By: RIC CARTER
Re: Millennium Lunacy

from: AMERICAN ATHEISTS
subject: AANEWS for December 29, 1996

        A M E R I C A N   A T H E I S T S
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     #225 uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu 12/29/96
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                     COUNTING DOWN TO MILLENNIUM LUNACY

                                  *****

   With New Year's Eve just days away, the arrival of 2000 isn't that
far behind.  And everyone from religious groups to mystical crackpots
is already making plans for

                               The Big One...

                                    *

   UNLIKE this coming Tuesday, New Years Eve 2000 promises to be far
more than just another round of drinks, grandiose resolutions, and
maybe watching all those folks in Times Square count down to the
midnight hour from the comfort of your living room.  2000 is a
different kind of party animal, not your typical end-of-beginning-of
yearly bash.  It is the end of a century as well as the end of a
millennium.  And for a surprising number of diverse groups and
individuals, it is fast becoming the focal point of dreams, wishes,
expectations and dreads.  Call it "millennium madness." For lots of
folks, the advent of the year 2000 can be the fulfillment of Biblical
prophecy, the dawn of Armageddon, the ushering in of a new cosmic age.
You can already choose from a number of scenarios, some of them wildly
optimistic and utopian, others replete with Biblical harbingers of the
"last days" and "end times." For some, the year 2000 is a benchmark in
social and political agendas to change the face of the earth, while
for others, it could well be The Beginning of the End.  We'll see.

   There are a couple of chronological facts, though, that can't be
ignored in any discussion of millennialism.  The year 2000 -- or at
least our temporal dating system -- is a human invention.  It really
isn't 2000 years since the alleged birth of Christ, in part thanks to
calendric changes and reforms made centuries ago.  And there is the
standing argument of when exactly temporal periods like centuries and
millennia actually end and begin.  Does humanity's third millennium
begin in 2000 or 2001? There seems to be no agreement on that
question, but as Dan and Gail Collins wrote in "The Millennium
Handbook," well, 2000 seems to have captured the public imagination.
2000 "seems" to be an appropriate time to commemorate the closing of
one block of the human experience, and the beginning of a new stage in
our history.

   And 2000 has emerged as the year signifying a point in history
which is supposed to signify the beginning of SOMETHING.  Just what
the "something" is depends on who you deal with; but a surprising
range of religious and mystical groups see the year 2000 as laden with
metaphysical, spiritual and even apocalyptic significance.  Already a
number of distinct trends have emerged...

   * RELIGIOUS UNITY.  Despite the proliferation of religious groups
and cults, and the inevitable "turf wars" for followers in places like
Latin America, Asia and the former Soviet Union, a number of major
religious groups are in an ecumenical mood talking about outright
unification or levels of cooperation.  Both might be problematic
agendas in terms of history.

   The Roman Catholic Church has been conducting a major effort to woo
the various Orthodox branches which broke off centuries ago, as well
as the Anglican Church.  Pope John Paul II is determined to live long
enough to shepherd his church into the next millennium, and the
Vatican is sparing no effort in capitalizing on the eschatological
significance of the year 2000.  The Church has declared that year to
be a Golden Jubilee, a spectacular religious production where the
Porta Sancta in St. Peter's Basilica will be opened, and all those who
pass through supposedly receive cosmic brownie points in the form of a
"special" blessing.  The Vatican is also dragging  a slew of
historical artifacts (of dubious authenticity) out of its storage
vaults, including the discredited Shroud of Turin and the Holy Coat of
Trier.  The National Heritage Foundation in Italy now estimates that
between 30 and 60 million visitors will be flocking to Rome for the
Jubilee.

   Attendance at other holy hot spots -- Lourdes, Fatima, Medjugore --
will most likely soar.  And the burgeoning cult of the Virgin Mary
("Marioltry") will draw the faithful and curious to just about any
location where this elusive lady deigns to put in a peek-a-boo
appearance.

   Other Christian movements, while still open to the prospect of
ecumenical unity, are using the year 2000 as the focal point for their
own aggressive evangelical outreaches.  Last summer's Olympic Games in
Atlanta began a four-year buildup by the AD2000 movement which hopes
to organize a Global March for Jesus.  At the Olympics, a number of
Christian groups pamphleted athletes and tourists, refining their
organizing and recruiting skills. The penultimate goal is a series of
mass parades in 2000 cities across the globe with 30,000,000
participants on June 10, 2000.

   Religious unity is also part of the agenda of Episcopal Bishop
William E.  Swing and his United Religions movement based in San
Francisco.  Swing tells supporters that they can "share a vision: that
the religions of the world can come together in prayer dialogue, and
action for global good."  United Religions began in 1993 with an
"interfaith service" to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the
signing of the United Nations Charter.  Among United Religions' goals
is "a permanent gathering center where the world's religions engage in
daily prayer, dialogue, and action for the good of life on this earth"
and to "establish a world religious structure for global good."

   Other religious  hope to cash in on millennium fervor as well.  A
group calling itself Journey of the Magi plans a "six month pilgrimage
of peace that will retrace the original journey of the Magi," where
participants will ride on horses and camels and attend religious
festivals.

   * A SEARCH FOR NEW MESSIAHS

   Apocalyptic cults are often structured around the leadership of a
charismatic, authoritarian figure who at times declares himself (or
herself) to be a messianic personality.  As noted by New York Times
religion writer Gustav Niebuhr, the approach of the year 2000 with its
many "declarations that a vast metaphysical change will coincide with
the turn of the chronological odometer" has already fueled predictions
of the Second Coming.  While mainstream religions tend to hedge their
bets on just when the prophetic biblical time table will begin to
unfold, many newagers are looking for alternative forms of
millennialist fulfillment, and new messiahs as well.  There is Barbara
Marx Hubbard's brain-wracking babble about humanity evolving into a
form of "cosmic godhood" where we all, essentially, become deities.
Another equally astounding prospect, though, is found in the cultish
movement centered around "Lord Maitreya," an avatar publicized by
British painter Benjamin Creme.  Creme has been drawing large crowds
wherever he lectures, with a fascinating story of the new messiah, a
World Teacher who is about to appear on the stage of human history and
govern with his select handful of "perfected men."  Creme informs his
audiences that Maitreya left his redoubt in the Himalaya Mountains in
a "self created" human body, and arrived in London in 1977. Since
then, the avatar has ostensibly been preparing for his "Day of
Declaration" when he will go on worldwide television and, according to
Niebuhr, "teach the building of a new civilization for the benefit of
all."

   The Maitreya legend combines artifacts of both western and eastern
mysticism, and borrows from the writings of Theosophist Helena
Blavatsky who mused about reincarnation, telepathy, and a race of
avatars secluded in the Himalayas known as The Great White
Brotherhood. Still another influence is found in Alice Bailey, a
former Theosophist who broke with Blavatsky's doctrines and began her
own Arcane School; Bailey, like Creme, claimed to be in telepathic
contact with "ascended masters", and predicted a coming golden age or
"New Civilization."

    * GLOBAL TRANSFORMATION

   Early millennialist movements embraced the Biblical notion of a
"New Jerusalem", a social order which would arise in the end times or
"final days" as a perfect, harmonious utopia presided over by the
returned Christ.  For Christians and newagers caught up in the present
millennialist frenzy, the New Jerusalem is a transformed earth based
on "new" values and ethics.  Contemporary millennialist scenarios
involve such diverse schemes as space colonization, economic reform,
and the creation of utopian societies or subcultures. Many events
planned in connection with the year 2000 are outright fanciful, yet
manage to tap into these enduring metaphors and yearnings. The group
World Action for the Millennium has the goal that "on January 1st of
the year 2000 all inhabitants of the planet Earth will be linked
together to receive and share for one minute a message --expressed in
music -- that can be universally understood as a way to empower the
individual and express his or her belonging to the global community."

   Another organization, Megacity 2000, seeks to use the beginning of
a new millennium to promote the use of mega-urban structures as the
"dominant type of settlement for humanity."  Meta-Nation 2000 wants to
establish a "meta-nation" in outer space "where human society can live
and work in the new millennium."

   DOOMSDAY, APOCALYPSE, FINAL JUDGMENT

   In contrast to the utopian, upbeat and dreamy millennialist plans
of certain religious and mystical groups is the "tribulation" segment
of Christians -- and a more difficult to locate smattering of new age
apocalyptics -- for whom the year 2000 is the threshold of gloom and
doom.  The Aum Shinryo "Supreme Truth" sect in Japan and the Order of
the Solar Temple are considered examples of the latter, where a fusion
of bizarre religious and mystical ideologies precipitates acts of
individual or organized cultic violence.  The Aum cult, for instance,
believed that a series of catastrophes would devastate most of the
world, after which the Supreme Truth would establish its own
government and rule.  Some millennium watchers predict that similar
new age style sects, blending a lethal amalgam of apocalyptic ideology
and mysticism, will percolate in the next few years as we approach the
year 2000.

   Shockingly high percentages of fundamentalist Christians believe
that the "parousia" or Second Coming will occur in their lifetime, and
that the year 2000 is an important mile post on the apocalypse road
humanity is travelling.  Indeed, many fundamentalists are wary of
millennialist calls for ecumenical unity, fearing this as a step
toward a "one world church" colorfully described in books like
Revelation which will be presided over by the Anti Christ and False
Prophet.

                       A Credulous Environment

   Just how widespread "millennial madness" will become is difficult
to predict, but there are indications that public discussion and
awareness of issues such as the apocalypse, or the fruition of other
forms of catastrophic prophecy, is growing.  There is a proliferation
of sites on the world wide web related to the upcoming millennium
expressing a range of views.  And interest in religious and new age
themes remains strong. Movies, books and television programs deal with
a spectrum of mystical topics, from aliens and ghosts to angels and
"the power of prayer."  The rising number of reports about mystical
apparitions (Jesus, Mary) elicits wide media coverage, and often
attract thousands of faithful.  Indeed, fascination with apocalyptic
themes or the transformational prospects inherent n the new millennium
are simply part of a wider cultural assault on social values
emphasizing reason, logic and science.  Millennialism may emerge as
the dominant irrationalist reaction against the unfulfilled
Enlightenment agenda, as postmodernist society barrels down the
temporal road to 2000 and beyond.

                                **
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