The Australian Census and that "Religion Question"

With the Australian Government's national census occurring on Tuesday the 9th of August 2011, some citizens have been stirred into political action regarding the question of which religion Australians identify themselves with. Here is an example of a message that has been doing the rounds on Facebook and email:

AUSTRALIA WILL BE HOLDING A CENSUS THIS WEEK.
DON'T LEAVE THE “RELIGION” SECTION BLANK. BE SURE TO AT LEAST TICK CHRISTIAN (OR YOUR OWN FAITH).
1,000,000 MUSLIMS WILL TICK THEIR BOX.
10,000,000 AUSTRALIANS WILL LEAVE IT BLANK THEN WONDER WHY CHRISTMAS CAROLS ARE BEING BANNED IN SCHOOLS! NOT TO MENTION, EASTER HAT PARADES. IT'S NOT ABOUT RELIGION, IT'S ABOUT KEEPING OUR WAY OF LIFE ;)
RE-POST IF YOU AGREE!

Aside from the annoying over-capitalization and the xenophobic undertones, this message is an example of the weight of importance some concerned Australians are attributing to this question on the national census. Interestingly, the religion option on the census form is not just arousing Christians with a political bent, but it has also roused up the Humanist Society of Queensland, who have launched a website urging Australians to be more accurate in their religious affiliation. They claim that many people are inaccurately reporting their religion, leading to flawed census data, which is used to make a variety of political decisions such as funding for the National Schools Chaplaincy Program or religious exemptions from the GST.

Misleading Census Data?
The religion question has been part of the Australian census since the Census and Statistics Act was formed in 1905. This legislates that the response to this question be optional, yet over 90% of Australians entered a response for this question on the 2006 census. Comparing the results from the 1996 census and the 2006 census, there were some visible changes in the religious landscape:

	1996 (%)	2006 (%)	Change (%)
Christianity Total	70.9	63.9	0.8
Catholic	27	25.8	6.8
Anglican	22	18.7	-4.7
Uniting-Church	7.5	5.7	-14.9
Presbyterian-and-Reformed	3.8	3	-11.7
Eastern-Orthodox	2.8	2.7	9.5
Baptist	1.7	1.6	7.3
Lutheran	1.4	1.3	0.4
Pentecostal	1	1.1	25.7
Other-Christian	3.7	3.9	19
Non-Christian	3.5	5.6	79.3
Buddhism	1.1	2.1	109.6
Islam	1.1	1.7	69.4
Hinduism	0.4	0.7	120.2
Judaism	0.4	0.4	11.3
Other-Non-Christian	0.4	0.5	58.8
Inadequately-described	0.3	0.7	147.1
No-Religion	16.6	18.7	25.7
Not-stated	8.7	11.2	43.4
Total	100	100	11.8

Clearly, Christianity is the most predominant religion in Australia with over 63% of citizens identifying some Christian denomination as their religious identity. Is this misleading though?

According to the National Church Life Survey, while 71% of Australians have attended a religious service at least once in the last 12 months, only 19% of Australians attend a Christian church service at least once a month. This represents quite a discrepancy between the census data and religious observance.

The discrepancy arises from the response to the census question. If the census question was formed to determine the general religious affiliation and religious values that an Australian holds, then the census data is quite accurate. If however, it was formed to gauge the level of religious participation in the populace, then it is clearly inaccurate.

Religious Identity or Religious Observance?

As a general rule, Australians are quite apathetic with their religious beliefs. Most Australians may identify themselves with a particular religion for the purpose of the census, but their everyday beliefs and practices do not reflect that religion. This identification may be based on the religious beliefs of their parents, a particular private school that they attended or the general vibe that they find attractive about a particular religion.

On the other hand, those who frequent a religious service - and generally adhere to the internal logic and belief system of a religion - are quite less in number. It is this group that is most likely to list their religion on their profile page on Facebook and who would respond politically to decisions that affect their religion. They would most likely be active participants in the provision of social services that their religious body facilitates and generally advocate their religious beliefs and practices in their local community. It is this group that most people would think of when religion is spoken of. In many respects, those who regularly practice a religion are really those who are accurately described by this census question.

Conclusion
The accuracy of the census data is important. The Australian Bureau of Statistics released an forthright statement in response to a large section of the community who listed "Jedi" as their religion in the 2001 census. This was during the time when the second series of Star Wars films were being progressively released by George Lucas. The ABS rebuked those who had listed the fictional religion as an ambivalent response to this question and then wonder why social services that they depend on were vanishing ("Jedi" is not categorized by the ABS as a religion and for aggregration purposes is classified as "not defined").

It is therefore in the best interest of the country that Australians answer the religion question with honesty and integrity. Obviously, this is a very personal question that is subjective to the individual, but nevertheless has important ramifications on political decisions and provision of services in the community.

PostScript: Am I Christian?
As a general rule, while many Australians may consider themselves to be Christian, in reality they do not adhere to the Christian belief system or regularly practice Christian religious observances. The noun, "Christian" was first used in the first century AD to describe Jews or Gentiles who were "Christ-followers" or "Followers of the Way" (for an interesting read on the latest iteration on Facebook, "follower of Christ", go here). The important distinction at this point is that to be a Christian, it requires a following. Jesus himself said, "Follow me." Therefore, while for cultural reasons many people may describe themselves as Christian or being attracted to the Judeo-Christian ethic, from a religious perspective, they are not Christian.

Protestant Christianity has historically drawn a clear line of delineation between a culture that is influenced by Christian beliefs and practices (eg. England) and those who strongly adhere to the Christian doctrine and practice (eg. Ned Flanders). Protestant Christianity generally believes that a person must first believe in the historical acts of the divine Christ and secondly, display outward practice that is consistent with the teachings in the Bible (a marrying of faith and works as described in James 2:14-25).

Core Christian Beliefs
The basic Christian beliefs have been best synthesized as the Apostles' Creed, which was developed by Christians in the first few centuries AD. It describes the essential beliefs that defines a believer in Christ for the purposes of salvation.

I believe in God, the Father almighty,
creator of heaven and earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ, God's only Son, our Lord,
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried;
he descended into hell.
On the third day he rose again;
he ascended into heaven,
he is seated at the right hand of the Father,
and he will come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy Christian Church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting. Amen.

Core Christian Practices
Along with these beliefs outlined in the Apostles' Creed, the Christian would generally adhere to these Christian practices - but not for the purposes of salvation.

• Attend church, pray and read the bible regularly
• Observe the moral & ethical code outlined in the bible (eg. the Ten Commandments, Sermon on the Mount, etc)
• Encourage other Christians in their faith
• Encourage other people in their community to become Christians.

The Australian International Motor Show - Melbourne

The other day I went to the Australian International Motor Show to view the latest offerings from the main car manufacturers. The show is being held in the 30,000 sq metre exhibition space (ie. Jeff's Shed) as part of the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre. Due to the massive area, it took my father-in-law and I about 4 hours to meander through the displays, thoughtfully comparing and contrasting the glistening concept models and generally dismissing anything with a cheap, plastic interior.

The latest offering from Nissan

This is the first time in two years that motor show has graced Melbourne with its presence and with all the marketing campaigns promoting the exhibition, one could be forgiven for thinking the show was an entertainment event. The reality though is that the show is a cleverly dressed up, glorified advertisement by the car manufacturers that Joe Public pays $20 for the privilege of viewing it. It is similar situation to casinos, where everything thinks that they are going there for a good night of entertainment, but in reality, they are donating their money to the casino while fancy lights and sounds placate the analytical mind.

It took quite a while to walk through all the different exhibits

From the outset, it was clear which manufacturers were there with the serious intention of wooing new customers while others appeared to be at the show due to backroom wrangling and desk pounding. The clear and undisputed manufacturer for best exhibit was Ford, who managed to turn their allocated floor space into a Science-Works meets school open day. In other words, the children get distracted by the crazy science demonstrations, while the parents engage in serious conversation with the adults. The end result: people who entered the Ford exhibit stayed longer.

Best Exhibit: Ford

By contrast the manufacturer with the most under-performing exhibit was Holden which clearly thought a couple of free posters and a few scattered vehicles would meet the minimum requirements. Either the GFC is still hurting GM or Holden Australia is feeling so comfortable with their market position that they thought a token effort was all that was warranted. 

This tiny Kumho Tyres stand got more interest than the Holden exhibit.

The why-did-you-bother award goes to Bentley, who provided three cars that were all roped off to the public. The only information provided for each car was an A4 printed sheet with five hastily typed facts, included price and maximum speed. While the prices were impressive, they clearly thought conveying their stuffy Britannica was the best advertising strategy to the predominately Caucasian male from the outer suburbs of Melbourne.

Bentley's token effort

The use of technology was fascinating with iPads being the flavour of the month. The tablet computers were used for information stands and for personal assistants to the sales staff. Interestingly, quite a few iPads were connected by 3G and loaded dynamic content from an external server into the custom sales app. This meant there was a fair delay while the vehicle price was matched to postcode of the user. This lack of responsiveness was disappointing and demonstrated that exhibitors may need to rethink their iPad strategy to ensure maximum effectiveness from the devices.

iPad's were used extensively to display car information

Lastly, it was difficult to miss the fact that manufacturers were tripping over themselves in an effort to display their green credentials. Any car manufacturer worth their salt had an electric car on offer with large charts showing the method of design and operation. Some vehicles on offer looked like they could have potential, while others were clearly there to balance out the other petrol guzzlers on display.

Did Lamborghini bother with any green-ness? No.

Vodafone Creates Light Monsters On Swanston St

In a display of creative and technical talent, Vodafone Australia has installed an impressive advertising piece on Swanston St in Melbourne. The installation displays a very large video advertisement on the north side of the Japanese Melbourne Language School building. The video begins with a sweeping search light that appears to be looking inside various virtual, black windows. Eventually, a blue monster appears (à la Monsters Inc), performs some impressions, then the red Vodafone image and latest promotion dominate the view.

Part of the attention grabbing
 advertising display by Vodafone

The installation relies on some impressive projector technology which is capable of projecting the image across a far distance of about 140m with plenty of urban light to compete against. The projector appears to be mounted a-top the Legacy House building on Swanston St and there appears to be two separate light sources involved in the display. The installation appears to be the work of advertising agency tkm9.

The display was a popular talking point among many of the people on the street, with lots of finger pointing and loud exclamations. Obviously the large Vodafone image/promotion are fairly standard fare in any major urban space, but the search light and blue monster were an effective attention grabber that caused the viewer to stop walking and watch until the reason for the light show became apparent.

This installation comes at an appropriate time in the Melbourne calendar as the City of Melbourne is currently conducting the Light in Winter festival at key locations around the CBD. At Federation Square, organizers have built a large structure of steel beams and wooden planks with numerous lanterns and neon lights emblazoned inside the dominating art piece. Explorers can walk inside the structure and watch video presentations on mini LCD screens. Closer to Flinders St station, a genuine fireplace has been established with appropriate campfire theming. A bored security guard keeps the fire stoked while a fire extinguisher is visible within easy reach. 

The most fascinating event on the winter festival calendar was the Projector Bike tour around the city, where participants bring their bike and ride to various locations and watch short video clips that are projected on the sides of buildings. It is all provided by a special projector contraption added as a trailer to a mountain bike. The effect was impressive and it seemed to draw a small, but loyal crowd.

Zara, Melbourne, Fast Fashion & Fashion Addiction

Zara opened in Melbourne on
the 15th of June 2011

With great anticipation, the Zara juggernaut launched their latest store in their quest for global retail domination. Situated on pedestrian-friendly Bourke St, next to traditional department stores Myer and David Jones, Zara has picked prime real estate for their Melbourne incarnation.

After several weeks of frenzied activity with tradies in hard-hats and high-vis vests pulling double shifts throughout the night, the store opened with less fanfare than its Sydney rival. That said, the rope barriers for the queues were in full force, bouncers on the door, and a team of lowly paid security guards prevented wayward shoppers from stepping in-front of passing trams while gawking at the freshly painted fittings.

In terms of retail and clothing, Zara is something of a maverick. In began in 1975 and has now grown into a global player with over 2000 stores in 77 countries. It's owner, Amancio Ortega, is now the 9th richest man in the world. Zara usually copies fashion trends and designs around the world, rather than creating its own.

Almost all global clothing chains, from high end to your Kmart garden variety, have outsourced the manufacturing of their product to cheaper labour factories in Asia. However Zara opts for European clothes manufacturing, where it owns the factories and distribution methods. The upshot of this situation is that Zara can quickly turn out new stock much faster than its rivals. It is said that Zara can design, model, create and distribute new product within a 3-4 week period, compared to the industry average of 6 months. Most outlets might produce 2,000 to 4,000 new pieces each year, whereas Zara produces in excess of 10,000. 

Security guards prevent wayward shoppers from
swelling onto the tram tracks

Fast Fashion

With considerable control over the supply chain and a frenzied approach to creating new product, Zara has pioneered the concept of fast fashion. This concept not only embodies the idea of quickly moving new creations from the catwalk to the store window, but also completely blasts the once normal concept of fashion seasons out of the water. Fast fashion thrives on the endlessly unquenchable desire for something new and requires constant change with new product to match. While traditional stores supply stock based on four seasons, Zara pumps out fresh stock twice a week, for a '104 seasons' a year cycle. 

The emphasis on fast fashion has a interesting effect on buying behaviour with customers. Normally, customers might visit a store a couple of times a year, whereas Zara sees repeat business in the order of 6 times greater than its rivals. It is reported that the customers return on average to Zara seventeen times in one year.

Crowds gather on the opening day, eager to dive into fast fashion

Fashion Addiction?

There is no denying that Zara are very savvy at what they do. They have not only created a successful business, but their business model is built upon the new and ever-changing. They have begun a sweeping change of the way customers view clothing, from seasonal, to twice-weekly. Constantly producing new designs and updating floor stock give the customer the impression that to keep up-to-date requires purchases on a weekly basis. This model though, encourages classic addictive behaviour. Clothing has moved beyond the realm of practicality and into the disposable, instant and one-time-use. While one can critique the fashion pros and cons of the situation, the implication is that clothing puts greater demand on the wallet. While we are encouraged to pursue the fashion-bleeding-edge, the Ortegas of this world smile all the way to the bank.

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Further Information

For a concise overview of Zara, check out this Hungry Beast video: http://hungrybeast.abc.net.au/stories/beast-file-zara

Do We Still Need the King James Bible?

Last month marked the 400th anniversary of the printing of the King James Bible. This bible translation was not the first English version, but it is by far the most famous and for several hundred years, was the most read English translation. The first English translation was by a theologian called John Wycliffe who in the late 14th century, for both political and religious reasons, wanted a version of the bible in his own tongue. Prior to this point - and until after the protestant reformation in the 16th century - the bible was exclusively written in Latin. The reason for this is both historical and political.

A Brief History
When the Roman Empire in the 4th century became Christianised, the language of the day was Latin and scriptures were translated into this dominant language. After the fall of the Roman Empire and the subsequent rise of the Catholic Church, the use of Latin was initially used as a universal common language, but over the next 1000 years, became increasingly the language of the educated and clerical classes of society. The religious impact of this outcome was that the general populace could not read the bible for themselves and required a trained clergy to interpret the scriptures into their vernacular. The meant that there was no method for a commoner to check the text on their own, which lead to all sorts of heretical practices and false doctrines that essentially meant a consolidation of political and financial power to Rome.

The King James Bible completed in 1611.

When Wycliffe translated the bible into English (from the Vulgar Latin version), it was seen as an affront to the establishment and this act was seen as illegal as it would have the potential to upset the balance of political and religious power in Europe. His version survived the strict censorship bans in England, but even in the early 16th century when another man called William Tyndale produced a far superior translation, Tyndale was strangled and burnt at the stake for his efforts.

Tyndale's work though was more influential than Wycliffe for two important reasons. Firstly, his version was translated from the original Greek and Hebrew texts, leading to a better English understanding of the original wording and intent. Secondly, while Wycliffe's work was disseminated by handwriting, Tyndale's work was the first to make use of a new invention, the printing press. These two factors spread the reformist ideas throughout Europe. As the reformation gathered momentum and the Henry the 8th separated the Church of England from the Roman Catholic Church, suddenly the idea of having a "proper" version of the bible in English made political sense, so King James 1 of England convened a working group of 47 scholars from the Church of England to perform the task. In 1611, the scholars presented a copy of the bible to the King, who authorized it through an act of parliament.

Today
Within Christendom, the King James is usually viewed in one of three, mutually-exclusive, ways:

1. The King James is the only valid translation and it is the exclusive source of the scriptures.
2. The King James is a error-ridden, invalid translation that should be relegated to history.
3. The King James is an interesting historical translation that could be used along with a collection of other translations to gain a wider perspective of God's word.

To understand these different perspectives of the King James Bible, it first requires an understanding of the how the bible came to be. The Bible, from the Protestant perspective, is a collection of 66 writings split into two major groups: the Old Testament and the New Testament. It is generally accepted that 40 authors wrote the 66 books of the bible over a period of 1500 years in three continents. The Old Testament was written in Hebrew and Aramaic, while the New Testament was written in Greek. 

This last point is important to reading the Bible today. All English versions of the Bible are translations of the original text and like all translations, while they provide an reasonable insight into the intended meaning of the authors, they do not provide a perfect understanding. Additionally, all translation works rely on the translators having an acute understanding of ancient languages, theology and culture, and in turn, an accurate understanding of the modern day equivalent. 

Compounding this situation is that each translation is usually the result of a desire to re-translate the scriptures from a particular world view, whether it be from a political, religious or doctrinal perspective. Today, there exists hundreds of different English translations from the poetry of the King James to ultra-modern SMS versions, with each version catering for a different demographic, denomination, political or theological persuasion.

So, as to the original question: do we still need the King James Bible? The heart of this question lies in your understanding of the purpose of the Bible. For some Christians, the Shakespearian language of the King James is familiar and reverential, while for other Christians, the old English prevents them from understanding the words and meaning. 

A particular strength of more modern translations is that they have the benefit of accumulated knowledge of the current era, particularly with greater access to ancient manuscripts (like the Dead Sea scrolls) and recent archaeological finds which help interpret the ancient writings.

Personally, I fit into the third group. I think that I can have a better understanding of God's Word by reading from multiple translations which provide a greater perspective by relying less on a single group of translators in one particular point in history. I simultaneously do not think that the King James version is completely perfect or completely invalid and I find the Old English words too difficult to understand. Obviously, it is a question of personal choice.

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Wycliffe Bible Translators is an modern day organisation named after John Wycliffe, who are involved in nearly 1300 translation projects around the world. The Bible is the most printed book in history and has been translated into 4000+ languages and dialects world-wide. Wycliffe are aiming for every language in the world (over 6800) to have a version of the New Testament by 2025.
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The Age recently did a write-up about the anniversary of the King James Bible: The Book That Changed the World.

Thank God For The Salvos: Red Shield Appeal 2011

This weekend (28th and 29th of May) is the annual Red Shield Appeal run by the Salvation Army. Affectionately known as the "Salvos", this church organisation has effectively blurred the lines between a denomination and a charity, to the extent that it could be argued that they have successfully united two perceived tensions in Christianity: faith and works.

The 2011 Red Shield Appeal advertised on
banners outside the Eureka Tower in Melbourne

The Salvation Army began in London, England in 1865 by a former Methodist minister and his wife, William and Catherine Booth. Modeled on the 'armour of God' referenced in Ephesians 6:10-18, the Booths established their volunteer organisation with the structure of a military rank-and-file hierarchy complete with uniforms, flags and marching band music. Right from the beginning, the Salvation Army specialised in ministering to the poor - best expressed by the three 'S' methodology: soup, soap and salvation.

Theologically, the Salvation Army is a mainstream protestant church with an evangelical bent. Some interesting highlights include their view of equality in ministry between men and women (quite an amazing position in the mid 19th century!), their decision to not include communion or baptism in the worship service and a refraining from alcohol. Doctrinally, the Salvos have 11 faith statements which provide foundation for their beliefs and most Christians would be in agreement with these basic tenets. However, one particular faith statement could provide an insight into the reasoning behind the Salvos persistence in charitable work:

We believe that continuance in a state of salvation depends upon continued obedient faith in Christ. [Statement 9] 

This is an interesting statement. Clearly they disagree with the once-saved-always-saved doctrine and there seems to be an inherent works-based attitude to salvation which may be a little too much for all the amazing-grace types. Biblically, this statement could be a reflection of the pervasive argument in the book of James:

What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.
But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.” Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds. You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder. You foolish person, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless? ... [v26] As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.
[James 2:14-26]

If this passage is their proof text for the ninth faith statement, then Jesus' parable of the Sheep and the Goats could be the basis for their methodology in demonstrating an "obedient faith":

For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me. 
[Matthew 25:35-36]

Today, the charitable work of the Salvation Army is enormous. They operate in 124 countries, have an expenditure of over US $2.4 billion and they are the second largest charity in the United States. In Australia, they help with disaster relief, emergency support, missing persons, clothing, pastoral care counselling, drug and alcohol counselling, training and education, employment services, disability services, crisis accommodation, as well as feeding and sheltering the homeless. Last financial year, they provided welfare services for over 80,000 Australians, while their overall work touches over 1 million Australians.

A damning report by the Salvos in the lead-up to the Red Shield Appeal reveals that 45,000 Australians are homeless on any given night, 25,000 families are homeless every night and 60,000 women and children need refuge from domestic violence each year. 2.2 million people, which includes 12% of children, are living in poverty. The Salvos hope to raise $79 million this appeal to maintain their social programs.

May 21st 2011 is NOT the end of the world

In what is almost certainly a cliché for cults, yet another wacky group has predicted the end of the world with a specific timestamp. Harold Camping from Familyradio.com has predicted that May 21st 2011 is the exact day that Jesus returns. His logic is based on some far-fetched calculations based on a mix of biblical numerology, an even helping of poor exegesis and a good dose of coincidence.

Billboard announcing Judgement Day on the 21st of May, 2011
on Victoria St in Footscray, Vic. Photo: ebiblefellowship.com

89 year old Harold, like all good cult leaders, has built his theology on some solid grains of truth which provide enough credibility for anyone with a passing knowledge about Christianity to be interested. From this platform though, Mr Camping has constructed an entire understanding of eschatology with a preoccupation with numbers found in the bible as opposed to the words which display the intent and meaning that many of the biblical writers were conveying. This type of biblical interpretation is very similar to the bible code fad that was popular in the late '90s, as it was more concerned with hidden mathematical patterns than the actual words and stories used in the Torah (first five books of the Old Testament).

When the clock strikes 12AM on the 22nd of May 2011, Harold Camping will join a long line of leaders who have famously been incorrect in their prediction of Judgement Day. Mr Camping originally made a prediction that the world would end in September 1994, but later revised his calculations, which again is pretty much cliché. For a quick history in different predictions of different past dates for the world's end, check out this article: Apocalypse Not.

Mainstream Christianity acknowledges that Jesus will return in the future. Since Christ's ascension, 40 days after being resurrected on Easter Sunday, until the time when Jesus returns, the bible describes this period as the 'last days'. So far, the 'last days' have continued for over 2000 years and they may well continue for another 2000. The fundamental problem with predicting the date of Christ's return is that Jesus himself said:

"But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. Be on guard! Be alert! You do not know when that time will come." 
[Mark 13:32–33]

Jesus goes on to say:

"At that time if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Messiah!’ or, ‘Look, there he is!’ do not believe it. For false messiahs and false prophets will appear and perform signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. So be on your guard; I have told you everything ahead of time."
[Mark 13:21-23]

So, not only is Harold Camping preaching a misleading doctrine, he is also directly teaching against the words of Jesus. Therefore, sleep easy tonight and enjoy your Sunday the 22nd of May. Don't go quit your job, flee to the hills or prematurely sell all your possessions. Should Jesus return like a 'thief in the night', then it will be a glorious occasion for Christians, however until then though, relax and make the most of life.

Comparison Between Mainstream Christianity and Harold Camping

Topic	Mainstream Christianity	Harold Camping
Biblical interpretation method	Historical-grammatical	Hidden meaning, numerology
Intended meaning method	Exegesis	Eisegesis
Will Christ return?	Yes	Yes
Can humans know when Christ will return?	No	Yes
When will Christ return?	Unknown	21st of May, 2011
Rapture?	Speculative; no consensus	Definitely
Will Christ return on the anniversary of the Noahic Flood?	Highly unlikely	Yes

Further Reading

• Refute Camping
• Can We Know When Jesus Will Return?