Rapture Follow Up-What Happens When Things Don’t Work Out as Planned

In follow up to last Saturday’s post on the Rapture and Millerites, it’s now a week later and Harold Camping’s prophecy was as accurate as William Miller’s in 1844-nothing happened. So what is the relevance for people with chronic conditions?

There are several things that strike a cord with me about this situation: People with chronic disease are often fearful and thinking of “worse case scenarios” makes them very vulnerable to medical sales pitches. This is similar to religious fundamentalism, where fear lies at the heart of many of these groups.

When the plan fails- May 22 arrived with no rapture, the “miracle cure” produces no cure-what does one do?

In the case of the followers of Miller, there were three common practices after the “Great Disappointment”: they went back to their original churches and lives; they continued on with Miller, believing the next rapture date; or they rationalized the events. In the case of a Millerite named Hiram Edson, he became convinced that what was meant by Daniel 8:14, (that section of the bible Miller used for selecting his rapture date) was actually Christ's entrance into the second chamber of his sanctuary (in 1843-44) to examine the lives of all mortals living and dead. This "investigative judgment," said Edson, when completed, the great day of the Second Coming would dawn. Ultimately, this belief became the foundation for the Seventh Day Adventists.

What happened to the Millerites, and now the followers of Camping, isn’t all that different than what happens to people who engage in a health practice, which they are sure is “going to work” and provides no benefit- they go back to previous health practices; continue to believe that it will work, even though the evidence doesn’t support it; and/or rationalize why it is helping them form a new approach to their treatment plan. Fortunately, the situations aren’t completely identical, as sometimes treatments do provide significant relief, even if it’s just the placebo effect.

Last week’s events are once again a reminder that fearful people can be very vulnerable to someone who is charismatic and has a message that may resonant with us. So some “take home” points from these last few weeks:

• Keep fear in check: We are not at our best making decisions when we come from a place of fear. This will be the focus of next week’s post.

• Know how to recognize a scam-the quick way is if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is and if they tell you there is a cure for a condition, such as AIDS, when no cure has been found.

• Focus on well being versus the elusive cure.