Guess What, We're Still Here!

If I am writing this and if you're reading this, the world did not end on October 21, 2011. Harold Camping and Jesus had a lot in common, both of their prediction about the end of the world did not come true. Jesus supposedly said "Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and of my words in "this" adulterous and sinful generation; of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of his Father with the holy angels. And he said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That there be some of them that stand here, which shall not taste of death, till they have seen the kingdom of God come with power." i.e. Jesus was supposedly talking about to the "adulterous and sinful generation" who were alive when these words were spoken. Jesus predicted that some of his audience would be alive when the "Kingdom of God or Heaven" came with power. Mark 13:30-33: Jesus is recorded as saying: "....This generation shall not pass away, until all these things be accomplished....But of that day or that hour knoweth no one, not even the angels in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father. Take ye heed, watch and pray: for ye know not when the time is. I interpret this to mean he was not saying that it was not going to happen within the generation, but it was going to happen in "this generation" but no one knows the exact day or time but to be ready within this generation. A "generation" is normally a forty year period. If Jesus spoke those words circa 29 CE - 30 CE, then all of the events predicted in Mark 13:24-27 would have happened on or before 70 CE: "“But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; 25 the stars of heaven will fall, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken. 26 Then they will see the Son of Man coming in the clouds with great power and glory. 27 And then He will send His angels, and gather together His elect from the four winds, from the farthest part of earth to the farthest part of heaven." Sound a lot like Harold Camping prediction doesn't it, here's Mr. Camping words on May 24th, 2011 "The great earthquake and rapture and the universe melting in fervent heat will be happening on the last day – October 21 2011... It’s all going to happen on the last day...The great earthquake didn’t happen on May 21 because no-one will be able to survive it for more than a few days or let alone five months to suffer God’s wrath because everything will be leveled and destroyed after that earthquake and there will be no food or water to keep everyone alive." Yes Mr. Camping and Jesus have a lot in common they both are failed apocalyptic prophets. Think about it.

From Son of a Preacher man to Freethinker

How did I get to my views? I grew-up in a Pentecostal holiness church, my father (deceased) and mother were ministers (my mother still is). As most religious ideology begins, mine begin as a child. I attended church every Sunday, Wednesday, and whenever there was a revival or other function going on in the denomination I was in church. I accepted the bible as the "word of God", inerrant, infallible and literally true. I accepted the story of Adam and Eve, the fall of man, the flood and everything from Genesis to Revelation as absolute truth. I grew up with the idea of the imminent return of Jesus and so I felt there was no reason to plan for the future or be concern with educational goals, marriage, or planning for adulthood.
My transition started about 12 years ago. I was faithfully paying my tithes but was falling behind in my bills and so I ask the question, why does an invisible deity need 10% of my income? For those of you who don't know what tithes are it the belief that 10% of your income belongs to God, it was establish by the priest (Levites) in old testament times as their inheritance when the 12 tribes of Israel divide the conquered land of the Canaanites, the Levites did not get an inheritance of the land therefore the 11 other tribes were require to give them 10% of whatever their land produced(see Deuteronomy 26:12-15). This simple question started me on my metamorphosis from a bible carrying, speaking in tongues believer to a freethinker. With this question on my mind one day I was searching the internet and I came across an essay by Thomas Paine called the Age of Reason and this was the first time I saw someone critical of the bible and especially Christianity. I had read the bible through and through and I never thought about the atrocities that Jehovah, Moses, Abraham, David, Joshua, Elijah, Elisha, Sampson and others did in the Old Testament. I accepted it as the will of God. Then I thought about the Original Sin story of Adam and Eve and how ridiculous it appeared, that all of humanity was doom because two people were deceived by a talking snake.
Therefore if the doctrine of original sin is foolish so is the idea of atonement. Why do I feel the original sin and atonement is illogical? If I commit a crime, I don't expect my kids or grand kids to do my time of incarceration or to die in my place if the death sentence is required. I don't take the bible literally anymore it is just a compiled book with ancient Hebrews, Egyptians, Babylonians, and other near east mythologies. I do not consider myself an atheist nor am I theist, I am just a skeptical freethinker. If I am an atheist it would be in the sense that I don't see any evidence for a personal god or deity, but if there is an ultimate cause that is impersonal then this seems to be at the present something that is unknowable, how would I know if this isn't either a super-alien or a supernatural god, I don't know neither the hypothesis to test this nor even the question to ask to get to a hypothesis.
I would say as Socrates, I know that I don't know and this made him the wisest of men. My present belief can be summed up by Dr. W.E.B Du Bois reply to a priest: In 1948, a priest wrote to Dr. Du Bois asking him whether or not he believed in God. Dr. Du Bois replied: "Answering your letter of October 3, may I say: If by `a believer in God', you mean a belief in a person of vast power who consciously rules the universe for the good of mankind, I answer No; I cannot disprove this assumption, but I certainly see no proof to sustain such a belief, neither in History not in my personal experience. If on the other hand you mean by 'God' a vague Force which, in some incomprehensible [sic] way, dominates all life and change, then I answer, Yes; I recognize such Force, and if you wish to call it God, I do not object.