Mind. Blown. I did not see THAT coming.
5/5 stars for Zack Hunt’s Unraptured: How End Times Theology Gets It Wrong.
Having spent most of my life in a denomination that was founded because of the
imminent second coming of Jesus, and which taught against a "secret
rapture" and prophesied about an every-eye-shall-see-him event, I had
different expectations when I was given the advance copy (ARC) of
"Unraptured" to read and review. I carefully read the chapters and
highlighted many sentences and paragraphs that resonated with my experience: Jesus
is coming soon, the books of Daniel and Revelation are prophecies of future
events so we can get ready for heaven and avoid hell (a.k.a. hellfire
insurance), the need to live a holy and perfect life to hurry Jesus along,
obedience to the gospel commission to teach and convert the world, and the
importance of "right beliefs." (And so much more, wow...)
Over the course of my Christian life, I memorized
fundamental belief proof texts and got A's in my religion classes at Christian
university. I taught Bible classes at church and was ordained as an elder (not
a pastor). For funzies, I took a New Testament Greek class from one of my
pastors and still own the reference books to prove it. As a professional church
musician for many years, I heard two or three sermons every weekend, and made
copious notes in my study Bible's margins. I worked or contracted for some
denominational institutions (which is why I'm not identifying them). I've spent
many happy years volunteering in activities that were sometimes related to church,
but more often related to my desire to change the world a little at a time. So
yeah, I had all the religious beliefs down, pro and con.
In Zack Hunt's book, I laughed where he wanted readers to
laugh, and felt his anguish when his expectations were dashed. I learned more
about dispensationalism (not a thing in my churches). I saw glimpses of items
he's posted in social media. I had been given a loose deadline to write the
review, but I could not skim or hurry to the end of this book--it needed to be
chewed and digested. I'm glad I spent the few extra hours, because at about the
50 percent mark, it gets meaty.
I had no idea Hunt would write passionately about the
Bible's call to social justice and a religion that *works*. I knew that 1
Corinthians 13 wasn't about wedding vows, but about what godly love for one
another should be. But when Hunt connected that passage with Matthew 25 and
Revelation, and performing works of love because that will bring the
incarnation of God into our lives rather than wait for the second coming to
escape this world--mind blown.
As a little child, I was sexually assaulted for years by a
relative. When I told my mother, she did everything she knew to make it stop
and she protected me, but our church didn't believe in psychological therapy at
that time, so I internalized the assaults and told no one else. We know now
that such trauma festers and doesn't heal. There were lifelong physical and
emotional scars for me, and I've realized in the last four years that I never
learned to play, or to love. I confessed to God that I didn't love him the way
I saw other Christians love him (yes, I know we shouldn't compare, but who can
help it?), but I would honor him with obedience and by helping where I could,
in service. That was the best I could do, and I was pretty sure God understood
that.
But that's where the shock of "Unraptured" came. I
had no idea that the kind of love God is seeking--cooking, feeding, clothing,
visiting, helping, advocating with my communications skills, donating stuff and
donating blood--is a *preferred* way of loving God and loving his children.
So for all the insights, the laughs where my experiences
were similar, and for the validation, this book deserves its five stars and
more. Sorry I can't choose just one of the many passages I highlighted. You'll
have to do that yourself!
*****
Christy K Robinson is author of
these books:
And of these sites:
Discovering
Love (inspiration and service)
Rooting
for Ancestors (history and genealogy)
William and Mary Barrett Dyer
(17th century culture and history of England and New England)
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