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The giant cultural cogs of the millenial machine are ticking inevitably away A year and a half before 2000. Two and a half years before 2001. Car. you feel the tension?Recently theres been a proliferation of material (sue*- as Disco 2000 reviewed opposite} dealing with the issue, as well as the more dramatic doomsday cult violence,such as by the Branch Davidiands in Vv/aco.Texas. There has been much pedantic argument about when precisely the millenium will occur in Christian terms (some saying 199*? should have seen the Beast of Rcvelaron make his brimstone debut), but. this book lt;s precisely the sort of ccme that dispels a need for precise dating, examining as it does on a genc-rai cultural level these movements This collection of essayt utilises a varetv of approaches, from the more traditionally sociological, to a literary narrative approach, to the psychological Before discussing 'he collection, seme definitions would be useful. Millenarianism refers to the belief in 'a final endtimc will) a compensatory or retributive significance' Millenialism is similar to millcnanarusm, but has a special reference to che thousand-year kingdom to be established undfr* Christ Postmillenialism sees Christ returning after human agents have made global culture Christian; premillenialism suggests that only a new human order can be formed by Christ's intervention ana defeat cf the Antichrist Apocalypticism corresponds broadly with premillenialism (or in Wessinger’s suggested terminology, catastrophic millenialism) in focussing on the imminence of the transforming events 'which will usher in t.he new orderSection One . aises some basic theorefc.t conceptual issues analysing apocalypticism and millenarianism Bromley notes that apocalyptu movements are caught between two worlds; thr destruction of the old world, md rhe ar-ival r: *he •,ew. neither of which has ta-icn place, or as he says. It is group life in suspended animation. arguing tnat che energy required to sustain the moment is too costly for ■* to persist for long Tr.e implication is chat vioierir -encencies w:ii subside or escalate as the group tries to resolve its indeterminate position. Perhaps the failure ofthe end of the world when 2000 ticks over w load to group violence, but cs Wessmger points out. catastrophic nv cnb.lism r-as received much critical attention at the expense of what sheterms progressive millenialism. a utopia*' order created through human work. Wessngei also makes the important point that millenialism . net tied to a linear view of history and is com. Ijat.be with Asiatic cyclical moGeis cr t me Aho creates his own apocalyptic myth cf modernuy, arguing that fundamentalism has arisen n response to a general decentering of various inst'tu-tiof. and Deliefs He makes the point that postmodernist beliefs (or. in his terminology, The Linguistic Turn’) appeal-, primarily to comfortably ensconced individuals who take moral civility arc order for granted... knowing that, after a most people are generally decent chaps anyway. However, fundamentalism utilises selective features of the modernity it claims to reject (such as technological dissemination) and weds then to a romantic fiction of a lose past. Aho seems to draw a basic class decision between the urbamsed and rural poor as constituting the majority ol fundamentalists, but the ether contributions in the volume tend to work against this, showing chat people from ail socal strata are attracted to these movements.The second section deals with the set.ulanzacion of millenarianism and its relationship with more traditionally religious organisations in terms as diverse as environmentalism and feminisms. Lamy argues that fear of nuclear holocaust scenarios and the proliferation of technology manifest themselves In survivalist doctrines, which perpetuate a millenial myth by providing stones of apocalyptic texcs and interpreting current events through them, eg AIDS is one of the plagues from God mention m the Book of Revelation Bozeman discusses parallels between 'scientific movements, such as eugenics, cryonics and space colonies, noting that while they claim to overturn the social order and bring about a more perfect order the greater perfection was actually the preservation and magnification of the existing order.The third section explores apocalyptic and millenanan ferment across rhe spectrum of Amercan organized religion, and although perhaps not as relevant to Australian audiences as the first iwo sections, is a useful overview of American religious movements. The final section explores the interplay of violence and confrontation, specifically In the North American context (though the Solar Temple deaths and the Aum Snmrinkyo which flooded che Tokyo subway system with poison gas are covered ) The sheer diversity of the material is probably more useful as a gcne^l introduction than a specifically theoretical text on one Issue, but undoubtedly there will be something to fascinate every reader in the collection One issue that Is not really covered is the effects of these movements in the next century, after the supposed turning point that is 2000/2001. The mlllerY.alist movements certainly are concerned with the future, bur. as the book shew*-many of che strands of millenialism and apocalypticism are focussed on the Here and now at rhe expense o* pfenning and a practical approach to the future.An excellent, topical Introduction to themes which have been gaining momentum for the last few decades. Starr praying. Just in case.O 1938. ISSUE 6 THARUNKA
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Kensington Tharunka
Kensington, New South Wales, AU
Tue, May 19, 1998
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