This is inaccurate, not just in the case of Lutherans as
@ViaCrucis pointed out, but really, in the case of most mainstream denominations aside from Pentecostals and some Evangelicalist and Fundamentalist Calvinist groups.
Basically, as I said earlier, the doctrine of the Rapture originated in the 19th century with John Nelson Darby, a leader in the more severe branch of the Plymouth Brethren known as the Exclusive Brethren (no relation to the Evangelical United Brethren which would later merge with the Methodist Episcopal Church to form the United Methodist Church).
The Rapture is not a part of the traditional beliefs of any of the following North American denominations:
- Anabaptist
- Anglican (ACNA, Continuing Anglican, Anglican Church of Canada)
- Baptist (traditionally, although some Baptist churches have embraced it)
- Chaldean Catholic
- Christian Church / Disciples of Christ
- Church of the East (Ancient/Assyrian)
- Congregationalist
- Eastern Catholic (Italo-Albanian, Melkite, Ruthenian, Ukrainian, etc)
- Eastern Orthodox (OCA, ROCOR, Antiochian, Greek Orthodox, etc)
- Episcopalian
- Lutheran (ELCA, LCMS/LCC, WELS, ELS)
- Mennonite
- Methodists (United Methodist, Global Methodist)
- Nazarene
- Maronite Catholic
- Molokan
- Moravian
- Old Catholic (Union of Scranton)
- Old Catholic (Union of Utrecht)
- Oriental Orthodox (Armenian, Coptic, Ethiopian, Syriac)
- Other Old Catholic
- Presbyterian
- Quaker (Friends)
- Reformed
- Remonstrant
- Roman Catholic
- Russian Old Orthodox / Old Believer
- Salvation Army
- United Brethren in Christ
- United Church of Canada
- United Church of Christ
- Waldensian
- Wesleyan Methodist
Note this list is extremely incomplete. In general, traditional liturgical churches and magisterial Protestant churches do not subscribe to this doctrine. For that matter, I am not sure that all of the Plymouth Brethren adhere to it either. At a minimum, when John Nelson Darby promulgated the concept of the Rapture, he did so from within one half of a schism within the Plymouth Brethren movement, specifically the Exclusive Brethren, as opposed to the Open Brethren, and my recollection is that even among the Exclusive Brethren he was controversial.
This is not to suggest that the doctrine of the Rapture is a fringe belief - far from it. It is extremely popular among non-denominational megachurches as well as Pentecostals and for that matter, any churches which adhere to Premillenial Dispensationalism. As proof of its popularity, one need look no further than the runaway success of the
Left Behind series of books, including the
Tribulation Force young adult novels.
I have to confess I am not a fan of those works; while I frequently appreciate Christian writing that I do not agree with on a doctrinal level, for example, the Divine Comedy of Dante Allegheri, or on a more serious note, theological works such as Calvin’s Institutes or the Summa Theologica of Thomas Aquinas, or for that matter the writing of the brilliant Jewish philosopher Moses Maimonides, I find little in the Left Behind books which strikes me as being particularly conducive to piety or moral development. Indeed in reading them and viewing the films I found that the plot seemed driven by a sense of morbid curiosity.
There is also the distressing aspect of the character of the anti-Christ, “Nicolae Carpathia,” allegedly Romanian, who I regard as a racist depiction. Aside from the fact that Carpathia is not a Romanian last name and the Carpathians are a separate ethnic grouping comprised of Rusyns and Lemkos (the latter group including noted artist Andy Warhol), historically members of the Ruthenian Greek Catholic Church, the Orthodox Church in America and the American Carpatho-Rusyn Orthodox Diocese, the Romanians themselves are an extremely Christian country with the largest Eastern Orthodox population outside the former Soviet Union. Nicolae for that matter is an extremely common name; St. Nicholas is a fourth century bishop highly venerated among Eastern Orthodox for his charity (he saved several young girls from being forced into prostitution and along with St. Basil is part of the inspiration for Santa Claus), for his slapping of the heretic Arius at the Council of Nicaea (which caused him to be temporarily deposed, as the ancient canon law of the early church strictly prohibits clergy from hitting anyone), and for his miraculous myrhh-streaming relics, so in any Eastern Orthodox land you will find Nicholas an extremely common name.
Doubtless the authors were going for a name inspired by the evil dictator Nicolae Ceaușescu, but I expect for Romanians this would only have made it more offensive.
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