Apparently, the end’s not coming fast enough for some folks.
[…] mega-church pastors recently met in Inglewood to polish strategies for using global communications and aircraft to transport missionaries to fulfill the Great Commission: to make every person on Earth aware of Jesus’ message. Doing so, they believe, will bring about the end, perhaps within two decades.
But wait…it’s not just Christians. Seems everybody’s getting in on wanting to get it all over with.
In Iran, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has a far different vision. As mayor of Tehran in 2004, he spent millions on improvements to make the city more welcoming for the return of a Muslim messiah known as the Mahdi, according to a recent report by the American Foreign Policy Center, a nonpartisan think tank.
To the majority of Shiites, the Mahdi was the last of the prophet Muhammad’s true heirs, his 12 righteous descendants chosen by God to lead the faithful.
Ahmadinejad hopes to welcome the Mahdi to Tehran within two years.
Hold on. The party’s just getting started.
[…] some Jewish groups in Jerusalem hope to clear the path for their own messiah by rebuilding a temple on a site now occupied by one of Islam’s holiest shrines.
Artisans have re-created priestly robes of white linen, gem-studded breastplates, silver trumpets and solid-gold menorahs to be used in the Holy Temple — along with two 6½-ton marble cornerstones for the building’s foundation.
And let’s not forget those lovely red heifers…
Then there is Clyde Lott, a Mississippi revivalist preacher and cattle rancher. He is trying to raise a unique herd of red heifers to satisfy an obscure injunction in the Book of Numbers: the sacrifice of a blemish-free red heifer for purification rituals needed to pave the way for the messiah.
So far, only one of his cows has been verified by rabbis as worthy, meaning they failed to turn up even three white or black hairs on the animal’s body.
Better to be safe than sorry.
LATimes.com: ‘End Times’ Religious Groups Want Apocalypse Soon
The Lo Zone 
>God help us…er…kill us…whatever it is God does, that is. I may drive those in religious camps to mouth foaming, but I've been a staunch atheist from my teen years. An atheist must remain staunch as one is constantly put under pressure to "see the light". My mother is currently on her deathbed, hence my recent absence from the site. A good friend of mine asked, "Wouldn't you like to believe she's going to a better place?" I answered, "I would like to believe a great many things, that will never make them so." It's also funny that the same people in this country that laugh about the ridiculous idea of a virgin-laden Muslim heaven is, have their own ridiculous ideas of paradise that they hold as given truths.So it's unnerving to know that the majority of humans on this planet, those who make global policy, don't really mind global warming, they wouldn't really care if a nuke went off in downtown L.A., etc., as it fits into their dogma of "end days". Isn't there another planet, with rational beings, I could relocate to?
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>So sorry to hear about your mother, Matt. We've missed you here. My thoughts and my prayers are with you and her. You don't have to believe in prayer. As long as the prayer does, that's all that matters.As for faith in God (whoever that may be based on one's faith)—you either have it or you don't. It's a knowing, a feeling, and often, actual and ocular proof. There are plenty of people who were born into religions or made to go to church as kids and do it as adults because they think or are told that's what they're supposed to do. But if they don't believe and their heart isn't in it, all the church-going and praying in the world won't make it so. It just becomes empty gestures and empty words.I, personally, have had too many obvious examples of God's presence in my life, so I believe. And I definitely wasn't one of those raised in the church. My situations were personal, specific, and glaring—much to conspicuous for me to miss or misinterpret. That doesn't make me holier-than-thou on any level (me??? ha!!!). But I believe. I know.As for how the end will come, I don't spend my time thinking about that. I figure God gave me a life for me to live it, not to sit around planning my (and the world's) big exit, hoping for hot hunky virgins on the other side. (Wait…women don't get virgins in heaven, do we? That's not fair!!! Hmmm, maybe it is. I wouldn't want someone I'd have to teach anything. That wouldn't be heaven. That would definitely be hell.)I firmly believe you can't force faith, beliefs, and religion on people. If anything, that kind of pressure either drives people away or drives them mad (madness manifests in many forms). Once people gain a sense of self and independence, they reach their own conclusions anyway (if they live in a place where they are allowed such freedoms). If someone wants to walk in the direction of my faith and asks for my support in that, I offer my hand and my own personal testimonials. I'll never be the one brow-beating folks over the head about my God, trying to force it on them. But I do always talk about my God. I can't not do it. The hand of God is as evident in my life as this extra chunk of meat on my thighs I've been trying to kickbox away for the past few weeks.Amen.
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>matt, sorry to hear about your mom. cherish these days with her and continue to show and tell her you love her. my thoughts and prayers are with you too.peace & blessings…
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>Thanks guys. I've been with mom a great deal lately but she's no longer there. She's been on a respirator for about four months now and only getting worse by the day. So this next week is probably going to hold the worst event of my life as of yet. However, after having lived in Ethiopia for years I have seen true human devastation on a grotesque scale. Globally, I'd say mom had a great 66 years and a family that loved her more than anything. With the knowledge that 30,000 children die on this planet every day of preventable disease and malnourishment, I'd say we Americans are pretty damned lucky in the scheme of things.Doesn't make it any easier.Thanks again…much love.
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>wow. that's deep brother matt. never viewed life in that capacity before. someone once told me, to really comprehend the value of life you should visit africa.soon. maybe soon.
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