Over at Religion in American History, Kelly Baker has a great post on the various responses to Harold Camping’s prediction that the rapture will take place on Saturday (May 21, 2011).
Here is a taste:
As someone with an ongoing scholarly obsession with the apocalypse, consumption, and materiality, I am surely following my bliss this week with each mention, web click, Facebook status update, and journalistic attempt to understand the appeal of Camping and his billboard/caravan campaigns. The coverage of the impending Rapture runs the gamut of pet care services for the dogs, cats, and iguanas of the Raptured to Richard Dawkins’ grumpy commentary about said press coverage to Killing the Buddha’s Apocalypse Week 2011 to Salon’s explanation of Camping’s mathematical equations and dating of the end. The coverage ranges from somewhat sympathetic to downright hostile. Some admirably tie Camping a larger history of millennialism in North America, while others declare him a false prophet outright.
As the owner of a three-year-old cockapoo named Jersey, I was particularly interested in what kind of pet care might be offered–just in case. That is why I was glad to learn of After the Rapture Pet Care and Eternal Earthbound Pets. Staffed by atheists, these businesses will take care of your pets after the Rapture–for a small fee.
Post-rapture pet care has, of course, been criticized for being a scam and exploiting customers, but both “After the Rapture” and “Eternal Earthbound” claim to be a legitimate service.
Here is After the Rapture’s promotional video:
Wait a minute, didn’t C.S. Lewis say in The Problem of Pain that beloved family pets will go to heaven?
If so, then post-rapture pet care really is a scam!
I baptized my cat, so I'm all set.
Did you dunk him/her or sprinkle him/her? It might matter.
I'm a Presbyterian, so probably no rapture for me anyway. But my cat's a fundamentalist.