People still believe that Jesus is returning to earth . . . and soon!
Like Jesus' the first followers, millions of Christians hold fast to the
idea that we are living in the last days, yet here we are, two thousand
years later, still waiting. In
The Homebrewed Christianity Guide to the End Times
Jeffrey C. Pugh recounts his own brief sojourn in an apocalyptic cult.
Looking back now, as a respected professor of theology, he tackles how
Christianity in general, and the evangelical world in particular, have
been captivated by the theological innovation known as Dispensationalism
that emerged in the nineteenth century. The embrace of this idea has
influenced millions, leading to such cultural phenomena as the
Left Behind
books and movies, and Christian Zionism. But Pugh argues that the
belief in the imminent return of Christ has in fact been harmful to
Christian engagement with the world, and he builds this argument on a
thorough and occasionally sassy reading of biblical texts and church
history.