After spending some time to think and recover, Harold Camping spoke publically on Monday night about his doomed Doomsday prediction.

On his blog, Timothy Dalrymple, an evangelical Christian in California, had previously listed the kind of statement Camping should and should not make on Monday. Whether Camping passed the test is now clear. Here is the contrast.

1. He should certainly not say that the calculations were sound but the data was off.

No more predictions should be given, now that Camping's 1994 and 2011 predictions both failed.

What Camping said:

Without shame, Camping came up with another date - October 21, 2011, which was included in the original declaration as the day when the whole world will be annihilated. After the earthquakes and floods destroy the earth on May 21, those remaining on the surface of the earth would suffer until October 21, when everything would come to an end.

Knowingly or not, Camping had given himself a second (third, to be precise) chance. If May 21 didn't work out, he got to club them together, so the judgment will come all at once.

The numerology to arrive at May 21 and October 21, 2011 stays intact, according to Camping. None of the timing, the structures, the proofs have changed at all.

2. He should not try to justify his prediction.

This will be very difficult, Dalrymple suggested. But It's a time to focus on those who sacrificed their finances, their careers, their relationships because of their trust in him. He needs the humility to take his lumps, end the circus, and simply bless those he harmed.

What Camping said:

The prediction was right, according to Camping's interpretation of judgment as spiritual. God did judge the world, without our notice. We don't always hit the nail on the head the first time, Camping said referring to his previous statements that the May 21 judgment would not be spiritual

3. Right from the beginning he should ask for forgiveness.

He should confess that he was wrong in the date-setting and the whole doomsday-prophecy business, Dalrymple said. This is about making him whole, and making whole the people who suffered from the trust they placed in him. They deserve a thoroughgoing apology and confession.

What Camping said:

Camping insisted that he did not hurt the credibility of religion, but every delay means that more will be brought to salvation. After being asked again and again about his apology, Camping finally said, if people want me to apologize, I can apologize, yes. He continued, I did not have all of that worked out exactly as I should have, or wish I could have had it. But this isn't about me at all because... when I make an error, I say 'yes, I was wrong.' I have said that already.

It is certainly not about Camping, but there are hundreds of followers who sacrificed all of their relationships and possessions to be raptured on May 21. His teaching had become too widespread to be brushed off as a personal error to be excused by a shameless word of apology.

4. He should vow to do everything in his power to restore those who lost jobs, funds, and relationships with loved ones.

The world's assessment of Harold Camping would change dramatically if he fully admitted his fault and then used the resources at his disposal to help those his teachings harmed.

Raising funds to help his victims would help in their healing, and in his own, Dalrymple wrote.

What Camping said:

Camping exonerated himself from all responsibility of ruining the lives of his followers.

He never asked people to leave their jobs or donate their life savings, Camping said.

Instead of returning the donations, it is still going out, because every nickel has been spent as fairly as possible, as efficiently as possible in Family Radio.

5. Finally, he should announce that he will make his radio show, indefinitely, into a forum for understanding what went wrong in this story and for reconciling families that were divided.

He could do great good if he could hold an edifying conversation on these things. And he could do even more good if he invited families that were divided by his teachings into mediated on-air conversations that look to bring understanding and reconciliation, Dalrymple stated.

What Camping will do:

Family Radio will continue its programs, but the Doomsday campaigns will not be seen on the streets across the U.S.

It is not certain whether Camping will continue to assert his apocalyptic teachings. Among his followers, some disappointed at the non-rapture would try to find their way back to life while others put their hope in the new date, October 21.

Either way, Camping will not take responsibility, leaving his followers to cope with the reality on their own.

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