APOCALYTPICSM

….THE END OF THE WORLD!!!

MYTH & APOCALYPTICSM

Myths = paradigm-laden narratives

• answer profound life questions

• guide individual and collective behavior

• engender self-esteem and empowerment

• order existence (good v. evil, etc.)

• provide reverence for the past and hope for the future

Living Mythology: 4 Functions

• Mystical function: reveals a mysterious, transcendent world behind the surface of day-to-day reality; the experience of divinity

• Cosmological function: orders our world in relation to the cosmos = time, space, meaning, good and evil, orientation in the universe, etc.

Living Mythology: 4 Functions

• Sociological function: validates and helps maintain a specific social order; “civil religion,” patriotism, belonging, etc.

• Pedagogical function: highlights what is valued in a given society and guides individuals through life’s rites of passage = birth, death, adulthood, grouping, heroes, anti-heroes, etc.

TYPES OF MYTH

Types of Myths:

• origin/creation myths

• alienation myths

• myths of salvation or liberation

• eschatological myths = millennial myths; myths about the end of the world.

Myth, Memes, & Truth

• Key Questions:

– Why is it that some of the most extraordinary stories ever told and believed are embodied in religious myths?

– How is it that these myths not only survive but flourish in a highly sophisticated society that relies on the scientific method to establish the “truth” (or proof) of any claim about what is real?

Memetics: How Worldviews Evolve

• Memes (from “memories”) = bits of intellectual or cultural information passed from person to person through imitation and repetition

• Memes are the smallest unit in cultural evolution, similar to the gene in biological evolution; they include tunes, ideas, catch phrases, but also empower myths

Meme “Mind Games”

• Take an emotionally charged, naturally occurring human experience with no satisfactory explanation:

– Death

– Life after death

– Dreams

– Paranormal experiences

– Spiritual (mystical) experiences

Meme “Mind Games”

• Include a powerful being (usually of the male gender) or unseen force that cannot be tested for “reality”

– God

– Satan

– Space aliens

– Ascended masters

– Messiahs, etc.

Memes & Myths

• Create a myth that justifies the reality, presence, power of the divine Being/explanatory phenomenon

• Add social coercion: “The divine Being gets you if you do wrong or don’t believe!”

• Add fear: “If you don’t believe, you will burn in hell for eternity!”

Meme “Mind Games”

• Add AUTHORITY:

– the explanation(s) are the word of God

– embodied in a sacred text delivered by God

– authorized by a powerful institution (church, religion, charismatic leader, etc.)

– claim absolute truth for “the word”

– make it an exclusive truth; it is truth; everything else is false

Meme “Mind Games”

• Do the “good cop” on fear: “If you believe, you’ll live forever in heaven.”

• The altruism mind game: “Good people believe this myth.”

• The truth mind game: “This myth or explanation is THE TRUTH!”

• Together these mind games make myths incredibly pervasive and long-lasting.

ESCHATOLOGY

• Eschatology = the study of last things, the eschaton, the end of the world

– beliefs about the individual soul following death including divine judgment, heaven, hell, and resurrection

– larger concerns about the fate of the cosmos, including divinely guided renewal of the world and the destruction of evil

APOCALYPTICISM

• Apocalypticism = a belief that God, through visions to chosen prophets, reveals future cosmic disasters heralding the end of human history and the ultimate defeat of evil

– roots in Zoroastrianism

– impacted prophetic Judaism

– influenced early Christianity (Revelation)

APOCALYTPICISM

Characteristics of apocalypticism:

• catastrophic - the end time will be chaotic and violent

• deterministic - the future is resolved into deterministic scripts or scenarios; history is predetermined

• historicist - salvation is tied to history; it is this-worldly and collective

APOCALYPTIC DUALISM

• Chronological dualism = history is divided into the current evil age and the coming good or heavenly age

• Ethical dualism = humanity is divided into opposing camps

– the damned - usually a persecuting majority

– the saved - the righteous remnant who suffer and are faithful to the Lord

APOCALYPTIC DUALISM

• Cosmic dualism = the universe is divided into 2 opposing forces, for example, God rules the Heavens, Satan rules the Earth

• Exclusivism = anyone outside the faith community is evil and dehumanized

• Symbolic visions of violence and suffering - the tribulation, Dragons, demons, evil precede the end time!!!

Myth & History

• Myths: stories, filled with archetypes, that address existential questions.

• Who am I?

• Where did “all this” come from?

• How do I find safety in a dangerous world?

• DEATH! …the BIG ??????????

The Limbic System: The Emotional Brain

• The limbic system, including the hypothalamus, amygdala, and hippocampus; they assign emotional value to all incoming stimuli.

• the three basic brain sections of the limbic system make up the oldest, most primitive parts of the brain – flight or fight mechanism.

• together they exert enormous influence on the autonomic nervous system not to mention the process by which “brain makes mind.”

Neurology & Myth

• Cognitive Imperative = drives the higher functions of the mind to analyze the perceptions processed by the brain and transform them into a world of meaning and purpose.

• Humans are compelled to “figure out” basic existential challenges to safety and security and grapple with mortality.

Neurology & Myth

• How can we live in this confusing, uncertain world and not be afraid?

• The cognitive imperative uses to operators to answer this question:

– The causal operator = the mind’s ability to think in abstract causes – why??

– The binary operator = the brain’s ability to frame the world in basic polar opposites

Neurology & Myth

• As the neocortex evolves and becomes more complex, the mind can “think” in abstract terms:

– Dread

– Danger

– Scarcity/lack

– Death

Why War?

• War is the ritual cleansing of existential dread; war is ritual violence

• Abstract fear and dread can be turned upon a real enemy

• The youth of nations are a blood sacrifice in the service of releasing existential dread

MILLENNIALISM

Millennialism = a type of apocalypticism based on biblical predictions of a 1000 year reign of Christ on Earth

• Progressive or postmillennialism envisions Christ’s reign transpiring after a gradual Christianization of culture; humans play a positive role in this end time scenario

MILLENNIALISM

• Catastrophic or premillennialism sees humanity as incapable of creating the kingdom

– a time of terrible tribulation hearlds the end time

– Christ must arrive with a heavenly host to vanquish the Anti-Christ at Armageddon before the millennium can unfold

REVELATION

• Author: John of Patmos

• Date: approx. 95 c.e.

• Christian crisis:

– persecution by Domitian

– Jewish hostility

– government tyranny

– imprisonment and execution

– public suspicion

REVELATION: interesting facts in our time

• 40% of U.S. adults believe the world will end as foretold: in a Battle of Armageddon between Jesus and the Antichrist

• 19% of Americans, and nearly half of all those who accept Biblical prophecy, believe that the Antichrist is on earth now

REVELATION: interesting facts in our time

• 18% of American adults believe Jesus will return to earth during their life-times.

• 68% of American adults believe they will go to heaven when they die.

• 3% plan on going to hell (pack a bathing suit!!)

The Left Behind Series
Tim LaHaye & Jerry Jenkins

Newsweek poll: Spring 2004

• 36% believe Revelation contains true prophecy; 47% = metaphor, but true.

• 55% think the faithful will be taken up in the Rapture.

• 74% believe Satan exists (93% for evangelical Christians.

• 17% - The End will happen NOW!!

Biblical Terminology

• The Rapture = the moment, predicted in Thessalonians, when Jesus suddenly removes the faithful from Earth.

• The Tribulation = the seven years of “really bad stuff” described in the Book of Revelation.

• The Millennium: Christ’s 1000 year rule on Earth.

VISIONS AND SYMBOLOS IN REVELATION

• ARMAGEDDON = the military and ideological battles that mark the endtimes (Rev.16:16)

• BABYLON = a metaphor for the corrupted culture and people who have fallen away from God (Rev. 14:8; 16:19; 18:2; 18:21

THE MILLENNIAL MYTH

• MESSIAH: a Hebrew term meaning “anointed one.” The covenant of King David (O.T.) links the messiah with a deterministic, historical end-time myth.

• Prophets and Prophecy: the divinely inspired ability to predict eschatological events - creates credibility if the “prophet” seems accurate.

THE MILLENNIAL MYTH

• Theodicy = a worldview that attempts to explain how an all powerful, all good God can permit the existence of evil and undeserved suffering in the world.

• Future, This-Worldly Theodicy: the suffering of the present time is linked to a realized future on this earth!! Like it or not, “you’re invited to the party!!!”

MILLENNIAL MYTH

• THE MILLENNIAL MYTH IS A SUB-FORM OF ESCHATOLOGICAL MYTH THAT CONTAINS AN APOCALYPTIC, THIS-WORLDLY THEODICY.

AMERICA’S MILLENNIAL MOVEMENTS

• RELIGIOUS MILLENNIAL MOVEMENTS: rests on supernatural elements; the apocalypse will be engineered by God and the millennium will be ushered in the the Second Coming of Christ; mostly catastrophic but can be progressive.

AMERICA’S MILLENNIAL MOVEMENTS

• SECULAR MILLENNIAL MOVEMENTS: lack supernatural elements; the apocalypse will be human-created brought about by social, economic, or industrial collapse, Y2K, environmental degradation, race war, civil/nuclear war - the messiah becomes survivalist leaders or groups.

CHRISTIAN IDENTITY: A Religious Millennial Movement

• Christian Identity is composed of independent churches, Bible study groups, ultra-right wing political organizations, and communal settlements.

• In many instances, groups or individuals combine secular survivalist end-time programs with religious symbolism drawn from the book of REVELATION

CHRISTIAN IDENTITY: Three Core Convictions

1. Caucasian Aryans are direct descendants of the biblical tribes of Israel.

2. Jews are the biological descendants of Satan.

3. The Last Days are about to begin:

– Armageddon will be a global race war

– Jews will lead the enemy = all non-white, racially-inferior peoples

– premillennial destruction of the enemy

SECULAR MILLENNIAL MOVEMENTS

…explaining the mind and actions of a Timothy McVeigh

• Soldier of Fortune functions as an apocalyptic sounding board for militias, Patriots, survivalists, anti-government groups, white supremacists, etc.

• These groups draw on apocalyptic themes in the Book of REVELATION

SECULAR APOCALYPTIC INTERPRETATIONS

• Babylon = Godless-secular humanism; multiculturalism, globalization, cultural relativism, materialistic society, etc.

• Antichrist = ZOG (Zionist Occupation Government); United Nations, World Bank, unified Europe, One World Government, global economic cooperation, etc.

SECULAR MILLENNIAL INTERPRETATIONS

• Beasts and Dragons = FBI, ATF, IRS, EPA, Supreme Courts, U.S. govt., etc.

• Tribulation = war, death, racial upheaval, destruction, disease are imminent.

• Armageddon = the great battle to preserve American cultural (and racial) purity.