Although my research paper ended up showing that media developed for Fundamentalist Christian Children is far more complicated than my initial reaction to the pieces provided, it’s difficult not to take a first look at such work and be overwhelmed by its literary shortcomings. Continue reading
Tag Archives: paranoia
Revelation at the Schoolhouse: Danielle Gold Creative Project
The Stratemeyer Syndicate produced and sold millions of mystery books for children between the 1920’s and the 1960’s. They are best known for creating and distributing classics like Nancy Drew, The Hardy Boys, The Bobbsey Twins and The Happy Hollisters, but not every one of their creations achieved commercial success. Mary Lou arrived on the scene in the mid-60’s, long after the Girl-Detective trend had lost stream. Criticized for being too dated and too modern at the same time, the series was discontinued after the first three volumes sold less than four hundred copies combined. Due to its rarity, the books are highly valued by the modern collector. I was fortunate enough to come across a tattered copy of Revelations at the Schoolhouse while cleaning out my grandparents’ vacation home. Although its possible that I am missing parts, I have transcribed what I found to the best of my ability and uploaded it to the Internet for your viewing pleasure. Enjoy!
-Danielle Gold
Fundamentalist Mindset and Language
I had actually tried reading the Left Behind series a couple of years ago but never got a chance to really finish the first book. Like everyone’s mentioned, Glorious Appearing and the Fundamentalist Mindset essays go hand in hand. The Tribulation Force is trying to fight of the Antichrist, Nicholae Carpathia at the start of the novel, drenching the reader immediately in violent imagery. I think what we need to keep in mind though is that whereas the Rapture and its related events are all still hypothetical for us, the world of Glorious Appearing is a world that is undergoing the seven years of rule under the Antichrist. These characters have lost their family members to God and have been shown proof through Carpathia’s resurrection that there is more to come, which is why the language is so fundamentalist because it is happening in their concrete world. What I’m particularly interested about though is more language of the essays. We’re all using terminology that Strozier and Boyd used but I found some of their definitions lacking and, to use another of their words, ‘simple-minded’.
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Apocalyptic Paranoia
In this week’s reading, Strozier says the paranoia is the pathology of the gifted. I found this very interesting and very telling of how paranoia and the spread of apocalyptic belief connect. Throughout history, strong apocalyptic ideas have been perpetuated by individuals that garner a following.
