I find it difficult to understand why people are so willing to believe a disaster of biblical proportions is on its way, when the worldly, natural ones we already have seem quite disastrous enough.
I also don't understand how those who believe an all-powerful God is hell-bent on destroying the earth can also think a concrete 12m box will save them.
And even if you're just preparing for disaster on a regular, earthly scale, I still don't see how sealing yourself in a bunker is the way to go.
What happened in coastal and central Hawke's Bay last month was not apocalyptic, but it was certainly bigger than appreciated by most people outside this region, and some in it.
Many communities were isolated for some time as roads and bridges became impassable, but within those communities people didn't hunker down on their own.
They reached out to their neighbours. They helped each other out; they looked after those worse off than themselves.
And this weekend, that every-man-for-himself mentality was debunked again when hundreds of people unaffected by the floods turned out with shovels and wheelbarrows to help mud-caked residents dig themselves out.
More disasters will happen here, and everywhere else, not because a batty American preacher says so.
And we should be prepared, certainly - with water, food, a campstove, torches, and batteries.
But when it does happen, whether it's next week or next year, there's a good chance you'll need your neighbours and they'll need you.
