Mormon Inquiry

Mormon Inquiry

Apocalypse … now?

posted by Dave Banack | 11:07am Thursday June 4, 2009

North Korean missile tests, Iranian nuclear ambitions, GM going bankrupt … can The End be far off? Morehead’s Musings reviews Apocalyptic Transformation: Apocalypse and the Postmodern Imagination (Lexington Books: 2008), suggesting apocalyptic anxiety is less a religious doctrine than an aspect of the human condition. The book discusses apocalyptic themes in a variety of films such as the Matrix trilogy.

Here’s how Morehead’s review starts out:

Fears and scenarios concerning the ultimate End of things are far more broad and diverse in the late modern West than the Left Behind novels of evangelicalism and popular culture. …

[Author Elizabeth] Rosen begins her discussion with an introduction into apocalyptic thinking. She notes that just as human beings need origin stories or myths to explain our beginnings, so we also incorporate stories of the End in order to come to grips with the threats of the end in the face of social chaos and the finality of the human story. She also draws the reader’s attention to the fact that stories of the End are sense-making myths that serve as “an organizing principle imposed on an overwhelming, seemingly disordered universe.” Used in this fashion, apocalyptic stories function much like conspiracy and chaos stories.



Previous Posts

The meanings of Zion
This is the third post on Richard L. Bushman's Mormonism: A Very Short Introduction (OUP, 2008). [See Part 1 and Part 2.] In Chapter Three, Bushman reviews the several meanings of the term "Zion" in LDS doctrine and thinking. The Mormon sense of Zion has no real parallels in Protestant though

posted 11:00:37pm Jul. 29, 2009 | read full post »

A statistical portrait of Mormons
The Pew Forum recently issued a detailed summary of survey information about Mormons gathered as part of a much larger survey of religious life in the United States. It is a very readable summary, noting that Mormons comprise 1.7% of adults in the US; 35% of Mormon adults live in Utah and 13% live i

posted 12:33:08pm Jul. 29, 2009 | read full post »

July 24th: Pioneer Day in Utah
July 24th is a state holiday in Utah, designated Pioneer Day. It commemorates the entry of the first wagon train of Mormons into the Salt Lake Valley in the summer of 1847. They came down Emigration Canyon, somewhat north of the present I-80 corridor which comes down Parley's Canyon. Brigham Young w

posted 5:38:50pm Jul. 23, 2009 | read full post »

Finding heretics in strange places
A very interesting post at Mormon Matters, reviewing a 1989 book titled "Will the Real Heretics Please Stand Up?" The book was written by an attorney who grew up a Jehovah's Witness, then became an Evangelical Christian. That lasted until he conducted a thorough reading the original writings of the

posted 6:27:09pm Jul. 22, 2009 | read full post »

Reason and revelation in Mormonism
This is a second piece on Bushman's Mormonism: A Very Short Introduction (OUP, 2008). [See Part 1.] Every faith and denomination has an approach for balancing faith and reason. In Chapter Two of the book, Bushman briefly outlines the LDS approach. The context, of course, is how a faith or den

posted 12:46:47am Jul. 17, 2009 | read full post »

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Comments read comments(7)
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Dan

posted June 6, 2009 at 7:33 pm


Let’s hope none of these people are ever given control of this country…oh wait, DOH! Let me tell you we dodged a bullet that the likes of George W. Bush was only able to get us messed up with Iraq and didn’t get his wish to also war with Iran, North Korea, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Yemen, Oman, Egypt, China, Russia, Germany (sooner or later), France, even Great Britain.



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frankg

posted June 7, 2009 at 3:01 am


Yeah, just keep feeding the tyrants a few americans (uss cole, african embassies, twin towers, etc., ) or allies at a time, let the neutral countries decide we won’t be sticking around, so they’ll sign treaties with our enemies. At least we won’t be like some cowboy we deliberately painted as a goof strictly for political purposes, then adopted his policies (may peace of the leftist msm be upon him) as soon as the election dust settled.
Don’t quite understand your choice of countries dan, germany and france are just upset nobody listens to them. Nk just wants to sell iran the means to finish the holocaust. You know, that thing in the last century that started with neville chamberlain, czechoslavakia, dismemberment, and appeasement.



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Rick M

posted June 7, 2009 at 5:55 pm


Heavenly Father will work this in HIS due time though we all know this time is not far distant. What exactly he Prophet Joseph foretold of this time will eventually be known. Speculation on the “White Horse” prophecies will be put to rest. Some see this new administration as a great thing to be reverred while others see it as rush head-long into the mess at “Warp speed MR. Sulu”. Is it a sign of the times? Of course. It’s already foretold that in the end “even the elect shall be deceived.” Each side will be the one to claim they will not be the ones that are deceived. W. Cleon Skousen’s 1963 presentation of communism’s 45 goals is almost complete in this country. To me this is sad.



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Dan

posted June 7, 2009 at 11:40 pm


Frank,
You don’t understand my list? Just look at Rick’s comment. He is a devout, loyal believer in the prophet Cleon Skousen, who believed the whole world was America’s enemy. Heck, Skousen believed only a part of America was not his enemy! Talk about being deceived. Rick still lives in the 1960s!



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Your Name

posted June 8, 2009 at 12:03 am


I’m not sure whether Dave allows ad hom attacks but so you know, I am not the topic of this blog.



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Rick M

posted June 8, 2009 at 12:04 am


Last post is mine.



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pagansister

posted June 9, 2009 at 7:06 pm


How many years have some folks predicted the “end” was in sight, due to the horrible things happening in the world? Those folks that lived during the wars…Civil, WWI, WWII, Korea, Viet Nam, as well as those wars before and conflicts since this country began, probably thought the earth was doomed. Interesting…we’re still here…and IMO will be for a lot longer.



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