Discover Yahoo! With Your Friends

Explore news, videos, and much more based on what your friends are reading and watching. Publish your own activity and retain full control.

To get started, first

YOUR FRIENDS' ACTIVITY

    Moral Burden to Become Financial Hell for Doomsday Believers Sunday

    Belief in the May 21 Rapture Drains Bank Accounts, Spurs Unemployment

    By Angie Mohr | Yahoo! Contributor Network – Fri, May 20, 2011
    This story comes from the Yahoo! Contributor Network, where individuals publish their unique perspectives on some of the world’s most popular websites.
    Do you have a story to tell? Become a Yahoo! contributor

    COMMENTARY | According to Harold Camping and his followers, the beginning of the end of the world happens on Saturday, May 21, at 6 pm ET, to be exact. Camping, a retired civil engineer and Bible scholar, has used numerology to divine the exact date. The chosen will rise to heaven and the rest will stay on Earth suffering discomfort until the Earth is consumed in fire Oct. 21.

    Believers in Saturday's Rapture are preparing in various ways for their one-way trip. Some are making practical preparations, like leaving pets with non-believers to look after (at least until the world burns up just before Halloween). Some of the faithful, however, believe in the Rapture so much that they have quit jobs, sold all their possessions and have spent their retirement savings.

    According to the New York Daily News, Robert Fitzpatrick of New York spent over $140,000 on posters and subway signs warning others of the impending end times. His ads proclaiming "Global Earthquake: The Greatest Ever" appear in over 1,000 subway cars and on bus shelters all over the city. When asked what happens if he wakes up Sunday, May 22, Fitzpatrick steadfastly stated that May 21 was the date.

    Joel and Adrienne Martinez began preparing for the coming Rapture a year ago. The couple lived in New York at the time and both worked there. They decided that working for money would be useless in the time left, so they both quit their jobs and, with their infant daughter, moved to Orlando, according to NPR. They are working on spending the last of their savings, reports NPR.

    So, what happens on Sunday when Camping followers wake up and realize that they're still here and are now jobless and broke? Should they be able to apply for unemployment insurance? Should other Christians who did not believe that May 21 was a magical date have to help them out?

    You can argue that people have free will and should be allowed to do any ridiculous thing they want. You can also argue that Camping isn't making anyone give up their possessions -- or their common sense. When Camping releases a statement Sunday saying that he miscalculated the date of the apocalypse once again, however, the moral burden of the financial hell he has created for his followers rests on his shoulders.

     

    There are no comments yet

    [ [ [['Connery is an experienced stuntman', 2]], 'http://yhoo.it/KeQd0p', '[Slideshow: See photos taken on the way down]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['Connery is an experienced stuntman', 7]], ' http://yhoo.it/KpUoHO', '[Slideshow: Death-defying daredevils]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['know that we have confidence in', 3]], 'http://yhoo.it/LqYjAX ', '[Related: The Secret Service guide to Cartagena]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['We picked up this other dog and', 5]], 'http://yhoo.it/JUSxvi', '[Related: 8 common dog fears, how to calm them]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['accused of running a fake hepatitis B', 5]], 'http://bit.ly/JnoJYN', '[Related: Did WH share raid details with filmmakers?]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['accused of running a fake hepatitis B', 3]], 'http://bit.ly/KoKiqJ', '[Factbox: AQAP, al-Qaeda in Yemen]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['have my contacts on or glasses', 3]], 'http://abcn.ws/KTE5AZ', '[Related: Should the murder charge be dropped?]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['have made this nation great as Sarah Palin', 5]], 'http://yhoo.it/JD7nlD', '[Related: Bristol Palin reality show debuts June 19]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['have made this nation great as Sarah Palin', 1]], 'http://bit.ly/JRPFRO', '[Related: McCain adviser who vetted Palin weighs in on VP race]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['A JetBlue flight from New York to Las Vegas', 3]], 'http://yhoo.it/GV9zpj', '[Related: View photos of the JetBlue plane in Amarillo]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['the 28-year-old neighborhood watchman who shot and killed', 15]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/photos/white-house-stays-out-of-teen-s-killing-slideshow/', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/cv/ip/ap/default/120411/martinzimmermen.jpg', '630', ' ', 'AP', ], [ [['Titanic', 7]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/titanic-anniversary/', ' ', 'http://l.yimg.com/a/p/us/news/editorial/b/4e/b4e5ad9f00b5dfeeec2226d53e173569.jpeg', '550', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['He was in shock and still strapped to his seat', 6]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/photos/navy-jet-crashes-in-virginia-slideshow/', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/cv/ip/ap/default/120406/jet_ap.jpg', '630', ' ', 'AP', ], [ [['xxxxxxxxxxxx', 11]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/photos/russian-grannies-win-bid-to-sing-at-eurovision-1331223625-slideshow/', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/a/p/us/news/editorial/1/56/156d92f2760dcd3e75bcd649a8b85fcf.jpeg', '500', ' ', 'AP', ] ]
    [ [ [['did not go as far his colleague', 8]], '29438204', '0' ], [ [[' the 28-year-old neighborhood watchman who shot and killed', 4]], '28924649', '0' ], [ [['because I know God protects me', 14], ['Brian Snow was at a nearby credit union', 5]], '28811216', '0' ], [ [['The state news agency RIA-Novosti quoted Rosaviatsiya', 6]], '28805461', '0' ], [ [['measure all but certain to fail in the face of bipartisan', 4]], '28771014', '0' ], [ [['matter what you do in this case', 5]], '28759848', '0' ], [ [['presume laws are constitutional', 7]], '28747556', '0' ], [ [['has destroyed 15 to 25 houses', 7]], '28744868', '0' ], [ [['short answer is yes', 7]], '28746030', '0' ], [ [['opportunity to tell the real story', 7]], '28731764', '0' ], [ [['entirely respectable way to put off the searing constitutional controversy', 7]], '28723797', '0' ], [ [['point of my campaign is that big ideas matter', 9]], '28712293', '0' ], [ [['As the standoff dragged into a second day', 7]], '28687424', '0' ], [ [['French police stepped up the search', 17]], '28667224', '0' ], [ [['Seeking to elevate his candidacy back to a general', 8]], '28660934', '0' ], [ [['The tragic story of Trayvon Martin', 4]], '28647343', '0' ], [ [['Karzai will get a chance soon to express', 8]], '28630306', '0' ], [ [['powerful storms stretching', 8]], '28493546', '0' ], [ [['basic norm that death is private', 6]], '28413590', '0' ], [ [['songwriter also saw a surge in sales for her debut album', 6]], '28413590', '1', 'Watch music videos from Whitney Houston ', 'on Yahoo! Music', 'http://music.yahoo.com' ], [ [['keyword', 99999999999999999999999]], 'videoID', '1', 'overwrite-pre-description', 'overwrite-link-string', 'overwrite-link-url' ] ]

    News For You

    Loading...

    US News »

    • Wildfires hit six U.S. states, small towns evacuated Zelie Pollon
      Smoke rises into the air from a large forest fire in Gila National Forest, New Mexico

      Santa Fe, New Mexico (Reuters) - A wildfire burned out of control for a fourth day in the steep mountains of southwestern New Mexico on Saturday, one of several blazes that have consumed more than 200 square miles (520 square km) of rugged land in six U.S. states. Efforts to contain the blazes spreading in sparsely populated …

    • Subtropical Storm Beryl swirls toward southeast coast Kevin Gray

      MIAMI (Reuters) - Subtropical Storm Beryl moved slowly toward the U.S. southeastern coast on Saturday, threatening heavy rains and dangerous surf for Memorial Day weekend beachgoers in northern Florida, Georgia and South Carolina. Beryl was centered about 220 miles east-southeast of Charleston, South Carolina, carrying …

    • Gunman in Indiana standoff had three bullet wounds: coroner
      Snipers sit trained on a real estate office where authorities said a gunman was holding an unknown number of hostages in Valparaiso

      (Reuters) - A Texas gunman who held hostages in an eight-hour standoff with police in an Indiana real estate office suffered three gunshot wounds, including two to the head, a coroner said on Saturday. Police have said he shot himself twice in the head after the standoff on Friday in Valparaiso, about 40 miles southeast …

    • Colorado farm linked to listeria outbreak files for bankruptcy Keith Coffman

      DENVER (Reuters) - The Colorado farm that grew cantaloupes linked to a listeria outbreak that killed more than 30 people last year has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, court documents showed. Jensen Farms of Holly, Colorado, listed $2.1 million in assets and more than $2.5 million in liabilities in documents …

    • Woman shot by Colorado homeowner to face trespass charges

      (Reuters) - A 21-year-old woman who was shot after she wandered drunk into a Colorado couple's home in the middle of the night will face charges of felony trespassing, her lawyer said on Saturday. Zoey Ripple walked through an unlocked screen door leading into the bedroom of the couple, who said they shouted for her to …

     
    One money saving tip you probably haven't tried
    Add your ideas and help make it happen. Join the conversation.
    Episode 11: Hard times for Hometown Hardware
    Should Bill and Donna take on more risk to boost their business?
    One small business owner surprises Bill and Donna
    How Josh's comment on a Remake America video laid the groundwork for something bigger.
    Learn more about Remake America »