Why isn't Christianity a Doomsday Cult?

Episode Outline:
0:00 Why did Christianity move away from Jesus’ apocalyptic message?
0:00:26 Megan introduces the topic of de-apocalypticizing Christianity
1:03 Bart on mid-semester grading, papers, and chatbot imposters
4:19 What “apocalypticism” actually means
7:25 How early the shift away from apocalypticism begins
8:47 Does Paul himself start moving away from imminent expectation?
11:03 How the Gospels gradually mute Jesus’ apocalyptic preaching
13:38 Do later non-canonical Gospels continue that trend?
15:16 Different Christian explanations for why the end did not come
17:06 Did heretical groups preserve stronger apocalyptic expectations?
19:49 Are modern end-times preachers closer to Jesus than many churches are?
22:20 Can humans help bring about the end, or is it entirely God’s act?
26:02 Why modern apocalypticism returned so strongly in recent centuries
29:03 Why failed end-times predictions have not killed apocalyptic belief
33:45 Weekly Update: Bart’s November 11 course on textual corruption
35:20 Reminder: anniversary livestream Q&A on October 17
36:48 Listener Q&A: vegetarianism, reincarnation, Jesus’ “lost years,” and the Temple’s destruction
45:50 Final summary: how Christianity de-apocalypticized Jesus over time

Episode Description

If Jesus was an apocalyptic prophet, then why isn't mainstream, modern Christianity an apocalyptic religion? Was the move away from apocalypticism deliberate, and are modern doomsday preachers actually closer to preaching Jesus' message than other churches?

Also watch these episodes:
The Coming Apocalypse! Jewish and Christian Views of the End of the World
The Coming Apocalypse! Jewish and Christian Views of the End of the World

Stories about Jesus Before the Gospels: Oral Traditions in the Early Church
Stories about Jesus Before the Gospels: Oral Traditions in the Early Church

Hidden Wisdom or Heresy? The Enigma of the Gospel of Thomas
Hidden Wisdom or Heresy? The Enigma of the Gospel of Thomas

Listen to hear Megan ask Bart:

-Jesus’ apocalypticism isn’t something that modern churches talk about an awful lot How soon after Jesus’ death do we start to see this movement away from his more overt apocalyptic teachings?

-Do we see a shift away in Paul’s own writings, and do we see the same changes in the canonical gospels?

-With the canonical gospels that are trying to preserve Jesus’ own words, do we see the author trying to shade or change the apocalyptic ideas?

-In the later, non-canonical gospels, do we see the same shift away from the apocalyptic message?

-Were they replaced with other themes or teachings, or were they simply phased out?

-Do we see any heretical groups that stick with apocalypticism after the proto-orthodox tradition moved away from it?

-One of our early podcast episodes was on modern end of the world prophecies; are these doomsday writers and preachers actually mimicking Jesus’ own ministry more closely than more mainstream churches that stick with emphasizing care for your fellow human?

-In some modern settings you see people trying to bring about the apocalypse through their own actions; is this a purely a modern reaction to Jesus’ teachings, or do you see similar behaviour in early Christianity too?

-You mentioned that deapoclayptisation was kind of a necessity to deal with the fact that the world didn’t end when it was supposed to. Why do you think this modern shift back towards apocalypticism happened?