Faith And Reason Front Row gives you closeup access to leading thinkers, theologians, organizers, and activists. Hear thoughtful insights on how history and theology intersect with the issues driving our world. Grab a seat and join us on the Front Row!

Our new podcast season: The Book of Revelation

The Book of Revelation is said to be the strangest, most controversial book in the Bible. Some love it, and some hate it. Some Christians never talk about it; some never stop talking about it. And some people use it as a predictor of current events, as part of their impetus for violence and fervor for hatred and political gain. Others apply Revelation as evidence of a war between good and evil to almost any situation.

Elaine Pagels, Harrington Spear Paine Professor of Religion at Princeton University, refers to The Book of Revelation as “war literature.” Pagels explains that John of Patmos, a war refugee, wrote Revelation sixty years after the death of Jesus, and twenty years after 60,000 Roman troops crushed the Jewish rebellion in Judea and destroyed Jerusalem and its Great Temple. Pagels persuasively interprets Revelation as a scathing attack on the decadence of Rome.

Charlene Sinclair and Peter Laarman Discuss Revelation & Apocalypse

Part 1, Episode 1, “Whose Apocalypse?”

It might seem that the Greek word, Apocalypse, is on everyone’s lips these days. Environmentalists use apocalyptic to describe what is happening to the planet and so do the people now obsessed with the menace of artificial intelligence. The Extreme Right likes to use it to justify the rise of their hate and violent attitudes. We can ask why “apocalyptic” is not being used to describe 400 years of Black death and suffering.

Listen as our guests’ different perspectives confront and challenge the ascending violence of “the war in heaven,” where Jesus judges the whole world. All who worship other gods, who commit murder, perform magic, or illicit sexual acts are thrown down to be forever tormented in a lake of fire, while those who claim to be God’s faithful are invited to enter the new city of Jerusalem that descends from heaven and reigns in triumph for 1,000 years.  

Now, we must ask ourselves, “How does this maniacal, murderous, terrorizing, life-destroying Jesus, fit with the peaceful, non-violent historical Jesus of the New Testament?” Who is the one you worship? What is the nature of your God?

About Our Speakers

Dr. Charlene Sinclair is an organizer, thinker, and writer whose work centers on the intersection of race, gender, economy, and democracy. Strongly influenced by the pathbreaking thought of the late James Cone, founder of Black Liberation Theology, Dr. Sinclair is committed to fashioning strategies that embrace a liberationist approach to faith and spirituality in the context of popular struggles for racial, economic, and gender justice. 

Peter Laarman is a retired United Church of Christ minister and activist who led Judson Memorial Church in New York and Progressive Christians Uniting in California. He is currently involved with the King & Breaking Silence webinar project of the National Council of Elders and with the development of a new formation called Social Ethics Energizing Democracy. Charlene and Peter approach Revelation from very different positions.