smile? gas?

[pynchonoid]

[...] In their new apocalyptic novel, "Glorious
Appearing," based on Dr. LaHaye's interpretation of
Biblical prophecies about the Second Coming, their
Jesus appears from the clouds on a white horse with a
"conviction like a flame of fire" in his eyes. With
all the gruesome detail of a Hollywood horror movie,
Jesus eviscerates the flesh of millions of unbelievers
merely by speaking.

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"Men and women soldiers and horses seemed to explode
where they stood," Dr. LaHaye and Mr. Jenkins write.
"It was as if the very words of the Lord had
superheated their blood, causing it to burst through
their veins and skin.'' The authors add, "Even as they
struggled, their own flesh dissolved, their eyes
melted and their tongues disintegrated."

Dr. LaHaye and Mr. Jenkins did not invent fire and
brimstone. But some scholars who study religion say
that the phenomenal popularity of their "Left Behind"
series of apocalyptic thrillers - now the best-selling
adult novels in the United States - are part of a
shift in American culture's image of Jesus. The
gentle, pacifist Jesus of the Crucifixion is sharing
the spotlight with a more muscular warrior Jesus of
the Second Coming, the Lamb making way for the Lion.

Scholars who study religion in American culture say
the trend partly reflects the growing clout of
evangelical Christians and the relative decline of the
liberal mainline Protestant denominations over the
last 30 years. The image of a fearsome Jesus who will
turn the tables on the unbelieving earthly authorities
corresponds to a widespread sense among many
conservative Christians that their values are under
assault in a culture war with the secular society
around them. The shift coincides with a surging
interest in Biblical prophecies of the apocalypse
around the turn of the millennium, the terrorist
attacks of Sept. 11 and the two wars with Iraq. And
the warlike image of Jesus also fits with President
George W. Bush's discussions of a godly purpose behind
American military actions in Afghanistan and Iraq.
[...] 

...read it all:
The Return of the Warrior Jesus
By DAVID D. KIRKPATRICK
Published: April 4, 2004
<http://www.nytimes.com/2004/04/04/weekinreview/04kirk.html>



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