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<DIV><FONT size=3 face=Georgia>"Rescuers must sign an affidavit to affirm their disbelief in God—"</FONT></DIV>
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<DIV>I just wonder how many people would cling to their disbelief in God after the rapture? :P. </DIV>
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<DIV>If I had a pet, I would trust God to take care of it just as he does all other animals. </DIV>
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<DIV>Donovan Arnold<BR><BR>--- On <B>Fri, 2/19/10, Ralph Nielsen <I><nielsen@uidaho.edu></I></B> wrote:<BR></DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE style="BORDER-LEFT: rgb(16,16,255) 2px solid; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px"><BR>From: Ralph Nielsen <nielsen@uidaho.edu><BR>Subject: [Vision2020] Christian pets and The Rapture<BR>To: "vision 2020" <Vision2020@moscow.com><BR>Date: Friday, February 19, 2010, 12:12 AM<BR><BR>
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<DIV style="MARGIN: 0px"><FONT style="FONT: 18px Helvetica" size=5 face=Helvetica>Business Week Feb. 22, 2010</FONT></DIV>
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<DIV style="LINE-HEIGHT: 15px; MARGIN: 0px"><FONT style="FONT: 14px Georgia" size=4 face=Georgia>Many people in the U.S.—perhaps 20 million to 40 million—believe there will be a Second Coming in their lifetimes, followed by <A href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rapture" rel=nofollow target=_blank><FONT style="COLOR: #007ed9" color=#007ed9>the Rapture </FONT></A>. In this event, they say, the righteous will be spirited away to a better place while the godless remain on Earth. But what will become of all the pets?</FONT></DIV>
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<DIV style="LINE-HEIGHT: 15px; MARGIN: 0px"><FONT style="FONT: 14px Georgia" size=4 face=Georgia>Bart <SPAN>Centre</SPAN>, 61, a retired retail executive in New Hampshire, says many people are troubled by this question, and he wants to help. He started a service called <A href="http://eternal-earthbound-pets.com/" rel=nofollow target=_blank><FONT style="COLOR: #007ed9" color=#007ed9>Eternal Earth-Bound Pets</FONT></A> that promises to rescue and care for animals left behind by the saved.</FONT></DIV>
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<DIV style="LINE-HEIGHT: 15px; MARGIN: 0px"><FONT style="FONT: 14px Georgia" size=4 face=Georgia>Promoted on the Web as "the next best thing to pet salvation in a Post Rapture World," the service has attracted more than 100 clients, who pay $110 for a 10-year contract ($15 for each additional pet.) If the Rapture happens in that time, the pets left behind will have homes—with atheists. Centre has set up a national network of godless humans to carry out the mission. "If you love your pets, I can't understand how you could not consider this," he says.</FONT></DIV>
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<DIV style="LINE-HEIGHT: 15px; MARGIN: 0px"><FONT style="FONT: 14px Georgia" size=4 face=Georgia>Centre came up with the idea while working on his book, <A href="http://theatheistcamelchronicles.blogspot.com/" rel=nofollow target=_blank><FONT style="COLOR: #007ed9" color=#007ed9><I>The Atheist Camel Chronicles</I></FONT></A>, written under the pseudonym Dromedary Hump. In it, he says many unkind things about the devout and confesses that "I'm trying to figure out how to cash in on this hysteria to supplement my income."</FONT></DIV>
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<DIV style="LINE-HEIGHT: 15px; MARGIN: 0px"><FONT style="FONT: 14px Georgia" size=4 face=Georgia>Whatever motivates Centre, he has tapped into a source of genuine unease. Todd Strandberg, who founded a biblical prophecy Web site called <A href="http://raptureready.com/" rel=nofollow target=_blank><FONT style="COLOR: #0066b2" color=#0066b2>raptureready.com</FONT></A> that draws 250,000 unique visitors a month, agrees that Fido and Mittens are doomed. "Pets don't have souls, so they'll remain on Earth. I don't see how they can be taken with you," he says. "A lot of persons are concerned about their pets, but I don't know if they should necessarily trust atheists to take care of them."</FONT></DIV>
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<DIV style="LINE-HEIGHT: 15px; MARGIN: 0px"><FONT style="FONT: 14px Georgia" size=4 face=Georgia>This paradox poses a challenge for Centre. He must reassure the Rapture crowd that his pet rescuers are wicked enough to be left behind but good enough to take proper care of the abandoned pets. Rescuers must sign an affidavit to affirm their disbelief in God—and they must also clear a criminal background check. "We want people who have pets and are animal lovers," Centre says. They also must have the means to rescue and transport the animals in their charge. His network consists of 26 rescuers covering 22 states. "They take this very seriously," Centre says.</FONT></DIV>
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<DIV style="LINE-HEIGHT: 15px; MARGIN: 0px"><FONT style="FONT: 14px Georgia" size=4 face=Georgia>One of Centre's atheist recruits is Laura, a woman in her 30s who lives near the buckle of the Bible Belt in Oklahoma, and who prefers not to give her last name. She has two dogs of her own and has made a commitment to rescue four dogs and two cats when—if—the time comes. "If it happens, my first thought will be, 'I've got work to do,'" Laura says. "The first thing I'll do is find out where I need to go exactly."</FONT></DIV>
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<DIV style="LINE-HEIGHT: 15px; MARGIN: 0px"><FONT style="FONT: 14px Georgia" size=4 face=Georgia>The rescuers won't know the precise location of the animals until the Rapture arrives, at which time they will contact Centre for instructions. "I've got to get to [the pets] within a maximum of 18 to 24 hours. We really don't want them to wait more than a day." A day she believes will never come.</FONT></DIV>
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<DIV style="LINE-HEIGHT: 15px; MARGIN: 0px"><FONT style="FONT: 14px Georgia" size=4 face=Georgia>Centre doesn't think he will ever have to follow through on the service he offers. But he believes in virtuous acts. His Web site directs about $200 a month in proceeds from Google ads to food banks in Minnesota and New Hampshire. And to pet owners, he has already delivered something of great value: peace of mind, for just 92 cents a month. "If we thought the Rapture was really going to happen," Centre says, "obviously our rate structure would be much higher."</FONT></DIV>
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<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: 15px; MARGIN: 0px 0px 13px"><FONT style="FONT: 14px Georgia" size=4 face=Georgia>Di Paola is a reporter for Bloomberg News</FONT></DIV></DIV><BR>-----Inline Attachment Follows-----<BR><BR>
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