Harold Camping Repents . . . Well, Kind of . . . No, Not Really . . .

Harold Camping has been the object of much criticism (from this blog and others) because of his repeated efforts to set dates for our Lord's return, when Scripture clearly forbids the practice.  Click Here

Now Camping has announced a mea culpa of sorts. "In this time of confusion and turmoil, God's Word remains the only truth in which we can trust. God has shown us again the truth that He alone is true. In Romans 3:4 God declares: `Let God be true but every man a liar.' Events within the last year have proven that no man can be fully trusted. Even the most sincere and zealous of us can be mistaken."

Yet, Camping adds the following.  "Yes, we humbly acknowledge we were wrong about the timing; yet though we were wrong God is still using the May 21 warning in a very mighty way. In the months following May 21 the Bible has, in some ways, come out from under the shadows and is now being discussed by all kinds of people who never before paid any attention to the Bible. We learn about this, for example, by the recent National Geographic articles concerning the King James Bible and the Apostles. Reading about and even discussing about the Bible can never be a bad thing, even if the Bible's authenticity is questioned or ridiculed. The world's attention has been called to the Bible."

So, if I have this right, Camping admits that he was wrong about the date he set, but nevertheless, God is still using his embarrassing error to get people talking about the Bible.

Wouldn't it be better to just say nothing and bear a little shame, rather than state "I was wrong, but at least I got people talking about the Bible."  Self-justification is not helpful nor very palatable at this point.

Comments

[Trina Riepe]

This is really no different than the brief quasi 'apology' he made in October. Mr. Camping continues to hide behind God's sovereignty and permissive will by seriously minimizing the mockery he brought upon Christianity as a whole. His errors are so much greater than just the date setting that brought media attention. His teaching that true believers must and will leave the church and it's God-given authority is far more grievous and concerning yet I see no repentance or correction here. He has not humbled himself from the position of authority he claimed over his followers and now has a warped view of repentance. Sadly, many still follow this man's strange and unorthodox hermeneutics and have continued to abide by the rest of his heresy.