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FFRF's "Fool Me Once" campaign takes on the Oct. 21 Rapture claim

You've heard the old proverb, "fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me." Well that's the theme of a new billboard campaign that thumbs its nose at Harold Camping's bible-based prediction that the world will end on Friday, Oct. 21st. Camping is the 90-year-old California-based Christian radio media mogul who predicted the Rapture would occur May 21st followed by the end of the world on Oct. 21st. 2000 Billboards were put up all over the county to tell people to repent before it was too late. Tens of thousands of his followers gave up jobs and homes and life-savings in anticipation of their imminent physical translation to Heaven. When May 21 came and went without any Christians floating bodily up in the sky, the puzzled Camping said the Rapture must have occurred spiritually rather than physically but that the Earth would still be destroyed in October.

This time though, the Freedom From Religion Foundation is reacting with a little billboard campaign of their own. They can't afford to spend the estimated $100 million Harold Camping and his followers spent advertising the end of the world so they're only putting up 40 billboards in Oakland, where Camping lives and his Family Radio corporation has its offices. Two more will go up in nearby San Francisco.

More here.

Tags: FFRF, Harold Camping, rapture

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Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Steph S. on October 21, 2011 at 12:02pm

I like the billboard. Do the people still believe him now after they gave away all their money the first time? I hope some of those xtians wised up this time and see him for the charlatan he is.

I think I did read somewhere online that some of his followers were upset with him the first time his predictions failed and they no longer believe him anymore.

Permalink Reply by Joseph P on October 21, 2011 at 12:37pm

Some might have wised up. I'd bet that the majority believe his excuses and are waiting in anticipation of the Rapture, sometime today.

Permalink Reply by Chris Dodds on October 22, 2011 at 9:22am

I would fully support the passing of a law making it illegal to predict the end of the world without providing sufficient evidence. And by evidence, I mean something like the discovery of a huge asteroid heading towards the Earth. It'd be kind of like that law that makes it illegal to yell "FIRE!!" in a crowded room.

Permalink Reply by Loren Miller on October 22, 2011 at 9:56am

Harold Camping was one extreme among multiple extreme fools in the field of belief. I am all in favor of rubbing his and the others' noses in it any way we can, and this billboard campaign makes for a great start!

Permalink Reply by Hugh Kramer on October 26, 2011 at 7:12pm

Even better would be to link Camping to the other "rapture-ready" folks who disavowed him and think that makes them better. It doesn't. Belief in the Rapture is just as venal, monstrous and implausible even when you don't attach a particular date to it.

Permalink Reply by Dale on October 26, 2011 at 7:00am

I fully support making sure that any person who pushes for mass public awareness of such a claim doesn't get to live it down when it fails to come true. Also, I love these billboards. Kind of like the awesome end of the world shirt...

http://www.zazzle.ca/failed_rapture_predictions_tshirt-235835540950...

Permalink Reply by Smiley Courtney on October 27, 2011 at 8:08am