That's actually a really good article. It pretty much says it like it is... these people believe what they believe, for whatever reason, but it isn't a fundamental part of Christianity, as most of us that may believe in the concept of God's followers being called out of the world at some point don't believe that it's the sort of thing you prepare for. That's missing the point. The point is to live the way you ought to regardless of whether you die of old age or in a car accident or being yanked out because it's time. You give, you try to love and understand people (this is something so many screw up, turning to judgments instead of explaining their viewpoint with compassion), and you try to live according to the principles you believe in. You do the best you can. That's it. It doesn't matter if the end of the world happens in your lifetime or doesn't.
But when it comes to Christianity, as it has always been when used as a political tool in ages past, or an excuse to wage war, or whatever, it's missing the point, and the modern church does an awful lot of that.
I don't pretend to be a great Christian. I know that I'm deficient in many ways, and even if I wasn't a religious person I'd feel the same way about a lot of my deficiencies, but that's not the point either. The point is to take care of those you love as best you can, to give to others, to uphold the ideals you have and be a source of compassion in the spirit you believe God has had compassion with you. There are plenty of entirely non-religious people who try to live up to those ideals as well. Most people would call it a conscience. And really, these people in all probability are trying to do the same thing. I don't agree with them, but at least give that chick enough credit to say that she's doing something unselfishly because she believes it and wants to help other people. That's not an easy thing to do in any capacity. Most of us don't have the balls to give up our lives for a cause, whether we believe it's our last one or the first of many.
Derision is an easy response. I'm all too familiar with it because I'm cynical and kind of a complete jerk more often than not, but sometimes I take a step back and realize that whether I believe in the core concept of any religion, sometimes the good things people do in the name of God can be pretty noble. I don't know the specifics of what these people are doing, mostly because I really don't care, but even if they were Buddhists or Hindus or Muslims, mockery doesn't seem a just response to an unselfish notion.
