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Robert C. Fuller

Naming the Antichrist: The History of an American Obsession Paperback – November 21, 1996

by Robert C. Fuller (Author)

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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.

Print length

240 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Oxford University Press
Publication date

November 21, 1996
Dimensions

5.31 x 0.46 x 8 inches
ISBN-10

0195109791
ISBN-13

978-0195109795
Lexile measure

1540L
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"Make[s] for lively reading. A book that makes familiar concepts disturbingly fresh and provocative."--The New York Times

"Fascinating....An especially timely work."--Booklist

"Clearly written and astute."--The Boston Sunday Globe

About the Author

Robert C. Fuller is Professor of Religious Studies at Bradley University. His many books have focused on a wide range of topics, such as the cultural history of psychology, alternative medicine, and contemporary American religious thought.

Product details

Publisher : Oxford University Press; 1st edition (November 21, 1996)
Language : English
Paperback : 240 pages
ISBN-10 : 0195109791
ISBN-13 : 978-0195109795
Lexile measure : 1540L
Item Weight : 7.2 ounces
Dimensions : 5.31 x 0.46 x 8 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #1,612,892 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #2,247 in Sociology & Religion
- #2,945 in Christian Eschatology (Books)
- #2,946 in British & Irish Literary Criticism (Books)

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Firesign

Rather dry

Reviewed in the United States on December 16, 2013

Verified Purchase

Rather dry. Not what I expected - too much explaining his psychological theories, instead of focusing on what the people actually thought and said. Skepticism is to be expected, but there was no attempt at balance.

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Dubious Disciple

A Dubious Disciple Book Review

Reviewed in the United States on 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

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A PROFESSOR OF RELIGIOUS STUDIES LOOKS HISTORICALLY AT THIS MYTHOLOGICAL FIGURE

Reviewed in the United States on September 27, 2013

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 guerrila 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.

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