Fascinating read, well-written!

The moment you mentioned Camping, I had some idea where it was going — and I winced for you. Luckily, you got off better than some — still, it sounds hard.

The classic book on this issue is When Prophecy Fails (Festinger, Riecken, Schachter) where social psychologists went undercover to study an apocalyptic UFO cult that predicted a world-destroying flood on December 21, 1954.

Professional ethics have changed in psychology since then and this book would be impossible today, but it’s a really good read (and the writers do not come off as heartless).

Ah, I know this is none of my business, but I am curious — did this experience put you off the idea of religion for once and for all? Or did you go on to some other religious belief?

I’m hope I’m not too blunt if I say that to me, the only difference between Family Radio and other religious groups is that Camping made the fatal mistake of making specific predictions with a specific date in the future.