Book Review: American Apocalypse by Matthew A. Sutton

 

Have you ever wondered how and why the apocalyptic worldview of Evangelical Christians has become so prevalent in the United States? Well wonder no more, because this book will take you on a tour through the history, politics and social issues within the movement.

 

Sutton guides you down the path of the abovementioned movement, from its beginning to its position in today’s society and political sphere. He touches upon core beliefs and values, the issue of race, politics, education, pop culture and key figures. At times the sheer volume of information can become overwhelming, but it never makes his narrative boring or impossible to follow. It does mean, however, that this book is not an easy or quick read. One does need to sit down and take the time, but I personally think that it is worth it to do so. (Granted, I am a bit biased, since this topic is an interest of mine).

 

The book also contains a handful of black and white pictures, mainly, of key figures in the movement. Putting a face to the preachers and supporters are most welcome and it also helps to illustrate two of the major focuses of the book: race and gender. Sutton describes and explains the division of race in the movement; how different interpretations arose in the two main groups, African Americans and Whites, and how some wanted to segregate the faith and how a few did cross racial lines. When it comes to gender the conflict comes from the biblical interpretation of women’s role in society and in the faith as well.  As the pictures show the evangelical movement was dominated by whites and lead by men. Other races and women, though having important roles in hindsight, did not seemingly play any prominent roles in shaping the movement.

 

Though diving down into social issues and political pressure, Sutton also clearly explains the structure of the apocalyptic worldview. He does focus more on the premillennial version, but that focus does not take away from the others portrayed in the book. One of the other versions which get a thorough description, both in its structure and its cultural meaning, is the interpretation by the African American apocalyptic movements. As mentioned above, race is one of the focuses of the book.

 

But not only does Sutton look at the movement’s actions and conflicts within the context of America, he also looks at it in a more international setting, specifically the World Wars. Both wars played an important part on the apocalyptic movements, touching upon the conflict of urging the apocalypse to come sooner while at the same time not wanting to play into the Devil’s hand by summoning the Antichrist into the world. But also the issue of American isolationism is touched upon.

 

Moving on to the last two themes, at least the last two I will mention here; politics and education. When looking at politics today it is clear that religion plays a significant role to many American voters. So Sutton’s explaining how the Evangelical movement has been heavily involved in politics the last 100 years, comes as no surprise. But it is not only involvement within the top of church hierarchies; individual members and supporters also saw it as their responsibility to move history and national and international events in the direction of the second coming of Christ. Education was of equal importance and the rise of Christian private schools and institutions, according to Sutton and his research, can also be linked to the Evangelical movement. Seeing the conflict with religion and education in today’s America, it is definitely relevant to know the roots of said conflict and how it grew and has been growing.

 

All in all I highly recommend this book. It is an interesting, though slightly heavy, read. I have used it along side my research into the religious beliefs of White Supremacists (Christian Identity) in the United States, and it was very interesting to see how the two actually fit very well together and how Christian Identity has clearly taken inspiration from the Evangelical movement. I tried to lay out the main themes and discussions of the book above, however since it is so dense in information I feel like I have only scratched the surface. If you wanna dive into the American Apocalypse yourself it is easily found on Amazon.

 

Until next week!

 

Xoxo Christina

Where Have I Been & What Now?

 

Hello! Long time no see. I do feel bad for the lack of activity on here, but life unfortunately took over all of my time and energy, though it seems like things will calm down a little for now, so I will take the opportunity to get the blog back into gear.

Not much will change on here; uploads will still be every Thursday and the content will still consist of book reviews, original pieces by me and random posts in between. What I am really looking forward to this year are guest-bloggers. I already have one in the bank and I will make sure to let you know when that particular post will be up. I do hope to get at least one more guest-blogger on board for this year. Keep your fingers crossed! In the near future, however, the posts will all be done by me.

Coming next week is a review on “American Apocalypse – A History of Modern Evangelicalism” by Matthew Avery Sutton. And the week after that I will write about one of my favourite concepts in horror/gothic literature: the haunted house. So if any of this sounds interesting to you then please! Do stop by in the coming weeks.

 

Till next time!

 

Xoxo Christina

Admit One

 

I was standing in front of a large wooden desk covered with a dirty green cloth. On top of the cloth was a telephone, a vase of flowers in a sickly yellow colour and a box of chocolates. Half of the chocolates had been eaten. Behind the desk sat the person who, no doubt, was the person who had eaten the chocolates; a secretary in a pale mint green laboratory coat, a gold watch on her left wrist and a pair of thick round glasses. Overweight, with short curly grey hair and a smile on her face; she almost looked like a kind and warm grandmother. However, that nice and cosy air around her quickly faded away when I looked at her eyes.

                      “Hello… I am here to check in” “Really?” she looked at me over the top of her thick glasses. Can she seriously see me? I thought she was halfway blind! “I see… Have you been diagnosed yet?” “Um… No, not exactly. But my doctor thought it best to send me here.” I held on tighter to my suitcase and raised my shoulders. I was definitely uncomfortable. “Oh, I see! Please take a seat, the doctor will be here in a second” I looked around and saw a single chair standing in the far corner of the waiting room. Not a lot of visitors I guess. I sat down, suitcase on my knees, as a protecting shield between me and the secretary, who was sitting across the room apparently solving a crossword puzzle. I looked around the waiting room and found the walls to be covered with brown and blue striped wallpaper, a closer look revealed that the wallpaper was no longer holding on to most of the corners. A further glance towards the ceiling revealed a large stain which appeared to be some kind of fungus spreading along the edge of the wallpaper. Suddenly I became unsure if it had been a good idea to come here. I looked at the secretary again and cleared my throat; “Excuse me, but what exactly do you do here?” Once again she looked at me over the top of her thick glasses. “Well, we cure people of course!” “And how exactly do you do that?” “With electricity” she gave me an irritated look and returned to her crossword puzzle. “But… what if electricity does not work” She looked at me again even more irritated “Well, then we use more electricity of course” “But if that still does not work?” I insisted. She resumed her crossword puzzle; “Then the good doctor will come up with something special I’m sure. Don’t you worry; the doctor has never failed to prescribe a patient with a treatment.” Her pencil began scribbling along the paper and her forehead revealed a frown as she once again concentrated on solving her crossword puzzle. I leaned back in the chair and once again looked at the disgusting stain on the ceiling. I swear it looks like it is growing by the minute! I looked at my watch only to realize that it had stopped. Footsteps brought me back to reality and I looked up just in time to see the large wooden door behind the secretary open. Behind the heavy door was a large muscular man, at least 6 feet tall, if not taller. He wore a tight green shirt with a red butterfly, which looked oddly out off place against his extremely muscular neck, and black heavy boots. At first glance he looked more like a man who had come straight out of the military and not out of medical school. He looked me up and down and I nervously rose from the uncomfortable chair.

                      “Hello there! And welcome to Sewer Sanatorium! Please follow me to my office and we’ll get you settled in!” He turned around and began marching in high speed down the narrow hall. I picked up my suitcase and quickly followed him into the sanatorium. The narrow hallway had been decorated with the same hideous wallpaper as the waiting room had been. The hallway was very cold and even though there were no windows a small stream of cold air seemed to be drifting through the walls. When we neared the end of the hallway I saw that it split into two doors placed opposite of each other; the one facing west was tall and made of some kind of dark wood, which I did not recognize. Its doorknob appeared to be made of solid gold and it had been lavishly decorated with what looked to be lions. To the east was a double door constructed in some kind of heavy looking metal. The cold drift seemed to be coming from there. The doctor turned toward the wooden door, and held it open as I walked trough and entered a large rectangular office. I walked to the far end of the room where a large desk had been placed between to chairs; one looking much more comfortable than the other. The large desk appeared to have been made of oak, it had been heavily polished and its surface displayed case files, several expensive looking pens, pictures of the doctor in several exotic locations and a bunch of framed diplomas. The doctor sat down at the desk and nodded at the chair at the opposite side of him. I sat down in the chair that was as uncomfortable as it looked, and took another quick glance around the room. Unlike the waiting room this office was luxuriously furnished and had a warm feeling to it. The latter probably had more to do with the fact that the room had not one, but two fireplaces, and less to do with the décor. As I looked around I noticed more pictures of the doctor on the walls, each and everyone portrayed him in an exotic place or beside a famous person or both. At the far end corner next to the door we had just entered were a huge closet full of extravagant clothes and a gold framed mirror hanging next to it. Some might want to check the good doctor for a bad case of narcissism. I moved uneasily in the chair and once again turned my attention towards the doctor and his enormous desk. I looked down for a second and noticed a small golden platter attached to the front of the desk: Dr. Archibald Ztrangler. Well, to be fair the doctor was half German. Or at least that was what the rumour said. I heard the doctor fumbling around with some papers and looked up again just as he decided that it was time to address the issue in front of us.

                      “Now, tell me, why are you here?” his voice was deep and a little gravely, more suited for screaming out orders than for talking to nervous patients. “Well, my doctor sent me here. He believed that it would do me good.” “Then I am sure it will! Now you would not mind having to answer a few questions, would you?” “No, no of course not. Ask away!” “Alright…” he looked down on a stack of papers he had just retrieved from one of the many drawers in the desk. “Firstly! Do you dream a lot?” “No, my sleep is more often lacking dreams than containing them.” “Very good, very good! Now, when you do dream, what do dream of?” “Well… Mostly it is about things I’ve experienced during the day, but sometimes they are just very confusing. You know, like most dreams are.” “I see, I see… Was your childhood a happy on?” “I think so, yes. My parents were happy together and we never faced any hard times when I was growing up.” “Interesting, interesting… Now tell me; are you in a relationship at the moment?” ”Not at the moment.” “I see, so would you say you exercise a lot?” “I’m afraid not. I work 70 hours a week and when I get home I’m too tired to even think about exercise.” “Aha… Now just give me a moment and I will consult my books!” He got up from his very comfortable looking chair and turned towards his heavily filled bookcases lining the wall behind him. I took another glance at his desk and found that a lot of his diplomas had interesting titles: Very Important Diploma, Diplloma, Some Kind Of Medical Diploma. I suddenly became unsure about the doctor’s credentials. A loud creek on the other side of the desk brutally pulled me out of my mind and into the world inhabited by others again, as the doctor sat back down and once again looked me up and down. “Well, I have to fill out your papers and make a file about you, so I am going to be very busy in the next few hours. But not to worry; one of my assistants will take you to your cell.” As he uttered the last words he pushed a button hidden on the side of the desk and a loud buzz travelled through the room and out into the hallway. A few seconds later the door opened and a man twice the size of the doctor entered the room. “My assistant here will show you the way to your cell. I will see you tomorrow when your treatment begins.” He looked down into his papers again and I slowly moved towards the door and the assistant, not sure if it would not be better if I just left the sanatorium altogether? The assistant lead me back out in to the hallway and opened the heavy double doors and let me into the heart of the facility. It suddenly became clear to me how the sanatorium had earned its name; the stench was almost unbearable! It consisted of sweat, urine and human flesh in decay; it was overwhelming and almost knocked me out. The hallway had been painted in a pale blue colour, but the walls were stained with blood and faeces, making the blue colour appear cold and unwelcoming. The fluorescent lights hanging from the ceiling only made the hallway seem even colder and more uninviting. One side of the hallway consisted of cells while the other had rows of heavy looking metal doors covering the disgusting walls. Moaning, screaming and gibberish filled the air along with the foul stench. Me and the assistant passed several cells before we finally came to the one that was meant for me. It was a rusty metal door, with the number 15 painted on it and the inside was painted white. It had clearly been washed although there was still evidence of the former occupant to be found in there. There was not much furniture; a single bed with no pillow and no covers, a fluorescent light hanging from the ceiling and a dirty old toilet with no rim on it in the far end corner. I put down my suitcase as the assistant closed and locked the door behind me. I suddenly realised that everyone had told me about the many treatments of this place, but so far no one had told me about the people who had been cured…

The Forgotten Starcounter

 

There once was a peculiar little boy

Who wasn’t human, who wasn’t a toy

Eyes of red lights and skin of steel

He was made to serve not to feel

 

He is working in the far end of our galaxy

Counting the stars for you and me

He counts in the day, he counts in the night

Although the darkness gives him a terrible fright

 

He likes the sun and its burning flames

And in its light grants the stars their names

Wonder why he is nameless himself

Let’s out a cry, but no one comes to help

 

He works in the dark forever unseen

He repairs and holds himself clean

He asks the stars if they have stories to tell

‘Cause no one else can do that so well

 

Time flies by, Time flies fast

In the blink of an eye 100 years have passed

Forgotten by his owner; The Great Agency

Still he is counting the stars for you and me

Books on My Reading List pt. 2

 

Hello again! So this week I continue last week’s topic that is the giant pile of books I have to read. And just like last week’s post clarified: yes, these are all books I own and no, I am not rich just very strategic with my shopping. So with that disclaimer out of the way let me continue last week’s list:

 

1. “Jane Eyre” by Charlotte Brontë

One of the classics I am looking forward to become acquainted with. I do have a soft spot for the classics, but alas! I have yet to read them all! But I have a feeling that this book is going to be right up my alley!

 

2. “The Hunchback of Notre-Dame” By Victor Hugo

Yet another classic I am looking forward to reading. I must admit that the only knowledge I have of this work of fiction is the animated Disney movie. Now in my opinion that movie has one of the best villains in Disney history: Frollo. And if he is just half as “good” in the book, then I have something to look forward to I would say.

 

3. “Heart of Darkness” by Joseph Conrad

Originally bought for a class at University I ended up dropping, but by then I had bought the book and now it is not only a part of my “future reads”-pile but also of my little collection of classics. I have a feeling that this will not only be an engaging read, but also a terrifying read. In short: I am looking forward to having the time to read it!

 

(The three books listed above are all part of the Wordsworth Classics. These are affordable paperbacks and I have found that you can often get a good deal on them if you buy more than one. Just wanted to mention it so that those of you reading this who has limited finances like myself, becomes aware of cheap yet still good quality books.)

 

4. “Pride and Prejudice and Zombies” by Jane Austen and Seth Grahame-Smith

I absolutely LOVE the original! And this has been recommended to me many times. I have begun reading it several times, but so far I have not been able to get even halfway. Now that has nothing to do with the book being bad, on the contrary! It is very good. And funny. It just so happens that every time I embark on the journey the outside world, for one reason or another, demands my attention. Hopefully I will soon have the time to finally read it all the way through.

 

5. “Mayhem and Murder – Narrative and Moral Problems in the Detective Story” by Heta Pyrhönen

Another book I purchased second hand in Aberystwyth. Now this one I am a bit uncertain about, but since I do like crime fiction I thought it might be something I would enjoy reading. It does look promising, but I will have to find out if it is going to rise above my mediocre expectations.

 

6. “Salem’s Lot” by Stephen King

Now I will be the first to admit that I am not the biggest fan of Stephen King, but when he gets it right he gets it right. This book like Anno Dracula from last week’s post was a recommendation on Jillian Venters’ website “Gothic Charm School”. And just like Anno Dracula it features vampires. That particular monster seems to be a returning subject on this blog. Well! I guess it is just a part of my gothic leanings.

 

7. “The Passage” by Justin Cronin

First a little disclaimer: this is the only book on the list I have in Danish and so I am going to read the entire trilogy in Danish. Now with that said let me just continue with the fact that I am half way through it, but since it is over a thousand pages long it is not gonna be finished in just a few sittings. I already have the sequel on standby and I am really looking forward to continuing this during the winter break. It is so far one of the best books I have ever read. If the second half as well as the rest of the trilogy continues with the same greatness then this will definitely end up on an “all time favourite books”-list.

 

And here we go! The second half of my book pile listed. I do get a little nervous when seeing how many books that are on my shelves that I still have to read, but an even bigger part of me is very excited by all the literature I have yet to delve in to. Now will this keep me from putting even more books on my Christmas’ list this year? No. I already have five listed, so the pile might get a bit of a growth spurt this winter. I will keep you updated on that!

 

Xoxo Christina

Books on My Reading List pt. 1

 

So far on this blog I have talked about books and short stories I have already read. So this time around I will give you a list of the books I have on my “future reads”-list. Now let me just clarify that yes: all the books on here are books I own, and no: I am not rich or even well off, I just tend to buy books in bulk when they are on sale or if there are special deals. I also tend to get quite a few on my birthday and on Christmas. So a lot of planning and waiting goes in to my book-shopping. With that out off the way let me move on to the actual list!

 

1. “The Invention of Murder – How the Victorians Revelled in Death and Detection and Created Modern Crime” by Judith Flanders

I am already a third of the way through this one, but since University came back in to my life this year I have not had the time to finish it yet. Sadly this is not the only book I have begun reading on this list, and I am usually not one to put a book away before it is finished. But these days it seems that the only books I finish are the ones I read for school. Fortunately the winter break is only a month away! I cannot wait to continue this book! So far it has been a very entertaining and exciting read.

 

2. “Dune” by Frank Herbert

Yes I know, I know. I am way behind on this one, but in my defence I have never delved much into Science Fiction. However I thought that this book would be a good place to start.

 

3.”Mort” by Terry Pratchett

I am half way through this and I hope to finish it during the forthcoming break. Like the other books in the Discworld series it is serious, philosophical and absolutely hilarious all at the same time. If you have never read anything in this series before I can highly recommend it. And I am sure that others will recommend it too.

 

4. “Victorian Writing & Working Women” by Julia Swindells

The second nonfiction book on the list so far. I picked this up at a second hand book store in Aberystwyth when I studied abroad and it bugs me that I have not picked it up yet. Hopefully it will be an interesting read since it combines some of my favourite subjects: the Victorian Era, gender roles and feminism.

 

5. “Anno Dracula” by Kim Newman

I found a recommendation of this on Jillian Venters’ website “Gothic Charm School”. And since I am a fan of the original Dracula by Stoker I thought that this would be a hit in my collection as well. I have ventured in to the first chapter and so far I really like what I see.

 

6. “The Greatest Show on Earth – The Evidence for Evolution” by Richard Dawkins

This book I have also begun reading this summer. I am a quarter into it so far and I must say that Dawkins knows how to explain the science behind evolution so that even someone as unscientific as myself can understand it. I came by him and this book when I bought the latest Nightwish album named and based upon this very work of his. And so far the book has not disappointed. And neither did the album.

 

7. “Magic(al) Realism” by Maggie Ann Bowers ( part of the New Critical Idiom series)

Another subject in literary theory I am very curious about. I hope that it will be just as interesting and inspiring read as Gothic by Botting in the same series.

 

And that is the first half of my “future reads”-pile. I will post the other half next week. And as I make my way through these books I might write up some in-depth future reviews of them. But for now I hope that this list (and the list coming next week) will not only give you some ideas for future reads of your own, but also remove any guilt you might have over your own book pile that has been put on hold for a while for one reason or another.

 

And with that I will be back next week!

 

Xoxo Christina

Book review: Dracula by Bram Stoker

 

Dracula by Bram Stoker: the book that is famed for having started the whole fascination with vampires. Even if someone has never read the book they are very likely to still know who and what Dracula is. This vampire has been portrayed over and over again on stage and on the big screen. The two most well known portrayals, I personally believe, are done by Bela Lugosi and Gary Oldman (that snickering laughter always manages to send a chill down my spine!). Yes, this book is a familiar read for many, but I still believe it a good idea to do a review or recommendation of it, for the odd chance that someone stumbling along this blog have yet to pick it up. So without further ado:

 

Dracula by Bram Stoker is a tale of friendship, love and the threat of not only a monster, but the monstrosity said monster can stir up within its victims. Jonathan Harker travels to Transylvania where he meets the mysterious Count Dracula. He is there as a solicitor to finalise a property deal. Though he has not been there long before the situation becomes dire and he realises that not everything is what it seems. Back in Great Britain his fiancé Mina and her friend Lucy are enjoying the seaside, but they also soon find themselves in a rather dreadful situation. Then there is Dr. Seward and his patient Renfield at the asylum. Not to mention Dr. Van Helsing whose task it is to gather a group of vampire-slayers and hunt down the monster and his children.

 

This may all seem rather confusing, when just reading my short synopsis of the novel, but trust me: it is a very easy read, in the sense that the narrative is easy to follow and the characters are easy to relate to (except perhaps Van Helsing, but I will get to that later).

 

The story is told as a series of journal entries, newspaper articles and letters. This gives the story an almost detective-like atmosphere as both the reader and the characters connects the dots and form a fully fledged narrative. It is a style which gives the novel a good pace and thus you, as a reader, never feel like the story is brought to a halt for exposition, since every observation of the characters have the potential of being relevant. But even though most of the story is told through a first person narrative the sense of atmosphere is never lost, and the different locations maintain their sense of gloom and hidden terrors (though personally I always laugh when I read the passages involving Renfield). As someone whose second language is English I always am a bit nervous when reaching for one of the classics, since there is a risk of the language being so old fashioned that reading it becomes a chore rather than an enjoyment. But joy! My worries were firmly put to rest when I opened this book. So if you, for one reason or another, tend to avoid classics for this specific reason I would encourage you to pick up this book: is the style a bit old? Yes. Is it so old it becomes a chore to read? Most certainly not!

 

So it is perfect then? Sadly no. It has its flaws; however they are quite small and easy to overcome, at least for me they were. The first one is Dr. Van Helsing. Now, while there is nothing wrong with having a vampire hunter in the book (I believe that part to be essential!) Helsing becomes a bit of a problem every time he opens his mouth; he sounds like a pompous character out of a Shakespearean play. I am not saying that there is anything wrong with Shakespeare (Twelfth Night is still one of the most hilarious texts I have ever had to read), but in this particular context it seems out of place and one might find oneself rolling his (or her) eyes after several of Helsing’s speeches. The other flaw I will mention actually was not a flaw for me, but I have come across people for whom this absolutely made them put down the book and never return to it again; the view of women and their role in society. Yes, chauvinism was rampant when this was written. Yes, the vampire can be seen as symbol of the danger of female sexuality and the new woman. If this is a tiebreaker for you I understand, I often find it annoying when classics are so brazen in their misogyny (Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and that damn brilliant detective of his!), but I must admit that it never bothered me with this particular novel. I personally have always thought of Mina as sort of softening to the new woman at the beginning of the twentieth century, and I have always viewed her as both smart and strong. Now, is she still in need of a man to save her? Yes. Is her place still at home? Yes. But I’ll take what I can get with this one.

 

Overall I highly recommend this book if you have never read it. And if you have I suggest that you should pick it up again. I might just give mine a third read when the holidays come along and my winter exams are all done.

 

And with that I will leave you for now. Till next time!

 

Xoxo Christina