I’m thankful that I was not brought up with the nonsense about the rapture (which is weird because I grew up in the Exclusive Plymouth Brethren until the age of 9, and it was apparently the founder of the Plymouth Brethren, JN Darby, who popularized the concept of the rapture, along with dispensationalist theology). But I recognize that it is still traumatic to think about for a lot of people.

John Beckett has written a helpful post on Facebook:

According to someone – I didn’t bother looking up who – the Christian Rapture was supposed to happen on Tuesday. As always, it didn’t. And it never will.

I was taught that the earliest Christians expected the Rapture in their lifetime, but that was simply wrong. The whole concept is a 19th century American invention. It’s bad Christianity: Catholics, Eastern Orthodox, and most Mainline Protestants reject the concept. It’s worse from any other religious perspective.

It scared the hell out of me as a kid. Even today, I can’t make Rapture jokes. Not because part of me still believes it will happen, or that it might happen. Rather, even joking about the Rapture brings back memories of being threatened with being “left behind” and eventually ending up in hell.

As we continue exorcising toxic religion from our souls, it’s important to separate memories of past fears from current fears. They often feel the same, but they represent different points on our healing journey. Current fears need to be unpacked and actively attacked. Memories of past fears need to be acknowledged as such, and then we recommit to following our new path as deeply as we can. We can’t eliminate bad memories, but we can overwhelm them with good memories – especially the good memories we’re making now.

The rapture certainly is bad theology. Anything that condemns people based on what they believe about a guy who possibly never even existed is wrong.

Speculating about when the rapture is supposed to happen is also bad, even within the Christian tradition, as the Bible clearly states “But concerning that day and hour  no-one knows, not even the angels of heaven,   nor the Son, but the Father only.” (Matthew 24:36)

If you need to start deconstructing your baggage from Christianity or other high control religions, do check out my book Changing Paths.