Reply #33: That's the problem with eschatological and Rapture-based ideas in general [View All]

The Bible is all over the map about the topic, and since different denominations pick and choose which Scriptures to emphasize and which to downplay (or to ignore or exclude altogether), you inevitably wind up with mutations on the topic that are outright dangerous, such as the Left Behinders currently taking active steps to "assist" in bringing about the Rapture as they see it. This was a topic we discussed in my church when I was growing up, and we recognized that not only can one not say anything about the mind of the Lord on the topic of the Rapture and End Times considerations in general; we can't even be entirely sure what the Scriptures are saying one way or another.

In fact, one scholar who commented on the topic made a pretty good case that the apocalyptic verses cited in Isaiah, Revelations, Daniel, and some other books were essentially coded messages among various groups-- some of them genuinely religious, others more along the lines of political resistance organizations-- about hopes and strategies for freedom from Roman rule. The post-Millenialist interpretation actually states that the End Times events depicted in the Bible have already occurred, because in fact those verses had a metaphorical nature to begin with, and the Armageddon referred to there took place with either (1) the fall of the Western Roman Empire or (2) the fall of the anti-Christian imperial regime in Rome and the rise of Emperor Constantine. (Usually the latter is cited in this regard.)

We also have to remember that there's a lot of incongruity not only between OT and NT, but also among the Gospels and between the Gospels and the other epistles and books in the NT. Recall that Martin Luther and some of the other Protestant reformers excluded the Book of Revelations of St. John the Divine entirely from their versions of the Bible, and thus e.g. Lutherans and Methodists have a very different take on the eschatological ideas than most evangelicals here in the USA. In fact, both Christian and secular scholars alike have regarded this book and St. John of Patmos himself with an at best guarded suspicion. Many have gone so far as to say that John himself was a hack outright, and the original Greek version of Revelations is downright awful, chock-full of grammatical errors and loopy logic that can be only partly attributed to the "coded message" hypothesis-- John of Patmos seems to have been a rather sloppy thinker and a poor writer in the opinions of many Biblical scholars.

In any case, the radical ideas of John Darby and the Dispensationalists, their description of the Rapture, and the centrality with which they regard it-- Hal Lindsey, Tim Lahaye, and the fans of Left Behind are the spiritual descendants of Darby here in the USA-- were and still are regarded as nothing less than apostasy in the minds of mainstream Christian sects. Even if you don't read the arcane journals of the Biblical scholars, it's obvious that at least some of the text of Isaiah, Revelations, Luke, Daniel, and Paul's epistles are written metaphorically, with the eschatological notions linked to some metamorphosis in the kindgoms and societies on earth, political or otherwise. Thus the very essence of those beliefs is constant change and reinterpretation. Those writings were never, ever intended to be construed in the rigid, dogmatic, ultra-violent, hateful manner which the Left Behinders adopted. For that matter, any claim to a literal reading of the Bible is fraught with peril-- the Bible after all has numerous passages that justify slavery, advocate offensive war, prescribe outmoded demands for crop production, and otherwise contradict each other. Even the most devout Biblical scholars recognize that the books in the Bible were unavoidably documents of their times, written by many authors, and that some extent of subjective interpretation is inevitable. Thus the exclusivity and rigid dogma of the Left Behinders and extreme Dispensationalists are both morally and intellectually reprehensible.

The problem, of course, is that the variability of this interpretation has not stopped the Left Behinders from asserting their exclusive rectitude, and it doesn't take too many leaps in logic to realize that with logical sloppiness and a lack of mental discipline, the Dispensationalists would drift over into a belief that not only is the Rapture soon coming, but that <b>they are obligated to take pro-active, war-like steps to pave the way for it</b>. Since so many of these people hold the reins of power, their belief system has become positively dangerous for the rest of us in the USA. They cannot be convinced away from their views-- when they believe that they're upheld by divine rectitude, no appeals, logical or emotional, can convince them otherwise. And like many bloody aggressors throughout history, their belief that they (and they alone) are following the path of rectitude, and that everyone else is wrong and in disfavor with God and God's plans, has convinced them that they can perpetrate all manner of brutal crimes against humanity and the environment and yet still be "in the right." Thus even if the US winds up slaughtering 10 million people in Iraq and the (probably coming soon to a recruiting office near you) war with Iran, this won't matter in the minds of the Dispensationalists-- our army would simply be fulfilling God's plans. Even if we provoke a massive Mideast war, no big deal-- that's supposed to take place. Ditto for the environmental degradation with which I started this thread.

As usual the media royally screws things up and misinterprets the true range and danger of this movement, and the conflicts with which its members are involved. People in the media like to point fingers and giggle at the beliefs of the extreme Dispensationalists which they don't understand, failing entirely to realize the real-world, bloody impact their beliefs are already having. Furthermore, the media stupidly equates the Dispensationalists with Christians in general, when in fact many of the most vociferous critics of the Left Behinders have been other Christian denominations. The reason isn't too tough to figure out-- Hal Lindsey, Tim Lahaye, and their ilk are doing tremendous damage to Christianity in general by giving us such a bad name and misrepresenting the tenets we hold dear. My own church and many others like it used to have thriving missionary movements in Africa and Asia, and they've all suffered because people in those poor countries increasingly associate American Christianity with the oppressive, ultra-violent ideas of Left Behind. Jesus is turned into a bloodthirsty, intolerant, hate-filled military leader in Left Behind and the many other texts like it that are springing up, which for obvious reasons is a major turn-off in places that for, historical reasons (e.g. past European colonization), recoil from such an oppressive belief system. Africa e.g. is increasingly becoming a Muslim continent, even in the southern African countries that have had a long tradition of Catholicism and Anglicanism. Unless we can very unequivocally debunk the Dispensationalists' militaristic, ultra-belligerent arguments, and strongly reemphasize the broad-based love of humanity and nature and the sense of personal responsibility that Christianity has long emphasized, we will lose our faith to the radicals, who will redefine it with their toxic rhetoric. We can't allow this to proceed.