What would you do?

[Gamblor]

You sit down on a big fat 747 from Newark to Seattle.

The intercom clicks on, as the static fills the air:

"Ladies and Gentlemen, this is your Captain, Akbar bin-Hassan al-Islami, welcoming you aboard Flight Number..."

Picturing the scene in the cabin just about split my gut open.

[Kurn, son of Mogh]

Since the pilot usually doesn't greet the passengers until after takeoff, what could I do?

That being said, I'd probably get a real laugh from watching other people's reactions.

besides, knowing the pilot was a Muslim would be comforting. In the event that the Christian fundies are right and the rapture happens while we're in the air, at least we'll still have a pilot to land the thing. /images/graemlins/shocked.gif

[Gamblor]

[banditbdl]

The rapture is the believe that when the apocalypse begins all true believers in Christ will be instantaneously transported to Heaven. There has recently been a successful series of Christian books about those who get Left Behind. I never had any desire to read them, but I do know they made a feature film based on the books starring the long-lost Kirk Cameron.

[Gamblor]

I can't wait 'til God is forced to choose between destroying all the Jews in Israel or fulfilling a promise to people who believe his son is a drunk carpent...

Oops. Flame away, folks - another Christ-denying Jew here.

My tolerance knows no bounds.

Sheesh. Crack a Moses joke if it'll make you feel better.

[Gamblor]

I can't wait 'til God is forced to choose between destroying all the Jews in Israel or fulfilling a promise to people who believe his son is a carpen...

Oops. Flame away, folks - another Christ-denying Jew here.

My tolerance knows no bounds.

Sheesh. Crack a Moshe Rabeinu joke if it'll make you feel better.

[nicky g]

Can we tell Moses jokes?

[Kurn, son of Mogh]

Actually, most of the very strict Christian fundies who buy into the Rapture thing are very pro-Israel.

[Gamblor]

Crack a Moshe Rabeinu joke if it'll make you feel better

Can we tell Moses jokes?

LOL thanks nicky. Moshe is the hebrew name for Moses.

Rabeinu is ancient (religious) hebrew for "Our Leader".

No claim of divine power for Moses whatsoever. Notice Moses himself actually performs no miracles in the story. Only the staff that God gave Moses brings about the plagues, the water from the rock in the desert, etc.

He is merely regarded as the greatest leader of all time. Even greater than Mark Messier.

Jews refuse to attribute supernatural powers to human beings or anything taking the form of earthly human beings. Angels are the closest thing, but no powers other than travel from heaven to earth. One God, and one God only.

I'll give you some ammo: the man had a speech impediment.

Here's the story:
Everyone knows his mother was afraid of the Egyptian Pharoah's decree that the first-born of Israel must be put to death, so his family put him in a basket, which was eventually found by Pharoah's daughter. When he was a baby, the Pharoah began to become paranoid that Moses would eventually try to usurp him, and he devised a little test: he put a plate of gold in front of him, and a plate of burning coals painted gold. If he grabbed the gold, Moses would be killed. When Moses reached for the gold pieces, an angel came and moved his hand towards the coals, which he grabbed and put in his mouth. At first, the gold paint insulated the heat, but after a while he burned his tongue and spit out the coal. Moses lived, having not chosen the gold pieces, with a speech impediment the rest of his life.

All that being said, sure, make fun of him. He is well-regarded as the most humble man in biblical history. He supposedly didn't even want to be the one to lead Israel to freedom, believing instead someone else would be stronger and better suited for the job!

Can you imagine having to blindly follow a man who sounded something like Porky Pig? Wet's go out of Egyp, evwybody!

[Gamblor]

Actually, most of the very strict Christian fundies who buy into the Rapture thing are very pro-Israel.

Not because of any moral considerations, though. Just more of their "Jews ain't nothing but pawns in our world."

Here's why they're so in love with Israel - just dregged this up today on the Internet.

In order for Rapture to come to pass, two things must occur:

1) Ingathering of the exiles: All of Jesus' people (the Hebrews, now Jews) must return to their homeland - Eretz Yisrael.

2) All of the Jews must then find Jesus i.e. convert to Christianity.

I suppose we could take all their support and money and move there... and then turn around and "Oh, you wanted us to convert? Sorry, we still think he's a fraud."

[Kurn, son of Mogh]

What was it Golda Meir once said about Jews not being that smart? They wandered for 40 years only to settle in the only place in the middle east with no oil.

[Gamblor]

[Kurn, son of Mogh]

I'm aware of their ulterior motives. There was a big report of this on one of the TV news magazines (maybe 60 Minutes).

I just think the whole thing is funny. There's even a huge amount of infighting regarding *when* the rapture will happen: before the 7 years of tribulation, in the midst of the tribulation, or after it.

If you want to get a better idea of how these folks think, go to Rapture Ready (http://www.raptureready.com) .

I never cease to be amazed by what some people will accept and organize their lives around.