Did The Evangelicals Let Loose The Beast?

 That is one way to read Fadi Abu-Deeb's Where Are Those Christian “Prophets” and “Apocalypticians?; An Episode of Religious Sci-Fi (Public Orthodoxy).

The current political scene is indeed ideal for an apocalyptic scenario for those who believe in dramatic eschatological scenarios. I mean it is a golden chance for those who suspect that this or that politician is paving the way for the Antichrist! Look at it: a charismatic leader with a roaring crowd around him, allied to a billionaire who promises humanity with humanoids and cyborgs with planted microchips. Sounds fictional? No, it is real, but those who are supposed to “take care” of the situation think about something else, or they do not indeed believe in what they usually preach!

I admire how the writer sends up American Evangelical fascination with the Second Coming. It has seemed to me, they think the Second Coming is their get-out-of-jail-free card for however much they screw up this world and the rest of humanity. Abu-Deeb calls out their inane views with more humor than I could ever muster. In fact, he nails them.

Then he puts in a paragraph to which we should all pay attention:

It seems that when it comes to space and time, vivid colors fade, and we are stuck with the sheer materiality of daily life. I am not talking here about hypocrisy, but about the lack of self-awareness and the ignorance of one’s mental life. Is it unfair to say that many a time we entertain ourselves with interpretations and dictions that, from a psychological perspective, might serve other unconscious purposes? In other words, do those who talk a lot about apocalyptic events really believe in what they are saying, or it is just that these scenarios are one way of entertaining the idea of “us” and “them,” or the idea of “the Saved Group,” (al-Firqah an-Najiyah) as called in some circles of Islamic theology? It generates a sort of exclusivist “warmth” I knew very well in my youth—something I would not like to possess again, or I know truer and much better “warmth” now.

We should be careful of how we come to our ideas. I know my depression left me with ideas that were crazy. We can all start with bad premises and end in far worse places. Another reason for intellectual humility, double-check your ideas against those with opposing ideas.

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