Christian Millenarianism

by Hunt, Stephen J.

• ISBN13: 9780253214911
• ISBN10: 0253214912
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2001-06-01
• Publisher: Indiana Univ Pr

Summary

"[To grasp this subject] one needs a multifaceted, multidisciplinary approach by a variety of expert hands such as have been brought together in this book. Here one has the whole argument, from the inter-Testamental and earliest Christian periods through medieval and early modern times up to the complex overlaps with the New Age, or Pentecostalism and Neo-Pentecostalism, or Judaising movements like the Seventh-Day Adventists and the Peruvian 'Israelites.'" -- from the Foreword by David Martin"Students with a serious interest in the manifestations of millennialism, and those concerned with the origins and motivations embraced by revolutionary ideologies will find this book an indispensable resource;... for laymen it offers a truly fascinating read." -- Bryan R. WilsonThis timely book examines the impact of Christian millenarian ideas in a comparative and historical perspective with a special emphasis on contemporary religious movements inspired by such ideas. The contributors are Andrew Bradstock, Eugene Gallagher, Malcolm B. Hamilton, Massimo Introvigne, Orestis Lindermeyer, Kenneth Newport, Susan J. Palmer, Mark Patterson, Martyn Percy, Margaret Poloma, Stanley E. Porter, Ian Reader, Damian Thompson, Andrew Walker, Diane Watt, and Michael York.

Author Biography

STEPHEN HUNT is Senior Lecturer in Sociology at the University of Reading, England.

Table of Contents

Foreword	v
David Martin
The Co-Authors	ix
Introduction	1	(11)
Stephen Hunt
Part I. SOCIOLOGICAL ASPECTS
Sociological Dimensions of Christian Millenarianism	12	(14)
Malcolm B. Hamilton
Definitions	12	(2)
Marxist interpretations	14	(3)
Christian millenarianism and cognitive dissonance	17	(3)
Status inconsistency	20	(3)
Sectarian tendencies	23	(3)
Whose Time is it Anyway? Evangelicals, the Millennium and Millenarianism	26	(13)
Martyn Percy
Millenarianism: past and present	29	(2)
Evangelicals at the turn of the millennium	31	(2)
Reading the times	33	(4)
Whose time is it anyway	37	(2)
Europe as Antichrist: North American Pre-Millenarianism	39	(11)
Orestis Lindermayer
Antichrist in American belief	39	(2)
`The Antichrist of Revelation is Europe'	41	(9)
The Rise, Fall and Return of Post-Millenarianism	50	(12)
Stephen Hunt
Nineteenth-century post-millenarianism	51	(2)
The ascendancy of pre-millenarianism	53	(2)
Expressions of marginalisation	55	(2)
Sectarianism	57	(2)
The dualistic tendencies of post-millenarianism	59	(3)
Part II: HISTORICAL DIMENSIONS
Millenarian Thought in the First-Century Church	62	(15)
Stanley E. Porter
New Testament passages related to the millennium	65	(3)
The Gospels	68	(2)
The Pauline letters	70	(7)
Millenarianism in the Reformation and English Revolution	77	(11)
Andrew Bradstock
The `pre-Reformation'	78	(2)
The Reformation period	80	(4)
The English Revolution	84	(3)
Afterwards	87	(1)
Medieval Millenarianism and Prophecy	88	(10)
Diane Watt
`Our Unspeakable Comfort': Irving, Albury, and the Origins of the Pre-tribulation Rapture	98	(18)
Mark Patterson
Andrew Walker
Darby and pre-millennialism	100	(2)
The misguided guest	102	(4)
The eschatology of Irving, Albury and The Morning Watch	106	(7)
The influence of Albury and The Morning Watch	113	(3)
Part III. THE GLOBAL MOVEMENTS
The Revolutionary Dimension of Millenarianism: The Case of the T'aiping Rebellion	116	(15)
Stephen Hunt
The colonial encounter	118	(1)
Prophets and messiahs	119	(3)
The social composition of the T'aiping	122	(1)
The Christianity of the T'aiping	123	(3)
The Kingdom of Heavenly Peace	126	(1)
Millenarianism: a precursor of secular political awareness?	127	(4)
The Heavenly Millennium of Seventh-Day Adventism	131	(18)
Kenneth Newport
Millerism and Seventh-Day Adventism	133	(6)
The heavenly millennium	139	(10)
En Route to the Marian Kingdom: Catholic Apocalypticism and the Army of Mary	149	(17)
Massimo Introvigne
Catholic apolcalypticism: an historical overview	149	(2)
Grignion de Montfort	151	(2)
Melanie Calvat	153	(1)
Leon Bloy	154	(1)
Ida Peerdeman	155	(1)
Raoul Auclair	156	(1)
Marie-Paul Giguere and the Army of Mary	157	(9)
The Millenarianism of the Pentecostal Movement	166	(21)
Margaret Poloma
Exploring the charism of the prophecy	170	(1)
Prophecy, prayer and religious experience	171	(1)
Stages of spiritual encounters	171	(3)
The prophet and Stark's theory of revelations	174	(3)
From prophecy to prophet	177	(2)
Prophecy and Pentecostal revitalisation	179	(1)
Prophetic predictions of the Revivals	180	(2)
Prophetic direction in institutional context	182	(2)
Prophecy, contemporary pentecostals and the End Times	184	(3)
A Peruvian Messiah and the Retreat from Apocalypse	187	(9)
Damien Thompson
The Israelites of the New Universal Covenant	187	(2)
Israelite millennialism	189	(1)
A visit to the Israelites	190	(2)
Apocalypse delayed?	192	(4)
Part V SYNCRETIC AND CULTIST FORMS
`All I am is Religion': David Koresh's Christian Millenarianism	196	(13)
Eugene Gallagher
Text	199	(3)
Interpreter	202	(3)
Context	205	(4)
Peace, Persecution and preparations for Yahshua's Return: The Case of the Messianic Communities' Twelve Tribes	209	(15)
Susan J. Palmer
The question of apocalypticism and potential violence	210	(1)
The history	211	(2)
Millenarian beliefs	213	(4)
Living the millennium in daily life	217	(2)
Factors that mitigate the potential for apocalyptic violence	219	(5)
New Age Millenarianism and its Christian Influences	224	(15)
Michael York
Occult New Age millenarianism	229	(3)
Spiritual New Age millenarianism	232	(3)
Social New Age millenarianism	235	(4)
Violent Millenarianism with a Christian Touch: Syncretic Themes in the Millennial Perspective of Aum Shinrikyo	239	(16)
Ian Reader
Aum Shinrikyo's origins and path to violence	242	(2)
Aum's millennialism: some basic themes	244	(1)
Millennialism in Japan: an overview	244	(3)
From optimism to destruction: Christian images and catastrophic millennialism in Aum Shinrikyo	247	(3)
The encounter with Christian millennialism	250	(5)
Index	255