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Harold Camping Repents of False Teaching?

The Christian Post has a headline reading, “Family Radio Founder Harold Camping Repents, Apologizes for False Teachings.” I just read a transcript of Camping’s remarks, but I did not see any repentance there. The closest thing appears in the second to last paragraph of Camping’s statement, but the words are kind of muddled. In any case, it doesn’t sound “repentant” of the repeated false predictions that Camping has made. In Camping’s own words:

Incidentally, I have been told that I said back in May that people who did not believe that May 21 should not be the rapture date, probably had not been saved. I should not have said that, and I apologize for that.

In my view, The Christian Post may have overstated what Camping actually said. Read the rest here. I think the real significance of what is happening with Camping is summed up in the Time magazine headline: “Harold Camping’s Family Radio Pulls Doomsday Predictions from Website.” That is significant, but it still doesn’t amount to a renunciation of the theological error that Camping has been promoting for many years.

7 Comments

  • Matt Privett

    The willingness of many to accept what amounts to the bare minimum when it comes to repentance is an affront to the glory and holiness of God. I agree that there the quote given does not come close what constitutes the kind of repentance we find in the Scriptures.

  • Dan Phillips

    Too many Christians don’t get what repentance actually is, what it involves. “Repentance” that doesn’t involve mortification of the sin, bridge-burning and attempts at restitution, isn’t really repentance.

    Camping says “I have been told that I said back in May…” He’s “been told” that? He doesn’t remember it? I would think that (for instance), if I said that anyone who disagrees with my appendix on Prov. 22:6 is probably unsaved (–which I don’t), I would think I’d remember that!

    I don’t see repentance. I just see, “Wow, well, who knew? Oh, well, God is sovereign. I’m still studying, and seeing new stuff in Scripture.” Sounds more like we can expect more predictions, more false teaching.

    He needed to say something more like “I have badly mishandled the Word of God in many ways, and that is a serious offense. I have ruined people’s lives and harmed the church of Christ. I have shamed Christ’s name. I am repenting, I am withdrawing from Bible teaching. I am immediately halting distribution of my literature. I will put myself under the leadership and discipline of a sound, Bible-teaching local church fellowship.”

    What Camping says here is nothing laid against the scope of what he did. It’s as if Joseph Smith said, “I’ve been told that I said we can be as God, and that I added books to the Bible and said the whole church was corrupt. But you know… coffee’s a pretty good drink. I apologize for that bit about coffee.”

    More related thoughts here.

  • Mike429

    Of course, Stan is right. They pushed the May 21 deadline for salvation to get maximum urgency into people for donations up to that point, but must now change their line to get more donations — since it’s always been the excuse for asking for money, “preach the gospel to save souls”. Camping will always take whatever line makes most money for Family Radio.

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