the Antichrist never quit dogging us
This is a fascinating peek into Americas obsession with the Antichrist, from the time of our founding as a nation until today.
While the Bible speaks of antichrists in only two short booksFirst and Second Johnand while these passages refer only to people who have already lived, fundamentalist churches,years later still anticipate the arrival of a demonic force akin to Revelations Beast of the Sea.
This “Antichrist” may take the form of an organization, like the Catholic Church, or a person, like Mussolini, depending upon whoever is in the news at the time.
In latter times, the Antichrist has been discovered in computers, bar codes, rock music and the Susan B.
Anthony coin.
Fuller is an oftpublished professor of religious studies at Bradley University, and his writing style is precise and engaging.
He carries us through dozens of Americas apocalyptic enemies, sonamed the Antichrist by vigilant stalkers of the Beast, going clear back to King George III in.
Yankees, Masons, liberals, communists, Catholics, unions, feminists, socialists, modernists, few people have escaped demonization by various clergy in the cosmic war of good versus evil.
Popes, world leaders, diplomats and tooliberal preachers are identified by name, Just wars are fought under the banner of God, spurred by apocalyptic lyrics such as the Battle Hymn of the Republic.
Entire nations are portrayed as evil empires, even from the presidential pulpit, compared to the “Gog” of Ezekiel and Revelation.
Charles Taylor solved the sinister mystery of Gog: Gromkyo, Ogarkov and Gorbachev, with that birthmark on the latters head surely disclosing his beastly identity.
Beware anyone preaching tolerance, advocating pluralism, striving for universal brotherhood, saving the whales, or hoping for world peace.
Fuller rightfully observes in the final line of his book that “this relentless obsession with the Antichrist appears to have done more to forestall than to signal the realization of the Kingdom of God on earth.
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Written before the turn of the century, Fullers book surely struck a chord with readers mystified by the manic draw of the millennium end.
At the time, over half of adult Americans expected the imminent return of Jesus, accompanied by the fulfillment of cataclysmic biblical prophecies including the appearance of Revelations Beast.
The whole obsession would be comical to me, had it died before my own lifetime, but when Fuller got to thes the tone turned somber.
I remember the panic over communism, the demonization of Kissinger, and Gorbachevs antichristic delusion that peace was possible.
I remember counting the letters in Ronald Wilson Reagan to reach, I remember when Greece became the tenth member of the EEC, completing the ten horns of Revelations beast.
Had the rediculousness ended with the printing ofcalendars, I could write it all off as the nonsense of a prior age, but it hasnt.
Our newest president has far and wide been the subject of this same religious madness,
The Antichrist may never fade away, but thank goodness for reasonable studies like this one to help us understand and cope with this odd cultural phenomenon in the United States.
A must read.
Oxford University Press,,pages
ISBN:Target audience: Anyone interested in apocalypticism, history of Protestantism, religious psychology and the Antichrist.
About the author: According to Bradley University, Robert C, Fuller is an authority on American religious thought, he regularly serves as a resource to the news media and has appeared on the History Channels twopart series on the “Antichrist,” Canadian Cable televisions “What I Believe” and on Bill Mahers “Politically Incorrect.
” He is a soughtafter speaker at professional conferences, For his many professional contributions to his field, he was awarded the Samuel Rothberg Professional Excellence Award inand received a Caterpillar Professorship for Religious Studies in.
He also received the Charles M, Putnam Award for Teaching Excellence in, Dr. Fuller received his bachelors degree at Denison University and his master's and Ph, D. degrees from the University of Chicago prior to beginning his teaching career at Bradley in, He also serves as director of Bradleys Honors Program,
Structure of the book: The book haspages and it is divided in an Introduction, six chapters, an Epilogue, Notes and Index.
Overview: How many times have you heard about American presidents or celebrities being identified or associated with the Antichrist Have you heard speculations about Obama being the Antichrist Or George W.
Bush Or Hillary Clinton Or Donald Trump Or the simple speculation that an American president will be the Antichrist Do you think that this phenomenon is new Not at all mythologizing the world is a feature of the American people ever since the first settlers placed their feet on American shores and it was passed from generation to generation as a unique element of the American heritage.
Naming the Antichrist is not a critique of the Christian religion or values.
It is an analysis of Americas obsession with the Antichrist in doctrine and popular culture, throughout history from its roots in antiquity up to the modern age examination.
Almost,after the Bible was written and it mentioned about antichrists and the Antichrist, people still anticipate the arrival of a demonic force akin to Revelations Beast of the Sea.
This “Antichrist” may take the form of an organization, like the Catholic Church, or a person, like Hitler, depending upon whoever is in the news at the time.
Crises within the nation and religious communities have often precipitated the naming of religious and/or secular forces within the country as minions of the Antichrist.
During the Reformation, in theth century, Protestants Reformers assumed that the papacy was the Antichrist predicted in Scripture.
This assumption was gradually discarded by many European Protestants over time but became etched in the collective consciousness of those who left for America.
The Elizabethan era, characterized by a compromise between Protestantism and Catholicism, was unsatisfactory for the Puritans who wanted a church completely devoid of any Roman ritualism.
After Cromwells revolution and the Restoration many of them traveled in America, With them they brought their intense hatred of Catholics as the legendary "other" as they sought to build the great Christian society free of popish influence the "city upon a hill" as John Winthrop said.
With no Catholics around to dread, the Antichrist rhetoric changed, Yes, on the occasions that their hegemony was threatened, the natural inclination was to attribute a sinister motive with Rome as the likely power behind the nefarious plot.
But even events within their own communities were seen as threats, The fear of satanic influences seeking to undermine the nation's status as a bastion of true Christianity engendered a sense of trepidation that produced tragic results, such as the Salem Witch Trials.
Out of this Puritan foundation came a tradition of "naming the Antichrist" as a method of closing debate, separating "us" and "them", vilifying the enemy, and protecting the societal hegemony.
Whether the enemy was the Catholic France in the French and Indian War or later the British during the American War of Independence, the struggle was painted in apocalyptic terms with the enemy as an agent of the devil himself.
This pattern continued throughout theth century, especially during the Second and the Third Great Awakenings.
The world had to be transformed with evangelization, orphanages, soup kitchens, temperance movements, and other social endeavors and a postmillennial eschatology dominated.
During stable periods, the antichrist rhetoric would recede but resurfaced when a threat was perceived, These could be in the form of Enlightenment philosophy, Freemasonry, or Catholic and Jewish immigrants from Europe few people have escaped demonization in the cosmic war of good versus evil.
During the Civil War, antislavery forces in the North and proslavery forces in the South demonized each other as Satan's minions and, although the author does not mention it, they both used the same Bible text to support or to reject slavery.
In theth century the dream of the "perfect Christian society" was pretty much abandoned due to the scientific development and events such as the World Wars and the Cold War.
Popes, world leaders, diplomats and tooliberal preachers continue to be identified by name, Now
the Antichrist has been discovered even in computers, bar codes and rock music, Moreover, the pattern for "naming the Antichrist" took new, more secularized, forms, The political discourse is centered on the inference of nefarious motives by the opposition, And, of course, evangelicals have continued the unbroken American tradition of pointing to an enemy as the son of perdition.
Overall, throughout his analysis, Fuller provides a framework for understanding how American Protestantism achieved its distinctive elements and how this affected the countrys history.
For those seeking to understand the American tendency to see itself as a land of destiny and to see all of its conflicts both foreign and domestic in apocalyptic terms, Naming the Antichrist is a book to read.
Quote: The history of Americans' obsession with naming the Antichrist draws attention to their almost limitless capacity for.
With the help of biblical metaphors, many Americans are able to mythologize life by 'seeing' that there are deeper powers at work behind the surface appearance of worldly events.
Everyday life is viewed against a cosmic background in which the forces of good are continually embattled by the forces of evil.
The problems and confusions that Americans face consequently can never be reduced to political, social, or economic causes.
Instead, these are guerrilla tactics employed by Satan in his neverending war against the people of God
Strong points: Naming the Antichrist: The History of an American Obsession in my opinion, is well researched, sober, unbiased, it has some philosophical and psychological tones here and there, and on the subject.
Weak points: Can the story of the Antichrist be completely or well understood if we speak only about one side of it Because analyzing the story of the Antichrist mainly from an American point of view is not even half of the entire story of the Antichrist.
Moreover, the lecture is a little “dry” in some places,
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