If only.
If only Tim LaHaye were right. I must admit that the idea of an ultra-fundamentalist pretribulation, premillinialist interpretation of the biblical "end times" has great appeal these days. I look at the daily news and want to just sigh "to hell with it all!" regularly enough. If I had a theology that could actually justify such an arrogant and seperatist emotion, life would be so much simpler. If I could cross a big black "x" over all those portions of the New Testament that speak about loving the world, serving others, caring for the poor and mistreated, working towards the redemption and re-Creation of the cosmos (heaven and earth), and especially having to endure the kind of trials that placed Jesus on the death timbers; and if I could press my big yellow highlighter over the words in Revelation that reinforce a detached and inhumane position that actually looks forward to God's Wrath being poured out on others while I magically get sucked into the sky with the Rapture Tractor Beam, then I could confidently root for the greatest super-power-duo in history -- the unstoppable military and economic Titan, the United States of America, holding hands with God's chosen nation, the very people that carried the ark of the covenant out into battle (attached with poles, so nobody gets fried) in order to exterminate it's idol-worshipping enemies!
But the folly of this recently-subscribed-to cultural and theological phenomenon is being exploited in this latest round of Middle East turmoil. Now, on the world stage, we behold a particular brand of proudly self-proclaimed Christians (and evangelicals) making the executive decisions for the U.S. to assist Israel in the abysmally cowardly act of bombing Lebanese civilians, the majority of whom are Arab Christians. The powerful "New Testament people of God" have gotten in bed with the "Old Testament people of God" in an all-out effort that effectively pronounces an apocalypse of terror on the meek and unpowerful "New Testament people of God!" If we were to truly look at the thematic emphases of the Scriptures and then superimpose a Tim LaHaye-esque "look for the comtemporary signs" approach to Revelation, we would find that the U.S.A. is the Beast, or the Whore of Babylon, or the Anti-Christ, or some combination of all three. God would be on the side of the defenseless Christians in Lebanon and against the imperial forces of greed and violence that have become America and Israel.
But what if God decided to change his mind and take a LaHaye-ian approch after all? "You know what, other two parts of the Trinity, that whole fundy rapture thing has got to be one of the most egregious abuses of my Holy Word since the Inquisition and the Nazi regime. But I'm so sick of the way so-called believers carry on in Our Name, killing each other and ignoring their roles as ambassadors of light and love for the world, I think I'll just do it their way after all. Son, get on down there with Your angels and pull out all those beautiful children that have suffered for Our sake, who have practiced peace and self-sacrificing love. Then get back up here and let's give the rest of 'em a universal bath of blood and fire. And no more rainbows."
But the folly of this recently-subscribed-to cultural and theological phenomenon is being exploited in this latest round of Middle East turmoil. Now, on the world stage, we behold a particular brand of proudly self-proclaimed Christians (and evangelicals) making the executive decisions for the U.S. to assist Israel in the abysmally cowardly act of bombing Lebanese civilians, the majority of whom are Arab Christians. The powerful "New Testament people of God" have gotten in bed with the "Old Testament people of God" in an all-out effort that effectively pronounces an apocalypse of terror on the meek and unpowerful "New Testament people of God!" If we were to truly look at the thematic emphases of the Scriptures and then superimpose a Tim LaHaye-esque "look for the comtemporary signs" approach to Revelation, we would find that the U.S.A. is the Beast, or the Whore of Babylon, or the Anti-Christ, or some combination of all three. God would be on the side of the defenseless Christians in Lebanon and against the imperial forces of greed and violence that have become America and Israel.
But what if God decided to change his mind and take a LaHaye-ian approch after all? "You know what, other two parts of the Trinity, that whole fundy rapture thing has got to be one of the most egregious abuses of my Holy Word since the Inquisition and the Nazi regime. But I'm so sick of the way so-called believers carry on in Our Name, killing each other and ignoring their roles as ambassadors of light and love for the world, I think I'll just do it their way after all. Son, get on down there with Your angels and pull out all those beautiful children that have suffered for Our sake, who have practiced peace and self-sacrificing love. Then get back up here and let's give the rest of 'em a universal bath of blood and fire. And no more rainbows."
posted by gdwill at 2:38 PM
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