10-15-2025, 07:41 AM
These gals at IHIP are a breath of fresh air. Once you buy in that a Civil War of some kind is going on (whether it be economic, cultural, or bloody), you can understand the mentality behind it. I grew up with right-wingers who thought Christians would be Raptured in the year 2000. There was a whole movement behind this, and it was mocked and satirized in the 1999 movie, End of Days, starring Arnold Schwarzenegger. This has happened many times in Christian history, and it happened a century ago when Charles Taze Russell (founder of Jehovah's Witness) said his believers would be Raptured in October of 1914, but it didn't happen. Recently on TikTok, Joshua Mhlakela (a South African pastor) said the Rapture would be September 23rd. He had believers, but they remained with us on Earth.
If you're inside one of these movements, it has the feel of being inside a cult. The World, from the outside, thinks you're crazy. They wish they could help you, but from the inside, you feel completely sane. The World is crazy! Not you! You put your faith in these crazy ideas, and the time approaches for the Rapture (or similar event), then nothing happens! There's a mental/ spiritual fork in the road! The Leader never says he's wrong! He just re-adjusts the interpretations. This isn't exclusive to Christianity, by the way. New Agers thought the End of the World would happen on 12/21/2012, as interpreted through Mayan prophesy. Your two options become:
-- continue to follow the Leader/ doctrine/ teaching in revised form, OR
-- get the Hell out and reevaluate your life
Charles Taze Russell msintained followers, and the Jehovah's Witness denomination exists today. They've rationalized why they weren't Raptured in 1914. The Millennial preachers did the same thing. Time will tell what will happen to Joshua Mhlakela and his believers. As for me, I bolted away from my Evangelical family around 1994. You see? The Tribulation was supposed to begin in 1993, and it was supposed to last seven years until the Rapture in 2000. A year into the supposed Tribulation, I simply didn't see it. I started talking to friends and, thankfully, they steered me out of it. And, quite frankly, our pastor wasn't a pious person. Actually, he was a total dick and never behaved like Jesus of the Bible.
From 1994 until 2000, I developed a great relationship with someone who studied theology and anthropology with me. We felt manipulated by Rapture preachers, but we didn't understand religion enough to keep our friends from getting trapped in cults. He moved to New York, converted to Buddhism, and became friends with Noem Chomsky. Me? I'm more of a Humanist. I adhere to anthropology when trying to understanding human nature. I believe Man created God (as a concept), and not the other way around. With that said, I am NOT an athiest. I have witnessed supernatural events, and this is one of the reasons I got into conspiracy theory. I don't trust organized religion, but I trust gypsies, psychics, mystics, freaks, and weirdos. That's the life I live.
I like these IHIP ladied a lot. They both have backgrounds with right-wing family members, just like me. Their insights are really great. They know how to distinguish the genuine crazies from the phony brown nosers. They seem to think Mike Johnson is one of the genuine crazies in that he probably thinks he'll be Raptured soon by Jesus for doing (what he thinks is) the Lord's work. The rest of us? We think he's a failure as a Congressperson, and he ought to stop cutting health care in order that tycoons could afford more yachts and private islands ...
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