Cognitive Dissonance May 21 2011 and the End of the World

Harold Camping has predicted Judgment Day May 21 2011...
...when the expected event does not happen a worse thing can happen...
...that worse thing is Cognitive Dissonance.

Cognitive dissonance is an uncomfortable feeling caused by holding conflicting ideas simultaneously...
...and focuses on the way the conflict is resolved.

One example of cognitive dissonance was described by Leon Festinger...
...in the book When Prophecy Fails.

Leon infiltrated a group that was expecting the imminent end of the world on a certain date...
...when that prediction failed, the movement did not disintegrate, but grew instead.

They explained the failure by developing the idea that the world had been spared...
...because of their faithfulness...
...they gained acceptance and thus reduced their own dissonance.

A second example...
...William Miller predicted Jesus second coming first in 1843 and then 1844...
...when it didn't happen he said his calculations were wrong and went back to the farm...
...but a hard-core group of believers could not accept that they were wrong...
...made up a story about how something changing in heaven...
...and formed into a group now called Seventh-day Adventists.

It is now 167 years since this happened in 1844...
...Seventh-day Adventists have spread world-wide and boast numbers in the millions.


It will be interesting to see what happens when Campings May 21 2011 deadline passes....
...what form will the Cognitive Dissonance of some members take?

A Cognitive Dissonance shared is a conflict resolved.

I suspect what will happen is the same that has always happened- nothing. Please remember that second coming have been dated since 1011 in europe and probably before- peace

sounds like the perfect time to start a new religion and get a sweet tax write off for starting a church.

Originally posted by MJZoo
sounds like the perfect time to start a new religion and get a sweet tax write off for starting a church.

It would not surprise me at all if this was a marketing excercise with a money motive.

reply to post by troubleshooter


It's a great, easy con to run (Assuming they are,,,no disrespect to anyone), they can just disappear before hand and appear to be "Raptured", spared, lifted up,,,what have you. So, whoever that has acess to the money can be in a non-extradition country with Swiss and Caymen bank accounts. The bill-boards are a fundraising/money laundering-raising ploys, notice they also promote the site and show. Their followers would buy their disappearence as proof of their righteousness. Then,,,unfortunately be very disappionted/confused/hurt/and on and on. Just Google "Failed Prophecies" or "Cult history",,,just something to think about.

Excellent point. Cognitive dissonance is an interesting phenomenon. More interesting is that it can be used for purposes of control. My curiosity regarding the 21st takes a different angle (and this is speculation because I haven't really been paying attention to Camping and where he comes from or who is backing him.) But...

There has obviously been a lot of money spent spreading this message-billboards, bus advertisements, etc. It has spread all across the country-I read a post somewhere that the signs had been spotted in Alaska. What if it wasn't exactly what it seemed (ie religious fanatacism)? What if it was a huge psy-op sponsored by TPTB?

With the convenient (if not a little obvious) false flag nuke terror set up in the wake of OBL, and the indications that a major New Madrid earthquake is likely sometime soon (and is it just coincidence that the NLE 11 is scheduled to end on the 21st?)--these are all things that correspond nicely with an End of the World scenario. What if the big push behind this date is to make it seem preordained so that any one questioning these scenarios as/if they play out could just be pointed to- "Well, this guy said that it was in the Bible and has been predicting it for a while."

That's my take on the whole scenario. But then again, I'm pretty suspicious when it comes to this sort of thing.

reply to post by troubleshooter


I don't know about all of this. I have read a few things and the latest I think are two consecutive happenings around the end of 2012. A comet or something like that will reach the closest point to the earth and supposedly a mass UFO "reveal" event will take place around the same time. Maybe they show to help deflect the meteor or comet whatever. That is the latest I am thinking from narrowing down a few sources recently and eliminating some others.

Originally posted by coyotepoet
Excellent point. Cognitive dissonance is an interesting phenomenon. More interesting is that it can be used for purposes of control. My curiosity regarding the 21st takes a different angle (and this is speculation because I haven't really been paying attention to Camping and where he comes from or who is backing him.) But...

A conspiracy wrapped within a religious movement...hardly new I guess.

There has obviously been a lot of money spent spreading this message-billboards, bus advertisements, etc. It has spread all across the country-I read a post somewhere that the signs had been spotted in Alaska. What if it wasn't exactly what it seemed (ie religious fanatacism)? What if it was a huge psy-op sponsored by TPTB?

William Miller was a Mason at the time he made his early predictions...
...although he is said to have renounced it later...
...I have often wondered what role his Freemasonry affiliation played in his date setting.

With the convenient (if not a little obvious) false flag nuke terror set up in the wake of OBL, and the indications that a major New Madrid earthquake is likely sometime soon (and is it just coincidence that the NLE 11 is scheduled to end on the 21st?)--these are all things that correspond nicely with an End of the World scenario. What if the big push behind this date is to make it seem preordained so that any one questioning these scenarios as/if they play out could just be pointed to- "Well, this guy said that it was in the Bible and has been predicting it for a while."

That's my take on the whole scenario. But then again, I'm pretty suspicious when it comes to this sort of thing.

I have witnessed the aftermath of this kind of prediction...
...many will be deceived and hurt.

11 days to Judgment day and 12 to the beginning of Cognitive Dissonance.

Three days to a failed 'Judgment' date...and four days to the rationalizations.

The expected event will not transpire which will cause a conflict or Cognitive Dissonance...
...most will admit that they were wrong thereby resolving the conflict...
...many will explain the detail in ways that others will accept thus resolving the conflict.

Originally posted by coyotepoet

There has obviously been a lot of money spent spreading this message-billboards, bus advertisements, etc. It has spread all across the country-I read a post somewhere that the signs had been spotted in Alaska. What if it wasn't exactly what it seemed (ie religious fanatacism)? What if it was a huge psy-op sponsored by TPTB?

With the convenient (if not a little obvious) false flag nuke terror set up in the wake of OBL, and the indications that a major New Madrid earthquake is likely sometime soon (and is it just coincidence that the NLE 11 is scheduled to end on the 21st?)--these are all things that correspond nicely with an End of the World scenario. What if the big push behind this date is to make it seem preordained so that any one questioning these scenarios as/if they play out could just be pointed to- "Well, this guy said that it was in the Bible and has been predicting it for a while."

That's my take on the whole scenario. But then again, I'm pretty suspicious when it comes to this sort of thing.

I am told the billboards have been seen here (New Zealand).
I don't believe the guy's right, I think he's a nutjob, but your theory is too US-centric to make sense. Don't know what NLE11 is - and an earthquake in the US would be a terrible thing, but would not impact outside the USA any more than the Tokyo one, or our Christchurch one has had any impact on you guys!
Vicky

Thanks to the liberal use of ellipsis in your posts, I have now mentally assigned you Morgan Freeman's voice. I hope you don't mind.

That said, I've got my own theory about this, and it has nothing to do with any sort of this site's favorite buzzwords. I think this is just a classic case of people getting caught up in a cause. I hate to use the term, but it's a fad. A bandwagon. I also don't believe there are many people who honestly buy that we've got less than a week before everything goes south.

The scenario you presented is far more likely than the end of the world truly occurring, but I don't think that this movement has enough support to survive and develop into anything more than just another passing doomsday prediction.

reply to post by Vicky32

I am told the billboards have been seen here (New Zealand). I don't believe the guy's right, I think he's a nutjob, but your theory is too US-centric to make sense. Don't know what NLE11 is - and an earthquake in the US would be a terrible thing, but would not impact outside the USA any more than the Tokyo one, or our Christchurch one has had any impact on you guys!

Interesting. I thought the billboards were a US-only thing. It's supposed to be preceded by an earthquake "everywhere." I agree with your reasoning to an extent, but consider the chaos of New Madrid, Japan, and Christchurch at approximately the same time (not saying the latter 2 would be hit again, just an example.) That most certainly would have a worldwide impact.

Originally posted by ItsBlink
Thanks to the liberal use of ellipsis in your posts, I have now mentally assigned you Morgan Freeman's voice. I hope you don't mind.

Why thank you...

That said, I've got my own theory about this, and it has nothing to do with any sort of this site's favorite buzzwords. I think this is just a classic case of people getting caught up in a cause. I hate to use the term, but it's a fad. A bandwagon. I also don't believe there are many people who honestly buy that we've got less than a week before everything goes south.

The scenario you presented is far more likely than the end of the world truly occurring, but I don't think that this movement has enough support to survive and develop into anything more than just another passing doomsday prediction.

I agree with your comments...
...my motive in this is that I have had a close association with a movement that grew out of a past prediction and have examined first hand the outcome over time. So I am just facinated by the dynamics of the phenomena.

S+F I like your ideas, they get me thinking too.

Bump

Apparently Harold was 'raptured' in a white vehicle...
...and 'heaven' is Hawaii or some other nice location...
...the Cog Diss has not met a philosophical/theological resolution yet...
...but it's coming soon...trust me.