Approaching the Apocalypse A Short History of Christian Millenarianism

by Court, John M.

• ISBN13: 9781845117597
• ISBN10: 184511759X
• eBook ISBN(s): 9780857710451
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2008-10-15
• Publisher: I. B. Tauris
• More Book Details
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Summary

Plague, earthquake and flame: ideas about divinely-inspired disaster and prophecies of doom have an enduring place in the history of Christian thought. For centuries men and women have made preparations for the imminent end of the world, and for the thousand year reign of Christ and his saints. Inspired principally by the startling texts of the Book of Revelation, Christianity has a rich and varied tradition of looking forward to the purifying fires of Armageddon. But what do recurring motifs like the Rapture, pestilence, biblical prophecy and the building of the New Jerusalem really add up to? And how have interpretations of these patterns differed from century to century? Charting a steady course between the feverish predictions of early Christian heretics like the Montanists, and the febrile outpourings of modern-day millennialists such as the Branch Davidians and Christian Zionists in America, John M. Court explores the continuities and differences between their violent visions of cataclysm. His history comprises an incisive analysis of such movements and figures as the Levellers and Diggers, James Jezreel and his Trumpeters, Seventh-Day Adventists and Jehovah's Witnesses, cargo-cults and drug cultures. Embracing two thousand years of intense and fiery admonition, Approaching the Apocalypse offers students of religion, history and politics the definitive handbook to Doomsday.

Author Biography

John M. Court was formerly Senior Lecturer in Theology and Religious Studies and Head of Department at the University of Kent at Canterbury. He is the author of many books which include The New Testament World, Reading the New Testament and The Book of Revelation and the Johannine Apocalyptic Tradition.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements and Dedication

List of Contributors

Introduction - A Lot Like Love: The Romantic Comedy in Contemporary Cinema

I' NY: Rom-Com's Love Affair with New York City

Music, Ritual, and Genre in Edward Burns' Indie Romantic Comedies

Apres le coup de foudre: Narrative, Love and Spectatorship in Groundhog Day

Prom-Coms: Reliving the Dreams and Nightmares of High School Romance

The Healing Power of Romantic Love in Popular Indian Romantic Comedies: Raja Hindustani: Home Elsewhere and Elsewhere Home

A 'Special Relationship'?: The Coupling of Britain and America in Working Title's Romantic Comedies

Transatlantic Exchanges and Influences: Decalage horaire (Jet Lag) Gender and the Romantic Comedy a la francaise

Romantic Comedies and the Raced Body

Armed and Fabulous: Miss Congeniality's Queer Rom-Com

What a Difference a Gay Makes: Marriage in the 1990s Romantic Comedy

Hommecom: Engendering Change in Contemporary Romantic Comedy

Lost in Transition: Problems of Modern (Heterosexual) Romance and the Catatonic Male Hero in the Post-Feminist Age

A New Direction in Comedian Comedy?: Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Punch Drunk Love & the Post-Comedian Rom-Com

'I believe that if I haven't found my Prince Charming already, that I will; or he will find me, if he hasn't already': Jennifer Lopez, Romantic Comedy and Contemporary Stardom

Le Divorce: Romance, Separation and Reconciliation

Filmography

Bibliography

Index

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