What I Gained From the Church of Christ: End-Times Skepticism

I recently received a new book to review entitled, Have a nice Doomsday: Why millions of Americans are looking forward to the end of the world. The author, Nicolas Guyatt, explores the uniquely American, Christian subculture that's obsessed with end-times speculation. He points out that denizens of this subculture often fluctuate between two attitudes: a wish to save America from the wrath to come and a wish to, in the words of our President, "Bring it on!"

This got me thinking about what the church of my youth taught about the end times. Although the Church of Christ of my youth had very strong fundamentalist overtones, I don't recall any sermons or Bible studies on end times prophecies. In fact, the first I ever heard of the Rapture was as a teenager when a friend from another denomination explained it to me. The supposed end-times prophecies in the books of Revelations, Daniel, and Ezekiel were rarely topics of discussion. The general approach to eschatological specifics in the Church of Christ seemed to be: It's pointless to worry about when or how it will happen, since it is all in God's hands, and we aren't supposed to know.

In retrospect, I'm thankful that the Church of Christ did not plant in my head any speculative theories about the Rapture, the tribulation, the Antichrist, the millenium, and so forth. At least, now that I've left, it's one less teaching to purge from my brain.

The question is, how did the Church of Christ remain free of the influence of eschatological speculation? I think there are two reasons:
1) End-times prophecy and timelines are based on tenuous linkages between Bible verses found in many different places in scripture. The Church of Christ traditionally prized a common sense, black-and-white reading of scripture. These end-times theories were probably based too much on speculation.
2) The early Church of Christ leaned toward optimism and a belief in human progress. (This was one of Alexander Campbell's stamps on the movement.) They wanted to affect society, not defect from it. It seems that this type of attitude is the opposite of what is prevalent in many churches that speculate on end times. (Note: Early in the twentieth century, a significant premillenial contingent of the Church of Christ was "silenced" by a vocal, postmillenial contingent. Richard Hughes' Reviving the Ancient Faith has a whole chapter on this. Hughes points out that while apocalyptic beliefs were part of the viewpoint of CofC premillenialists, dispensationalism, or a mapped-out end-times scenario, was not.)

With the breaking down of denominational barriers, though, I wouldn't be surprised to find if many members of the Church of Christ do become caught up in end-times prophecy, since it is so influential among evangelicals.