There is a book titled "When Religion Becomes Evil" from Charles Kimball.
Kimball tries to distinguish between "authentic" and "corrupt" forms of
religious expression, and lists in his book five warning signs or symptoms of a
religion which is becoming evil:* Absolute truth claims to be the "only true
religion" * Blind obedience and total loyalty* Establishing the "ideal" time*
The end justifies any means* Declaring holy warPoint 3, the longing for a
mythic past or an end time, might be related to what you mean by
"millenarianism". Kimball's book was written shortly after 9/11 when people
tried to understand the connection between religion and terrorism.-J.
-------- Original message --------From: Prof David West <[email protected]>
Date: 6/6/20 03:23 (GMT+01:00) To: [email protected] Subject: [FRIAM]
millenarianism I was asked some questions just as I was leaving vFRIAM today.
The following is a continuation of the thoughts that i started to articulate
then. I can pretty much predict that no one will agree with my observations,
but hope that vituperation will be kept to a minimum.My last year at St.
Thomas, I team taught an honors course with a Professor of Catholic Theology.
The topic was "Millenarianism in1899 and 1999." His contribution centered on
religious movements, including some within Catholicism, and mine was
ethnographic.The groups we studied and taught about were about 2/3 preparing
for the End Times, the other third focused more on what you might call a
socio-cultural phase change, a transformation of society.The role of an
anthropologist is "to make the strange familiar and the familiar strange." A
prime example of the latter is found in the various studies of the
Nacerima."The main belief of the Nacirema appears to be that the human body is
ugly and that the only way to prevent it from growing weak and diseased
is to practice powerful rituals devoted to this purpose. Every household
has one or more shrines devoted to this goal. The more powerful people
in the society have several ritual shrine rooms in their houses. ... While
almost every family has at least one shrine in the home, the
ritual ceremonies associated with it are not family ceremonies but are
private and secret. The rites are normally discussed only with children,
and then only during the period when they are being initiated into
these mysteries."If I were to write an ethnography of FRIAM, one chapter would
be devoted to Millenarianism, especially as practiced at the Mother Temple.A
calendrical event precipitated the overt expression of millenarian behavior and
thought. instead of the turn of a century (1899, 19990 or the end of a calendar
(2012), it was the election of 2016.A Trump was sounded (pun intentional) in
the heavens, opening the Doors of Hell and loosing the Dogs of Chaos. The end
was clearly nigh. 'He' had his finger on the button of nuclear annihilation!
'He' is a Russian agent! 'He' is certifiably insane (narcissistic personality
disorder at minimum)! More concerning, the conviction that once installed 'He'
would never leave. American was at the verge of a precipitous drop into
Fascism.Basically, destruction was at hand The Learned Authorities confirmed
every fear. The Forces of Good were marshalled, and salvationary doctrine was
issued. The Good marched, multiple crusades were launched to retrieve the Holy
Land from the Infidel(s).The system of beliefs, the reading of omens, the
predictions and the prognostication of the Millenarians of 1899,199,and 2012
survived but a few days or months. That of 2016 persists to date, and will
persist, I am pretty sure, for another four years.Millenarianism is a mind set,
a perspective, that takes hold in a culture, or subculture, and predisposes the
manner in which other events, other aspects of the world, are interpreted. It
affects how, and by what process, people make decisions, individually and
collectively.COVID, and the response thereto, is an example. From the point
that people began taking it seriously, it was interpreted as yet another
apocalyptic disaster to be laid at 'His' door. Correct courses of action are
given credence in direct proportion to their opposition to what 'He' might have
said or opined.Arcana, e.g. the Master Question List that Nick distributed and
the "official pandemic models," are consulted. Convoluted combinations of
interpretations of elements of that arcana, determine how questions like, "Is
it safe to walk the streets of Wuhan on June 6, 2020? Simpler ways to answer
that question are available but ignored. For example, some 10 million people,
over half the population, in Wuhan have been tested. Only 300, all of them
asymptomatic, have tested positive. What are the odds of meeting one of those
positives on my stroll to the 'wet market'?------I know the preceding is
assertive, bombastic, and stated without nuance. But, it is not wrong, in the
sense that if I were to write a book, i could document and argue point by point
to the same conclusions.davew
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