Harold camping admits to being wrong.

[Weston Stoler]

We realize that many people are hoping they will know the date of Christ's return. In fact for a time Family Radio fell into that kind of thinking. But we now realize that those people who were calling our attention to the Bible's statement that "of that day and hour knoweth no man" (Matthew 24:36 & Mark 13:32), were right in their understanding of those verses and Family Radio was wrong. Whether God will ever give us any indication of the date of His return is hidden in God's divine plan.

Harold Camping Admits He's Wrong About Doomsday Predictions (FULL STATEMENT), Christian News

What do ya know.

 

[Unoriginalname]

Only took him 10 months

 

[Jack K]

Yet he takes credit for people paying more attention to the Bible in the past year. Hmmm. It's hard to know how to take it. My gut reaction is that I'd like to see still more contrition.

But I suppose any repentance is a good thing. None of us repents as fully as we should right away. And it's true that God will use Mr. Camping's false predictions and turn them to good for the church.

 

[Rich Koster]

in my opinion, he should give up teaching, anyway. He has failed to repent of the false teaching that the Church age is over and every true believer should leave their congregation and look to Family Radio for teaching and fellowship. The date setting apology is only dealing with part of the problem.

 

[Semper Fidelis]

When he repents of his other heretical view about the end of the Church age then we'll be getting somewhere.

 

[Alan D. Strange]

This man is an apostate who has rejected the visible church: remember the "depart out" campaign? This is what he ought most to be repenting of--rejecting the visible church. He has specifically and repeatedly said that since the Spirit left the church more than twenty years ago, whatever has appeared to be the work of the Spirit has been the work of Satan and there is no presence or work of the Spirit in the visible church (all of this happened, according to him, in 1988 and, at the latest, 1994). He has been rejecting and encouraging all of his listeners to reject the visible church for a long time, outside of which there is no ordinary possibility of salvation.

The lack even in this expression of repentance for naming a date is that is not for HC to say what God uses with respect to his serious course of sin for many years and how He uses it. He ought to be utterly silent with respect to that. If naming a date for the return of Christ were his only transgression that would be comparatively minor.

With respect to this sin of giving a date for Christ's return, he ought to confess particularly how his campaign induced certain of his supporters to economic ruin, seek their forgiveness and do what he can to make restitution to all of them. He ought to return monies to those who gave and then close up shop or turn the stations over to those who have not proven themselves to be so interpretationally incompetent. I don't know on what basis all those at Family Radio believe themselves competent to continue what they are doing.

I am sorry to say it but this seems simply like what the folk at FR realize must be done if they are to continue. So much here falls short of the repentance needed. It will prove itself true if it truly deepens particularly with HC confessing his horrible attack on the visible church. This ministry has commited one sin after the other over the course of the last two decades and more.

Peace,
Alan

 

[Rich Koster]

It seems that we agree that a heretic, who only repents of part of his heresies, is still a heretic.

 

[Alan D. Strange]

Rich:

I've published a couple of pieces on HC over the years and it's forced me to think: is he merely a heretic? That might seem like an odd question, but see if this makes sense: a heretic does not leave, or profess to leave, or reject, the visible church. A heretic makes serious doctrinal error. But he thinks he is right and insists that he should remain in the visible church. He is put out of the visible church because of his damnable error. HC was not put out. He "departed out" and calls on others to do the same.

Whatever heresy is there, and there certainly is that, HC seems to me like an apostate additionally, an apostate being someone who leaves the faith altogether. I suppose that one could argue, in one sense, that he's a heretic because he does not believe, or profess to believe, that he's left the faith. He still says he's a Christian. But WCF 25.2 says to one consciously and willfully outside the visible church that there is no ordinary possibility of salvation. So in one sense it makes sense to me to call him not merely a heretic but also an apostate, as he has consciously and willfully left the visible church and made a career of urging others to do the same.

I thought that it might help to explain my use of that word.

Peace,
Alan

 

[Zach]

I'm with Eric in that it took him long enough to admit he was wrong about the date. As others have said, it is a shame he hasn't repented of other serious errors. I knew someone who was under the influence of his teaching for awhile and I can only hope that the Lord has brought him out from under it.

 

[Rich Koster]

Rich:

I've published a couple of pieces on HC over the years and it's forced me to think: is he merely a heretic? That might seem like an odd question, but see if this makes sense: a heretic does not leave, or profess to leave, or reject, the visible church. A heretic makes serious doctrinal error. But he thinks he is right and insists that he should remain in the visible church. He is put out of the visible church because of his damnable error. HC was not put out. He "departed out" and calls on others to do the same.

Whatever heresy is there, and there certainly is that, HC seems to me like an apostate additionally, an apostate being someone who leaves the faith altogether. I suppose that one could argue, in one sense, that he's a heretic because he does not believe, or profess to believe, that he's left the faith. He still says he's a Christian. But WCF 25.2 says to one consciously and willfully outside the visible church that there is no ordinary possibility of salvation. So in one sense it makes sense to me to call him not merely a heretic but also an apostate, as he has consciously and willfully left the visible church and made a career of urging others to do the same.

I thought that it might help to explain my use of that word.

Peace,
Alan

In any case, we shouldn't listen to him. I know we're agreed on that issue. The strange twist is that he claims that his fellowship IS the visible church, and the rest are apostate. I see the nuance, but would rather stick to the "ignore him" clause (false prophet/teacher) than arguing the extra mile, especially while some of us may have to pull some of his deceived followers out of the wreckage. My only concern about further branding HC, is for the deceived sheople, not his image.

 

[Tripel]

I appreciate that he admitted his fault and even labeled it sin. I didn't expect that from him.

 

[BobVigneault]

Josh, how can he submit to a greater authority unless you grant him approval to join the Puritan Board. By "greater authority", you WERE speaking of the PB Admins, right? (Otherwise known as the Puritan Boardisterium.)

Alan, I always love your Strange responses. You are a blessing, sir.

 

[Curt]

I wonder if he plans to make good on everything lost by those who campaigned for him, sold everything, and lost everything.

 

[MarieP]

Only took him 10 months

I don't think the length of time it took really is the issue. While definitely not as far out as Camping's sins, there's been some things it took me longer than it should have for which to repent.

Like Tripel, I too was surprised at his language of sin and repentance. Sure, he needs to repent of his hatred of the church (which probably is the worse of the two). But he repented for this- if it's genuine, perhaps God will grant repentance on the other!

As for him being an unrepentable (is that a word?) apostate, I thought pretty much the same thing. But I'd love to be proven wrong...

 

[Gforce9]

Josh, how can he submit to a greater authority unless you grant him approval to join the Puritan Board. By "greater authority", you WERE speaking of the PB Admins, right? (Otherwise known as the Puritan Boardisterium.) But of course....

Alan, I always love your Strange responses. You are a blessing, sir. Most assuredly