Exporting the Rapture, Donald H. Akenson
Exporting the Rapture, Donald H. Akenson
List: $29.99 | Sale: $21.00
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Exporting the Rapture
John Nelson Darby and the Victorian Conquest of North-American Evangelicalism

Author: Donald H. Akenson

Narrator: Paul Boehmer

Unabridged: 17 hr 30 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Tantor Media

Published: 12/12/2018


Synopsis

Apocalyptic millennialism is one of the most powerful strands in evangelical Christianity. It is not a single belief, but across many powerful evangelical groups there is general adhesion to faith in the physical return of Jesus in the Second Coming, the affirmation of a Rapture heavenward of "saved" believers, a millennium of peace under the rule of Jesus and his saints and, eventually, a final judgement and entry into deep eternity.

A key figure in this process was John Nelson Darby. Akenson emphasizes that, as strong a personality as Darby was, the real story is that he became a vector for the transmission of a terrifically complex and highly seductive ideological system from the old world to the new. So beguiling, adaptable, and compelling was the new Dispensational system that Darby injected into North American evangelicalism that it continued to spread logarithmically after his death. By the 1920s, the system had become the doctrinal template of the fundamentalist branch of North American evangelicalism and the distinguishing characteristic of the bestselling Scofield Bible.

About Donald H. Akenson

Donald Akenson grew up in Minnesota, received his BA from Yale and his PhD from Harvard, and is Douglas Professor of Canadian and Colonial History, Queen's University, Ontario. He has published several award-winning books on the history of Ireland and on the development of the Judeo-Christian tradition.


Reviews

Goodreads review by David on February 08, 2020

Wow. What a ride! I am going to have a lot to say about this. That’s just a fair warning. Who Should Read This This is a book I would recommend, but would be far more likely to recommend to certain people. Some of the sorts of folk who might glean from Akenson’s book: • Anyone interested in church hist......more

Goodreads review by David Schrock on December 31, 2019

This is a very detailed history of John Nelson Darby and the arrival of his dispensationalism in America. Written by a sympathetic historian of Ireland, Akenson shows how Darby stirred up great controversy in Europe before coming to America. Then, when arriving here shortly after the Civil War, his......more

Goodreads review by Steve on December 28, 2019

Interview with the author here: [URL not allowed]-h-... [URL not allowed] Short reviews here: [URL not allowed] [URL not allowed] [URL not allowed]......more

Goodreads review by Bryan on May 01, 2019

Never was a fan of dispensationalism but I didn’t realize how much of a cult leader Darby was until I read this.......more

Goodreads review by Todd on February 15, 2020

Interesting history of Darby, the Exclusive Brethren, and Dispensationalism. Much of the book deals with what seems to be the almost constant feuding between the major leaders of the movement. Of interest to me, and something I had never heard about Darby, was that he likely sexually abused a teenag......more