Does anyone know anything about Ron Conte?
Offline Ok. I posted about a week ago because my brother told me that he was going to become a priest. I'm back because, in further discussions, I've learned that becoming a priest is actually his back up plan.
My brother has become a follower of what I can only call a cult. The leader of this cult is Ron Conte and he appears to be the owner/operator of catholic planet. I've spent some time at catholic planet over the past week to figure out what Conte espouses and here is what I've come up with:
1. The tribulation is coming soon. The tribulation is basically the Catholic version of the rapture, in which God will punish mankind for its sins.
2. The tribulation will start on April 10, 2009. On this day God will present each person with a vision explaining all of the sins that he or she has committed.
3. On April 12, 2009, all people that wish to repent of their sins and receive God's blessing must make their way to sanctified ground (basically a Catholic church). Those that repent will be forgiven, while those that don't will have their sins held against them.
4. The four horsemen will be unleashed in the years afterwards, bringing intense suffering, blah blah blah.
I became aware of Mr. Conte because I took my brother to Costco and went nuts over a display of emergency food rations. (We just had a major windstorm here in Ohio so this display was up front.) I asked him why he was so interested and he proceeded to tell me all about Mr. Conte's "revelations." It turns out that my brother is 100% in agreement with Mr. Conte's predictions because "they all make sense" to him. I questioned him for about 1/2 an hour, and it I got pretty creeped out. He's saving up money to purchase food, water, vitamins, and other supplies for the "event" next year. He'll be "very disapointed" if the April 10, 2009, event doesn't happen.
My brother seems to think that if this event happens he'll be one of the few people that knows what's going on and he'll be a local go to guy that people will flock to for answers. I asked him what he would do if it doesn't happen and he said that his back up plan is to become a priest.
I'm obviously concerned about the irrational thinking being exhibited and I'm wondering if anyone here knows anything else about Mr. Conte and his thoughts. I've pored over the website but I don't know what else is out there. A google search hasn't yielded much. I've talked to my father and expressed my concerns. He shares some of them, but doesn't feel that my brother would react irrationally if (when) April 10, 2009, rolls around with no change. I'm not so sure, especially if Mr. Conte has written or expressed any ideas about encouraging the tribulation to begin.
My parents are going to keep an eye on my brother and I've decided to reach out to him more to get him out of the house and interacting with the real world. If anyone here has more info about Mr. Conte and his "teachings" it would be appreciated.
I dare do all that may become a man-Who dares more is none
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Well, at least he is rational enough to consider the possibility that it won't happen. I'd suggest that's a good thing, and lessens the likelyhood of him doing something rash when the inevitable ocurrs. Still, I wouldn't stop trying to get him out either. Unfortunately, I've never heard of the guy before, and can't offer any insights. Have you tried showing him the examples of Waco and Jonestown?
Enlightened Atheist, Gaming God.
Sorry, I don't have any information on the cult, but this sounds likes it's turning a bit more serious. Perhaps you should seek some more professional kind of help.
god -- I tried you on for size.... you were a little long in the crotch, loose in the waist, short in the length and you made my butt look extra flat. I had to take you back for an exchange.
I did bring up connections with other groups that attempted to predict the future and failed, as well as those that ended more seriously, like Waco. His answer was, "Of course they were wrong. They weren't Catholic so they couldn't discover the truth." I don't know of any other Catholic cult (well, except for the entire church) that I could use an example to get around this argument.
I dare do all that may become a man-Who dares more is none
That shit's just nucking futz!
Yes, it's nuts. My concern is (aside from the fact that my brother is gullible enough to believe this shit) what happens after April 10 comes around with nothing supernatural happening. History shows that "prophets" like Mr. Conte rarely say "Well, I fucked up. I guess this is all just BS. Sorry!" There is always some explanation or further revelation. I'm just afraid that my brother will follow along with whatever Mr. Conte says on April 11, no matter what it is.
I dare do all that may become a man-Who dares more is none
The main problem you face here is that your brother is already "in", from the perspective of what he now believes and who he's granting authority to.
Cults operate in a very predictable fashion. Right now your brother is experiencing the sense of being a special person, in possession of the "Truth" and with access to more via the cult leader - someone he finds very charismatic. At the moment, telling him he's wrong - no matter how gently - will only serve to make him certain you are wrong, and if you push too hard it will serve to make him certain you are one of the cult's "enemies". (I don't know how far along the cult is in development, the enemies stage may not have yet been reached.)
Because one of the facets of a cult is to cut off contact with family and friends in order to isolate the new member from external influence, what you'll be wanting to do now is be supportive of your brother without being supportive of the cult's beliefs. This is so when he has some doubts about the cult (and he will, eventually) it makes him more likely to come to you for advice, rather than start to feel alone and isolated with only the cult for support.
Once he comes to you, then you can gently help him look at it rationally. Again, though, it has to be supportive. You have to avoid outright calling the beliefs wrong, never mind deriding them. Once he has his doubts, all you really need do is confirm them.
Keep in mind that religious belief, from mainstream to cult, is all about emotions, and not about rational thought. You can play on this by trying to get him to match your emotional state as you discuss the cults beliefs with him - basically you try to get him to associate the rational view with a feeling of happiness or contentment.
Good luck with your brother. I've been though it with a best friend and $cien+ology, it can be trying.
"Anyone can repress a woman, but you need 'dictated' scriptures to feel you're really right in repressing her. In the same way, homophobes thrive everywhere. But you must feel you've got scripture on your side to come up with the tedious 'Adam and Eve not Adam and Steve' style arguments instead of just recognising that some people are different." - Douglas Murray
Now this is something completely different. First things first, you need to sit your brother down with a real Catholic priest. Normally I wouldn't advise this, but I'm sure that if you make clear that your brother's thinking about joining a cult that predicts the end of the world and self-identifies as Catholic, a properly ordained priest (Wikipedia says this Conte is a layman) will shut that shit right the fuck down. Furthermore, if your brother's serious about his Catholicism, he'll feel obliged to at least listen to the guy. The Catholic hierarchy may be a bunch of transvestites who think their shit doesn't stink, but they've always been good at pointing out heresy (as they see it). If your brother doesn't want to hear it, then he's already gotten some programming and will need some counseling.
"The whole conception of God is a conception derived from ancient Oriental despotisms. It is a conception quite unworthy of free men."
--Bertrand Russell
This guy also predicted that Hillary Clinton will become the next president of the U.S.A. ......
Yes, I saw that Clinton stuff when I was browsing through his site. He's sticking to because there are a "number of ways" that it could still happen. He's also added in several posts this is just a minor detail that doesn't affect the core belief that April 9 is a lock. Like most hucksters he's got an answer for everything.
I dare do all that may become a man-Who dares more is none
Thanks for the advice. It's hard to resist the urge to call him up and scream "MORON," but I realize that would be counterproductive. One advantage that I have is that he hasn't met any of these people in real life. I understand that connections made online can be very strong, but they can't physically remove him from my parents' home.
I'll try to stay positive with him. I just hope that he starts to question it instead of going in deeper and deeper.
I dare do all that may become a man-Who dares more is none
You've hit on a great idea! My brother has a "spiritual advisor" that he meets with a couple times a month to discuss the priesthood. I'll have my dad call him and ask him to address these issues. Hopefully this guy is someone my brother will listen to.
I dare do all that may become a man-Who dares more is none
Be careful. His spiritual advisor may have turned him onto this stuff. I know the local priest was supportive of one particular cult leader who was building a compound to survive the coming wrath. Then she died. It faded out, but for a while there she was holding court in the local churches.
All that is necessary for the triumph of good is that evil men do nothing.
After looking around Conte's site, I had to shake my head. This guy should have been writing books. For entertainment. Iraq and Iran working together? Next year? Yeah, and I just got back from locking all gods into a little box that will get smaller and smaller as time goes on, until one day it becomes so small that it vanishes into nothingness. I suspect it will happen around the year 2700, but I could be off by a decade or two.
Enlightened Atheist, Gaming God.
Any chance your bother would watch this movie, as you might just say you are curious about his opinions and why?
Rapture Letters , 3 min clip from "The God Who Wasn't There"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IcVymEtVzEY
Atheism Books.
He should be called Ron Cunt.
Thanks for the link. I'll send it to him. I mentioned the rapture to him in our initial discussion, comparing it to Conte's teachings. He became quite agitated. In his opinion, the rapture is utter BS, while the tribulation Conte is predicting is true. His reasoning is that Conte bases his ideas off Catholic dogma. He believes that the Catholic Church is the only true faith, so all other doomsday beliefs are false because they aren't Catholic teachings.
I dare do all that may become a man-Who dares more is none
But Matt, "cunts" are GOOD things ....
Here are links to the page and site if anyone needs a good chuckle...
or if you just need to shake your head in utter disgust!
This guy has mapped out time til well into the 24th century....yikes
http://www.catholicplanet.com/future/map1.htm
http://www.catholicplanet.com/future/index.htm
The guy who ran the cult I grew up in just said he miscalculated and that the exact date was unknowable after his predicted date came and went in the 70’s. He lost some followers but many found his “humble” willingness to admit his human error endearing. There wasn't any violence at all when the end did not come.
Does Conte advocate gun ownership? And if so, is he saying have a shotgun in case, or arm yourself for the revolution? That will help you gauge what he might do in April.
I’m not sure how the Catholic church works. Is there a way to find a priest who specializes in end time prophecy who would be willing to pick apart Conde’s theological explanations, or who could refer you to someone who could?
"I am that I am." - Proof that the writers of the bible were beyond stoned.
For what it's worth, D20DM, two mainstream, conservative Catholic sites have pointed out some of the problems with Mr. Conte's writings:
http://www.ewtn.com/vexperts/showresult.asp?RecNum=476257&Forums=0&Experts=0&Author=kmarie&Keyword=catholic+planet
http://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/blog.cfm?id=331
I hope that you were able to do some good by warning your brother's spiritual advisor about this bad influence, but he will be unmasked as a false prophet fairly soon. As a Catholic myself, I do not want anyone following false claims of mystical messages coming in our day and age.
Time will tell if his predictions are correct or not. The first one, the Warning on April 10th 2009, is very near.
Tell your brother to seek guidance from a good priest. Being overly preoccupied with the "end times" and such is not exactly healthy, but I don't blame him for thinking that the world is about to be punished as there are many evils that exist in the world right now, such as abortion and embryonic stem-cell research. As St. Padre Pio said, "pray, hope and don't worry".
The Church has not sanctioned the apparitions of Medjugorje and Garabandal which are the focus of the Catholic Planet website. Also, Mr. Conte's website is not represenative of Catholic teaching and doctrine. For example, his article on the virgin birth of Mary seems a little out there and is not supported by Catholic teaching. I also do not think he is leading a cult.
You are partially if not more uninformed. This is not his work. He did not call for a tribulation to begin April 10th, but an supernatural sign, as a "Warning". The Garabandal story from c. 1963-68 should explain it. But there is more and I do believe it's not a cult, you would need to read more of his work to determine yourself. He does not prophecise, but translates the bible as a theologian would. He may timeline in chronological order of probable events, but most cases he does not give actual dates. In fact it comes from visionaries and other sources in most cases. April the 10th shocked me also, but again, what happens if it does? It will be as a "Warning" to all, the story as I have said, has been around since c.1963-68, but the date never revealed until recently.
Further, your brother may be doing God's will, all things are possible. If not to discourage him, support him and find out what his thoughts are, study this topic and others like it. There are plenty, you can try googling the word "apparitions", "garabandal", "medjugorje" and we know what already happen in "fatima", "lourdes" and "guadaloupe". If you need additional info. chat back, until then we'll just have to wait and see with hope.
Well, there we are then. So much a fucking oracle who can't see a few months ahead, and yet claims to be able to map the course of history for the next 350 years. What a douchebag.
This is why I hate people in general.
"Physical reality” isn’t some arbitrary demarcation. It is defined in terms of what we can systematically investigate, directly or not, by means of our senses. It is preposterous to assert that the process of systematic scientific reasoning arbitrarily excludes “non-physical explanations” because the very notion of “non-physical explanation” is contradictory.
-Me
Books about atheism
I think Mr Ron needs to get a real life. He claims that his so called predictions are pretty accurate because he said that the warning will happen on such a day and such a time. Well before I read his bullshit I had faith in the warning and now it doesnt bother me in the least. If he had said it could happen or maybe or not sure--then maybe I could have accepted what he said. But me like an idiot was praying to God that the warning would happen because it is something the world really needs at this point in time. Thank You Ron for all your accurate research and building the hopes of many many people probably just like myself. A bunch of downright jerks. Stop what you are doing because you are going to hurt many peoples' faith in things they believe.
Frankie C
Ron Conte has predicted a 'Warning' associated with the Garbandal apparitions for 3 years in a row running.
2008--he said it would occur, no fail, 100% confidence
2009 --recalculated and said it would occur, 100% confidence
2010 --March or April date--didnt' materialize.
There is alot wrong with Ron Conte, his site and writings.
For one he heavily censors people in his forum, on the pretext of protecting his flock from harmful ideas, books and apparitions, yet exposes these same people to his speculative theology and frequently misrepresents his speculative innovations as Church teaching. Something not right here, most of his forum members are not very discerning and fearful as to where to go for authentic church teaching on the internet. Why would one heavily censor general Catholic talk, expel members who disagree with him, yet expose people to his speculation...perhaps one of Conte's greatest desires is in cultivating an audience for himself.
Further Conte , makes light of things like imprimaturs, nihil obstats, bishop approval, catholic publishers and other theologians, his criticisms throw them all into the one bag of being unreliable and essentially makes the contrasting point that he can be trusted. But he fails to make the point that the Catholic Church has had a reemergence, a new spring, new evangelists, apologists, catholic media and publishers that have led the way towards faithfulness and truth for the last 20+ years. Many of these people have imprimaturs, nihil obstats, Bishop support, and are professors in many top Catholic insitutions being faithful to the Church. Yet Ron Conte is outside of the mainstream of faithful new evangelist/apologists and Catholic writers disseminating these faithful Catholic teaching and writings. So in one swipe he criticises, the old and the new, the bad and the good and makes the claim that he is the one to be trusted for authentic Catholic teaching. Its a very successful strategy towards maintaining his loyal, but small band of internet followers.
Oh yes, but Ron Conte does have a bachelors degree in Philosophy & Theology, but he has neither his Bishops approval for his writings, a good and faithful Catholic publisher, a nihil obstat, an imprimatur, nor a recommendation from any other theologian, bishop, priest or credentialed authority recommending his books or writings.
Look for a foreward page and you will find no one editing, proofreading or recommending his books. This is a 'one-man band', self-publishing all his books with his own internet presence through a website.
Moreover, if you want to know an authoritative answer or delve into the teachings of the Catholic Church, then he has all the answers.
Want to know the date of the Second Coming
Ron has answer: http://www.catholicplanet.com/future/map5.htm
"Jesus Christ returns from Heaven, with the Virgin Mary, in the year 2437 A.D."