Bearcastle Blog » The Prophetic Red Heifer

The Prophetic Red Heifer

It seems that for the last two days, ever since I read that fascinating speech by Bill Moyers (mentioned a few posts below this one), in which he talked about faith-based politics and the influence of end-time prophesies, I've been following threads and reading with wide-eyed fascination and horror at this multi-car pileup on this major highway in the reality-based world that I live in. And it keeps getting worse.
The latest is this nearly three-year-old article by Rod Dreher in The National Review: "Red-Heifer Days".
Now, the entire story is too interesting, too bizarre, and too complex for me to feel I could summarize it here with any clarity; I suggest you read the story. The premise is this:

You don't have to believe that a rust-colored calf could bring about the end of the world — or that 72 black-eyed virgins await the pious Islamic suicide bomber in paradise — but there are many people who do, and are prepared to act on that belief.

I hope that's suitably provocative!
The story involves this rare, red heifer (born in Texas through the good offices of some fundamentalist Christian cattle ranchers), whose ashes are necessary for the ritual purification necessary before any Jews may set foot on Temple Mount (Jerusalem), to rebuild The Temple that will be necessary for Jesus to return at the climax of the battle of Armageddon…. And on it goes. At any rate, many might see this as a triggering threshold for even bigger apocalyptic events.
As Mr. Dreher points out, it makes little difference that one doesn't believe this stuff if there are millions who, regardless of the absurdity, do believe it.

Posted on February 13, 2005 at 17.01 by jns · Permalink
In: All, Splenetics, The Art of Conversation

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  1. Written by Bearcastle Blog » The Rapture Wager
    on Sunday, 3 April 2005 at 01.01
    Permalink

    […] t happened yet. So, to my mind and despite all the warning signs (see, e.g., my posting on The Prophetic Red Heifer), I'm not convinced that the chances for the Rapture next week are all that great […]

  2. Written by Bearcastle Blog
    on Tuesday, 15 August 2006 at 12.59
    Permalink

    "Christian Zionist" Foreign Policy

    I know, I know. Perhaps I am slightly obsessive about all this weirdness with America's foreign policy and the pre-millenial dispensationalists under the bed, barely out of view, but it's a bit like global warming: if they're having even a tenth the…

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