What do you think of when you think of the
book of Revelations in the Bible?
If your answer is “Happy Feet” and
the Mayan calendar, then you are on the same
track as David Roberts.
Roberts, a third-year
divinity student at the Gardner-Webb School
of Divinity, will teach
the class “The Book of Revelation — Culture
and Prophecy” through the continuing
education program at Isothermal Community College.
Roberts discussed the class with The Star.
If you are interested in attending, the class
will be on Thursdays from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.
Feb. 7 through March 20 on Isothermal’s
Spindale campus. Cost of the class is $55.
The connection between Revelations, “Happy
Feet” and the Mayan calendar will be
explained during the last class.
How did you come up with the idea for the
class?
Before transferring to GWU last fall,
I was a student at Campbell University Divinity
School.
I studied New Testament and Greek under Andrew
Wakefield, one of the best NT professors in
the country. In fall 2006, he taught a Bible
book course on Revelation, presenting a variety
of views, both academic and popular.
I’ve
thought since then that the knowledge and wisdom
I got from that class needs to be
taught to as many people as possible to dispel
the one-sided teaching that we hear today.
The book of Revelation has so much depth and
so little is being discussed, outside a very
few possibilities.
What are the majority of
people’s views
on the book of Revelation? Will their views
change by attending the class?
I’m not
sure what the majority view of Revelation is
today. If we get our theology
from televangelists, the the popular view is
gloom and destruction, with a narrow context
of hope. But if we venture to look at Roman
Catholic and Eastern Orthodox teachings, for
example, there is a much different view.
Revelation
has been elevated in the popular culture through
the book “Late Great
Planet Earth” and others by Hal Lindsey.
The best selling “Left Behind” series
by Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins presents a
fictional account of Revelation and the end
times along Lindsey’s view. But they
are students of an early 19th century theology
called dispensationalism, which gained enormous
popularity with fundamentalist evangelicals
through the 20th century.
Evangelical use of
media, particularly radio and television (which
far exceeds the use by
any other Christian group), has projected the
fundamentalist view into popular light. This
might account for the one-sided view of many
interested in the Book of Revelation. But there
are many other views that don’t get media
exposure.
The only book required for the class
is the Bible. Will any version be appropriate?
I don’t particularly approve of the King
James Version. Although many folks love it
dearly, there are better translations in contemporary
English. NIV is good; NRSV is better, but a
little hard to read. I use the NET Bible (from
www.bible.org), mainly for its copious study
notes, but then I have more than 20 Bibles,
each of which speak to me in different ways.
I have no problem, generally, with any translation
that one wants to use in class. Be creative.
What are some examples of the end of the world
in other faiths and cultures?
There have been some recent TV documentaries
on the History Channel and Discovery, that
have taken a look at the Mayan calender.
It posits that the world will end on Dec.
21,
2012. Islam teaches a very vivid portrait
of the end times, with a return of Jesus
to Earth
and an antichrist called Dajjal. Ancient
near eastern writings have end-times tales,
of which
a worldwide flood (like Noah) is one. Judaism
teaches that the Messiah will conquer the
forces of evil and establish a reign of peace
and
justice on Earth.
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