Matthew Avery Sutton
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- December 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780199372690
- eISBN:
- 9780199372737
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199372690.003.0015
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion and Society
Millions of Americans believe that the apocalypse is nigh. To examine the influence of apocalypticism on the recent American past, this chapter analyzes the beliefs and convictions of three very ...
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Millions of Americans believe that the apocalypse is nigh. To examine the influence of apocalypticism on the recent American past, this chapter analyzes the beliefs and convictions of three very different individuals—David Koresh, Harold Camping, and Billy Graham. Although the futures that each of them saw differed, they shared much in common. Their work fostered among adherents a powerful sense of purpose and personal identity, helped them interpret the challenges around them, and provided them with a triumphant vision of the future. It offered them the promise of transformation and redemption in a world that seems to lack both. It also served as a call to battle rather than as a justification for withdrawal.Less
Millions of Americans believe that the apocalypse is nigh. To examine the influence of apocalypticism on the recent American past, this chapter analyzes the beliefs and convictions of three very different individuals—David Koresh, Harold Camping, and Billy Graham. Although the futures that each of them saw differed, they shared much in common. Their work fostered among adherents a powerful sense of purpose and personal identity, helped them interpret the challenges around them, and provided them with a triumphant vision of the future. It offered them the promise of transformation and redemption in a world that seems to lack both. It also served as a call to battle rather than as a justification for withdrawal.
