For the umpteen-millionth time, the world is going to end. So says Leeland Freeborn, known as the Parowan Prophet in Utah.Freeborn predicts that major riots will prevent Obama from taking office. The old Soviet guard will take advantage of the disturbances and launch nuclear missiles, killing over 100 million people in the US.
The nuclear destruction will be the "Lord's wrath."
Here, my dear readers, is where I blow a ballistic gasket.
I'm not talking about the prophecy. I'm talking about the "Lord's wrath" statement.
Why? Because this is the sort of irrational, illogical conclusion that results from swallowing whole someone else's interpretation of God. This is the same dogmatic, literal, dead-letter interpretation of religion that resulted in planes crashing into the World Trade Center and Pentagon!
You can fill libraries with prophecies that have come true and many more that didn't. Prophesies are only warnings of would 'could' happen. You can take the gamble and ignore them and hope external factors won't fall into place, or you can proactively intervene. Even hearing a prophecy could be enough to divert the prediction. In the end, a prophecy is no different than any other forecast, outlook or projection. Would you call a weatherman a prophet?
My impatience, indignation and ire comes from a lifetime of witnessing people proclaiming "God's wrath," "a vengeful God" and even "a forgiving God" instead of placing the responsibility where it belongs: with themselves.
Look within, confront your gigantic leaps of faith and find the answers to your questions, because you will have questions as soon as you start to think. No one can define God for you. You have to do it yourself. Do it!
