View on GitHub

Letter-to-Christian-Scholars

« Christianity Vs Love of All Mankind                                   Sexual Abuse Epidemic and Cover-Ups »

Rapture Anxiety

Central Question:

How much pain do Christians live with because of the Rapture

Why this is important to me:

Christianity professes to be about peace and happiness. The Rapture seems to be a major factor in many Christian ideals. The amount of fear and stress caused by it are tough to accept.

It is hard to see peace when I hear stories about the Rapture. Stories about a persons need to be good enough to be chosen. For if they are not chosen then they lose everything. For eternity. The stakes are so high that it seems people will do anything to be good enough

How healthy is that for them? Looking at the other parts of this letter, does anyone really know exactly what is needed to be good enough? Why would a God that loves all of his children make it so hard to succeed?

Tweets

Originally collated by patheos.com

At 51, I am still working in therapy to overcome the sense instilled by Fundamentalism that I am inherently evil and unredeemable. Apologized to God constantly for so many years, fueled by #RaptureAnxiety and fear of Hell. Tweet

#RaptureAnxiety My house was close to train tracks. If the whistle woke me up at night, I’d mistake it for Gabriel’s horn and start to panic that I wasn’t going anywhere. Tweet

It still makes me sweat because #RaptureAnxiety was such a constant looming presence. I could barely sleep because of it. It could happen ANY time, and if you didn’t make the cut, the only way to get a second chance was to be beheaded by The Beast. Tweet

Raised Pentecostal. In 1976, 12 yr old me went into uncontrollable hysterics when my Mom was super late coming home from a bible study. I was convinced she had been raptured and my sins left me behind. My wife grew up in that #$# too.* Tweet

This is some real shit. Read the #RaptureAnxiety hashtag. I still have deep, possibly permanent damage from being taught as a child that the world could end at any second, and you better hope you aren’t sinning when it happens, or you’ll burn in hell forever. Suicidal anxiety. Tweet

« Christianity Vs Love of All Mankind   Sexual Abuse Epidemic and Cover-Ups »

Letter Sections