Title: The Strong Delusion: Invasion of an Otherworldly Islam
Author: John W. Milor
Publisher: iUniverse
ISBN: 9781532014451
Pages: 402
Genre: Religion
Reviewed by: Dan Macintosh
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John Milor’s latest book The Strong Delusion: Invasion of an Otherworldly Islam would be just another Christian exploration of end times theology, if not for its parts about UFOs and Muslim antichrists. Its title comes from 2 Thessalonians 2: 3-12 in the Bible, where it says in part, “Therefore God sends them a strong delusion, so that they may believe what is false, in order that all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.”
Milor has previously written about the sorts of speculative topics one usually doesn’t hear about during Sunday morning sermons, including the book titles Aliens in the Bible and Aliens and the Antichrist. These sci-fi/religious works mix together genres that are not usually found in the same section at your local bookstore — whether a religious outlet or a secular one. However, Milor was raised in a Christian home, as well as with the knowledge of his great grandmother’s claims of supernatural encounters. In a chapter dedicated to the great grandmother, he writes about how she claimed to have encountered a “glowing” Jesus. She also believed to have seen a UFO as a young girl.
Christianity is clearly Milor’s religion of choice, but he believes the Bible and the Qur’an describe the same end times story. Where the Bible speaks of an antichrist, the Qur’an and Hadiths speak of Mahdi (Muslim Messiah), he theorizes. Where the Bible mentions a False Prophet, the Qur’an/Hadiths describes the Muslim Jesus. Lastly, when the Bible talks about two witnesses, the Qur’an/Hadiths tell about Dajjal(s).
If this doesn’t sound like the stories you were taught in Sunday school, you’re right. They’re not the same stories, at all. Milor’s book also takes on the non-Sunday school topics like: Did Hitler have otherworldly help, and if the Bible speaks of animal-angel hybrids. Milor’s bias against Islam is revealed through chapter titles like A Culture of Rape in Islam and Homosexuality and the Chai Boys of Islam. If you’re looking for an objective view of Islam, you shouldn’t expect to find one within these pages.
Surprisingly, though, Milor includes a clear and theologically sound presentation of the Christian Gospel in the appendix of this book. No, there is no alien input necessary in the presented process of Christian salvation. If you only read this section of Milor’s book, you’d likely be convinced he’s a fairly straightforward, conservative Christian evangelist.
No matter what your opinion might be of Milor’s theological conclusions, the bibliography to each chapter in this book reveals how deeply he researched its topics. This is certainly not a book where Milor is merely speaking off the cuff, so to speak. Instead, he’s put a whole lot of work into it, and clearly knows his stuff.
How you respond to Milor’s research results may rely entirely upon how you feel about his unusual suppositions. If you are skeptical about the existence of UFOs, for instance, you probably won’t come away from this work convinced of their existence. Furthermore, if you’re already inclined to distrust Islam, this book may just add fuel to the fire.
Perhaps you’ll land in the category of the curiously entertained. Even conservative evangelicals might find food for thought among these pages. Chances are good you’ve never read some of these Biblical passages – ones that Milor claims are about UFOs – with extra-terrestrial life in mind. It may be a little dangerous to suggest the coming antichrist is a Muslim, especially with all the terrorist activity plaguing our world today. It’s also unlikely such talk will help build bridges between the West and the Middle East.
The Strong Delusion is a fascinating new viewpoint on the end times. And if nothing else, it will make you consider your preconceived ideas just a little differently.
