When the followers and the apologists have allowed facist leaders of the world's major religions

[Skidmore]

to destroy the earth, and the messiah or mahdi has not come, what do you think will happen next? When I look around me, I see extremists of all religious stripes cynically manipulating great power to cause destruction on a large scale. All of these "leaders" are extremely wealthy, and those who have been uprooted by their holy wars are not viewed as even fellow humans, only pawns in some eschatological play.

How did we get to this place where reason and enlightenment can be supplanted so quickly by ignorance and superstition? Where a heap of stones on a hill can mean the deaths of millions? Where a word can shatter peace as quickly as any weapon?

[sendero]

1. I think there will be a reverse witch hunt..

.... with the pious assholes responsible getting forcibly raptured.

[Teaser]

2. People seem to like it that way.

*Shrugs*

whaddyagonnado?

[jgraz]

3. The virus is finally killing its host

We've served as willing hosts for this disease for at least 5000 years. Did we really think it wouldn't continue to mutate into deadlier and deadlier strains?

...especially since the fundies in this country have been trying to come up with a weaponized version for decades...

[spoony]

4. Hmm, sounds like you read an article today or something.

Harping pretty hard on that "virus" meme, eh? Reminds me of this coworker who likes to use the "word of the day" in conversations, lol.

[jgraz]

6. Two posts is "harping"? You really need to get out more.

:eyes:

[cali]

8. Yep it's been a mainstay throughout human history

but it's strains haven't grown deadlier at all. It's simply that humankind has more effective ways of killing larger and larger numbers of people. The best book ever written about millenarianism is Norman Cohn's "In Pursuit of the Millennium".

[renie408]

10. EXACTLY. It's 'same ole, same ole', just with better weapons. n/t

[cali]

5. Reason and Enlightenment? When has that ever

reigned?

Seriously, apocalyptic millenarianism is nothing new, and it's wreaked utter havoc before, particularly in Europe in the dark ages and the middle ages.

[renie408]

7. We didn't 'get here', that was where we started. Spanish Inquisition ring a bell??

We are currently trying to GET OUT OF that place. It is just taking a couple of hundred years longer than I would have expected.

[cali]

9. Actually, the Inquisition

was about conversion and only tangentially about apocalyptic theology.
There are many earlier examples of apocalyptic cults ending in horrific violence in Europe in both the early and high middle ages.

[renie408]

11. I always thought the Inquistion was about control.

It was the thing that popped into my head when I thought about religion (and Christian religion) being used as the excuse for violently controlling people.

[cali]

12. Control and Power through conversion

with a good dash of sadism thrown in. But there are some incredibly fascinating examples of millenarian cults and the violence that arose out of them throughout Europe's history. Thomas Muntzer springs to mind. He led the Peasant's revolt in Germany in the early 16th century.

[renie408]

13. That's a little esoteric for me. You win the history knowledge contest. n/t

[cali]

14. It is esoteric but it's not a contest

It's my field of study. In 1996 with the approach of the Millennium, I went back to school and got a second second MA in Millennial studies. And apocalyptic millenarianism in the middle ages was my focus. I think it's currently quite relevant.

[renie408]

15. You still win. And that sounds like a very relevant and

fascinating area of study. I imagine that the more things change, the more they stay the same.

[cali]

16. That's for sure what I came away with is that

Charismatic apocalyptic leaders are no different now than they were 1000 years ago. They're ultimately saying exactly the same things and using the same tactics now, as they did then.