Unraptured by Zack Hunt is a memoir of the author's journey from being a devout evangelical Christian to a progressive follower of Jesus. Hunt shares his personal stories of growing up in the Bible Belt, attending a conservative Christian college, and struggling with doubts and questions about his faith. He also explores the history and theology of American evangelicalism, and how it has shaped the culture and politics of the United States. Hunt writes with honesty, humor, and compassion, as he invites readers to join him in reimagining Christianity as a way of love, justice, and peace. Unraptured is a book for anyone who has ever felt disillusioned by the church, or curious about what it means to follow Jesus in the 21st century.

Mind. Blown. I did not see THAT coming.
5/5 stars for Zack Hunt’s Unraptured: How End Times Theology Gets It Wrong.



Having spent most of my life in a denomination that was founded because of the imminent second coming of Jesus, and which taught against a "secret rapture" and prophesied about an every-eye-shall-see-him event, I had different expectations when I was given the advance copy (ARC) of "Unraptured" to read and review. I carefully read the chapters and highlighted many sentences and paragraphs that resonated with my experience: Jesus is coming soon, the books of Daniel and Revelation are prophecies of future events so we can get ready for heaven and avoid hell (a.k.a. hellfire insurance), the need to live a holy and perfect life to hurry Jesus along, obedience to the gospel commission to teach and convert the world, and the importance of "right beliefs." (And so much more, wow...)

Over the course of my Christian life, I memorized fundamental belief proof texts and got A's in my religion classes at Christian university. I taught Bible classes at church and was ordained as an elder (not a pastor). For funzies, I took a New Testament Greek class from one of my pastors and still own the reference books to prove it. As a professional church musician for many years, I heard two or three sermons every weekend, and made copious notes in my study Bible's margins. I worked or contracted for some denominational institutions (which is why I'm not identifying them). I've spent many happy years volunteering in activities that were sometimes related to church, but more often related to my desire to change the world a little at a time. So yeah, I had all the religious beliefs down, pro and con.

In Zack Hunt's book, I laughed where he wanted readers to laugh, and felt his anguish when his expectations were dashed. I learned more about dispensationalism (not a thing in my churches). I saw glimpses of items he's posted in social media. I had been given a loose deadline to write the review, but I could not skim or hurry to the end of this book--it needed to be chewed and digested. I'm glad I spent the few extra hours, because at about the 50 percent mark, it gets meaty.

I had no idea Hunt would write passionately about the Bible's call to social justice and a religion that *works*. I knew that 1 Corinthians 13 wasn't about wedding vows, but about what godly love for one another should be. But when Hunt connected that passage with Matthew 25 and Revelation, and performing works of love because that will bring the incarnation of God into our lives rather than wait for the second coming to escape this world--mind blown.

As a little child, I was sexually assaulted for years by a relative. When I told my mother, she did everything she knew to make it stop and she protected me, but our church didn't believe in psychological therapy at that time, so I internalized the assaults and told no one else. We know now that such trauma festers and doesn't heal. There were lifelong physical and emotional scars for me, and I've realized in the last four years that I never learned to play, or to love. I confessed to God that I didn't love him the way I saw other Christians love him (yes, I know we shouldn't compare, but who can help it?), but I would honor him with obedience and by helping where I could, in service. That was the best I could do, and I was pretty sure God understood that.

But that's where the shock of "Unraptured" came. I had no idea that the kind of love God is seeking--cooking, feeding, clothing, visiting, helping, advocating with my communications skills, donating stuff and donating blood--is a *preferred* way of loving God and loving his children.

So for all the insights, the laughs where my experiences were similar, and for the validation, this book deserves its five stars and more. Sorry I can't choose just one of the many passages I highlighted. You'll have to do that yourself!

It felt good to know that I am not the only one in the world with a similar story. It just didn't feel right what I was being taught...The author's style is wonderful and charming, helping you to navigate a difficult subject.

Zack Hunt is a longtime favorite follow on Twitter, so I knew there was a very good chance I would enjoy Unraptured. With a fresh and insightful look at rapture and the "end times" theology, Hunt brings new passion and drive to my own life. I left this book feeling encouraged and ready to love my neighbors more than ever before.

Another book that will have me thinking for some time. Like Zack, I grew up hearing about things like the Rapture and the second coming. I saw the original "Thief in the Night" movies. While it didn't impact me quite as strongly as Zack, he like got majorly into it, I knew the references he made. What I really liked about this book were Zack's alternative interpretations. They're biblical and other scholars have supported them. Again, a book I'd have to go through a few times to glean all the new things he encourages readers to consider.

I remember sitting in a church school classroom, counting down the days.

My teacher had just gone over the latest "evidence." It was 1979, and I was 8. I think it was credit cards at the time--these would be the only way to get money from your account, and the government would shut down our bank accounts. I think there had been a reference to Agent Orange, showing that we wouldn't be able to hide during the "time of trouble" that was certain to come.

With all of the imagination I could muster, I thought I felt the Holy Spirit in me, and it told me that the world wouldn't last longer than 1981.

I relate this story to show how much of Zack's life I thought I shared. Granted, I was never raised to believe in the Rapture, but the literal 2nd Coming of Jesus was drummed into me as a Seventh-day Adventist, and I was raised with an overemphasized, literal version of Revelation.

What I liked about <i>Unraptured</i> was the fact that it went beyond the out-of-wackodom narratives that former fundamentalists like me tend to relate. Sure, there is plenty of Hunt's story in the book, but the <i>Gets It Wrong</i> part of the title is significant. He is on a mission to correct the misguided focus on the remnant--and the susceptibility to confidence schemes that it tends to engender in believers.

Tracing the history of the rapture/apocalypse from Revelation through early writers like Origen and Augustine and on to Luther and the 2nd Great Awakening, Hunt really opens up ways that the Bible was interpreted and shows that rapture theology or apoctalypticism is a relatively new phenomenon in Christian circles. He quotes Martin Luther as saying, "Even if I knew the world would end tomorrow, I would plant a tree."

But Hunt doesn't just stop with showing how creative, untrained ministers misinterpreted scripture and invented the rapture out of whole cloth. He also shows how wrong it is to believe in it. "The end times weren't just about saving my soul," he writes, "they were about stroking my ego. The book of Revelation is a message of hope and reconciliation for all humankind. I had taken that good news and made it all about me."

To Hunt's reading, the Church's reading of Matthew 24 (Jesus' mini-apocalypse) without applying Matthew 25 has caused a disconnect--a lack of "faithfulness" as he puts it. His book is an effort to set the record straight and correct the hard right turn in American Christianity--right into the arms of politicos and conmen whom I shall not name here.

I'm glad I read this book. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for making it available for me to read in exchange for an honest review. Whether you are a Christian who understands the difference between serving a Risen Savior and a Soon-coming one, or you are someone who is beginning to doubt all the rapture-ready, end-time, Israel-in-prophecy literature, this will be a great book for you to read.

If Zack Hunt is correct, Kirk Cameron has some explaining to do.
I enjoyed reading Unraptured. I appreciated Zack’s candid storytelling and his thoughts on how to biblically interpret apocalyptic scriptures. I’m happy I had a chance to read this and I would certainly recommend it to anyone who has struggled with making rapture teachings fit into what they’ve read in the Bible. It wasn’t the most exciting read and it was a little repetitive from time to time. It took me a some time to push through, but it was worth it.

With disarming candor and wit, and in a style evocative of the narration in the popular movie A Christmas Story, Zack Hunt relates his youthful crusade to ensure no living soul who crossed his path would miss the Rapture. Reading, I half-expected the teenaged Zack might shoot his own eye out with zealously parroted — but erroneously interpreted — Bible passages and lessons gleaned from famous end-times teachers. Of course, that didn’t happen. With humor, and no small amount of winsome humility, he offers a memoir of his abrupt fall from grace as a champion of Dispensationalist doctrine and his quest to overcome disillusionment.

Here is such a book as will make many older pilgrims in the faith smile, nod, and whisper, “Me too, son. Me to.” even if they never believed in the Rapture, because each of us has a “first naiveté”. Here is a book that will cause many to sigh and give thanks for critical reflection, while others will sigh and clutch the “aha!” moment close—forming the courage to take their very first step away from their newly-lost naiveté. Here is a book that will assist those who follow Christ in sorting out the things about which they are uncertain (and ought to be), and separating them from the teachings of Christ that are crystal clear, the teachings that compel us to action: those which concern how we treat “the least of these”.

Unraptured confronts a large segment of Christendom that is looking toward the skies in anticipation of something that will never happen, illustrating how end-times-focused believers neglect the here-and-now problems that concern God most. We shouldn’t need anyone to tell us what these are because they are the afflictions that cause suffering for what God loves most—humanity. The book reframes misunderstood apocalyptic myth as relevant teaching about the here-and-now Kingdom of God, a call for social justice, and the promise of liberation and hope. While Dispensationalism sacrifices love on the altar of “being right”, Hunt reminds us that without love (agape) it doesn’t matter what else we get right (1 Cor 13).

Unraptured calls the Church-in-waiting away from vain imaginings, and exhorts her to remember her First Love, and to be about His work in the world. Part autobiography and part (genuinely) prophetic call to “get woke”, this book will become a recommended “must read” as the 21st century Church leaves the Rapture behind in order to become a more obedient and effective Church-in-action. This book is for every disciple of Jesus Christ — not just for those who need deliverance from Dispensationalism — and first-time author Zack Hunt will be a trustworthy voice post-modern disciples can turn to for many years to come.

Full disclosure: As a volunteer member of the book launch team for Unraptured, I was provided a free advance reader copy in digital format.
This review represents my honest and candid opinion.