NON-BELIEVERS UNITE: A LETTER TO THE ECONOMIST (June 1, 2011)

A certain Harold Camping, the founder and president of Family Radio, a national network of Christian radio stations, predicted the Rapture for May 21. According to him, Jesus would take believers to heaven after a devastating earthquake. Those left behind would suffer Armageddon through the annihilation of the earth, scheduled for October 21. As you report, non-believers prepared for a field day (“Paradise Postponed,” May 28, 2011). Some put together entire tableau of empty clothing and abandoned dinners. Others signed up to attend post-Rapture looting parties. But Christian fundamentalism is hardly a laughing matter. America is in danger, and so is the rest of the world. Instead of poking fun at such travesties, non-believers had better unite and drive Christian fundamentalism out of the country. It is high time, too. Unperturbed, Camping now predicts the Rapture for October 21. Only imagine the social, economic, and political consequences of such pernicious rubbish.