Having once held a fundamentalist read on Revelation himself, Ehrman knows feelingly what a toxic conception of God, self and others can do to a person. He’s also vigilantly persuasive concerning the horrors wrought by particular readings of Revelation in the corridors of power ... By inviting us to study Revelation in its context, and to read it for ourselves... he gives us the gift of considering anew John’s dream vision.
Ehrman hopes to look beyond the traditional end-times mentality to question its very view of Christ and his followers ... Well-argued, certain-to-be-controversial account of the Bible’s closing story.
Ambitious but uneven ... Despite the rigor Ehrman brings to the table, there is surprisingly little discussion about first-century apocalyptic literature (including the writing of the Essenes), and Ehrman spends a lot of time debunking others’ views rather than making a case for his own. There are some bright moments, but this entry falls short of its lofty aims.
