Antichrist: Two Thousand Years of the Human Fascination with Evil

by Bernard McGinn

Book Overview

Traces the concept of Antichrist from its Judeo-Christian origins to the present day, alerting us to the potential for violence that often accompanies literal belief in an ultimate human evildoer. The idea of Antichrist was formulated from a combination of myth, history, and legend. Demonstrates how Antichrist has always served the human need to understand the persistence of evil in the world. Explores the evolution of the Antichrist legend over the...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0060655437
• ISBN13: 9780060655433
• Release Date: January 1994
• Publisher: HarperOne
• Length: 369 Pages
• Weight: 1.40 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.2" x 6.5" x 9.6"

Customer Reviews

Tough reading, but still worthwhile

There is this one word that's useful when describing Bernard McGinn's impressive book Antichrist. And that word is "very". Because it's a book whose adjectives all can be preceded by "very". First and foremost, it's very well written. Very well written indeed. Every page, every paragraph, every single sentence is packed with facts. Names, important years, classic and unknown works of writing, historical events, and much, MUCH more. Very much more, so to speak. It's not a heavy book, it's a VERY heavy book, and it takes a lot of energy and mental strength in order to finish it all. But, it's well worth the effort to try. McGinn attempts, and indeed succeeds, to give a description of the Antichrist ever since his, or its, conception. Many probably think that the Antichrist is simply the son of the Devil and that's he nothing more than the opposite to Christ, but as McGinn beautifully describes, the story is tremendously more complex and complicated. The study of the Antichrist bears many resemblances to the study of evil; what it is, why it exists, and who is responsible for it. Throughout the ages all sorts of people, events, faiths and so on have been connected to the Antichrist, and McGinn is extremely thorough and almost painfully academic in his very precise chronological resume. While reading it one finds oneself more or less drowning in a huge ocean of academia, and it doesn't take long to realize that it's more or less impossible to read it all in one go. But that's ok, because the book is divided into different chapters detailing different ages, making it easy to choose whatever period interests you the most. To the everyday reader with a more casual interest in the phenomenon, the last chapter, "Antichrist Our Contemporary" will be of most interest. Here McGinn discusses such things as the Omen motion pictures and how Saddam Hussen has been labelled the Antichrist by fundamental Christians in America, but he also discusses why it is that the phenomenon of Antichrist is not as "hot" anymore, compared to earlier eras when practically everyone was convinced that the end was near. So, so what if he makes the mistake of naming the killer in the Halloween-series Jason and not Michael Myers; the book is still a masterpiece in thorough academic religious research. To students of religion the entire book is of interest, but the everyday reader will probably only be able to fully enjoy the last chapter.

Good overview. Some nice stuff on the Reformation

Much of this book concerns the role of the Papacy in forming anti-Christ legend, with Martin Luther's transformation from wanting to the reform the church to wanting to trash it coming to the forefront. Much of the work focuses on Anti-Christ accusations and "The anti-Christ within" which is very dissimilar from the Anti-Christ you see in the Left Behind series.Surprisingly the Anti-Christ isn't pegged as Muhammed throughout history but is usually a Christian that is being criticized. The book is a little sketchy at the beginning in the Christian origins (especially using only Catholic translation of the Bible in regards to the book of Daniel when discussing an exclusively Jewish phenomena) but it picks up once the church is in place. It really picks up during the Reformation where the scisms within the church break out into Peasant revolts, towns being overrun and Martin Luther the radical. It loses steam towards the end as the author can't find anything original or interesting in the period between the Reformation and teh Victorian era. The author also has less to say about the modern world than you might expect, although modern fascination with Anti-Christ being mostly in the realm of fundamentalist circles is pretty easy to find in either Jack T. Chick tracts, the Left Behind series or the internet.Good book for anyone interested in Christian history. Not as good if you are interested in the more kooky elements of Christianity as Anti-Christ was normal theology for its time.(the ... and ... versions of the middle ages notwithstanding)

Excellent book!!

Most interesting book that I have ever read on this subject

Historical, but not heavy. Surprises galore.

This book is not a statement of faith. Readers will not feast on endtimes paranoia and fanciful imaginings of who, today, the anitchrist may be. Instead, McGinn offers a well-researched, historical investigation of the figure of the antichrist. Beginning with Jewish apocalyptism, McGinn lets each successive "wave" of Christianity speak for itself. The recurring themes through which the antichrist has been understood, used and villified, are detailed in chronological fashion. His survey is guite comprehensive, including not only the theological, but also the artistic and political uses of the antichrist image. Obbviously, any historical survey of a Christian image will be dominated by western European sources, but McGinn is careful to include brief accounts of Russian usage of the antichrist figure (e.g. Dostoevsky) and even contemporary American images (e.g. - The Omen). Frankly, I was surprised to find reference to C. G. Jung in this book, but this simply indicates the completeness of this survey.To me this book described how Christianity has struggled to understand the reality of human evil. It may have raised more questions than it answered. For this reason alone I am glad that I read it.