Harold Camping, an American broadcaster and evangelist who predicted the Second Coming on five separate occasions, went to meet God in the traditional way today in 2013. His first three attempts to pin down the rapture and judgment day were in 1994, on 6 and 29 September, and then 2 October. He tried again in 2011, first going for 21 May, and then 21 October, this time with a $5 million advertising budget raised by donations. But each time, insead of Christians flying up to the clouds while fire, brimstone and plagues rained down on their former neighbours, nothing happened.
‘When September 6, 1994, arrives, no one else can become saved. The end has come.’ Harold Camping, 1994
‘We must realize that October 21, 2011 will be the final day of this earth’s existence.’ Harold Camping, 2011
Christopher Hitchens, author of (among other books) God is Not Great, died of cancer today in 2011, after a ‘year of living dyingly’. One of the four horsemen of the New Atheist apocalypse – the others were Richard Dawkins, Daniel Dennett and Sam Harris – Hitchens was famous for lampooning the follies and contradictions of religion with wit and erudition, a task he maintained to the end. In his final book, Mortality, faced with people who said they were praying for him, he characteristically observed: ‘What if I pulled through and the pious faction contentedly claimed that their prayers had been answered? That would somehow be irritating.’
It is the birthday of the Emperor Nero, who was born today in the year 37, just a handful of years after the crucifixion of Christ. His mother was the powerful Agrippina the Younger, the sister of Caligula and the wife (and niece) of Claudius, the two emperors immediately before Nero. Agrippina poisoned Claudius with a banquet of toxic mushrooms, which put Nero on the imperial throne at the age of 17. He proved to be egotistical and cruel (or artistic and misunderstood, depending on which historians you read) and he was the first emperor to persecute the Jesus movement. According to early Christian writers, both Peter and Paul were put to death in the reign of Nero.
‘Publicly announcing himself as the chief enemy of God, Nero was led on in his fury to slaughter the apostles. Paul is said to have been beheaded at Rome, and Peter to have been crucified under him. This account is confirmed by the fact that the names of Peter and Paul remain in the cemeteries of that city even to this day.’ Eusebius of Caesarea, 4th century
The Leaning Tower of Pisa reopened today in 2001, following eight years and 30 million Euros of engineering work to stop it falling over. The 12th century tower, which now tilts at an acceptable angle of 3.97 degrees, was declared safe for tourists taking selfies for at least another 300 years.
Sergius I became Pope today in the year 687. Five years into his time as Pope, he was furious when no one sent him an invitation to attend an important Church council (the Quinisext Council) in Constantinople. To make things worse, once the council had finished, he was sent its canons (rulings) and told to obey them. One of them, canon 82, said it was forbidden from now on to make images showing Christ as a lamb. Sergius retaliated liturgically. He added a new chant to the Mass, the Agnus Dei, which specifically draws attention to the lamb of God, and which is still in the communion service over 1,300 years later.
Lamb of God,
you take away the sin of the world,
have mercy on us.
Lamb of God,
you take away the sin of the world,
have mercy on us.
Lamb of God,
you take away the sin of the world,
grant us peace.
Agnus Dei
Image: O’Dea / CC BY-SA 4.0