Implosion

by Joel C. Rosenberg

  [302] “Economic Impact of the May 18, 1980 Eruption,” U.S. Geological Survey fact sheet, http://vulcan.wr.usgs.gov/Volcanoes/MSH/May18/description_economic_impact.html.

  [303] Natalie Wolchover, “Keeping an Eye on Yellowstone’s Supervolcano,” MSNBC, June 8, 2011, http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/43329798/ns/technology_and_science-science/t/keeping-eye-yellowstones-supervolcano/.

  [304] Daniel Bates, “Could Yellowstone National Park’s Caldera Super-Volcano Be Close to Eruption?” Daily Mail, January 25, 2011, http://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/article-1350340/Super-volcano-Yellowstones-National-Park-soon-erupt.html.

  [305] See “Supervolcano Docudrama on Yellowstone Volcano—Questions and Answers on Supervolcanoes, Volcanic Hazards,” Yellowstone Volcano Observatory, U.S. Geological Survey, http://volcanoes.usgs.gov/yvo/publications/2005/docudrama.php.

  [306] See “Steam Explosions, Earthquakes, and Volcanic Eruptions—What’s in Yellowstone’s Future?” U.S. Geological Survey Fact Sheet 2005-3024, 2005, http://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/2005/3024/.

  [307] See Strong’s Concordance, harpazō s.v., http://www.blueletterbible.org/lang/lexicon/lexicon.cfm?Strongs=G726&t=KJV.

  [308] Mark Hitchcock and Thomas Ice, The Truth Behind Left Behind, (Sisters, OR: Multnomah Publishers, 2004), pp. 22–23.

  [309] For updated total population, see U.S. Population Clock, created by the U.S. Census Bureau, http://www.census.gov/main/www/popclock.html. For the figure 234 million people age 18 or older, see latest U.S. Census figures (2010) in U.S. Department of Commerce, “Age and Sex Composition: 2010,” May 2011, http://www.census.gov/prod/cen2010/briefs/c2010br-03.pdf.

  [310] William J. Bennett, The Index of Leading Cultural Indicators: American Society at the End of the Twentieth Century (New York: WaterBrook Press, 1999), p. 4.

  [311] See Steven Ertelt, “New Zogby Poll: Americans Are Pro-Life on Numerous Abortion Issues,” LifeNews.com, March 22, 2006, http://www.lifenews.com/2006/03/22/nat-2164/.

  [312] See Lydia Saad, “Doctor-Assisted Suicide Is Moral Issue Dividing Americans Most: Pornography, Gay Relations Produce Biggest Generational Gaps,” Gallup, May 31, 2011, http://www.gallup.com/poll/147842/Doctor-Assisted-Suicide-Moral-Issue-Dividing-Americans.aspx. See also Steven Ertelt, “New Poll: 55% of Americans Say Abortion Morally Wrong,” LifeNews.com, August 26, 2011, http://www.lifenews.com/2011/08/26/new-poll-55-of-americans-say-abortion-morally-wrong/.

  [313] “Abortion Statistics: United States Data and Trends,” National Right to Life, January 27, 2011, http://www.nrlc.org/Factsheets/FS03_AbortionInTheUS.pdf.

  [314] Saad.

  [315] Jerry Ropelato, “Internet Pornography Statistics,” Internet Filter Software Reviews, http://internet-filter-review.toptenreviews.com/internet-pornography-statistics-pg2.html.

  [316] Ibid.

  [317] Saad.

  [318] “Estimated Crime in the United States—Total,” Uniform Crime Reporting Statistics, Federal Bureau of Investigation, U.S. Department of Justice, http://www.ucrdatatool.gov/Search/Crime/State/RunCrimeStatebyState.cfm. It should be noted that the number of forcible rapes in the U.S. peaked in the early- to mid-1990s, hitting a high of 109,062 in 1992 and remaining over 100,000 per year until 1994.

  [319] As of June 17, 2011, the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children listed 739,853 sexual predators in the U.S.; see “Map of Registered Sex Offenders in the United States,” http://www.missingkids.com/en_US/documents/sex-offender-map.pdf. This is up from 603,000 in 2007. See John Gramlich, “The Ever-Growing Sex Offender Registry,” Stateline, April 12, 2010, http://www.stateline.org/live/details/story?contentId=476264.

  [320] Some have expressed that caution should be used in assessing the true number of sexual offenders and predators, as there are cases of people who might not truly qualify but end up on the list anyway. Experts and government officials should be extremely careful to make sure no one is put on such a national registry for reasons other than convictions of sexual crimes. Still, few question that we have seen an epidemic of sexual crimes over the past few decades.

  [321] “Sex Offenders Getting Younger, More Violent,” Associated Press, June 9, 2007, http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19143411/ns/us_news-crime_and_courts/t/sex-offenders-getting-younger-more-violent/.

  [322] Ibid.

  [323] Frank Newport, “For First Time, Majority of Americans Favor Legal Gay Marriage,” Gallup, May 20, 2011, http://www.gallup.com/poll/147662/first-time-majority-americans-favor-legal-gay-marriage.aspx.

  [324] “Same-Sex Marriage, Civil Unions, and Domestic Partnerships: Quick Facts on Key Provisions,” National Conference of State Legislatures, July 14, 2011, http://www.ncsl.org/default.aspx?tabid=16430.

  [325] For examples, see Psalm 1:1, Psalm 34:8, Psalm 40:4, Psalm 112:1.

  [326] George Barna, Futurecast (Carol Stream, IL: BarnaBooks/Tyndale House Publishers, 2011), p. 124.

  [327] Ibid., p. 132.

  [328] Ibid.

  [329] Ibid., p. 35.

  [330] These numbers were reported in the “Pastor’s Family Bulletin,” Focus on the Family, March 2000, cited in “Archive of Statistics on Internet Dangers,” Enough Is Enough, http://www.enough.org/inside.php?tag=stat#9.

  [331] Ibid.

  [332] See editorial, “The Leadership Survey of Pastors and Internet Pornography,” Leadership Journal, January 1, 2001, http://www.christianitytoday.com/le/2001/winter/12.89.html. Admittedly, these statistics are ten years out of date. I wonder if today they would be higher. However, I have not been able to find more recent data. Indeed, in an August 2010 article on “Protecting Churches from Porn,” Christianity Today again cited the 2001 statistics: http://www.christianitytoday.com/le/2010/summer/protectingchurches.html.

  [333] Barna, Futurecast, p. 172.

  [334] George Barna, Growing True Disciples (Colorado Springs, CO: WaterBrook Press, 2001), pp. 35, 41.

  [335] George Barna, “The Year’s Most Intriguing Findings, from Barna Research Studies,” Barna Update, December 17, 2011, http://www.barna.org/barna-update/article/5-barna-update/64-the-years-most-intriguing-findings-from-barna-research-studies.

  [336] Jill Lepore, The Name of War: King Philip’s War and the Origins of American Identity (New York: Vintage Books/Random House, 1998), back cover and p. xi. See also Douglas Edward Leach, Flintlock & Tomahawk: New England in King Philip’s War (Woodstock, VT: Countrymen Press, 2009).

  [337] Thomas Kidd, The Great Awakening: The Roots of Evangelical Christianity in Colonial America (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2007), p. 2.

  [338] See Yale University’s biography of Jonathan Edwards, http://edwards.yale.edu/research/about-edwards/biography.

  [339] Kidd, p. 10.

  [340] Ibid.

  [341] Jonathan Edwards, A Faithful Narrative of the Surprising Work of God, published in 1738, and available online at http://www.jonathan-edwards.org/Narrative.html.

  [342] Ibid.

  [343] Ibid.

  [344] Ibid.

  [345] To read the text of this famous sermon, go to http://www.jonathan-edwards.org/Sinners.html.

  [346] See biography of Jonathan Edwards, http://edwards.yale.edu/research/about-edwards/biography. See also Princeton University’s biography of Edwards, http://www.princeton.edu/pr/facts/presidents/05.htm. Regarding the founding of Princeton University: “At Princeton, one of the founders (probably Ebenezer Pemberton) wrote in c. 1750, ‘Though our great Intention was to erect a seminary for educating Ministers of the Gospel, yet we hope it will be useful in other learned professions—Ornaments of the State as well as the Church. Therefore we propose to make the plan of Education as extensive as our Circumstances will admit.’” Quoted in Alexander Leitch, A Princeton Companion (Princeton University Press, 1978). See also http://etcweb.princeton.edu/CampusWWW/Companion/founding_princeton.html.

  [347] See Kenneth P. Minkema, “Edwards’ Family,” Jonathan Edwards Center, Yale University, http://edwards.yale.edu/research/about-edwards/family-life.

  [348] See Diane Severance,
“Jonathan Edwards, America’s Humble Giant,” Christianity.com, http://www.christianity.com/ChurchHistory/11630188/.

  [349] His name is pronounced “Whit-field.”

  [350] Arnold A. Dallimore, George Whitefield: God’s Anointed Servant in the Great Revival of the Eighteenth Century (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 1990), p. 17.

  [351] Ibid., p. 18.

  [352] Ibid., p. 21.

  [353] Ibid., p. 22.

  [354] Ibid., p. 46.

  [355] Collin Hansen and John Woodbridge, A God-Sized Vision: Revival Stories That Stretch and Stir (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2010), p. 47.

  [356] Mark A. Noll, A History of Christianity in the United States and Canada (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1992), p. 91.

  [357] Bill Bright, “How to Introduce Others to Christ” (Orlando, FL: Cru Press, 2007). See http://www.centerfieldproductions.com/members/content/crucomm/brighthowtointroduceotherstochrist.pdf.

  [358] Richard L. Bushman, ed., The Great Awakening: Documents on the Revival of Religion, 1740–1745 (Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press, 1989), p. xii.

  [359] Dallimore, p. 76.

  [360] Ibid.

  [361] Ibid., p. 82.

  [362] Ibid., p. 141.

  [363] Noll, History of Christianity, p. 93.

  [364] Dallimore, p. 197.

  [365] Ibid., p. 201.

  [366] Bushman, pp. xi–xii.

  [367] Mark Noll, The Rise of Evangelicalism: The Age of Edwards, Whitefield, and the Wesleys (Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2003), p. 83.

  [368] Georgia Historical Society, “John Wesley,” Today in Georgia History, http://www.todayingeorgiahistory.org/content/john-wesley. See also Noll, The Rise of Evangelicalism, pp. 83–84.

  [369] Noll, The Rise of Evangelicalism, p. 85.

  [370] Ibid., p. 95.

  [371] Ibid.

  [372] Cited in a profile of John Wesley, ChristianHistory.net, August 8, 2008, http://www.christianitytoday.com/ch/131christians/denominationalfounders/wesley.html?start=1. See also Noll, The Rise of Evangelicalism, p. 97.

  [373] Noll, The Rise of Evangelicalism, p. 84.

  [374] See Profile of Charles Wesley, ChristianHistory.net, August 8, 2008, http://www.christianitytoday.com/ch/131christians/poets/charleswesley.html.

  [375] Mark A. Noll, Turning Points: Decisive Moments in the History of Christianity (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2000), pp. 226–227.

  [376] Profile of John Wesley, ChristianHistory.net.

  [377] Whitefield and the Wesleys had a terrible falling-out over theological differences that divided them for many years. Whitefield was a devout Calvinist; the Wesleys were devout Arminians. Fortunately, they reconciled near the end of their lives, and John Wesley preached a warm and moving eulogy at George Whitefield’s funeral.

  [378] “The 25 Most Influential Evangelicals in America,” Time, February 7, 2005, http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1993235_1993243,00.html.

  [379] Mark A. Noll, A History of Christianity in the United States and Canada (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1992), p. 166. Noll was a highly acclaimed evangelical scholar and professor at Wheaton College for many years, then moved to the University of Notre Dame in 2006.

  [380] Steve Forbes, A New Birth of Freedom (Washington, DC: Regnery Publishing, 1999), p. 138. In the second paragraph of this excerpt, Steve quotes text from Revival Signs by Tom Phillips (Sisters, OR: Multnomah, 1995).

  [381] John Wigger, American Saint: Francis Asbury and the Methodists (New York: Oxford University Press USA, 2009), p. 3.

  [382] Noll, History of Christianity, p. 173.

  [383] Ibid., p. 171.

  [384] Wigger, p. 3. A 2008 article at ChristianHistory.net said the number of sermons was 16,500. See “Francis Asbury: Methodist on Horseback,” ChristianHistory.net, August 8 2008, http://www.christianitytoday.com/ch/131christians/denominationalfounders/asbury.html.

  [385] Noll, History of Christianity, p. 173.

  [386] See General Commission on Archives & History, United Methodist Church, statistics posted online at http://www.gcah.org/site/c.ghKJI0PHIoE/b.3828783/.

  [387] Stephen J. Ahn, “Timothy Dwight and Yale: The Making of a University,” Yale Standard, 2001, http://www.yalestandard.com/biographies/timothy-dwight/.

  [388] John R. Fitzmier, New England’s Moral Legislator: Timothy Dwight, 1752–1817 (Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press, 1998), p. 15. The student cited was Lyman Beecher.

  [389] Ahn.

  [390] Brooks Mather Kelley, Yale: A History (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1974), p. 123.

  [391] Collin Hansen and John Woodbridge, A God-Sized Vision: Revival Stories That Stretch and Stir (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2010), p. 63.

  [392] Fitzmier, p. 53.

  [393] An article on Christianity.com stated that Dwight “fired all of the faculty members who favored the anti-Christian ideas of French rationalism. Subsequently, about one-third of the student body were converted to Christianity.” See Dan Graves, “Yale Leader Timothy Dwight Died in Harness,” Christianity.com, June 2007, http://www.christianity.com/ChurchHistory/11630378/. A biography published in the 1960s suggested that Dwight fired those with “infidel leanings” who did not fit into his vision for the college. See Kenneth Silverman, Timothy Dwight (New York: Twayne Publishers, 1969), p. 97.

  [394] Kelley, pp. 130–131.

  [395] Ahn.

  [396] Hansen and Woodbridge, pp. 65–66.

  [397] Ibid., p. 66.

  [398] Ibid., pp. 66–67.

  [399] Ahn.

  [400] Hansen and Woodbridge, p. 68.

  [401] Ahn.

  [402] Kelley, pp. 123–124.

  [403] See Noll, A History of Christianity, p. 169; see also profile of Lyman Beecher, resource for God in America, American Experience, PBS, 2010, http://www.pbs.org/godinamerica/people/lyman-beecher.html.

  [404] Hansen and Woodbridge, p. 73.

  [405] Charles Finney, The Autobiography of Charles Finney, ed. Helen Wessel (Minneapolis, MN: Bethany House Publishers, 1977), p. 6. This is an abridged version of Finney’s original 1876 book.

  [406] Ibid., p. 11.

  [407] Ibid., p. 17.

  [408] Ibid., pp. 17–18.

  [409] Ibid., p. 31.

  [410] Ibid., p. 50.

  [411] Ibid., p. 38.

  [412] Noll, History of Christianity, p. 175.

  [413] Cited by Finney in Autobiography, pp. 164–165. In his book Modern Revivalism: Charles Grandison Finney to Billy Graham (Eugene, OR: Wipf and Stock Publishers, 2005; a republication of the original book published in 1959), historian William McLoughlin Jr. cited Presbyterian statistics from the Rochester area to argue that the number was not one hundred thousand but “more realistically” about sixty thousand. Still, he concurred that the revival had a huge impact on Rochester and beyond. See McLoughlin, pp. 57–58.

  [414] Finney, Autobiography, p. 164.

  [415] “Charles Finney: Father of American Revivalism,” ChristianHistory.net, August 8, 2008, http://www.christianitytoday.com/ch/131christians/evangelistsandapologists/finney.html.

  [416] McLoughlin, p. 57.

  [417] Charles G. Finney, Lectures on Revival (Minneapolis, MN: Bethany House Publishers, 1989, reprint of the original 1835 book), p. 15.

  [418] Noll, History of Christianity, p. 176.

  [419] Finney, Lectures on Revival, p. 13.

  [420] Finney, Autobiography, back cover.

  [421] Noll, History of Christianity, p. 170.

  [422] Thomas S. Kidd, The Great Awakening: The Roots of Evangelical Christianity in Colonial America (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2007), p. 322.

  [423] Noll, History of Christianity, pp. 178–179.

  [424] Kidd, p. 322.

  [425] Ibid.

  [426] Noll, History of Christianity, pp. 178–179.

  [427] Ibid.

  [428] We devoted the 2011 Epicenter Conference in Jerusalem to teaching throu
gh the book of Joel, chapter by chapter and verse by verse. The messages are available online for free at www.epicenterconference.com. I have also posted my notes on each chapter of Joel on my blog. Please go to www.joelrosenberg.com, click on the blog, and search for “Book of Joel.”

  [429] Governor John Winthrop, “A Model of Christian Charity,” address delivered in 1630 to passengers aboard the Arbella, redacted and introduced by John Beardsley, editor in chief, the Winthrop Society Quarterly, 1997, http://religiousfreedom.lib.virginia.edu/sacred/charity.html; for more, see Francis J. Bremer, John Winthrop: America’s Forgotten Founding Father (New York: Oxford University Press USA, 2005).