By Shelley Smith
ssmith@salisburypost.com
Some are ready, some think it’s a hoax and some are clueless about 89-year-old Harold Camping’s advertising campaign that everyone on Earth now has less than 24 hours to prepare for Judgment Day, and the Armageddon that follows.
Camping, who founded Family Radio Worldwide, has spent years preparing for May 21, and has spread the day of reckoning across the globe, hoping folks are prepared.
He says he’s calculated the exact date, even though his prior 1994 prediction didn’t pan out. Now he says he believes “beyond the shadow of a doubt,” May 21 will be the “date of rapture and the day of judgment.”
But the majority of Rowan County residents polled by the Post don’t buy it, including Cornerstone Church Pastor Bill Godair and Mt. Zion Missionary Baptist Church Pastor Dr. Nilous Avery, and are disheartened to hear that anyone believes Camping.
“I’m afraid that sometimes there might be people who are misguided, or people who are in fear of predictions like that,” Avery said. “The Bible actually says that no one knows when that time is going to appear, and that’s what I believe in.”
Avery and Godair both said Judgment Day has been predicted before, and life has gone on.
“No one knows when it’s going to happen,” Avery said. “It may happen today, may happen tomorrow, but it may not happen on the 21st.”
Godair says Camping gives Christians a bad reputation.
“Those kinds of people are really sad,” he said. “It’s a waste of time and energy, and then it makes people who are already skeptical think Christianity isn’t right. A lot of negativity goes with it.”
However, Godair said he’s ready for Jesus to come back and hopes Camping is right.
“To be honest with you, I wish it would happen,” he said. “I think eternity in Heaven would be totally cool. That’s what we’re all striving for.
“If Jesus comes back, great, if not, we’re going to keep on keeping on.”
Rowan County Sheriff Kevin Auten said his life will continue Saturday as he attends South Salisbury Fire Department’s 60th anniversary celebration and a church event Sunday for EMS personnel. And business at the Sheriff’s Office will go on as usual for all officers Saturday and Sunday.
“I will be close by in case things would go astray, but we haven’t made any plans or changes at this time,” Auten said.
Auten said the Sheriff’s Office hadn’t received any calls from concerned residents of the county, but he had spoken to Lt. Chad Moose about the possibility of Armageddon. Detective John Brindle said he hadn’t heard of the predicted Armageddon, and didn’t know what to think of it.
Rowan County EMS Division Chief Lennie Cooper said the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention sent out a press release Thursday giving tips and operational duties for local emergency services should a zombie apocalypse — or a hurricane or other disaster — happen. Cooper said he is not expecting Armageddon, and Rowan EMS will be operating “as usual” over the weekend.
Salisbury residents don’t seem to be too scared, though.
Clyde (Overcash) said he “can’t wait.”
“Or I guess I could hardly wait,” he said. “But I guess we’ll wait and see what happens.”
His friend Luther Sowers said he hadn’t even heard about it, but he had heard about the Aztec and Incan predictions of the end of the world.
“There are a lot of people who are fools who would believe about anything,” he said. “Then you’ve got Jim Jones that had all of his flock taking poison Kool Aid, and you’ve got nuts all the time.”
Sowers said there are parts of the world that could come to an end, and “it wouldn’t bother me too much,” he said, “but I don’t know how selective you can be about the end of the world, I think it would rather be, in its true form, rather collective of everything.”
He says he thinks it’s “just another scam.”
“I know people who still have 55-gallon drums of gasoline that they bought for the millenium that’s turned to useless paint, and still eating canned goods that are out of date,” he said.
Nichole Wilks also compared Camping’s proclamation to Y2K.
“I don’t believe it’s going to happen,” she said. “I believe that the Biblical prophecies are going to be fulfilled, but there’s no way to tell when the end of the world will be coming, so I don’t believe in it.”
And for those who are worried about what will happen to their valuables, Allen Jones said he’d gladly take them off their hands.
“Because I’m pretty sure I’ll still be around after Saturday,” he said.
For the city of Salisbury, business will carry on, city officials say, and the rest of the county is sure to do the same.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
What they’re saying on Facebook
What the Facebook friends of Post reporter Shelley Smith said Thursday about the predicted Judgment Day:
• Jonathan Garrigues: “I think when I’m drinking coffee and watching the news before work on Monday, Harold Camping is going to feel like an idiot.”
• Kristin Beaver: “The Bible says no one will know the day nor the hour of the Lord’s return. I’d say read your Bible!”
• Patsy Koon: “Every day in our lives is a Judgment Day.”
• Glen Yost: “Nobody, not the angels, nor the Son knows when, only God knows, and the Bible warns of listening to false prophets.
“But the prophecies the Bible speaks of are happening in our generation, and it says this generation shall not pass so probably not the 21st but we could see it sometime.
“Be kinda cool to actually see Jesus show up.”
• Todd Paris: “It always amazes me. People get so self important to think that another generation will not be given a chance. I thought ‘the coming’?is supposed to be ‘like a thief in the night.’ I’m still paying my bills Friday.”
CDC tips
The Centers for Disease Control?offered tips Thursday to local emergency officials for a zombie apocalypse and any other disaster:
• Have an emergency kit: water, food, medications, tools, sanitation and hygiene items, clothing and bedding, important documents and first aid supplies
• Identify the types of emergencies in your area. Besides a zombie apocalypse, this may include floods, tornadoes or earthquakes.
• Pick a meeting place for your family to regroup in case zombies invade your home, or your town evacuates because of a hurricane.
• Identify emergency contacts.
• Plan your evacuation route. When zombies are hungry they won’t stop until they get food, which means you need to get out of town fast!
• If zombies did start roaming the streets, CDC would conduct an investigation much like any other disease outbreak. CDC?would provide technical assistance to cities, states or international partners dealing with a zombie infestation.
To learn more about preparing for an apocalypse or other disaster, visit www. cdc.gov.