A BOOK REVIEW in the Washington Post:

Judgment Day
Why Revelation remains the most incendiary chapter of the New Testament.

Reviewed by Jay Tolson
Sunday, November 12, 2006; Page BW06

A HISTORY OF THE END OF THE WORLD

How the Most Controversial Book of the Bible

Changed the Course of Western Civilization

By Jonathan Kirsch

HarperSan Francisco. 340 pp. $25.95

The question of whether religions have historically done more harm or good is one of those debates that persist well beyond their proper sophomore-year expiration date. But there is a less futile variation on the argument: What is it in specific faith traditions that can lead to dangerous interpretations?

In the five years since 9/11, much time has been devoted to identifying the elements of Islam that lend themselves to a hateful jihadist ideology. Less has been devoted to what is incendiary in the other two Abrahamic traditions: Judaism and Christianity. Jonathan Kirsch, the author of several acclaimed books on religious themes, goes some way toward remedying that deficit in this thoughtful history and analysis of the most controversial book of the New Testament, the Book of Revelation.

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The article also discusses some speculations on the origins of the thought world that produced the genre "apocalypse."