X-Message-Number: 28109 From: "Mark Plus" <> Subject: Re: 'End Times' Religious Groups Want Apocalypse Soon Date: Sat, 24 Jun 2006 08:55:02 -0700 Christian Reconstructionists or Dominionists, the lesser known branch of American fundamentalism based on Calviinist theology, explicitly repudiate the "dispensationalist" theology which promotes the belief that the rapture, Armageddon etc. will happen "soon." They believe that Christians have to set up a world theocracy based on Old Testament laws first, run the planet properly (by their standards!) for at least 1,000 years, and then wait for Jesus to arrive from the home office of the firm for his Final Inspection. While this doesn't sound much more rational than the kind of Christianity that wants the world to end in our lifetimes, at least it allows for a longish future ahead of us. I suspect the churches which preach Reconstructionism will grow at the expense of dispensationalist cults in coming years as the reality sinks in that people will still have to die after all, instead of going driectly to heaven by the rapture. Gary North, Reconstructionist guru, criticizes the rapture doctrine and points out the lower-class orientations of fundamentalists who believe in it in his essay, "Left Behind Culturally": http://www.lewrockwell.com/north/north30.html Manage your risk, not your terror. Mark Plus Rate This Message: http://www.cryonet.org/cgi-bin/rate.cgi?msg=28109