The Last Myth: What the Rise of Apocalyptic Thinking Tells Us About America

The contradictions of Jesus' apocalyptic preachings about the "kingdom of God is at hand The folly of date-setting regarding the end of times and the rise of "the rapture" in the United States. It is, indeed, a must-read. Nov 22, Benjamin Thompson rated it really liked it. Matthew Gross paints an interesting picture of human history in this book. In particular, he argues that the major force in 21st century culture is the belief that the end is nigh.

More accurately, what is driving, or stifling, our civilization is the belief that the future is both inevitable and cataclysmic. He swiftly blows through the rise of this belief in a fixed through the rise of the Judeo-Christian tradition. It is at this point that Gross seems to provide the least amount of research o Matthew Gross paints an interesting picture of human history in this book. It is at this point that Gross seems to provide the least amount of research or originality for that matter.

Nevertheless, his central thesis seems to stay intact as he points his readers to the more important narrative; the rise of the secular apocalypse. Whether it be Y2K, a super-volcanic eruption, an asteroid strike or global warming, Americans believe more than ever that we are heading down a path of destruction. We believe that what everyone else calls progress is actually regress and that in the end our worldview will be proven right.

The 21st century has been populated by hundreds of millions of people daydreaming about the day when they will yell at their neighbor, "I told you so! Christian teachings have been far more nuanced than simply saying God is sovereign and therefore all we can do is wait for coming judgment. Gross acknowledges this but again swiftly dismisses these theological innovations as intellectually awkward, if not completely incoherent. This does expose a fatal weak spot in Gross's narrative. Christian theologians have long expressed that God, while sovereign, works through people and is using His Church to build His kingdom.

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If God has structured His Church to help resolve the social ills of our time and strive to make an ever-better society, then we must do so, regardless of how God will ultimately bring about the fulfillment of His Kingdom on earth. I think Gross is ultimately right, we cannot afford to divorce ourselves from our ideals.

If we believe God should reign on earth as He does in Heaven, we must bear the cross that comes with that ideal. Feb 27, Erica rated it really liked it. This was a good, fast read, but I was expecting something a bit more from it. Which perhaps points to the space it leaves open for another, more academic book of its kind. Some incredible factoids, some good research and thinking, but I think there's more work to be done. The book focuses not so much on apocalyptic thinking or apocalyptic culture persay, but does a very good job of mapping apocalyptic thinking's rise, and links it with global history and trends about the belief of time.

Instead This was a good, fast read, but I was expecting something a bit more from it. Instead of getting at culture, the authors ultimately try to point to some of the consequences of such thinking. Written from a very liberal and welcome point of view, they believe that apocalyptic responses to global problems and change especially through and since the 90s, marked by the great growth of cable TV and cult conservative religions is actually debilitating us--making us less apt to act in a concerted manner to address these problems, to change our ways of life, to right the ship, etc.

I think this is right, and a very good message to spread, but I'm still wondering about the actual "culture" of apocalysm, and how seemingly desperately it's tied to American-style late capitalism. It seems to me that it's deeply reflective of the guilt many Americans have from living so high on the hog for so long It also seems to me that it's a response to the soul-deadening quality of late capitalism ie, feeling that we are nothing but consumers , the digital age, and the incredible population growth all over the planet.

It's most deeply a way of responding to a felt lack of individuality, I think. It's a way of making ourselves feel ultimately meaningful, for hoping for something different. View all 4 comments. Apr 21, Melanie rated it liked it Shelves: I wish I could give a book on this topic more than three stars, but this one is, in my opinion, poorly written. Although the author does not intend to, he often confuses the reader about whether there is any difference between an imaginary apocalypse based on religion and a potential apocalypse based on human actions and scientific advances.

Occasionally he makes this distinction clear, but more often than not, he does not. He does make a strong case that American society is obsessed with the pote I wish I could give a book on this topic more than three stars, but this one is, in my opinion, poorly written. He does make a strong case that American society is obsessed with the potential end of the world, more so than other modern cultures. This seems to stem from the advent of monotheism and the invention of the concept that there is a god who created everything and who judges the world and its human inhabitants. This apocalyptic thinking has taken deep root in the Christian religion where various sects see the 2nd coming of their savior with the physical end of the world and possibly the rapture as closely related chronologically.

According to this book, before the advent of monotheism, time was viewed as circular and never-ending. At any rate, religiously based apocalypse are constantly in the immediate future no matter how that future rolls into the past. Apocalyptic thinking based on science population growth, ecological collapse, nuclear holocaust, global warming , on the other hand, are all issues that we as human beings cannot afford to ignore. They are disasters that we could potential avert due to our own actions.

It seems that a religious apocalypse can only be hastened by human actions. But, the book claims when it is speaking in a voice that can be understood, by equating these two types of disasters, we end up taking no action on those whose outcome we can potentially change. At least that's what I think the book says. Apr 11, Mel rated it really liked it Shelves: I won this book through a Goodreads giveaway, and I really glad I did. This is not the type of book I typically pick up, but it was such an interesting read. This book is an easy-to-read investigation into the apocalyptic views that permeate the world today.

It investigates the development of this way of thinking, as well as how it has shaped our decisions and responses to other areas of our lives. As a Christian, I found it particularly fascinating how religion affected and was affected by this I won this book through a Goodreads giveaway, and I really glad I did.

As a Christian, I found it particularly fascinating how religion affected and was affected by this apocalyptic thought, especially how Jesus's message fit in. Through reading this book, I realized how fully our society in integrated with this notion, and the ways it has blinded us. When you read history books, you often read about collapsed civilizations, or events in history and think, "How were they that stupid?

Why didn't they see that coming? This book was really fascinating, and I would recommend it to anyone, for them to draw their own conclusions. May 07, Kai rated it liked it Shelves: The Last Myth summarizes everything that we think would be the apocalypse from Western belief to Eastern belief. We as human being have a fascination regarding the End of Days from a religious stand to a mythical stand. We wonder about the what ifs.

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The Bible's Revelations has spelled out how the world is going to end but there is no timeline as in when the world is going to end. The Mayan Calender gave us the timeline but why and how is questionable. Will the world ends on December 21, ? Let The Last Myth summarizes everything that we think would be the apocalypse from Western belief to Eastern belief. Let look at the definition of apocalypse. In the dictionary, it defined the word as the last battle between good and evil.

Book Review: The Last Myth: What the Rise of Apocalyptic Thinking Tells Us About America

When the term apocalypse is applied, it means that there will be some sort of huge changes that will define the path of mankind as in starting over. If the date doesn't happen, we will have to wait and see. But if there is a major disaster, mankind has survived and preservered as we has seen throughout history from the enslavement of empires, diseases, famines, and natural disasters.

Apr 17, Jennie rated it really liked it Shelves: I really liked this book. My favorite genres in fiction books are post apocalyptic and christian fiction mostly about the end of the world. This book definitely put my feet back on the ground when my imagination takes me somewhere else. It touches on our thinking about the end of the world. They put everything in a perfect perspective. I always wondered where this whole apocalypse came about and it explains it's origin w I really liked this book. I always wondered where this whole apocalypse came about and it explains it's origin with the Judeo Christians.

I thought the book was starting to take a turn towards an environmental book half way through but as it gets explained why they go in that direction. It seems our reality is staring us in the face daily and we don't seem to notice. Will we do anything to change it or will we become a society that is described in history that died out? It still makes me think that our society will go out with a whimper rather then a bang. Aug 10, Lynne Premo rated it it was amazing Shelves: I read this book over just a couple days, I found it that interesting.

The authors cover a lot of bases here, from the historical background that led to the societal mindshift that led to the first apocalyptic myths to the reasons why apocalyptic thinking is so prevalent in much of mainstream American society now. But these aren't just discrete points in human history; a thread ties them all together.

What impressed me most, however, is how the authors went a step further in the modern-day discu I read this book over just a couple days, I found it that interesting. What impressed me most, however, is how the authors went a step further in the modern-day discussion of apocalyptic thinking to address how this approach to life, the universe, and everything is affecting and in most cases harming not just the U.

Also, the final chapter provides a useful summary of all the material in the book, once again tying the content together the writer in me always appreciates a good conclusion. Feb 29, Amanda rated it liked it. From ancient Jewish apocalypticism to modern apocalyptic thought s the book delves into the religious and political beliefs as well as the secular ideas that shape so much of our daily lives. Jan 03, David Richardson rated it really liked it Shelves: I received this book for free from the Goodreads first-read giveaway.

A very interesting book about the way mankind views the end of the world.

The Last Myth: What the Rise of Apocalyptic Thinking Tells Us about America by Mathew Barrett Gross

It talks of different ways the world may end but mainly focuses on how we came to dwell so much on the apocalypse. What makes us think this way? Is it religion, climate change, the economy, ancient history, the atomic bomb, or something else? Get out your dictionary before you even start this one. I have never read a book that had so many w I received this book for free from the Goodreads first-read giveaway. I have never read a book that had so many words that I had never seen; much less knew what they meant.

Aug 19, Alison rated it really liked it. Fascinating and reassuring, although I think the authors confuse complete physical destruction of the world with the collapse of civilization, and spend too much time scolding people for believing that the former is imminent when, in fact, I think more people are concerned about the latter, and the authors even acknowledge that the latter is far from rare.

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The book feels incomplete, but it is still worth the read if this is a subject that interests you. Sep 03, Natalie rated it liked it. I've dreamt about the apocalypse since I can remember. This book was very illuminating, but it could have been more concise. It was full of generalizations, and although the author seems to back up his claims, the sources are not always credible.

The authors begin their explanation by looking at research produced by social psychologists from the University of Kansas. To put this another way, when people feel that their lives contribute to a cultural system, they cling to this system because it helps them to forget about their own mortality. In the most well-known test of this theory, the psychologists showed a group of Christian students the film Faces of Death , in order to bring attention to their mortality.

A second group of Christians was shown a lighthearted comedy instead. The psychologists then asked both groups to provide feedback on essays that were written by Christian and Jewish students. Their findings corroborated the theory:. The students who had experienced reminders of their own mortality were significantly more critical of the essays written by the Jewish students; their criticisms at times bordered on the anti-Semitic.

Just as worldview defense had predicted, the Christian students who had been reminded of death sought to bolster their own worldviews by denigrating the beliefs of others The Norse, confronted with death, followed this same pattern of events. The same threats that eventually brought about their demise also pressured them to sustain their cultural worldview, even after it became extremely apparent that it was no longer tenable.

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Liberal or conservative, the vast majority of Americans share a common cultural purpose: The reason people in the United States have become entranced by the apocalypse is because that cultural worldview has become fundamentally eroded. Despite abundant evidence that the age of perpetual economic progress is over, people grip hold of it to give their lives meaning. The desire that we feel for an apocalyptic moment is the desire to vindicate our beliefs. Our faith in this culture has become so shaken that we crave some sort of indicator that will prove to ourselves and to others that we are right, and reveal beyond all doubt the path this culture needs to take in order to reach the foretold Golden Age— whether that Golden Age is a Kingdom of God or a solar-powered technotopia.

Having been backed against a wall, liberals and conservatives both strive for a way to preserve their cultural worldview, to sustain an unsustainable standard of living. It is as impossible for Americans to consider a world in economic decline as it would have been for the Norse to adopt igloos and start eating fish. At the same time that cultural worldview is just as impossible to sustain as the Norse worldview was in The reality is that:.

The rhetoric of the apocalypse gets it backward: The world before us will still be marked by laughter and love and art and joy; a life is no less valuable or beloved if one lives in an age of decline, when the tides are running out, than in an age of progress An important first step will be to recognize the apocalypse for what it is: We need to find the strength to do what the Norse could not. We need to replace a dysfunctional culture with living, breathing ones that can prepare us for the difficult times to come.

We need to stop treating climate change and environmental destruction as apocalyptic events situated in the future that will awaken humanity to a green future. We need to see these issues as dangers that are facing us right now, that need to be resolved through immediate action on our part. In a world riddled with problems, needs are not hard to locate.