Windy Sydney

Okay, I have to admit that I have read the first three books of the Left Behind series. I actually really enjoyed them, and their... well, their imagination.

Anyway, the whole "Left Behind" thing plus the television show "Punked" have inspired a group of Christians to create "Prank 3:16." Thanks to Christian Nightmares for this link!

Apparently, the show producers go out of their way to convince a random fellow Christian that the rapture has taken place, and scare her into thinking she has been left behind by the Lord.



This really bothers me for some reason, and I can't really put my finger on it.

I just think that it's pretty sad to do this to someone who has devoted their life to living their religion. Yeah, I know it's a prank... I just think it's a pretty mean prank.

Kind of like those fake lottery tickets? I think thats pretty damned mean. Not funny at all. Think of the relief those people feel thinking they have won millions, and then the heartbreak that it wasn't real? That their money problems were not suddenly solved?

Next, this girl isn't a very good actress... and the host isn't that much better. I don't buy for one second that her reaction was real. The whole thing was planned ahead of time... including her. Maybe it's me.

What do you think?

What would you think if this was a REAL show?

Now, I have written about this before, but I feel the need to share the story one more time.

When I was in girls camp, we were asked out of our sleeping bags in the middle of the night one night, blindfolded, and told to follow a trail and hold onto a rope and not let go... no matter what. There were older girls from the staff trying to trick us into letting go of this rope, but I just wanted the exercise to be over with, so I held on. When I got to the end of the rope, there was a huge tree covered in white Christmas lights and the adults were all dressed in white.

I had followed the plan and held onto the rope and therefore I had made it to heaven. Lucky me. What happened to the other girls who let go? They were taken to a clearing and given a lecture about holding onto the gospel and following the Lord's plan no matter what... and how people will try to trick them into letting go of their "rope."

These girls were then given a second chance to follow the trail and join the rest of us in heaven, but when they got there they were crying and sad. They felt they were not good enough and even the older girls who had tricked them into letting go were sad... sad that they had been the ones to lead the younger girls "astray."

The next morning, at the sunrise testimony meeting, many of these girls who let go bore their testimony-tearfully mind you- that they had learned a valuable lesson. That they never knew when their time would be up, and that they had to hold onto the church and it's teachings at all time, or risk everything.

I think tricks and pranks like these are manipulative and really creepy. The experience I went through is burned into my mind forever... kind of like a movie. It was one of my very first WTF moments.

Andee