Jochen, Millenarianism focuses on a point of time and radical transformation from what was before that point and what would be after that point. 2012 was supposed to be the point where the World transformed from existence to non-existence. Both the 1899 and 1999, for more fundamentalist Christians were supposed to mark the end of Satan's rule and the beginning of Christ's thousand year reign (THE millennium).
The notion of an ideal time, and the supposed yearning among Trump followers for a return to the era of white male supremacy is irrelevant for millennarians — they are looking to an idea future time, yet to exist. davew On Sat, Jun 6, 2020, at 1:09 AM, Jochen Fromm wrote: > 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 war > > Point 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 > > > > - .... . -..-. . ...- --- .-.. ..- - .. --- -. -..-. .-- .. .-.. .-.. -..-. > -... . -..-. .-.. .. ...- . -..-. ... - .-. . .- -- . -.. > FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv > Zoom Fridays 9:30a-12p Mtn GMT-6 bit.ly/virtualfriam > un/subscribe http://redfish.com/mailman/listinfo/friam_redfish.com > archives: http://friam.471366.n2.nabble.com/ > FRIAM-COMIC http://friam-comic.blogspot.com/ >
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