This guy must really believe. Otherwise, he's setting himself up for an awful fall in October.
This guy does have something in common with most clergy: he claims to be able to boss god around. A sincere person might believe that god will one day pull the plug, but surely when and how is up to god. When this guy claims to predict when and how, he's really saying that he controls what's to happen, and god just does as he's told. I know there will be some flummery about how he's just reading god's signs or delivering god's message, etc., but the bottom line is that you've got to listen to the clergy because god sure does. Most other major religions offer the same consolation: follow the correct rites and rituals, enact the emblems of piety with sufficient fervor, and you can get what you want from god(s). They all talk about submission to the higher power, but what they offer is control. Learn the magic moves and the world is yours. Sad.
This 89 year old preacher is also a very successful businessman. He owns some 200 radio and TV stations valued at about $100M. My guess is that this isn't about money, which he no longer needs. It's about ego. He wants to be The Man. He wants the Juice. He's loving being the center of a large cult, and having millions talk about him. He may feel he doesn't have much longer to live, so why should the world outlast him? Meanwhile, he's having fun diddling with people. Even if he's wrong, there won't be serious consequences for him. Maybe in October he can kick the can down the road a while longer, since so many people obviously long for him to be right.
coinflipper_21 (imported) wrote: Wed May 25, 2011 10:41 am
It's been a disappointing week, so far. The Rapture did not occur and I found that the show "Mounted in Alaska" is about a taxidermist.
You have my deepest sympathy on both points. --FLO--
