Christian Liberals & Progressive People of Faith

I haven't read this book yet or even perused it in a bookstore, but based on her previous works, I expect it to be interesting.

I agree about the "mythhood" of 3 of those four myths, but I think the author was a Christian. Just not the kind of Christian that won the heresy wars in the early church.

One disagreement I will probably have with her is the view that's it's all a polemic against the Roman Empire. A couple parts of Revelation clearly talk about Rome, but only a couple parts. Most of the story has absolutely no connection to Rome. For example, the beast from the land is clearly about Rome; the beast from the sea has bits about Rome but it has much more about other historical empires that preceded Rome and other ones that would follow Rome. "The beast," which is a combination of the beast from the sea, the beast from the land, and the dragon, likewise has some about Rome but much more about "evil empires" in general. The whore of Babylon has a connection to Rome but it's only tangential; in fact, she even rules over Rome (probably an odd-sounding concept but it's completely sensible--I'll say more if anyone is interested). Nothing else in the whole book of Revelation says anything at all about Rome.

One quote from the CNN article seems worthy of additional note: "At the center of this final battle between good and evil is an action-hero-like Jesus." I don't think so, although I'm probably the only person in the world who thinks this. In this final battle (Armageddon), Jesus is not like an action hero. Jesus battles the armies of the world with a two-edged sword coming out of His mouth. Who ever heard of an action hero going into battle carrying his weapon in his mouth? Can anybody name a single one? It doesn't make sense. What does make sense about it is that this sword coming of the mouth of the Word of God is in contrast to the "unclean spirits" that come out of the mouths of several satanic characters to call the world to war at Armageddon. The point is the contrast between what comes out of satanic mouths and what comes out of the Word of God's mouth. What comes out of mouths? Words and statements, truth and falsehood, wisdom and folly, not physical weapons of war. In my view, Armageddon is about God's truth (what comes out of God's mouth) overcoming and defeating war and armies and the call to war (what comes out of satanic mouths).