Antichrist: Two Thousand Years of the Human Fascination with Evil.

XIII, 369 p.: Ill. Aus der Bibliothek von Prof. Wolfgang Haase, langjährigem Herausgeber der ANRW und des International Journal of the Classical Tradition (IJCT) / From the library of Prof. Wolfgang Haase, long-time editor of ANRW and the International Journal of the Classical Tradition (IJCT). - Einband berieben, Kopfschnitt leicht angegraut, Bleistifteintrag auf Vorsatz, sonst guter Zustand und innen sehr sauber / binding rubbed, top edge slightly grayed, pencil entry on endpaper, otherwise good condition and very clean inside. - Historically, the close of a century—and especially a millennium—heightens our preoccupation with the end of the world and the role that an evil human agent plays in its coming. In this timely and sweeping exploration, historian and leading expert on apocalypticism Bernard McGinn 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. Noting that the idea of Antichrist was formulated from a combination of myth, history, and legend, McGinn demonstrates how Antichrist has always served the human need to understand the persistence of evil in the world. Rooted in Second Temple Judaism—a period of intense religious and political disruption—Antichrist developed out of the belief in malevolent angelic and human forces. Following the legend of .Antichrist through the early Christian era to its broadest dissemination in the later Middle Ages and sixteenth century, McGinn explores the evolution of the Antichrist legend over the centuries. He examines how it has haunted popular imagination in both the form of individuals—such as Nero, Napoleon, and Saddam Hussein—and groups—Jews, heretics, Muslims—that are perceived as grave social threats. The result is a fascinating and definitive history of the origins, meaning, and purpose of the legend of human evil. But, McGinn warns, just as the legend of the apocalyptic adversary has helped humans to better understand evil, it has also, because of its absoluteness as a worldview, been itself the source of great evil—especially in the persecution and suspicion of other religions. “The apocalyptic worldview has no room for moral ambiguity, for any shades of gray, " writes McGinn. “By viewing opponents as adherents of absolute evil, apocalypticism allows for a total opposition, a thirst for complete defeat of and for dire vengeance on the wicked. Its moral absolutism forms the most disturbing (and historically the most destructive) aspect of apocalypticism.” Both a fascinating account of the history of our obsession with evil and a warning for our future, Antichrist provides the perspective on human evil and the endtime we will need for the turn of the millennium, reminding us “that the most important message of the Antichrist legend in Western history is what it has to tell us about our past, and perhaps even about our present attitudes toward evil.” / CONTENTS Preface Introduction 1 Perversion, Blasphemy, and Abomination: Jewish Visions of God’s Enemies and the Last Days (c. 200 b.c.e—50 c.e.) 2 Christ’s Alter Ego: The Second Adam and His Opposite (50—100) 3 Persecution, Heresy, and Self-Deceit: Antichrist in Developing Christianity (100—500) 4 Antichrist Established: The Final Enemy in the Early Middle Ages (500—1100) 5 Church Reform and Antichrist’s Imminence (1100—1200) 6 Counterfeit Holiness: The Papal Antichrist (1200—1335) 7 Antichrist on the Eve of the Reformation (1335—1500) 8 Antichrist Divided: Reformers, Catholics, and Puritans Debate Antichrist (1500—1660) 9 Antichrist in Decline (1660—1900) 10 Antichrist Our Contemporary Notes Index. ISBN 9780060655433