Dread and Hope: Christian Eschatology and Pop Culture

175 Pages·2022·1.232 MB·English

by  Joshua Wise

Dread and Hope
Theology and Pop Culture
Series Editor: Matthew Brake
The Theology and Pop Culture series examines the intersection of theology, religion, and
popular culture, including, but not limited to television, movies, sequential art, and genre
fiction. In a world plagued by rampant polarization of every kind and the decline of reli-
gious literacy in the public square, Theology and Pop Culture is uniquely poised to educate
and entertain a diverse audience utilizing one of the few things society at large still holds
in common: love for popular culture.
Titles in the Series
Dread and Hope: Christian Eschatology and Pop Culture, by Joshua Wise
Theology and the Game of Thrones, edited by Matthew Brake
Theology and Spider-Man, edited by George Tsakiridis
René Girard, Theology, and Pop Culture, edited by Ryan G. Duns &
T. Derrick Witherington
Theology and Horror: Explorations of the Dark Religious Imagination, edited by
Brandon R. Grafius and John W. Morehead
Sports and Play in Christian Theology, edited by Philip Halstead and John Tucker
Theology and Westworld, edited by Juli Gittinger and Shayna Sheinfeld
Theology and Prince, edited by Jonathan H. Harwell and Rev. Katrina E. Jenkins
Theology and the Marvel Universe, edited by Gregory Stevenson
Dread and Hope
Christian Eschatology
and Pop Culture
Joshua Wise
LEXINGTON BOOKS/FORTRESS ACADEMIC
Lanham • Boulder • New York • London
Published by Lexington Books/Fortress Academic
Lexington Books is an imprint of The Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group, Inc.
4501 Forbes Boulevard, Suite 200, Lanham, Maryland 20706
www .rowman .com
86-90 Paul Street, London EC2A 4NE, United Kingdom
Copyright © 2022 by The Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group, Inc.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any
electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems,
without written permission from the publisher, except by a reviewer who may quote
passages in a review.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Information Available
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Wise, Joshua, author.
Title: Dread and hope : Christian eschatology and pop culture / Joshua Wise.
Description: Lanham : Lexington Books/Fortress Academic, [2022] | Series: Theology
and pop culture | Includes bibliographical references and index. | Summary: “Dread
and Hope brings early Christian hopes concerning the consummation of the cosmos
and modern apocalyptic pop-culture into dialog. Drawing from a wide range of
research and media, Joshua Wise examines how figures like Antiochus IV, Damien
from The Omen, the Emperor Nero, and Winston Smith from Orwell’s 1984 inform
each other”—Provided by publisher.
Identifiers: LCCN 2021047101 (print) | LCCN 2021047102 (ebook) |
ISBN 9781978708167 (cloth) | ISBN 9781978708174 (epub)
Subjects: LCSH: Eschatology—Biblical teaching. | Eschatology. |
Popular culture—Religious aspects—Christianity.
Classification: LCC BS680.E8 W57 2022 (print) | LCC BS680.E8 (ebook) |
DDC 236—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2021047101
LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2021047102
∞ ™ The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of American
National Standard for Information Sciences—Permanence of Paper for Printed Library
Materials, ANSI/NISO Z39.48-1992.
This book is dedicated to Professor Michael Root, whose guidance,
humor, and insight have helped me immeasurably, and allowed
me to give my father one final gift. And to that group of scholars,
friends, and aficionados of popular culture that gathered to debate,
play games, and laugh. You who journeyed a little while through
the Juniper House made difficult years shine with golden light.

Contents
Acknowledgments ix
Introduction 1
1 The Collapse of All Things 15
2 The Evil One 35
3 When He Appears 55
4 The Living Dead 71
5 The Dread Judge 89
6 Hell 105
7 Kingdom Come 123
Conclusion 139
Appendix: The Rapture 149
Bibliography 151
Index 159
About the Author 163
vii

Acknowledgments
When assembling a work that references so many different elements of
human effort, it is impossible to thank every person whose efforts have made
such a thing possible. I owe unpayable debts to those who have been and
remain my betters in academic and creative endeavors.
This work in its current form would not be possible without the guidance
of my professors throughout my educational career. As an undergraduate, my
path away from an untenable interpretation of scripture was lit by the work
of Mark Smith, Allen Kerkeslager, and Kenton Sparks. Their focus on sharp,
crucial, and kind academic insight has remained with me. If there is anything
good in this work with regard to the field of biblical studies, it is to their
credit. The errors are solely mine.
John Hoffmeyer and J. Jayakiran Sebastian pointed me firmly in the direc-
tion of a broader theological tradition and a willingness to engage with the
culture at large. They pulled me away from the assumption that the scholar
must sit alone in his office or tower and think great and lofty thoughts. That
this work includes both vampires and video games is due, to some great
degree, to their call to be a theologian in the public sphere.
I owe an immeasurable debt to Michael Root, who pointed me in the direc-
tion of eschatology and modeled for me what it looks like to be a theologian
of humor, humility, and generosity. Much of what I know about eschatology
I learned sitting in his discussions, tracking the traditions from Athenagoras,
through Augustine, to Aquinas and beyond.
Without the scholarship and generosity of these academics and many oth-
ers, this work would not have been possible.
And, in every work of this type, I must give thanks to my friends and long-
time collaborators, Fr. Benjamin Gildas, AF, and Fr. David Swantek. These
ix