"The Apocatastis: We are living during the time of a great apocatastis, the Greek term for the return of all things that have been lost and the revelation of all things at the end of time."
The apparent thesis of Adam Parfrey's APOCALYPSE CULTURE is that all insane, mind-blowing and utterly bizarre ideas, theories and behaviors will be manifested and then the end will come. The book, published in the late 80's, is a collection of essays, short stories, articles, rambling tid-bits and other odds-and-ends from a variety of authors. The prevailing themes in APOCALYPSE CULTURE could be classified as conspiracy theory, paranoia, schizophrenia, apocalypticism, surrealism, ultra-anarchism, nihilism, libertarianism, anti-materialism, Luddite, anti-establishment, occultism, Satanic, and egotism.
A number of the essays stood out. "Infernal Texts" is a collection of quotes from various sources about man's total worthlessness and the need for a massive upheaval to eradicate the false social order that is now in place. "The Invisible War" by ... La Vey is about how constant sensory bombardments upon human beings in the modern world constitutes a collective genocide against humanity. "The Cereal Box Conspiracy" details the negative effects of sugar breakfast cereal marketing towards children, how it takes advantages of their inner fears and sexual ambiguity. "From the Mark of the Beast to the Black Messiah Phenomenon" is about a Christian researcher's theories as to who the antichrist is, and the antichrist will apparently be a black man who will be worshipped by Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists and others the world over. "Eugenics: the Orphaned Science" presents the pro-eugenics position, and gives quotes of famous people who argued for improving the biological stock of mankind through selective breeding. "The Christian Right, Zionism and the Coming Penteholocaust" is an especially disturbing and interesting study examining the relationship between militant Israelis and their Christian fundamentalist supporters in the US. Their goal is a 'Greater Israel' in the Middle East with a rebuilt Temple and Jewish control of most of Jordan, Syria, Iraq and Lebannon. This is supposed to be a part of Biblical prophecy, according to the fundies, and it is necessary for this set up to occur before World War III begins and Christ can return. "Vengeance in Secret Societies" studies how secret societies in world history used violence and terrorism to further their political goals, starting with the Assassins in the Middles East during the time of the Muslim Caliphate. "The Call to Chaos" by James Shelby Downard is something about a magical bottle at the test site of the first nuclear bomb and it has something to do the the cabalistic/Masonic uniting of the mystical male and female sexual energies. Speaking of nukes, the last essay, "Meditations on the Atom and Time" will blow your mind as it relates how the nuclear bomb has achieved godlike status in our collective psyche.
An important lesson to be learned from APOCALYPSE CULTURE considering the popularity of US meddling in Middle Eastern affairs today: "It is an ancient belief of black magic that manifesting the presence of the diety required sacrifice of human victims. It was also believed that the life energy of the victims would increase the potency and longevity of the sorcerer. A mass sacrifice might even confer enough energy to make the sorcerer immortal. Could this be the reason among the circles of the Christian Right, that the Penteholocaust, the sacrificial burning of death, will invoke Christ the vampire and render his disciples immortal."
About the Author
Since his influential collection, Apocalypse Culture, was first released in 1987, the award-winning writer Adam Parfrey has been credited for discovering and revealing the inner workings of cults and unusual pop culture histories. With "Love, Sex, Fear, Death," Parfrey has captured the cooperation of primary players in the most secretive and talked about cult of our time. MsSVig