fight fire with fire, their version of the Bible with our version of the loving nonviolent God revealed by Jesus in his life and teachings. That version says that God created life on earth, that He sent His son to teach us how to live, and that He tells us to choose life, not death. He gave us His law of love, which alone can save us. He gave us an understanding of truth, and a thirst for justice. He gives us courage, and willingness to sacrifice so that our greatgrandchildren can enjoy this beautiful planet.

I'd never heard of the "Rapture" until I moved to the South and ran into the Evangelicals who believed in it. It wasn't something that was taught in the Catholic Church, nor is it taught in many other churches. But it has taken the Evangelicals and their Dominionist kin by storm, and we're all the worse for it.