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Naming the Antichrist: The History of an American Obsession
The Antichrist, though mentioned a mere four times in the Bible, and then only obscurely, has exercised a tight hold on popular imagination throughout history. This has been particularly true in the U.S., says author Robert C. Fuller, where Americans have tended to view our nation as uniquely
blessed by God--a belief that leaves us especially prone to demonizing our enemies. In Naming the Antichrist , Fuller takes us on a fascinating journey through the dark side of the American religious psyche, from the earliest American colonists right up to contemporary fundamentalists such as Pat
Robertson and Hal Lindsey.
Fuller begins by offering a brief history of the idea of the Antichrist and its origins in the apocalyptic thought in the Judeo-Christian tradition, and traces the eventual 71Gws how the colonists saw Antichrist personified in native Americans and French Catholics, in Anne Hutchinson, Roger
Williams, and the witches of Salem, in the Church of England and the King. He looks at the Second Great Awakening in the early nineteenth century, showing how such prominent Americans as Yale president Timothy Dwight and the Reverend Jedidiah Morse (father of Samuel Morse) saw the work of the
Antichrist in phenomena ranging from the French Revolution to Masonry. In the twentieth century, he finds a startling array of hate-mongers--from Gerald Winrod (who vilified Roosevelt as a pawn of the Antichrist) to the Ku Klux Klan--who drew on apocalyptic imagery in their attacks on Jews,
Catholics, blacks, socialists, and others. Finally, Fuller considers contemporary fundamentalist writers such as Hal Lindsey (author of The Late Great Planet Earth , with some 19 million copies sold), Mary Stewart Relfe (whose candidates for the Antichrist have included such figures as Henry
Kissinger, Pope John Paul II, and Anwar Sadat), and a host of others who have found Antichrist in the sinister guise of the European Economic Community, the National Council of Churches, feminism, New Age religions, and even supermarket barcodes and fibre optics (the latter functioning as "the eye
of the Antichrist"). Throughout, Fuller reveals in vivid detail how our unique American obsession with the Antichrist reflects the struggle to understand ourselves--and our enemies--within the mythic context of the battle of absolute good versus absolute evil.
From the Scofield Reference Bible (no other book had greater impact on the American Antichrist tradition) to the Scopes Monkey Trial, Fuller provides an informative and often startling look at a thread that weaves persistently throughout American religious and cultural life.
blessed by God--a belief that leaves us especially prone to demonizing our enemies. In Naming the Antichrist , Fuller takes us on a fascinating journey through the dark side of the American religious psyche, from the earliest American colonists right up to contemporary fundamentalists such as Pat
Robertson and Hal Lindsey.
Fuller begins by offering a brief history of the idea of the Antichrist and its origins in the apocalyptic thought in the Judeo-Christian tradition, and traces the eventual 71Gws how the colonists saw Antichrist personified in native Americans and French Catholics, in Anne Hutchinson, Roger
Williams, and the witches of Salem, in the Church of England and the King. He looks at the Second Great Awakening in the early nineteenth century, showing how such prominent Americans as Yale president Timothy Dwight and the Reverend Jedidiah Morse (father of Samuel Morse) saw the work of the
Antichrist in phenomena ranging from the French Revolution to Masonry. In the twentieth century, he finds a startling array of hate-mongers--from Gerald Winrod (who vilified Roosevelt as a pawn of the Antichrist) to the Ku Klux Klan--who drew on apocalyptic imagery in their attacks on Jews,
Catholics, blacks, socialists, and others. Finally, Fuller considers contemporary fundamentalist writers such as Hal Lindsey (author of The Late Great Planet Earth , with some 19 million copies sold), Mary Stewart Relfe (whose candidates for the Antichrist have included such figures as Henry
Kissinger, Pope John Paul II, and Anwar Sadat), and a host of others who have found Antichrist in the sinister guise of the European Economic Community, the National Council of Churches, feminism, New Age religions, and even supermarket barcodes and fibre optics (the latter functioning as "the eye
of the Antichrist"). Throughout, Fuller reveals in vivid detail how our unique American obsession with the Antichrist reflects the struggle to understand ourselves--and our enemies--within the mythic context of the battle of absolute good versus absolute evil.
From the Scofield Reference Bible (no other book had greater impact on the American Antichrist tradition) to the Scopes Monkey Trial, Fuller provides an informative and often startling look at a thread that weaves persistently throughout American religious and cultural life.
240 pages, Hardcover
First published April 6, 1995
About the author
Robert C. Fuller
23 books6 followersDr. Robert Fuller has received national and international acclaim for his unique contributions in the areas of American cultural history and the interaction of religion and the social sciences. Author of twelve books, including five by Oxford University Press, and numerous articles published in professional journals, he is among the top authorities in his field with a number of his books being used in university classrooms across the country.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
May 16, 2019
I read this as part of a little background research for a book I'm pretty sure I'm never going to actually write.
This is a mostly fascinating history of our American habit of labeling our adversaries "The Antichrist." Be they political, religious, or otherwise, anyone who opposes certain wings of Christianity in the United States is almost invariably not just a person you disagree with, but a harbinger of the end-times.
The book itself is solid scholarship and generally illuminating, although it does tend to repeat itself a little bit, as the same quote will surface and resurface. It is, of course, also rather dry, being scholarly and all.
Still worth the read, particularly in our strange socio-spiritual time.
The core paradox of the right-wing, "conservative," nativists who seem to find the Antichrist under every rock? Of all kinds of Christian, it has always seemed most likely that should the Antichrist ever actually arrive, their strange, combative form of faith seems most likely to embrace him.
Not that I'm saying.
But, yeah. I'm saying.
This is a mostly fascinating history of our American habit of labeling our adversaries "The Antichrist." Be they political, religious, or otherwise, anyone who opposes certain wings of Christianity in the United States is almost invariably not just a person you disagree with, but a harbinger of the end-times.
The book itself is solid scholarship and generally illuminating, although it does tend to repeat itself a little bit, as the same quote will surface and resurface. It is, of course, also rather dry, being scholarly and all.
Still worth the read, particularly in our strange socio-spiritual time.
The core paradox of the right-wing, "conservative," nativists who seem to find the Antichrist under every rock? Of all kinds of Christian, it has always seemed most likely that should the Antichrist ever actually arrive, their strange, combative form of faith seems most likely to embrace him.
Not that I'm saying.
But, yeah. I'm saying.
February 22, 2016
Target audience: Anyone interested in apocalypticism, history of Protestantism, religious psychology and the Antichrist.
About the author: According to Bradley University, Robert C. Fuller is an authority on American religious thought, he regularly serves as a resource to the news media and has appeared on the History Channel’s two-part series on the “Antichrist,” Canadian Cable television’s “What I Believe” and on Bill Maher’s “Politically Incorrect.” He is a sought-after speaker at professional conferences. For his many professional contributions to his field, he was awarded the Samuel Rothberg Professional Excellence Award in 1988 and received a Caterpillar Professorship for Religious Studies in 2000. He also received the Charles M. Putnam Award for Teaching Excellence in 1995. Dr. Fuller received his bachelor’s degree at Denison University and his master's and Ph.D. degrees from the University of Chicago prior to beginning his teaching career at Bradley in 1978. He also serves as director of Bradley’s Honors Program.
Structure of the book: The book has 240 pages and it is divided in an Introduction, six chapters, an Epilogue, Notes and Index.
Overview: How many times have you heard about American presidents or celebrities being identified or associated with the Antichrist? Have you heard speculations about Obama being the Antichrist? Or George W. Bush? Or Hillary Clinton? Or Donald Trump? Or the simple speculation that an American president will be the Antichrist? Do you think that this phenomenon is new? Not at all; mythologizing the world is a feature of the American people ever since the first settlers placed their feet on American shores and it was passed from generation to generation as a unique element of the American heritage.
Naming the Antichrist is not a critique of the Christian religion or values. It is an analysis of America’s obsession with the Antichrist in doctrine and popular culture, throughout history from its roots in antiquity up to the modern age examination. Almost 2,000 after the Bible was written and it mentioned about antichrists and the Antichrist, people still anticipate the arrival of a demonic force akin to Revelation’s Beast of the Sea. This “Antichrist” may take the form of an organization, like the Catholic Church, or a person, like Hitler, depending upon whoever is in the news at the time. Crises within the nation and religious communities have often precipitated the naming of religious and/or secular forces within the country as minions of the Antichrist.
During the Reformation, in the 16th century, Protestants Reformers assumed that the papacy was the Antichrist predicted in Scripture. This assumption was gradually discarded by many European Protestants over time but became etched in the collective consciousness of those who left for America. The Elizabethan era, characterized by a compromise between Protestantism and Catholicism, was unsatisfactory for the Puritans who wanted a church completely devoid of any Roman ritualism. After Cromwell’s revolution and the Restoration many of them traveled in America. With them they brought their intense hatred of Catholics as the legendary "other" as they sought to build the great Christian society free of popish influence (the "city upon a hill" as John Winthrop said). With no Catholics around to dread, the Antichrist rhetoric changed. Yes, on the occasions that their hegemony was threatened, the natural inclination was to attribute a sinister motive with Rome as the likely power behind the nefarious plot. But even events within their own communities were seen as threats. The fear of satanic influences seeking to undermine the nation's status as a bastion of true Christianity engendered a sense of trepidation that produced tragic results, such as the Salem Witch Trials. Out of this Puritan foundation came a tradition of "naming the Antichrist" as a method of closing debate, separating "us" and "them", vilifying the enemy, and protecting the societal hegemony. Whether the enemy was the Catholic France (in the French and Indian War) or later the British (during the American War of Independence), the struggle was painted in apocalyptic terms with the enemy as an agent of the devil himself.
This pattern continued throughout the 19th century, especially during the Second and the Third Great Awakenings. The world had to be transformed with evangelization, orphanages, soup kitchens, temperance movements, and other social endeavors and a postmillennial eschatology dominated. During stable periods, the antichrist rhetoric would recede but resurfaced when a threat was perceived. These could be in the form of Enlightenment philosophy, Freemasonry, or Catholic and Jewish immigrants from Europe – few people have escaped demonization in the cosmic war of good versus evil. During the Civil War, anti-slavery forces in the North and pro-slavery forces in the South demonized each other as Satan's minions; and, although the author does not mention it, they both used the same Bible text to support or to reject slavery.
In the 20th century the dream of the "perfect Christian society" was pretty much abandoned due to the scientific development and events such as the World Wars and the Cold War. Popes, world leaders, diplomats and too-liberal preachers continue to be identified by name. Now the Antichrist has been discovered even in computers, bar codes and rock music. Moreover, the pattern for "naming the Antichrist" took new, more secularized, forms. The political discourse is centered on the inference of nefarious motives by the opposition. And, of course, evangelicals have continued the unbroken American tradition of pointing to an enemy as the son of perdition.
Overall, throughout his analysis, Fuller provides a framework for understanding how American Protestantism achieved its distinctive elements and how this affected the country’s history. For those seeking to understand the American tendency to see itself as a land of destiny and to see all of its conflicts – both foreign and domestic – in apocalyptic terms, Naming the Antichrist is a book to read.
Quote: …The history of Americans' obsession with naming the Antichrist draws attention to their almost limitless capacity for. With the help of biblical metaphors, many Americans are able to mythologize life by 'seeing' that there are deeper powers at work behind the surface appearance of worldly events. Everyday life is viewed against a cosmic background in which the forces of good are continually embattled by the forces of evil. The problems and confusions that Americans face consequently can never be reduced to political, social, or economic causes. Instead, these are guerrilla tactics employed by Satan in his never-ending war against the people of God…
Strong points: Naming the Antichrist: The History of an American Obsession in my opinion, is well researched, sober, unbiased, it has some philosophical and psychological tones here and there, and on the subject.
Weak points: Can the story of the Antichrist be completely or well understood if we speak only about one side of it? Because analyzing the story of the Antichrist mainly from an American point of view is not even half of the entire story of the Antichrist. Moreover, the lecture is a little “dry” in some places.
_______________
★★★ Follow us on Goodreads
★★★ Visit our website www.reasonandreligion.org
About the author: According to Bradley University, Robert C. Fuller is an authority on American religious thought, he regularly serves as a resource to the news media and has appeared on the History Channel’s two-part series on the “Antichrist,” Canadian Cable television’s “What I Believe” and on Bill Maher’s “Politically Incorrect.” He is a sought-after speaker at professional conferences. For his many professional contributions to his field, he was awarded the Samuel Rothberg Professional Excellence Award in 1988 and received a Caterpillar Professorship for Religious Studies in 2000. He also received the Charles M. Putnam Award for Teaching Excellence in 1995. Dr. Fuller received his bachelor’s degree at Denison University and his master's and Ph.D. degrees from the University of Chicago prior to beginning his teaching career at Bradley in 1978. He also serves as director of Bradley’s Honors Program.
Structure of the book: The book has 240 pages and it is divided in an Introduction, six chapters, an Epilogue, Notes and Index.
Overview: How many times have you heard about American presidents or celebrities being identified or associated with the Antichrist? Have you heard speculations about Obama being the Antichrist? Or George W. Bush? Or Hillary Clinton? Or Donald Trump? Or the simple speculation that an American president will be the Antichrist? Do you think that this phenomenon is new? Not at all; mythologizing the world is a feature of the American people ever since the first settlers placed their feet on American shores and it was passed from generation to generation as a unique element of the American heritage.
Naming the Antichrist is not a critique of the Christian religion or values. It is an analysis of America’s obsession with the Antichrist in doctrine and popular culture, throughout history from its roots in antiquity up to the modern age examination. Almost 2,000 after the Bible was written and it mentioned about antichrists and the Antichrist, people still anticipate the arrival of a demonic force akin to Revelation’s Beast of the Sea. This “Antichrist” may take the form of an organization, like the Catholic Church, or a person, like Hitler, depending upon whoever is in the news at the time. Crises within the nation and religious communities have often precipitated the naming of religious and/or secular forces within the country as minions of the Antichrist.
During the Reformation, in the 16th century, Protestants Reformers assumed that the papacy was the Antichrist predicted in Scripture. This assumption was gradually discarded by many European Protestants over time but became etched in the collective consciousness of those who left for America. The Elizabethan era, characterized by a compromise between Protestantism and Catholicism, was unsatisfactory for the Puritans who wanted a church completely devoid of any Roman ritualism. After Cromwell’s revolution and the Restoration many of them traveled in America. With them they brought their intense hatred of Catholics as the legendary "other" as they sought to build the great Christian society free of popish influence (the "city upon a hill" as John Winthrop said). With no Catholics around to dread, the Antichrist rhetoric changed. Yes, on the occasions that their hegemony was threatened, the natural inclination was to attribute a sinister motive with Rome as the likely power behind the nefarious plot. But even events within their own communities were seen as threats. The fear of satanic influences seeking to undermine the nation's status as a bastion of true Christianity engendered a sense of trepidation that produced tragic results, such as the Salem Witch Trials. Out of this Puritan foundation came a tradition of "naming the Antichrist" as a method of closing debate, separating "us" and "them", vilifying the enemy, and protecting the societal hegemony. Whether the enemy was the Catholic France (in the French and Indian War) or later the British (during the American War of Independence), the struggle was painted in apocalyptic terms with the enemy as an agent of the devil himself.
This pattern continued throughout the 19th century, especially during the Second and the Third Great Awakenings. The world had to be transformed with evangelization, orphanages, soup kitchens, temperance movements, and other social endeavors and a postmillennial eschatology dominated. During stable periods, the antichrist rhetoric would recede but resurfaced when a threat was perceived. These could be in the form of Enlightenment philosophy, Freemasonry, or Catholic and Jewish immigrants from Europe – few people have escaped demonization in the cosmic war of good versus evil. During the Civil War, anti-slavery forces in the North and pro-slavery forces in the South demonized each other as Satan's minions; and, although the author does not mention it, they both used the same Bible text to support or to reject slavery.
In the 20th century the dream of the "perfect Christian society" was pretty much abandoned due to the scientific development and events such as the World Wars and the Cold War. Popes, world leaders, diplomats and too-liberal preachers continue to be identified by name. Now the Antichrist has been discovered even in computers, bar codes and rock music. Moreover, the pattern for "naming the Antichrist" took new, more secularized, forms. The political discourse is centered on the inference of nefarious motives by the opposition. And, of course, evangelicals have continued the unbroken American tradition of pointing to an enemy as the son of perdition.
Overall, throughout his analysis, Fuller provides a framework for understanding how American Protestantism achieved its distinctive elements and how this affected the country’s history. For those seeking to understand the American tendency to see itself as a land of destiny and to see all of its conflicts – both foreign and domestic – in apocalyptic terms, Naming the Antichrist is a book to read.
Quote: …The history of Americans' obsession with naming the Antichrist draws attention to their almost limitless capacity for. With the help of biblical metaphors, many Americans are able to mythologize life by 'seeing' that there are deeper powers at work behind the surface appearance of worldly events. Everyday life is viewed against a cosmic background in which the forces of good are continually embattled by the forces of evil. The problems and confusions that Americans face consequently can never be reduced to political, social, or economic causes. Instead, these are guerrilla tactics employed by Satan in his never-ending war against the people of God…
Strong points: Naming the Antichrist: The History of an American Obsession in my opinion, is well researched, sober, unbiased, it has some philosophical and psychological tones here and there, and on the subject.
Weak points: Can the story of the Antichrist be completely or well understood if we speak only about one side of it? Because analyzing the story of the Antichrist mainly from an American point of view is not even half of the entire story of the Antichrist. Moreover, the lecture is a little “dry” in some places.
_______________
★★★ Follow us on Goodreads
★★★ Visit our website www.reasonandreligion.org
April 12, 2026
lol to the guy who said this was too American focused (read the damn subtitle)
But also to everyone that said this was dry, I beg to disagree. The writing was clear and concise and didn't get bogged down. I can assume that some of the low ratings are from people who felt a little too seen in the second half of the book
But also to everyone that said this was dry, I beg to disagree. The writing was clear and concise and didn't get bogged down. I can assume that some of the low ratings are from people who felt a little too seen in the second half of the book
February 25, 2014
Will the Antichrist never quit dogging us?
This is a fascinating peek into America’s obsession with the Antichrist, from the time of our founding as a nation until today. While the Bible speaks of antichrists in only two short books–First and Second John–and while these passages refer only to people who have already lived, fundamentalist churches 2,000 years later still anticipate the arrival of a demonic force akin to Revelation’s Beast of the Sea. This “Antichrist” may take the form of an organization, like the Catholic Church, or a person, like Mussolini, depending upon whoever is in the news at the time. In latter times, the Antichrist has been discovered in computers, bar codes, rock music and the Susan B. Anthony coin.
Fuller is an oft-published professor of religious studies at Bradley University, and his writing style is precise and engaging. He carries us through dozens of America’s apocalyptic enemies, so-named the Antichrist by vigilant stalkers of the Beast, going clear back to King George III in 1777. Yankees, Masons, liberals, communists, Catholics, unions, feminists, socialists, modernists, few people have escaped demonization by various clergy in the cosmic war of good versus evil. Popes, world leaders, diplomats and too-liberal preachers are identified by name. Just wars are fought under the banner of God, spurred by apocalyptic lyrics such as the Battle Hymn of the Republic. Entire nations are portrayed as evil empires, even from the presidential pulpit, compared to the “Gog” of Ezekiel and Revelation. Charles Taylor solved the sinister mystery of Gog: Gromkyo, Ogarkov and Gorbachev, with that birthmark on the latter’s head surely disclosing his beastly identity.
Beware anyone preaching tolerance, advocating pluralism, striving for universal brotherhood, saving the whales, or hoping for world peace. Fuller rightfully observes in the final line of his book that “this relentless obsession with the Antichrist appears to have done more to forestall than to signal the realization of the Kingdom of God on earth.”
Written before the turn of the century, Fuller’s book surely struck a chord with readers mystified by the manic draw of the millennium end. At the time, over half of adult Americans expected the imminent return of Jesus, accompanied by the fulfillment of cataclysmic biblical prophecies including the appearance of Revelation’s Beast. The whole obsession would be comical to me, had it died before my own lifetime, but when Fuller got to the 70’s the tone turned somber. I remember the panic over communism, the demonization of Kissinger, and Gorbachev’s antichristic delusion that peace was possible. I remember counting the letters in Ronald Wilson Reagan to reach 666. I remember when Greece became the tenth member of the EEC, completing the ten horns of Revelation’s beast. Had the rediculousness ended with the printing of 2001 calendars, I could write it all off as the nonsense of a prior age, but it hasn’t. Our newest president has far and wide been the subject of this same religious madness.
The Antichrist may never fade away, but thank goodness for reasonable studies like this one to help us understand and cope with this odd cultural phenomenon in the United States. A must read.
Oxford University Press, © 1995, 232 pages
ISBN: 0-19-508244-3
This is a fascinating peek into America’s obsession with the Antichrist, from the time of our founding as a nation until today. While the Bible speaks of antichrists in only two short books–First and Second John–and while these passages refer only to people who have already lived, fundamentalist churches 2,000 years later still anticipate the arrival of a demonic force akin to Revelation’s Beast of the Sea. This “Antichrist” may take the form of an organization, like the Catholic Church, or a person, like Mussolini, depending upon whoever is in the news at the time. In latter times, the Antichrist has been discovered in computers, bar codes, rock music and the Susan B. Anthony coin.
Fuller is an oft-published professor of religious studies at Bradley University, and his writing style is precise and engaging. He carries us through dozens of America’s apocalyptic enemies, so-named the Antichrist by vigilant stalkers of the Beast, going clear back to King George III in 1777. Yankees, Masons, liberals, communists, Catholics, unions, feminists, socialists, modernists, few people have escaped demonization by various clergy in the cosmic war of good versus evil. Popes, world leaders, diplomats and too-liberal preachers are identified by name. Just wars are fought under the banner of God, spurred by apocalyptic lyrics such as the Battle Hymn of the Republic. Entire nations are portrayed as evil empires, even from the presidential pulpit, compared to the “Gog” of Ezekiel and Revelation. Charles Taylor solved the sinister mystery of Gog: Gromkyo, Ogarkov and Gorbachev, with that birthmark on the latter’s head surely disclosing his beastly identity.
Beware anyone preaching tolerance, advocating pluralism, striving for universal brotherhood, saving the whales, or hoping for world peace. Fuller rightfully observes in the final line of his book that “this relentless obsession with the Antichrist appears to have done more to forestall than to signal the realization of the Kingdom of God on earth.”
Written before the turn of the century, Fuller’s book surely struck a chord with readers mystified by the manic draw of the millennium end. At the time, over half of adult Americans expected the imminent return of Jesus, accompanied by the fulfillment of cataclysmic biblical prophecies including the appearance of Revelation’s Beast. The whole obsession would be comical to me, had it died before my own lifetime, but when Fuller got to the 70’s the tone turned somber. I remember the panic over communism, the demonization of Kissinger, and Gorbachev’s antichristic delusion that peace was possible. I remember counting the letters in Ronald Wilson Reagan to reach 666. I remember when Greece became the tenth member of the EEC, completing the ten horns of Revelation’s beast. Had the rediculousness ended with the printing of 2001 calendars, I could write it all off as the nonsense of a prior age, but it hasn’t. Our newest president has far and wide been the subject of this same religious madness.
The Antichrist may never fade away, but thank goodness for reasonable studies like this one to help us understand and cope with this odd cultural phenomenon in the United States. A must read.
Oxford University Press, © 1995, 232 pages
ISBN: 0-19-508244-3
February 6, 2013
One of my favourite books of all time. I had to read this one in university and it completely engaged me and still does after the tenth read through. Fuller traces the American historical culture, intertwining it with this concept of the antichrist. An antichrist that has little to no actual existence in the bible itself. Essentially the connection between America and this concept is a form of a justification of violence. The use of the antichrist model allows Americans, more specifically American government to " demonize the enemy", and thus justify violent action against said enemy. With the huge ties between American history and a religious pretext, American governments can use the excuse of fighting for god. Seems ludicrous but fuller outlines how this has been done since before the American revolution. Hugely recommended read for anyone interested in American history, religious or not. Fantastic read.
September 9, 2024
A PROFESSOR OF RELIGIOUS STUDIES LOOKS HISTORICALLY AT THIS MYTHOLOGICAL FIGURE
Robert C. Fuller is Professor of Religous Studies at Bradley University. He has also written 'Spiritual, but not Religious: Understanding Unchurched America,' 'The Body of Faith: A Biological History of Religion in America,' 'Spirituality in the Flesh: Bodily Sources of Religious Experiences,' 'Wonder: From Emotion to Spirituality,' etc.
He wrote in the "Acknowledgements" section of this 1995 book, "The idea for this book came during a lunch-time run with my colleague... [who] was curious about how undergraduate students typically respond to the types of questions and insights that arise in the academic study of religion. I laughed and confessed that some must surely view me as the Antichrist owing to my insistence that religion can and should be made the subject of intellectual inquiry. Over the next few miles we had a good time recalling various people and ideas that at one time or another had been called the Antichrist.... I managed to finish transcribing ... my earlier conversation into a detailed outline for this book." (Pg. v)
He observes, "The history of Americans' obsession with naming the Antichrist draws attention to their almost limitless capacity for mythologizing life. With the help of biblical metaphors, many Americans are able to mythologize life by 'seeing' that there are deeper powers at work behind the surface appearance of worldly events. Everyday life is viewed against a cosmic background in which the forces of good are continually embattled by the forces of evil. The problems and confusions that Americans face consequently can never be reduced to political, social, or economic causes. Instead, these are guerrilla tactics employed by Satan in his never-ending war against the people of God." (Pg. 5)
He suggests, "A history of the American Antichrist therefore must be alert to how the 'crisis mentality' fostered by apocalyptic belief helps believers maintain their purity and identity. Certain psychological and cultural functions are served by a worldview that encourages people to see themselves as actors in a 'dramatic eschatology,' an eschatological drama unfolding in the mind of God and assuring them of final victory over those who would oppose or ever differ from them." (Pg. 8)
He notes that "The Maryland Journal... reported that upon hearing that the Continental Congress had finally declared America's independence, a group of soldiers celebrated by throwing down and decapitating 'the IMAGE of the BEAST,' a statue of George the Third. In case any doubt remained, a pamphlet entitled 'Concerning the Number of the Beast' appeared in 1777, confirming the identification of King George with the Antichrist. Its author... was able to demonstrate to his own satisfaction that these words ['Royal Supremacy in Great Britain'] contained the hidden numerical value of 666, the sign of the Beast of Revelation." (Pg. 71)
He concludes, "The history of the American Antichrist ... has revealed just how frail human existence can be and how many people frequently cope with this frailty by mythologizing life in apocalyptic ways... By mythologizing these threats---by naming the Antichrist---they seek to push back the threat of chaos, restore order, and secure their sense of agency and well-being... apocalyptic name-calling has rarely functioned in ways that lead to a productive engagement with life. Seldom have carriers of the Antichrist tradition acted in ways that demonstrably worked for a richer universe... most apt to be a member of a more inclusive whole. In brief, this relentless obsession with the Antichrist appears to have done more to forestall than to signal the realization of the Kingdom of God on earth." (Pg. 200)
Fuller's book is an interesting, opinionated survey of the history of this "obsession," and will be of value to those interested in historical treatments of eschatology in this country.
Robert C. Fuller is Professor of Religous Studies at Bradley University. He has also written 'Spiritual, but not Religious: Understanding Unchurched America,' 'The Body of Faith: A Biological History of Religion in America,' 'Spirituality in the Flesh: Bodily Sources of Religious Experiences,' 'Wonder: From Emotion to Spirituality,' etc.
He wrote in the "Acknowledgements" section of this 1995 book, "The idea for this book came during a lunch-time run with my colleague... [who] was curious about how undergraduate students typically respond to the types of questions and insights that arise in the academic study of religion. I laughed and confessed that some must surely view me as the Antichrist owing to my insistence that religion can and should be made the subject of intellectual inquiry. Over the next few miles we had a good time recalling various people and ideas that at one time or another had been called the Antichrist.... I managed to finish transcribing ... my earlier conversation into a detailed outline for this book." (Pg. v)
He observes, "The history of Americans' obsession with naming the Antichrist draws attention to their almost limitless capacity for mythologizing life. With the help of biblical metaphors, many Americans are able to mythologize life by 'seeing' that there are deeper powers at work behind the surface appearance of worldly events. Everyday life is viewed against a cosmic background in which the forces of good are continually embattled by the forces of evil. The problems and confusions that Americans face consequently can never be reduced to political, social, or economic causes. Instead, these are guerrilla tactics employed by Satan in his never-ending war against the people of God." (Pg. 5)
He suggests, "A history of the American Antichrist therefore must be alert to how the 'crisis mentality' fostered by apocalyptic belief helps believers maintain their purity and identity. Certain psychological and cultural functions are served by a worldview that encourages people to see themselves as actors in a 'dramatic eschatology,' an eschatological drama unfolding in the mind of God and assuring them of final victory over those who would oppose or ever differ from them." (Pg. 8)
He notes that "The Maryland Journal... reported that upon hearing that the Continental Congress had finally declared America's independence, a group of soldiers celebrated by throwing down and decapitating 'the IMAGE of the BEAST,' a statue of George the Third. In case any doubt remained, a pamphlet entitled 'Concerning the Number of the Beast' appeared in 1777, confirming the identification of King George with the Antichrist. Its author... was able to demonstrate to his own satisfaction that these words ['Royal Supremacy in Great Britain'] contained the hidden numerical value of 666, the sign of the Beast of Revelation." (Pg. 71)
He concludes, "The history of the American Antichrist ... has revealed just how frail human existence can be and how many people frequently cope with this frailty by mythologizing life in apocalyptic ways... By mythologizing these threats---by naming the Antichrist---they seek to push back the threat of chaos, restore order, and secure their sense of agency and well-being... apocalyptic name-calling has rarely functioned in ways that lead to a productive engagement with life. Seldom have carriers of the Antichrist tradition acted in ways that demonstrably worked for a richer universe... most apt to be a member of a more inclusive whole. In brief, this relentless obsession with the Antichrist appears to have done more to forestall than to signal the realization of the Kingdom of God on earth." (Pg. 200)
Fuller's book is an interesting, opinionated survey of the history of this "obsession," and will be of value to those interested in historical treatments of eschatology in this country.
November 30, 2023
This one disappointed me. While Fuller does give some helpful analysis for understanding how Fundamentalism (infused with dispensationalism) laid the groundwork for the modern climate of antichrist obsessions, this book is sorely lacking in exegetical understanding of the Bible. The opening chapters approach the Bible through an exclusively fundamentalist, literal hermeneutic. This is fine in looking to understand the Bible as Fundamentalists do, but Fuller does not do that and instead takes that hermeneutic to be THE interpretive lens for all of Christianity. It kept frustrating me that Fuller failed to ever acknowledge that such an approach to 1 John is very narrow and not the only hermeneutical approach to the text. In that vein, Fuller fails to distinguish the American vein of Fundamentalist Dispensationalism (which he should be rightly focusing on) from the broader Christian tradition. I would conclude that you are better off reading George Marsden's "Understanding Fundamentalism and Evangelicalism." There you will find better, more nuanced historical recounting.
December 23, 2016
As someone who grew up in a fundamentalist household, I knew of "the Antichrist" from very early memory. What I didn't realize, even with a formal theological education, is that there is no such character as "the Antichrist" in the Bible. As Fuller clearly shows the word "antichrist" appears only twice and does not refer to a specific person. Neither reference is in the book of Revelation, as would be expected.
Early in Christian history, the church fathers started to make the connection between "antichrist" and "the Beast" in Revelation. These two images were conflated into a character that has lingering influence in both conservative Christianity and popular culture. For example, the movie The Omen, with all of its sequels and remakes, makes no sense without this cobbled-together character.
Fuller treats this development fairly well, showing how the culture of fear that Evangelicals faced in the light of modernism led to the continued belief in embodied evil living on earth. This is a fascinating study of a character many people take for granted without realizing that it's not what they think it is. For those who wish to see more, I also commented on my blog: Sects and Violence in the Ancient World.
Early in Christian history, the church fathers started to make the connection between "antichrist" and "the Beast" in Revelation. These two images were conflated into a character that has lingering influence in both conservative Christianity and popular culture. For example, the movie The Omen, with all of its sequels and remakes, makes no sense without this cobbled-together character.
Fuller treats this development fairly well, showing how the culture of fear that Evangelicals faced in the light of modernism led to the continued belief in embodied evil living on earth. This is a fascinating study of a character many people take for granted without realizing that it's not what they think it is. For those who wish to see more, I also commented on my blog: Sects and Violence in the Ancient World.
February 25, 2014
Good academic overview of Protestant apocalyptic thought in America. It explains why some of those on the religious right are immune to appeals to reason, common sense, the common good, etc. Only their own interpretation of the Bible, history and current events carries any weight. In fact, many of them see reason, science, social justice, peace, interfaith understanding, and the environmental movement as the deceptively attractive appearance assumed by the Antichrist to lead people astray.
One criticism of the book is that, especially for colonial and revolutionary times, the author isn't clear about how many people held these beliefs, writing as if they were the norm, which I don't believe they were. In those days there was a great variety of Christians as well as many people who really didn't care much about religion one way or another. The effect throughout the book is to exaggerate the pervasiveness and influence of apocalyptic thought - though it certainly has been disproportionately influential.
One criticism of the book is that, especially for colonial and revolutionary times, the author isn't clear about how many people held these beliefs, writing as if they were the norm, which I don't believe they were. In those days there was a great variety of Christians as well as many people who really didn't care much about religion one way or another. The effect throughout the book is to exaggerate the pervasiveness and influence of apocalyptic thought - though it certainly has been disproportionately influential.
March 25, 2016
This overview of American evangelical apocalyptic thinking has some serious problems. For one, the attempted breadth means putting disparate things together and acting like they're the same. For another, the book offers the standard psychologized interpretation of apocalyptic thinking, missing a lot of important detail and nuance. At points, it seems the book is more intent on explaining away apocalyptic thinking than explaining it.
Could still serve as a decent starting point, e.g. in the classroom, if the reading is guided by some sharp questions.
Could still serve as a decent starting point, e.g. in the classroom, if the reading is guided by some sharp questions.
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April 29, 2009This is an excellent history of this obsession It is well written and very understandable even to laymen. It lays out this obsession in the US and among many Christians. I would recommend it to anyone with interest in this subject.
May 7, 2011
One of the best overviews of American evangelical apocalyptic thought.
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