He’ll probably lose a lot of people from that. 2,500 seems like a lot of followers, but it really isn’t that many - they’ll probably drift away (especially if their friends do).

He’ll probably lose a lot of people from that.

I wonder why I’m skeptical about that!

When you don’t expect too much you don’t have to disappoint so much.

“Never underestimate the power of human stupidity.”
-Robert Heinlein

Damn. So much for less traffic.

I just saw a piece on the History Channel about some Thumper who used the bible to predict an exact date for the end of the world (circa 1850). His followers were so convinced of his sincerity, that they sold everything and gave it away. When the ‘special’ day arrived, they gathered at Miller’s house, sang hymns, held hands, prayed, and waited for absolutely nothing to happen (Surprise). You’d think others would learn from this, but they just think the ‘interpretation ‘ was wrong. As we converse, the modern day thumpers are getting excited about the ‘signs’ pointing to the ‘end times’ getting close. Amazing.

If you watch the news video on the news website, they follow that particular segment with a whole segment on the 175th anniversary of the Mormon Church and ‘wonderful’ museum celebrating Joseph Smith.  Unfortunately, they don’t allude to that church being based on a wacko.

Warren Jeffs’ group is FLDS which is a fundamental bent of Mormonism (thus the temple they are building in Texas). These ‘break-off’ groups from Mormonism are a nutty bunch who usually end up committing some form of violence before they are: found dead/arrested.

Religious people always baffle me. How DO they survive?

I mean religion is nothing but a mind-crutch for the feeble minded and for the ones without any belief in themselves.

The group back in 1850’s were called “Millerites”

When the world did not end on Oct 22nd 1844 it was called the “Great Disappointment” at which time those that left started up the Seventh-day Adventists church with a lunatic suffering from Temporal Lobe Epilepsy name Ellen G White leading the way with her “visions”
http://www.ellenwhite.org/headinjury.htm

Precisely the same as Saul/Paul and the Fundy Christians with Paulianity.

“Never underestimate the power of human stupidity.�?
-Robert Heinlein

Yep.  The Jehovah’s Witnesses have proclaimed TEOTWAWKI (the end of the world as we know it) variously to occur in 1914, 1915, 1918, 1925, 1975, and 1994.  They are still going strong.

Religious people always baffle me. How DO they survive?

WildBat, survival is the key.  Religion has been so successful in the ideosphere precisely because it has conferred fitness, or survival value, upon its holders.  The hook of “do as Our Book says, or burn in Hell”, plus “convert heathens, or waste them” are mighty powerful organizing forces for those who believed, and still believe, them.

We got where we are today, for good and bad, largely because of religion.  It remains to be seen if we can throw off its yoke, and if we can build societies without its carrots and sticks.  I’m agnostic about both possibilies.

Zilch I dont dissagree, but the kind of religion that is a survival religion is not christianity. it is shamanism, the original belief.

Shamanism was all over the planet even before we mannaged to travel and rediscover them.

The belief that there is spirit everwhere and the learning about how the spirits was, did help people in the old days to survive. Helped them to loacate water, animals to hunt amd plant food to gather.

Make a cristian go 25.000 years back in time and see how long his religion can sustain him. That religion only teaches moral codecs (or double standards) and no other means of survival.

Actually the world did end in the summer of 1960, just like our “crazy lady” next door neighbour said it would!
Since then it has all been a dream, just like the last episode of “Bob Newheart!”
Please let mewake up beside Suzanne Pleschette this time!

Maybe it really ended in 1960, and since then we have just been a small part in The Matrix.

If you learn to program The Matrix, you could wake up beside anyone you like.

I think I would like to wake up next to Madonna age 23.

I think I would like to wake up next to Madonna age 23.

Don’t want to rain on your fantasy, WildBat, but would you really want to be that much younger than Madonna?

hehe.. well she and I are the same age

This may be urban legend but there’s a story of an accomplished mathematician who predicted the date of his own death. When he awoke on that day feeling healthy and very much alive, he put a slug in his head. Now THAT’S impressive!

There’s a nice poem by Christian Morgenstern ("Die Unmögliche Tatsache") about the converse situation. A logical man is run over and killed, but comes to the conclusion (after consulting the lawbook) that since cars are not allowed to drive there, he cannot be dead, because “nicht sein kann, was nicht sein darf"- that which is not allowed, cannot be.