A History Of The Apocalypse

Religion. For thousands of years this thing has dictated which people should live and which people should die, what shape our buildings should have or what colors our garments should contain, what food people should eat or what words people should speak. If religion is the opium of the masses, then beliefs about the end of the world are like overdoses. People touched by such beliefs no longer rely on a hidden, personal and intimate god, contemplated upon from the safe distance of the beating human heart. They live with the promise of divine intervention at a grand scale on the current coordinates of space and time. This can be an exceptional motivator and a game changer in terms of civil obedience, both at an individual and collective level. In the name of an immediate and palpable deity people can commit shocking cruelties. However, such belief can also account for some of the most exceptional social developments in human history.

This accessible and enlightening history provides insights into thefascinating genre of apocalyptic literature, showing how theapocalypse encompasses far more than popular views of the lastjudgment and violent end of the world might suggest. An accessible and enlightening history of the"apocalypses"--ancient Jewish and Christian works -- providingfresh insights into the fascinating genre of literature Shows how the apocalypses were concerned not only with popularviews of the last judgment and violent end of the world, but withreward and punishment after death, the heavenly temple, and therevelation of astronomical phenomena and other secrets ofnature Traces the tradition of apocalyptic writing through the MiddleAges, through to the modern era, when social movements stillprophesise the world’s imminent demise

Apocalyptic scenarios remain prevalent and powerful in popular culture (in television, film, comic books, and popular fiction), in politics (in debates on climate change, environmentalism, Middle East policy, and military planning), and in various religious traditions. Academic interest in apocalypticism is flourishing; indeed, the study of both ancient and contemporary apocalyptic phenomena has long been a focus of attention in scholarly research and a ready way to engage the religious studies classroom. Apocalypses in Context is designed for just such a classroom, bringing together the insights of scholars in various fields and using different methods to discuss the manifestations of apocalyptic enthusiasm in different ages (Part I: Ancient Apocalyptic Literature; Part II: Apocalypticism through the Ages; Part III: Apocalypticism in the Contemporary World). This approach enables the instructor to make connections and students to recognize continuities and contrasts across history. Apocalypses in Context features illustrations, graphs, study questions, and suggestions for further reading after each chapter, as well as recommended media and artwork to support the college classroom.

"The ancient Egyptians would have known it as the sixth day of Pachon. The Mayans named it 4 Ahau 3 Kankin. To us it is 21 December, 2012. On this day, it is said, the world will come to an end. This is not the first time we've been told that our time is up. And - touch wood - it probably won't be the last. Religious and secular, past and present - Apocalypse covers each and every one of our prophesized dooms: featuring asteroids, Antichrists, solar flares, Singularities, Utopias, UFOs, Zoroastrians and Zapotecs, to mention but a small few. The result is a thorough history of one the most fascinating threads of our cultural existence: spanning from the first warnings of our ancient ancestors, to the contemporary (yet equally glum) forecasts for our future."--amazon.com

History as Apocalypse is a reenactment of the history of the Western consciousness from the Homeric and Biblica revolutions through Finnegans Wake. This occurs through a historical, literary, and theological analysis of the Christian epic tradition. While attention is focused primarily upon Dante, Milton, Blake, and Joyce, the Classical and Biblical foundations of the Christian epic are explored with the intention of discovering an organic unity in the evolution of the Western consciousness. Our primary epics are identified as revolutionary breakthroughs, not only as transformations of consciousness but also records of social revolutions. The Christian epic is both a consequence and a primary embodiment of the decisive historical revolutions, revolutions culminating with the ending of our historical evolution.