For those who missed the Left Behind books, this Christian eschatological primer provides a short if not quite enthralling portrait of the Antichrist. Hitchcock, a pastor and author of Is America in Bible Prophecy? refuses to name names or indulge in "foolish speculation" about suspects such as Bill Gates and Lyndon Johnson, but he does detail some identifying characteristics. The Antichrist will emerge as the leader of a European super-state, impose a peace settlement on the Israel "and possibly her neighbors," get assassinated and then resurrected, win the Nobel Peace Prize and be named Time's Man of the Year; after these triumphs, he will set himself up as God and rule the world. Without committing to a date, Hitchcock feels that contemporary developments-the growth of the European Union, Middle East turmoil, globalization, and new personal surveillance technologies, like sub-cutaneous computer chips, that could assist the beast in affixing his mark to all mankind-make it "highly probable" that the Antichrist is "waiting in the wings." He concludes with an exhortation to accept the real Christ as savior, not least because believers will be raptured to Heaven before the Antichrist appears. Hitchcock's account of the End Times, supported by elaborate exegeses of biblical passages, will be familiar-even canonical-to fundamentalist readers. But his unimaginative writing (he compares our "shrinking" world to a polo shirt of his that shrunk in the laundry) will neither inspire the faithful nor sway the unconverted. (Feb.) CONFUCIANISM: Origins, Beliefs, Practices, Holy Texts, Sacred Places Jennifer Oldstone-Moore. Oxford, $17.95 (112p) ISBN 0195219082 Oldstone-Moore, a professor at Wittenberg University in Springfield, Ohio, provides a quick, informative overview of Confucianism, China's indigenous religious philosophy. Confucianism, she explains, is somewhat misidentified because it originated centuries before Confucius, who saw himself as a compiler of the ancient tradition's best wisdom. Oldstone-Moore does a fine job of explaining the central concept of filial piety (xiao), which undergirds all human relationships in Confucian philosophy. She also discusses the interplay of yin and yang and the role of the Five Phases (fire, wood, water, metal and earth). One chapter explores "sacred time," including festivals such as the lunar New Year and the importance of the 12-year zodiac cycle; another presents sacred texts, including the Five Classics. Like the other books in Oxford's series of brief introductions to various world religions, this one is copiously illustrated with full-color photographs. The writing can sometimes be dry, but the book is so brief that it scarcely matters. (Jan.) Copyright 2003 Cahners Business Information.
