Forget the Rapture--I Was Born to Be Left Behind
Every year some Christian pastor somewhere is telling his flock that the Rapture is at hand. The day of reckoning approaches and only the true Christians will be taken unto heaven, leaving the rest of us behind to suffer the apocalypse. This idea may seem quaint to many my rational readers, and yet I wouldn’t brush it off as meaningless, for the concept of the Rapture has influenced humanity for centuries and even today many of our fellow Americans believe in the Rapture, including our prominent politicians. Believe it or not, it is this belief that drives our foreign policy. For to usher in the Apocalypse is to usher in the Rapture and it appears that many folks are willing to do whatever it takes to get the golden ticket to Heaven. They also want to save your soul in the process, and this desire to convert and save the “heathens” of the world is behind much of our current political divide (think pro-life, anti-gay movements; these are more about a moral quest for evangelization than anything practical).
The irony here is this — because the good Christians are still here, the apocalypse hasn’t yet begun. No matter how bad life on Earth gets, no matter how many wars we create in the name of God, or rivers we poison in the name of Profit (our other favorite God to worship), no matter how many die of cancer, or suicide, or end up homeless and starving, we can’t admit we’re in the end times because all the true followers of Christ are still here, thus the Rapture hasn’t happened.
But what if the apocalypse has begun, and like me, you were born to be left behind?
Let me explain. About six years ago, give or take a year as time isn’t really relevant in this discussion, a pastor out here in California was adamant that the Rapture was about to take place that May. Back then, I used to walk my dog regularly with one of my neighbors. Let’s call her Alana. Her pastor had been preaching about the Rapture and advising her to reach out and minister those who could be helped. During one of our walks, Alana tried very hard to save me from my sinful life. She let me know that while I’d been raised Catholic, I wasn’t a good Christian and would be very sorry to be left behind. She prayed for me and hoped that I would find my way to God in time — two weeks time actually, that’s all I had before the big day.
I listened and let her talk as various emotions ran through my body. At first, I was insulted, then angry, then curious, and finally, as she finished speaking, I felt peace. As Alana spoke, something inside of me awakened, a realization that I’d never considered before. We walked in silence for a moment, and then I turned to her.
“Alana, if what you say is true, then after the Rapture, life on earth is going to be hell.”
“Yes,” she admitted. “That’s why you want to find God and be saved.”
“But,” I continued, now seeing my true purpose in life, “if that’s true, then the planet and all the people left behind will suffer.”
“Yes, that’s what will happen.”
“Why would I want to leave this place just when God’s people need me the most? If life is going to be hard, then we need many of us here to help one another, to share love, hope, and resources. It doesn’t make sense to live a life of Christ only to abandon his people when the shit hits the fan.”
Alana was silent. She had no answer to that. We continued to walk back towards her house. As we approached, I said, “Alana, I appreciate your concern, but don’t worry about me. I was born to be left behind. And if you need me to come get your dog after the Rapture, will.”
She looked at me angrily. “No, my son will come for the dog, for he’s sure to be left behind.”
Her son was twenty-two and a partying, womanizing sort. A real “sinner.”
It’s important in these days to face some stark realities. Life on the planet is at a turning point, a true end times. I don’t think the world is about to end, rather life as we know it is shifting. The Industrial Age is dying and being replaced with the Information Age. At each shift there is an apocalypse; naturally some societies fall and new ones rise from the ashes. This isn’t humanity’s first time at the show. We’ve been here before and it always hurts. But rather than wish to escape it, I seek to live deeper within these changes. To embrace the uncertainty. I was born to be left behind and if you’re reading this, then maybe you have been left behind as well. The new age is already here and with it a host of problems. The good news is that on the other side of this end times is a new way of living, if only we can imagine it.
That new world will be based on the thoughts and actions of humankind. What we think is what we will build. What we build is what we will inherit. Rather than wring our hands with worry and uncertainty as Industry dies, let’s join together with purpose as Information rises. Don’t turn away and look towards the skies, for such action breeds righteousness and in an age where we can kill millions in an instant with our technology, it is dangerous to forget to that the divine is in each one of us, right here, right now.
Maybe some of us need to be left behind to make sure that no one is left behind as one age dies and a new one begins?