# Will the world end on May 21, 2011? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [May 11, 2011, 5:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-world-end-on-may-21-2011/581485 "2011-05-11T05:36:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![graceful1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c67d28/32.png) [@graceful1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/graceful1)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2011, 5:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-world-end-on-may-21-2011/581485/1 "2011-05-11T05:36:59Z")
I am sure that everyone here has heard of Harold Camping’s prediction that the world will end on May 21 of this year. Perhaps you’ve seen one of his billboards. Basically, he has come up with this prediction through a sort of numerological calculus of certain parts of the Bible. A [Wikipedia article](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2011_end_times_prediction) summarizes this; and if you care to search the Web you’ll see other explanations. So, what do you think? I would like to hear from people who believe in God and/or practice Christianity as well as from people who don’t. I am quite new to this forum and a little nervous about even posing this question. You may think I’m a fool for even asking this, but the whole business is getting quite disturbing, and I would like to hear some intelligent discussion, not simply dismissing Camping as an imbecile or Christians as deluded in general. 😕 -g. ---
**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2011, 5:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-world-end-on-may-21-2011/581485/2 "2011-05-11T05:40:26Z")
If it is going to happen, I’m _glad._ If the stuff predicted in the Bible actually comes true, that means that magic is real, and that’s badass. ---
**Author:** ![Sandwich](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/22d042/32.png) [@Sandwich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sandwich)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2011, 6:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-world-end-on-may-21-2011/581485/3 "2011-05-11T06:03:09Z")
Regrettably, he made a simple error in his analysis. The world will end on 21 May _20011_. Which makes quite a difference in practice. All due respect to the bloke for getting as far as he did though. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2011, 6:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-world-end-on-may-21-2011/581485/4 "2011-05-11T06:07:33Z")
> [@graceful1](#): > > I am sure that everyone here has heard of Harold Camping’s prediction that the world will end on May 21 of this year I hadn’t, but I’m sure by May 22 my ignorance will be proven rational. ---
**Author:** ![chacoguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/50afbb/32.png) [@chacoguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chacoguy)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2011, 6:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-world-end-on-may-21-2011/581485/5 "2011-05-11T06:18:40Z")
According to my DnD manual, the Pantheon of Mayan Gods is far more powerful. ---
**Author:** ![graceful1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c67d28/32.png) [@graceful1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/graceful1)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2011, 6:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-world-end-on-may-21-2011/581485/6 "2011-05-11T06:25:03Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > I hadn’t, but I’m sure by May 22 my ignorance will be proven rational. Until such time as you are vindicated, here is more information from HuffPost if you are curious. There is really quite a movement behind this: [May 21, 2011: Judgment Day Rumors Spread Across The US](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/01/04/may-21-2011-judgment-day_n_804166.html) More info here, too, about [Doomsday campers who travel the country preaching the Apocalypse](http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1363837/Doomsday-campers-Project-Caravan-say-world-end-May-21.html) ---
**Author:** ![graceful1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c67d28/32.png) [@graceful1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/graceful1)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2011, 6:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-world-end-on-may-21-2011/581485/7 "2011-05-11T06:26:47Z")
> [@Sandwich](#): > > Regrettably, he made a simple error in his analysis. The world will end on 21 May _20011_. Which makes quite a difference in practice. All due respect to the bloke for getting as far as he did though. What simple error is that? ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2011, 6:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-world-end-on-may-21-2011/581485/8 "2011-05-11T06:31:53Z")
Anyone who seriously believes the world will end in ten days can find better uses for their time than posting on message boards. ---
**Author:** ![Cunctator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/43a26b/32.png) [@Cunctator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cunctator)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2011, 6:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-world-end-on-may-21-2011/581485/9 "2011-05-11T06:41:52Z")
Is this related to the rumour of [an earthquake in Rome today](http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/breaking-news/italy-debunks-rome-quake-rumours/story-fn3dxity-1226054097136)? ---
**Author:** ![graceful1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c67d28/32.png) [@graceful1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/graceful1)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2011, 6:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-world-end-on-may-21-2011/581485/10 "2011-05-11T06:42:32Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > Anyone who seriously believes the world will end in ten days can find better uses for their time than posting on message boards. That’s a rather sneaky way to present an _ad hominem_ argument, which I understand is not allowed here in this forum. Moreover, I did not say that I seriously believe it or that I seriously do not believe it. I simply am curious about what people think. But this isn’t about me. Here’s what’s important: There _are_ people who seriously believe it, and there are a lot of them, and they are vocal, and the effect they are having on others is not trivial. In a previous message to this thread, I post two links to this effect. -Grace ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2011, 6:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-world-end-on-may-21-2011/581485/11 "2011-05-11T06:46:32Z")
> [@graceful1](#): > > You may think I’m a fool for even asking this, but the whole business is getting quite disturbing, and I would like to hear some intelligent discussion, not simply dismissing Camping as an imbecile or Christians as deluded in general. > > 😕 -g. You know that Camping also said that the world would end in 1994, right? It didn’t. Doomsday prophecies in Christianity aren’t new. Since the beginning of Christianity, almost, you’ve had people predicting the world would end on such and such a date. They’ve all been wrong. If you give me a year, I can probably work something out using the bible to predict the end of the world in that year. Just because someone says the world is going to end doesn’t mean you have to believe them. ---
**Author:** ![graceful1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c67d28/32.png) [@graceful1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/graceful1)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2011, 6:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-world-end-on-may-21-2011/581485/12 "2011-05-11T06:54:25Z")
> [@Captain\_Amazing](#): > > You know that Camping also said that the world would end in 1994, right? It didn’t. Doomsday prophecies in Christianity aren’t new. Since the beginning of Christianity, almost, you’ve had people predicting the world would end on such and such a date. They’ve all been wrong. If you give me a year, I can probably work something out using the bible to predict the end of the world in that year. Just because someone says the world is going to end doesn’t mean you have to believe them. Oh yes, I know about his earlier prediction. So do all the people who are riding around in caravans spreading the news about the Apocalypse. So what it is about THIS prediction that has enthralled so many people? And I mean, you need to read what Camping says to understand this. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2011, 6:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-world-end-on-may-21-2011/581485/13 "2011-05-11T06:58:48Z")
> [@graceful1](#): > > I simply am curious about what people think. But this isn’t about me. Then you asked a disingenuous question with your thread title. The only thing disturbing about the phenomenon is the number of fruitcakes who believe it. > [@](#): > > **Will the world end on May 21, 2011?** No. ---
**Author:** ![matt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@matt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2011, 7:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-world-end-on-may-21-2011/581485/14 "2011-05-11T07:08:18Z")
A common theme in Apocalyptic prediction is that there will be a series of disasters to foretell the coming End. Various big earthquakes and floods and the Fukushima reactor leaks and the global financial crisis have all primed the world’s for this particular prediction. To put it simply, we’re in the mood The world won’t come to an end on May 21st and a lot of people are going to be dissapointed about that. ---
**Author:** ![Simplicio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c37758/32.png) [@Simplicio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simplicio)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2011, 7:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-world-end-on-may-21-2011/581485/15 "2011-05-11T07:15:47Z")
> [@graceful1](#): > > Oh yes, I know about his earlier prediction. So do all the people who are riding around in caravans spreading the news about the Apocalypse. So what it is about THIS prediction that has enthralled so many people? And I mean, you need to read what Camping says to understand this. I don’t think its THIS prediction, I think the same sorts of people get enthralled by pretty much ALL similar predictions. I’d pretty much guarantee that some of the same people were worked up about the prediction in 1994, and that when the world continues to exist after this year, they’ll still manage to get worked up about the next one. ---
**Author:** ![ushimitsudoki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/e9a140/32.png) [@ushimitsudoki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ushimitsudoki)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2011, 7:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-world-end-on-may-21-2011/581485/16 "2011-05-11T07:23:42Z")
If one honestly thinks that the world will end on May 21, I encourage you to sign over your bank accounts and real property to me, effective May 22. No takers? Q.E.D. ---
**Author:** ![Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/f04885/32.png) [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qin_Shi_Huangdi)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2011, 8:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-world-end-on-may-21-2011/581485/17 "2011-05-11T08:33:02Z")
No, Christ Himself said no man knows the day or hour. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2011, 8:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-world-end-on-may-21-2011/581485/18 "2011-05-11T08:38:51Z")
> [@graceful1](#): > > Until such time as you are vindicated, here is more information from HuffPost if you are curious. There is really quite a movement behind this: > > [May 21, 2011: Judgment Day Rumors Spread Across The US](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/01/04/may-21-2011-judgment-day_n_804166.html) The Huffington Post? You mean, the web site that publishes ‘serious’ articles by Deepak Chopra? It’s like the National Enquirer of web sites when it comes to pseudo-science and new-agey crap. ---
**Author:** ![Otara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a88e4f/32.png) [@Otara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otara)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2011, 8:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-world-end-on-may-21-2011/581485/19 "2011-05-11T08:50:59Z")
You have to believe in the bible as literal truth for there to be any point in examining his claims. So I dont really see the point in asking non-believers to comment on him specifically, or read his claims, other than as a conversion attempt. Otara ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2011, 9:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-world-end-on-may-21-2011/581485/20 "2011-05-11T09:18:53Z")
How many people actually take that prediction seriously? Enough to get on the news… but my mind just can’t conceive of more than 0.1% of the US population actually believing it. Or at least I really, really hope more Americans are not that gullible. Of course, 0.1% of the US population would be like 300,000—more than enough to make the news, although it’s kind of disturbing to imagine even that many people going for it. Also, the media and the public like to hear of weirdness, if only to point and laugh. Let me revise that… I seriously hope it isn’t as much as 0.01%. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-world-end-on-may-21-2011/581485.md?page=2)