Just yesterday I posted, with permission, an article that documented some of the origins of pre-tribulation rapture theology. I wish the Jesuits had not been mentioned, as they are the whipping boys for every possible Christian conspiracy theory that exists. But, what interests me is one of the answers that I received. The person who made a comment was passing on some of the counter-arguments that that person had received from some Evangelical Christians.
Here is what interested me. Two of the quotes that the person listed looked quite legitimate. In fact, I was quite taken in by them. Fortunately, a fellow priest commented that they were not legitimate. When I checked them out, he was right. They were not legitimate quotes. Rather, they represent a problem that has become quite prominent in American society. The problem is that there is a disconnect in American society between reality and fact/logic. What do I mean?
The two quotes cited by the commenter were both false. But, they certainly appeared to be true. One of them appeared to be a quote from the Dead Sea Scrolls. However, it turns out that there is no such quote. The person cited does not appear to have existed. The seminary cited does not appear to ever have existed. The other appears to be from an Early Church Father. However, it turns out that there is no such quote from the Early Church Father cited. Rather, the quote turns out to be from a spurious Latin translation of a Greek version of a text falsely attributed to an early Middle Eastern Church Father. In both cases, the quotes were cited on pre-tribulation rapture websites as proof that the pre-tribulation pre-millenial theological viewpoint was the correct one.
But, this is not simply an indictment of pre-tribulation pre-millenial rapture theology. Rather, I would say that this is an indictment of a wider ranger of problems in current American society. You see, there is a major disconnect in America between facts and logic. There is a history of several decades that leads up to this point. Currently, it is quite possible to have a set of facts, and a widely divergent set of interpretations. There have always been a somewhat divergent set of interpretations of events. But, currently, there is no overlap between the interpretation of events between various segments of American society.
===MORE TO COME===
This continues to be a serious problem. Thanks for your experiences with this problem..With the advent of the wordwide web, it has become endemic.
here have always been a somewhat divergent set of interpretations of events. But, currently, there is no overlap between the interpretation of events between various segments of American society.
Which progresses into “HERE AHURA-MAZDA, THERE AHRIMAN!” To The Death.