I was watching some clips from The God Movie, which Alice and I had recently been discussing in her comments, and I came across this amazing web-site, called the Rapture Letters. It's right out of a Tim LaHaye novel.

Here's how it works. People who have "lost" friends or loved ones (like me), who have just worn themselves out "witnessing" to us without ever seeing us budge, are invited to give this web-site our e-mail address. After the Rapture, when we will be torn between admitting our loved ones who have been called away were right or wrong, and falling for the "theories of some scientists and world leaders [which] will have
so much credibility that most of the world will believe them. ...[And which will] sound like the truth!", we will receive an e-mailed letter from our celestial dwelling loved ones. Actually, we will receive one every Friday for a while (presumably until the U.N. Secretary General/Antichrist shuts down the server - or the hosting bill goes unpaid for too long). The letter will be a final exhortation from beyond the grave firmament for us to get saved. Having recently witnessed our faithful spouse floating bodily out of their clothing, through the window, and into the sky to meet Jesus, we will be especially receptive to this message.

'Course there is a hitch. Yes, it's true. See, if I get the letter, I have no doubt that I will not have recently seen my faithful spouse floating naked through the window. In fact, I expect that when I turn around to tell her the news about the rapture, she'll be reacting to one 'G' of gravitional force in exactly the same way she always has - by sticking to the outermost solid surface there is between her and the center of the earth hard enough to require about 9.8 m/s/s * her mass in kilograms Newtons of exertion on her part or the part of another person or machine to unstick her.

And, if I get the letter, and my just-mentioned suspicions about the state of my wifes affairs is correct, then that just ruins everything for RaptureLetters.com.

It seems odd to me that someone out there is so convinced of the reality and imminence of the Rapture to set up a web-site like that - or even to submit someone's e-mail address to it. But, you know what - I am equally convinced of the unreality of the rapture. And, to demonstrate my confidence in the skeptical view, I am willing to put my money where my mouth is - so to speak.

If you are like me, you may have already asked yourself, "well, if the rapture occurs, who is going to send the e-mail? Are they going to lean down and click the button as they begin to float out the window?" No. they have a much more clever scheme cooked up. The web-site explains it succinctly:

How is this accomplished, you might ask. It's a dead man switch that will automatically send the emails when it is not reset.

Fun! So, if Scott doesn't reset the switch one Friday morning, because he was raptured - or because he got held over too late at the previous night's deliverance service - we get the e-mail. Now, Scott seems pretty bright - I think he would consider that contigency and probably would have a back-up plan in case he could not reset the switch one Friday for reasons more prosaic than the rapture. Maybe a friend, relative, or a deacon from his church will click in his place. So, chances are that the letters won't go out at all. Eventually, Scott will realize that he can no longer effectively maintain the web-site and be available for Friday morning resets. At that point, he will likely end the program that runs sends the letters and post a statement of regret for having to end the program. Or, he may pass it on to someone else with a little too much time on their hands.

But maybe - just maybe - for whatever reason - there will come a time while the web-site is still active, that the switch will go without being reset. Maybe it will be that the confederate whose turn it was to reset it will forget it was their week. Maybe it will be that someone will click the button and walk away from the computer, not noticing that their connection to the host machine was out. And we infidels will get to see our e-mail announcing the recent Rapture.

It's clear that Scott thinks the possibility that the rapture will occur while the web-site is operational is much, much stronger than the possibility that the e-mails will go out due to insufficient vigilance on the part of still-earthbound believers. And, maybe there are those among my believing readers, friends, or loved ones who agree with him. I personally have 100% confidence that, if I receive the e-mail, it will be for a reason other than the rapture. So, to those of y'all who are closer to Scott's view than mine - why don't you bet me?

Put my name & e-mail address in the box (if you don't have it, use the contact form to message me & I will provide it to you - and ask for yours in return if I don't already have it). Put your name in the "from" line, and click the box. If I receive the e-mail and you and your co-religionists are still around, I will forward it to you and you will be obligated to attend a Unitarian Universalist church for 4 weeks in a row. If you and a large number of your co-religionists have gone missing, then I'll pray the sinners' prayer and join the Tribulation Force. That would be a much bigger change for me than 4 consecutive weeks at the UU church would be for you, but I figure that's fair based on how I book the odds. I'm willing to put my money where my mouth is - are you?