If the Rapture were to actually happen, wouldn't it be something of a double-edged sword?

Yep, lots of drunken fornicating. It'd be great. But I don't see why it would be embarassing. If all us atheists are so convinced that God doesn't exist, why would we change our minds and want to go to heaven? It would still be awful up there for us. I mean, I wouldn't want to hang out with fundamentalists like Pat Robertson for the rest of eternity.

First of all, you're assuming that the people who claim to be "living the teachings of Christ" are actually, in fact, doing so, and that the Rapture, if it happened, would include them. A careful comparison of the actual teachings of Christ, even allowing for the editing and revisions found in our modern Bibles, with the words and behavior of the Churches and the Political Parties of the people to whom you refer, as well as of the behavior of the people themselves, make that extremely questionable. Do you honestly think Jesus, if He is the kind of Divinity He's portrayed, would embrace totally unrepentant bigots, liars, hypocrites, thieves, murderers as His own simply because they sinned in His name? Would he not be even more annoyed that they heard His message and used it for their own glory rather than His Fathers?

You should also remember that after the Rapture salvation is still possible, it just means you have to embrace the faith and hold it through the tribulation. The reason the Rapture was invented in the first place was to support claims that belonging to the right Church got you an exemption from the Final Exam, which is to say, True Christians save themselves at the first opportunity and to H*ll (literally) with everyone else, even if it's their own children. The idea only goes back to the Powerscourt Conference of 1832, when it was proposed by a defrocked Anglican Clergyman named John Nelson Darby (1800-1882). It was not even included in the teachings of any established Churches until the 20th century when it was included by evangelist William Eugene Blackstone in his book "Jesus is Coming", pub. 1908, and in the "Schofield Reference Bible" pub. 1909. It's still not accepted by the Roman and Eastern Orthodox Churches or Coptics, being largely restricted to the Fundamentalists.

As to the drunken fornicating, if the Rapture occurred, thus providing absolute proof of the Fundamentalist teachings, and you still failed to act on that knowledge you would deserve what you'd get. Personally, being Pagan, I don't worry about it since I don't believe there's anything to it.

You seem to miss my point, Nic. I wasn't attempting to address the validity of the Rapture, that's a matter of personal belief, but if Darby's vision of the Rapture is correct only people who subscribe to his Theology would be effected, devout and good people of all other religions, Buddhists, Hindus, Pagans, Muslims, Roman Catholics, Eastern Orthodox, even the Amish, would be left behind. Do you really think those people would change their behavior or the beliefs they've held all their lives? I would submit that people who were given to the behaviors you describe would continue with them while those who are not would continue to act as they always have, so no real change to society would occur.

It's not going to happen some rapture believers think they are going to go to heaven have this huge party up in heaven with past loved ones and God while the rest of humanity takes the brunt of world war 3 and 7 years of nastiness from the antichrist it doesn't work that way.

People left on earth after the rapture will believe whatever the democrats tell them.

That's just three and a half years of drunkenness. The rest will be spent hoping for death.

Yes but a lot of people who believe in the Rapture are actually not good people, and even though they judge others, they will be judged by their higher being, who may not see them as good people, so I have a feeling we'd still be stuck with a lot of them ... if any of this was true and would actually happen.

Rapture? Really? This scripture seems to state the opposite will happen.

Proverbs 2:21 "For the upright are the ones that will reside in the earth, and the blameless are the ones that will be left over in it. 22 As regards the wicked, they will be cut off from the very earth; and as for the treacherous, they will be torn away from it."

No; for after the Church is Raptured ,comes seven years of

Tribulation in the world.

the Rapture is actually folk religion. I would be shocked. But you would still have the fundys that don't really follow the teachings of Christ.

I wouldn't be embarrassed at all.

I've been wrong or misinformed about plenty of stuff before; and when it was demonstrated to me, I owned up to my misjudgment, incorporated that new knowledge to my repertoire, and moved forward.

Way to look on the bright side...