Seriously, look at the predictions by religions - not just Christian - for death and doom over the millennia. They have been wrong more times than can be counted..
One of my favorite old school web sites is "It's the End of the World - AGAIN!" They started out chronicling in tongue in cheek fashion the predictions of end times:
The following pages contain the most comprehensive collection of apocalyptic prophecies I could compile. Plus, discussion about the various types of Doomsday warnings and obsessions, quirks of the calendar, predictions of apocalypse from around the world and assorted other related stuff. So, if you think you have time to look them over before the Big One hits, the UV rays fry you, the nuclear winter freezes you, the Rapture captures you, the aliens abduct you, the earth opens up to swallow you, the black helicopters come to get you or the dreaded Satanic computer pixies plant a bar code in your forehead and plunge the world into commie-pinko conspiracy chaos, then, by all means, enjoy!
The page was updated through 2009 - I'm not sure if the owner still updates it. It is one of the ugliest web pages you could find but I love his irreverent sarcastic style. For instance in his section, "Exorcising Poor Last Judgement" which covers "The ancient and medieval history of apocalyptic prophesies" he has this entry:
500 CE - Around 221 CE the noted historical scholar and obsessive Christian apologist, Sextus Julius Africanus wrote his "Chronographiai", an attempt to compile the whole history of life, the universe and everything into one all-purpose, handy-dandy tome. Stuck as he was on the idea that God was on a tight 6000 year creation to demolition schedule, Jules placed the open for business date at about 5000 BCE and Armageddon at roughly 500 CE. (time approximate and subject to schedule change) The date was given even further affirmation when Hippolytus, famed antipope and insufferable grouch, came to the same conclusion. The year came, the year went and the Christians who had so hopefully packed their bags for Rapture pick-up were left standing at the cosmic bus stop without a ride.
Religions and the religious seems to wrong far more often than they are right. And they seem to DO far more wrongs than they do good deeds, especially the current crop of Dominionist dickwards.
The biggest question in my mind for the last forty years is why does anyone still believe their bullshit?
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