Sunday School Trivia Question, Indeed

Okay, so I occasionally get these emails from friends or family that some one should have taken the time to check out on Snopes.com, usually making wild claims about "forward this to 100 people and Microsoft has to pay you $10,000," or "don't drink canned drinks or you'll die from inhaling rat poo." I will usually check it out on Snopes and reply to the person who sent it to me with a gently tactful request that they do the same before sending things out in the future. Then I also get (at least 5 times a week) those "Tag - You've Been Hugged! Now send this to at least ten people and back to the person who sent it to you and something wonderful will happen....blah blah blah blah...." Regardless of the message, I never respond to the chain emails, and rarely forward anything myself - just the occasional joke, or perhaps some kind of legitimate warning, (but only after I've verified it with Snopes.)

Recently, I've gotten a couple of messages that have really concerned me, though. Both had to do with claims that Barrack Obama is the antichrist and that, if elected, the world is going to come to an end. Here's the most recent email I received:

"Please read and think about our lives and what we don't think will ever change. It certainly could. This will make you re-think : A Trivia question in Sunday School :How long is the beast allowed to have authority in Revelations ?Guess the Answer?Revelations Chapter 13 tells us it is 42 months, and you know what that is.Almost a four-year term to a Presidency.All I can say is Lord Have Mercy on us.!!!!!! According to The Book of Revelations the anti-Christ is: The anti-Christ willbe a man, in his 40's, of MUSLIM descent, who will deceive the nations withpersuasive language, and have a MASSIVE Christ-like appeal....the prophecy saysthat people will flock to him and he will promise false hope and world peace,and when he is in power, will destroy everything ..Is it OBAMA??I STRONGLY URGE each one of you to post this as many times asyou can! Each opportunity that you have to send it to a friend or media outlet...do it!I refuse to take a chance on this unknown candidate who came out of nowhere."

Okay, first of all, bad grammar, typos, and misspellings aside, the name of the book is "Revelation" not "Revelations." More specifically, it's "Revelation of Christ to John." Secondly, it's obvious that most of this is based on an extremely broad set of criteria. I mean, 42 months is 6 months less than a presidential term, so what one has to do with the other is beyond me. Third, and what concerns me the most, is that I got this from an acquaintance who sent it out to about 250 people. Which leads me to believe that this person (a) actually believed what they read and (b) felt they needed to tell every one in their address book about it. I have no problem with friends and family members being more religious or conservative than I am, but I also assume that most of them would think for themselves, or at least hesitate before broadcasting half-truths and speculation, regardless of which candidate they support. Anyway, I just couldn't take it. So this time I decided I had to answer back, and this is the reply that I sent, cc'ing it to everyone on my acquaintance's forwarding list:


"Here's another Sunday School trivia question: How will man be able to predict or determine the timing of the second coming?

Matthew 24: 36 No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.

Even if some of us had the gift of prophecy or were able to simply make an educated guess that Obama might be the antichrist, who are we to stand in the way of God's will? If you believe the prophecies of Revelation to be true and are convinced those things will inevitably come to pass, then urging people not to vote for someone is futile. The only thing you can do is to be sure you, yourself, are right with God, and encourage others you care about to do the same.

2 Thessalonians 2:1 Concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered to him, we ask you, brothers, not to become easily unsettled or alarmed by some prophecy, report or letter supposed to have come from us, saying that the day of the Lord has already come.

1 Corinthians 4:5 Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait till the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of men's hearts.

2 Timothy 4:1-2 In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge: Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage- with great patience and careful instruction.

I am certainly no religious expert, and, of course, had to google to find the scriptures quoted above. But it's my understanding based on my admittedly limited instruction in the Christian faith that if the events prophesied in the New Testament come to fruition, one would think that this "second" coming will be of a profound spiritual nature--the politics of individual nations, now or then, will be of little consequence.

I'm not saying that the upcoming election is of little consequence--it's very important to our lives here and now, and I hope you will vote as your conscience dictates. I'm just saying that I also hope people won't fall prey to the real sheep in wolves' clothing - political operatives who start these kinds of emails, using religion as a weapon to engender fear and to discourage critical thinking."

Where I Come From

Well, you can see I've fallen by the way-side on my paved super-highway to you-know-where, best intentions still weighing me down! And today, I'm not even posting my own words, but those of my husband, in honor of his birthday. He wrote this four years ago in response to an assignment at a summer workshop, and I think it's one of the most beautiful things I've ever read.

WHERE I COME FROM by John Howell

I am from a home that resonated with the arts like a deep chamber
full of harmonic voices and sounds,
Where magic was built into life from the beginning,
Where Christmas mornings shimmered with unexpected treasures.
The creative spark was nurtured in every soul as my parents listened to my hippie siblings playing their music with more than mere tolerance.

As I grew, I could explore a wide outdoor world on hot summer days,
a dog, my only companion. Imaginary worlds opened up
before my bare feet, and stories took shape in my inner life.

My home was an island in a calm, stagnant sea of lazy Southern complacency,
Where shallow pleasantness was meant to hide the crimes of the past,
Where nothing was to be learned that was not practical.
(And yet everything I learned was not practical.)

I have been back to treasure nostalgia, finding little to recognize, apart from home.
And even at home, the shadows are clearer that once were only small patches of coldness.
Our scars are revealed, but the flaws make us richer.

I have been to classes to learn about acting, and found the acting partner for the play of my life.
And I have sunk into her life and found another deep ocean where new families swim,
and new sparks light the skies around us.

I am going to a place, if there is one, where I can finally put thoughts and experiences
into weak words, without fear of their inadequacy.
I am going to a stage where the dramas performed are the stories of myself and my loved ones.
We have entertained each other for so long.

And to the children around me, I will pass on my favorite gift:
the delight of creation,
the thrill of connection,
the wonder of the music I have heard throughout my life.