The Rise and Fall of Dispensationalism

March 20, 2023
In this comprehensive account, Hummel (Covenant Brothers), the director of university engagement at Christian study center Upper House, chronicles the history of dispensationalism and the “ideas, institutions, and individuals” that shaped it. Known primarily for its views of the end-times, including a belief in premillenialism (the idea that Jesus will return twice before ruling on Earth for 1,000 years), the theological system traces its roots to the 18th century, when Irish curate John Nelson Darby brought his writings to North America. Darby set out a theology that read the Bible as the story of God’s “redemption of all things through... Israel and the church,” reflecting a belief that hallmarked dispensationalism: the idea that Jews would be saved separately from Christians, during a “tribulation” period before Christ’s earthly rule. Later, the 1909 Scofield Reference Bible, annotated by premillenialist pastor Cyrus Scofield, made the religious framework of dispensationalism accessible to laypeople. Hummel discusses how 20th-century social critic Philip Mauro coined the term dispensationalism as a moniker for what he felt were “wrong beliefs,” and examines the system’s influences on 20th-century pop culture, such as Hal Lindsey’s 1970 The Late Great Planet Earth. Hummel leaves no stone unturned in this rigorous offering, and though his prose can get bogged down in jargon, those with a specific fasciation in end-times systems will find the detail valuable. This is well-suited to scholars of religious history.

Starred review from April 1, 2023

Terms such as dispensationalism, premillennialism, the Scofield Reference Bible, and rapture theology can seem like the esoteric jargon of fundamentalists and conservative evangelicals. However, historian Hummel (Univ. of Wisconsin-Madison; Covenant Brothers: Evangelicals, Jews, and U.S.-Israeli Relations) claims that these concepts have been influential far beyond any theological niche and deserve a closer look. What Hummel excels at in this work is placing these ideas in a meaningful context alongside the events, people, and places that shaped them. He creates an engrossing narrative with compelling details. Each chapter dovetails into the next, often glancing back to capture different aspects of the historical setting as the narrative moves from the 1830s in Ireland toward an end very close to the present, with references to QAnon and the Avengers movies. There is much explanatory power and depth to the way the author traces how these religious concepts have influenced movements, politics, and pop culture. VERDICT This is an exceptional resource for readers looking to understand conservative Christianity. The book also illuminates much of U.S. religious history in general.--Zachariah Motts

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