世界末日也会迟到

世人仍在等待上帝的审判

ON MAY 16th the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, in an odd attempt at light-heartedness, published a brief guide to emergency preparedness in the event of a zombie invasion or other catastrophes. Useful advice, but zombies were far from anyone’s mind. America was girding for an even more serious event. Word had spread that the Rapture would take place on May 21st. There would be a horrible earthquake, and Jesus would take believers to heaven. Those left behind would suffer Armageddon, concluding with the earth’s total annihilation (scheduled for October).

5月16日，疾病控制和预防中心一反常态地打出“娱乐牌”，它发布了简短指南，指导人们在发生僵尸入侵或其他灾难的情况下，该如何做好应急准备。尽管建议很有用，但是有谁会相信僵尸存在呢？不过美国还是为更为严重的事件着手准备。5月21日为世界末日之说曾四处流传， 据说当日将发生可怕的地震，而耶稣将会把信徒带到天堂，那些剩下的人唯有面对善恶大决战的命运，到最后地球也将彻底毁灭（定于10月份）。
These predictions came from Harold Camping, the California-based founder and president of Family Radio, a national network of Christian radio stations. He argued that the world was in moral decline, with the widespread acceptance of gay marriage the clearest sign. His followers took the message to billboards and flyers. Some thoughtfully arranged for atheists to look after their pets.
这些预言的始作俑者为哈洛•肯宾，他是基督教全国广播网——家庭电台的创始人和总裁。他辩称这个世界道德沦丧，同性婚姻被广为接受就可作为明证。其信徒将消息发到广告招贴板上，并到处发放传单，其中一些内容还体贴入微地考虑到了无神论者该如何照看宠物的问题。

Mr Camping, who now says that the Rapture did occur, but invisibly, may be outside the mainstream, but the end-of-days is hardly a marginal obsession. A surprisingly large number of Americans are keenly interested in the subject. Several years ago, for example, the “Left Behind” books—a series of novels dramatising the tribulations of those not taken up to heaven—sold tens of millions of copies. And those who do not anticipate the Apocalypse may nevertheless subscribe to a dramatic view of God’s justice. Earlier this year a pastor in Michigan published a book questioning whether hell exists, triggering a fierce counter-attack from evangelicals.
如今肯宾先生却表示，世界末日确实发生了，只是无法看到，尽管这种说法可能不会成为主流，但是末日之说并非没有市场，对这个话题特别感兴趣的美国人可谓数量惊人。例如，几年前，“末日迷踪”一类的书籍（极力渲染那些没有升天者的苦难的系列小说）销量就达到千万之巨。然而，那些并未预感到世界末日的人们可能对上帝审判抱有极为不同的看法。今年初，密歇根州一名牧师就出版了一本书，对地狱是否存在的提出质疑，此举引发福音会教徒激烈反击。

In the run-up to the predicted Rapture, non-believers prepared for a field day. Some composed careful tableaux of empty clothing and abandoned dinners. On Facebook, more than 800,000 people signed up to attend post-Rapture looting parties.

在所预言的世界末日即将到来之时，那些无信仰者纷纷为户外活动做着准备。一些人为此精心创作了静物画，画面上有空空如也的衣服和弃置一旁的晚餐。在Facebook上，有超过80万人报名参加后末日打劫派对。

The scoffers proved correct. May 21st came and went with only the usual suffering of a day on earth. It was a lucky escape; the political and economic ramifications would have been severe. And it may be that the prospect of it led some people to reassess their morals, never a bad thing.
嘲笑者还是笑到了最后。5月21日这**我们的苦难一如既往。这真是一场胜利大逃亡啊，否则政治和经济后果简直不可想象。而且末日图景还可能让一些人对自己的道德重新进行评价，这绝不是什么坏事。

But if the world is to be judged it will not be on Mr Camping’s terms. Shortly after the Rapture failed to materialise, an interview appeared with Jim Daly, the president of Focus on the Family, probably America’s most powerful conservative Christian organisation. He noted that most of the younger generation favours gay marriage. “We’ve probably lost that,” he concluded. Heaven can wait.
但是即使世人要接受审判，也不会按照肯宾先生所述的方式。在世界末日被证实虚妄之后不久，美国可能**影响力的保守派基督教组织爱家协会会长吉姆•戴利在采访中提到，年轻一代的大多数人支持同性婚姻，他因此得出结论，“年轻一代可能已经迷失了”。世界末日还会远吗？