I was raised in the People of Destiny cult (later renamed, and more well-known as, Sovereign Grace Ministries, now Sovereign Grace Churches).

The valorization of martyrdom and The End Times was so ubiquitous it was ambient noise. We stood in the church lobby theorizing about who the antichrist would be, we argued about whether Jesus would rapture us all before, after, or during the Tribulation Period where Satan would be given free reign over the earth. There was a strong Christian Zionist fixation on Israel as the final battleground and capital of the coming Messianic Age. But the one thing we were all certain of was is that we were in the End Times, that we were not of this world and couldn’t get too attached to our lives here.

We were raised to believe our sin nature made us undeserving of life, that we deserved death and eternal conscious torture.

My parents read us the Jesus Freaks books (a series by Christian Rap group DC Talk about martyrs). I spent “devotional time” reading Fox’s Book of Martyrs. We had guest speakers from Voice of the Martyrs, their pamphlets were often stocked in our church’s information center. We grew up with our dad listening to right wing talk radio and making us listen to songs about how the Godless atheists were outlawing Christianity in America, that we could all become martyrs soon.

The group’s theology was damaging & traumatic in a lot of other ways that contributed to the suicidality I have continued to struggle with for the rest of my life. For a long time I did not believe I would live past 20. There are times when the idea of giving my death meaning by using public suicide to make a political statement has appealed to me.

So now, seeing so many social media posts glorifying the suicide of a US Airman this week, I have been furious. Reading his social media posts, I recognize so much about the way I was raised in his all-or-nothing, black-or-white mindset, the valorization of death-seeking & martyrdom, and the apocalyptic fire-and-brimstone imagery of self-immolation. The moment I saw people I followed celebrating his self-immolation, I said to myself “this feels like a cult”

So when I learned he was raised in a cult too, nothing could have made more sense to me. His political orientation may have changed, but his mindset did not—it was no less extreme or cult-like.

I’ve talked about so many of the reasons this response from the broader left scares me, including how it’s laundering that airman’s antisemitic beliefs, but I cannot think of anything that would hit me in a more personal place than this specific response to this specific situation has.

When I see the images, I think: that could have been me. That scares me, and what scares me more is that so many prominent people are overwhelmingly sending the message to people like me that there is nothing else we can do that would have a more meaningful impact than killing ourselves for the cause.

I do not believe that. I will not even entertain it. And having to see his death over and over and over again, to argue against people who are treating this like an intellectual/moral exercise or a valid debate we all have to consider has been immensely triggering and fills me with a rage I rarely feel. It’s unconscionable that we are even putting self-harm on the table, and that pushing back against that is somehow controversial.

There is hope. Our lives do have meaning. There are far more effective means of fighting injustice. And the world is a better place for having you in it. Don’t fall into believing this is a way to give life purpose.

For years now I’ve tried to explain what has happened with the Republican Party. The GOP is a bottom-heavy structure depending on rural and white voters to bolster their voting ranks while a small group of elite politicians guide them on behalf of their corporate donors. It is a volatile, contradictory body that has relied on carefully-crafted manipulation and fearmongering, a strategy that requires white supremacist paranoia, evangelical apocalypticism, and appeals to every ugly tendency buried in the white American heart. Because of this, the ground was laid for someone like Donald Trump to come along and seize the machinery from those hands and use it for his own benefit.

We All Know What This Is

do you think the religous people in the us government trying to make the rapture happen by supporting jewish people in israel (not asking your opinion on israel itself btw) is in itself them trying to cast a magic spell to end the world because to me trying to fulfill a prophecy and casting a magic spell is indistinguishable in this case except the magic spell is trying to doom the whole world

It's weird. I wouldn't feel comfortable causing the mass American Evangelical support for Israel an act of ritual magic, it's an incredibly complex geopolitical situation with far too many factors to make that call.

I am, however, extremely comfortable commenting on the role of apocalypticism in it's regard to the real world propagation of magical thinking and magical beliefs.

It's a thread you see multiple times in history. The constant resurgence of the popularity of Revelations in response to overwhelming stresses like the protestant reformation always includes an explosion of charismatic sects, mysticism, and outright magical practices. Hell, even the advent of Apocalyptic Judaism rode in on a tide of magical writing. Magic and the apocalypse go hand in hand.

y’know it’s a little frightening how normalized apocalyptic thinking is. it is believed by almost everyone that there is going to be An End To What Is Now!!! the end is nigh!!!

whether that be the end of capitalism, the end of the world due to climate change, the end of peace as the world enters a period of even more extreme war than we have now, the rapture, so on.

apocalypticism is seen as a default belief/framework upon which so much policy, belief, behavior, etc relies.

marxism is fundamentally apocalyptic. fundamentally!!! the end (of capitalism) is coming!!

cyberpunk/solarpunk/hopepunk/whateverpunk are all absolutely apocalyptic. there will be an end!!! then something else will come. (HOW IS THIS NOT A REBRANDING OF HEAVEN/HELL ON EARTH)

it goes without saying that US-style evangelical christianity (and its exports) is apocalyptic (to the point of attempting to literally immanentize the eschaton!!! red cows in jerusalem!!!!).

judaism is apocalyptic. islam is apocalyptic. buddhism has its own apocalyptic versions, though i’m less versed on buddhist eschatology.

literally any belief that says “this current way of doing things is TEMPORARY, and then BIG CHANGE will come and everything will be DIFFERENT” is literally apocalyptic.

what the fuck????

what happened to the foundational belief that things will continue on? it was not always the case that people believed the world wouldn’t pretty much always look like this over here. i’m absolutely disinterested in arguments about “realism” or other protestantism-in-a-mask ideas that do nothing to address the fact that everyone seems to believe the world is ending.

we don’t have to believe that, you know. we can choose to not believe the world is ending. it’s not blindness, it’s not “refusing to admit the truth.” there is a difference between apocalyptic thinking and objective reality.

The Family International

Paragraph about what you want to communicate about this group. A History.

David Brandt Berg founded “The Family International” in 1968. He was a former Christian and Missionary Alliance pastor, who spoke as an evangelical preacher to a following of “born-again hippies”, who gathered at the Huntington Beach Team Coffee House in Orange County, California. He soon left the area with his followers when he had a revelation in 1969 that California was going to be hit by a major earthquake. He and his followers began proselytizing in the streets and distributing pamphlets about their faith, often on local college campuses. They formed communes in various cities across the country, and began to spread to various parts of Europe, Latin America, and East Asia to spread their faith, following encouragement from Berg. They directed their ministry at burnt out or disillusioned people on the streets, as well as college-age middle-class youths, who were struggling with drug addictions with the promise of salvation and communal living. In 1972, in response to their children joining this organization, members’ concerned families formed the first American anticult association, titled “The Parents’ Committee to Free Our Sons and Daughters From the Children of God Organization”. At this time, the organization claimed that it had 130 communities around the world, as well as colonies in 70 countries. Today, the organization claims to have 1,450 members in over 80 countries who are “committed to sharing the message of God’s love with people around the globe”.

The members of “The Family International” are comprised of everyday people looking to spread the word of God. Their past scandals, some that many large institutions have also faced, do not define its current members, who are eager to help others and move away from their defamatory past. As we would not call a member of the Catholic church a member of a cult based upon the actions of their fellow parishioners or leaders, we should not call these individuals one.

What was/is this organization’s primary belief?

This organization has a list of twenty-two different beliefs that guide their everyday lives. These include everything from following the word of God, faith and discipleship, to preparing for Jesus’ Second Coming. All beliefs are inspired by Biblical texts and specific Biblical quotations. Overarchingly, this group is a community of people committed to sharing the message of God with others from around the globe. They believe that everyone can have a personal relationship with God through Jesus Christ, and that doing so will provide others with happiness, peace of mind, and the ability to spread God’s Word.

Their members also believe that they are soldiers in the spiritual war of good versus evil. At the organization’s height, their core beliefs centered around a message of salvation and apocalypticism, in which a dictator called the “Anti-Christ” and a brutal One World Government would rule over the world, and eventually be overthrown by Jesus Christ in the Second Coming. Although their current practices do not describe specific events or people who will rule over the world before Jesus’ second coming, they believe that we as a society are currently living within the “Last Days”, or the era preceding Jesus’ return.

Their overarching mission is to improve the quality of other’s lives by sharing a message of hope, love, and salvation. Its members provide others with advice and counseling based upon the foundational teachings of the bible. In addition to these things, they have run a multitude of programs to help those in need, including individualized counseling sessions (some within prisons and juvenile detention centers), stress and time management programs, child-rearing seminars, rehabilitation programs, as well as assisting in humanitarian efforts, disaster relief, and refugee camps.

What was/is this organization best known for?

This organization is known for numerous things. Firstly, they are known for their many name changes. When they were founded, they originally were named “Teens for Christ”. However, they changed their name to “The Children of God” under which they gained notoriety. Then, were renamed and reorganized as “The Family of Love” in 1978, which was shortened to “The Family”, and eventually became “The Family International” by 2004.

Secondly, they are known for being a “Christian Cult”, who practices “Flirty Fishing”. “Flirty Fishing” is a form of evangelism practiced by this group, in which female members of the organization, otherwise known as “fisherwomen”, would apply their sex appeal and convince men, or “fish”, from outside of the cult to often, but not always, have sex with them. These women used the occasion to seek donations, proselytizing in the name of Jesus, in order to raise funds for the organization. This practice was observed as a primary source of income and political protection for its members. Its members defended its practice, as they considered it to be an effective means of reaching populations who may not have otherwise been open to “The Family International’s” faith. This practice began in 1974, and ended in 1987 as a result of the AIDS epidemic.

Thirdly, they are known for being involved in scandals involving deceit and abuse. Ex-members have accused the organization’s leadership of “lying to outsiders”, their history being “steeped in sexual deviance”, and “meddling in Third World politics”. One cult member, Verity Carter, spoke out about her abuse within the cult. She described being sexually abused from the age of four by members of the cult, including her own father. She blames this occurrence on their philosophy of the organization’s founder David Berg, who told members that “God was love and love was sex”, a practice that should not be limited by age or relationships between members. She also said that she was repeatedly beaten and whipped for small transgressions, and was denied contact with the outside world besides when attempting to convince “systemites”, or outsiders to the organization, to join their faith. Other members were also said to have been denied meals for not raising enough money or distributing enough pamphlets for “The Family International”.

What are the major misconceptions about this organization?

A major misconception about this organization is that all of its members are abusers. Although it can be easy to equate one incident with all members of “The Family International”, not every person subscribes to their most infamous, problematic practices. Furthermore, following the serious allegations posed by Verity Carter and other ex-members, the organization “tightened its standards” for members in the late 1980s to ensure that all members were provided with a safe, wholesome environment under which to experience God’s love. They changed the organization’s name to “The Family” in correspondence with these values, and sent a memorandum to all of its members reminding them that they had a zero-tolerance policy for sexual interaction between adults and underage minors. In the early 1990s, the group broke its silence, and began to invite reporters and religious scholars to visit its commune in La Habra, California to exhibit how their practices had changed.

Who are/were the leaders of this organization?

This organization was founded in 1968 by David Brandt Berg. Following his death in 1994, Karen Elva Zerby became its leader.

Why we shouldn’t consider this organization a cult.

The members of “The Family International” are comprised of everyday people looking to spread the word of God. Their past scandals, some that many large institutions have also faced, do not define its current members, who are eager to help others and move away from their defamatory past. As we would not call a member of the Catholic church a member of a cult based upon the actions of their fellow parishioners or leaders, we should not call these individuals one.

The Study Of The History Of The End Of The World, Part 6

Dispensationalist premillennialism and apocalypticism held to the Biblical warning that the days are waxing worse and worse. However, in terms of the opportunity to spread such a message and the pervasiveness of its influence, there was no better time for the field of prophetic studies than the second half of the twentieth century. Increased interest in eschatology in the waning decades of the twentieth century owed much to a confluence of advances in the means of communication as well as concerns regarding trends in world affairs.

The Evangelical prophecy studies industry consisted of a number of layers rather than a single interpretative monolith. At its most rarefied, dispensationalism --- akin to Gaul --- could be divided into three parts. Darrell Brock of Dallas Theological Seminary describes these as Scofieldian dispensationalism, revised dispensationalism, and progreesive dispensationalism (Kyle, 117). Scofieldian dispensationalists maintained sharp distinctions between God and the Church with God having an unique set of promises for each. Revised dispensationalists did not distinguish between Israel and the Church to the same degree, viewing overlap in regards to the covenantal promises made to each. Progressive dispensationalists, according to Kyle, avoided the prophetic speculation characteristic of the classic forms of dispensationalism. More academic in its approach to the study of the apocalypse than the classic forms of dispensationalism, progressive dispensationalism for the most part did not filter down to the popular level to the same degree.

From this division,the dispensationalist eschatological community was further divided between what could be considered the academics and the popularizers. The most respected academics in this theological specialty often traced their roots in one way or another back to Dallas Theological Seminary. In fact, Kyle goes so far as to call the institution “the sperm bank for dispensational thought in America (118).” Typifying this tradition would be that seminary's own John F. Walvoord whose best known work would probably be Armageddon, Oil, and the Middle East Crisis. In it, Walvoord took a firm position that the Rapture and the ensuing End Time events were at hand but with scholarly caution that avoided setting any firm dates.

It is among the popularizers that the discerning begin to notice a more questionable track record. However, a number hoping to maintain respect, position, and credibility mirrored the evenhandedness of the Dallas Theological Seminary academics. For example, in Approaching Hoof Beats, Billy Graham explicitly warned of what he believed to be nuclear holocausts and plagues described symbolically in Scripture, but he was careful not to set a date. Pat Robertson, who at one time was not afraid to articulate outlandish prophetic utterances of dubious credibility over the years such as praying away hurricanes from the Virginia Beach area in order to spare his extensive ministry properties, toned his speculations down somewhat when he started entertaining political aspirations such as his 1988 presidential campaign and establishing organizations such as the Christian Coalition, the American Center for Law and Justice, and Regent University for the purposes of renewing the culture rather than hastening the end of the world.

One of the most prominent of the eschatology popularizers was Hal Lindsey. Initially as a result of his book The Late Great Planet Earth, this Dallas Theological Seminary graduate was able to present the dispensationalist perspective before evidentially non-Evangelical venues such as Congress, the State Department, and the Pentagon. Lindsey remained true enough to his Dallas Theological Seminary training to stay just on the right side of the boundary of theological respectability even though he has played it quite close to the edge at times. For example, as a result of the speculative chronologies utilized by Lindsey in his publication Planet Earth 2000 AD, Lindsey had to clarify almost to the point of backpedaling what could have been construed as an insinuation that the Rapture was going to occur sometime around 1988. Lindsey qualified his position by pointing out the qualifiers stated in his text and that the cosmic countdown might not have commenced with the establishment of Israel in 1948 but rather with the taking of Jerusalem in the 1967 Six Day War along with modifying a Biblical generation from forty to one hundred years. In so doing, Lindsey no doubt hoped to push the pending scrutiny to a time when he himself would not care so much about being proven wrong.

The further one got from respectable academia and ministries that valued credible reputation over short term book and video sales, the more likely one was to stumble upon conspicuous date setters. For example, Edgar Whisenant could not have been more explicit in the date he set in the book titled 88 Reasons Why The Rapture Could Be In 1988 (Abanes, 93). Charles Taylor has promoted so many dates for the beginning of the end that he could make a Jehovah's Witness shake their head in astonishment.

Despite differences in time and temperament, most within the contemporary Evangelical prophecy community share a number of similar assumptions. First, the world as we know it is tottering on the brink of destructive cataclysm. Once believers are taken from the world in the Rapture, little will prevent a series of horrors from transpiring in quick succession. Interpreters are divided as to whether these will be triggered initially by some sort of nuclear attack through which God brings about His sanctioned prophetic unfolding through the actions of man or by more direct supernatural manifestions. Second, most dispensationalists are in agreement that the fuse to ignite the conflagration of End Time events is the reestablishment of the Jewish state of Israel in the Middle East. A number of eschatologists believe that this geopolitical contention will eventually result in Word War III with Russia invading from the north as believed foretold in Ezekiel and China invading from the east as described in the Book of Revelation with an army possibly numbering at one million.

Along with this theme of global war traced to tensions over Israel will be other actors on the world stage agitating against Israel once the Church is taken up to Heaven. Leading this conspiracy will be none other than the Antichrist. Though his nature and intentions are described in detail throughout the text of Scripture, the path that he will take to achieve power and his exact identity are not things the Holy Spirit deemed appropriate for believers to know prior to the exact time of the End.

Yet a number of well-intentioned but misguided eschatologists could not resist playing what amounted to pin the tail on the Antichrist in terms of enthusiastically making guesses as to the exact identity of the world's system final tyrant. For example, given his Jewish background and position as a preeminent diplomat, Henry Kissinger was often a popular choice. Because of a birthmark that resembled a head wound bringing to mind one particular prophecy and the role he played for seeming to lessen the threat played by Russia, some speculated that the Beast might be Mikhail Gorbachev. Others even wondered if John F. Kennedy would rise from the dead after three days following his assassination that shocked the world in the early 1960's.

Despite the intense ongoing debate as to the identity of this looming prince of darkness among those that believe, there is much more agreement as to the nature of his agenda. Foremost, the Antichrist will be the focal point of worship of a system that will for a short time seemingly control and mesmerize the entire world. From Revelation 13, it is declared that this will be accomplished by merging the religious, economic, and political spheres of existence. Those unwilling to pledge a degree of loyalty crossing the boundary of patriotism into the territory of devoted worship will be denied the Mark of the Beast believed to be some form of electronic currency and identification, ultimately resulting in the execution of dissidents unwilling to comply.

Isaiah 55:11 assures that the Word of God does not come back void. Though not as many accept the truth of the Biblical message as sincere believers would like in terms of prophecy, there are a significant number today aware the world is racing ever closer to the conclusion of all things. It is hoped that this awareness would inspire the individual to seek the free gift of salvation found nowhere but in Christ and His completed work. Unfortunately, given the extent to which sin has permeated the human heart and mind, there also exists a disturbing number of individuals that distort this knowledge of the End Times in order to trap the unsuspecting in tighter and tighter forms of spiritual bondage.

By Frederick Meekins

Bibibliography

Abanes, Richard. End-Times Visions: The Doomsday Obsession. Nashville, Tennessee: Broadman and Holman Publishers, 1988.

Kirsch, Jonathan. A History Of The End Of The World: How The Most Controversial Book In The Bible Changed The Course Of Western Civilization. San Francisco, California: Harper Collins Publishers, 2006.

Kagan, Donald, Ozment, Steven and Turner, Frank. The Western Heritage Since 1789 (Fourth Edition). New York: Macmillan Publishing Company, 1991.

Kyle, Richard. The Last Days Are Here Again: A History Of The End Times. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Books, 1988. Hanover, New Hampshire: University Press of New England, 1996.

Ladd, George. The Blessed Hope: A Biblical Study of The Second Advent and The Rapture. Grand Rapids, Michigan: WM. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 1956. Thompson, Damian. The End Of Time: Faith and Fear in the Shadow of the Millennium.

I travelled to Jerusalem to face my fear of hell.

The valley of Gehenna in Jerusalem is synonymous with the Christian hell. I travelled there to overcome my fear of hell.

As I travel through Jerusalem, Israel, I discuss the history of hell in Christian tradition. I cover the philosophy of Plato, specifically Platonic dualism, the Jewish afterlife in the Old Testament, Second Temple Jewish apocalypticism, the Hellenistic reinterpretation of Jesus’ teachings, and more. When other ex-Christians and ex-Evangelicals ask how to stop being afraid of hell, I always recommend learning about the origins of hell in Christianity. Now I’ll just share this video instead.

Locations shown here: The Western Wall (Wailing Wall) of the Second Jewish Temple, Mount Zion, the Mount of Olives, Damascus Gate, Church of the Holy Sepulchre, and the valley of Gehenna or gey ben Hinnom.

https://youtu.be/MGvcRnlId4k

Tipsy on the Millennium

When describing American and British religious though in the early nineteenth century and its hyperfocus on eschatology, Ernest Sandeen coined the term “drunk on the millennium.” In the US, anyway, many of these beliefs have never exactly disappeared, and indeed many people such as Mike Pompeo, Cancun Cruz, or Michele Bachmann actively steer American foreign policy based on these doctrines. This term has never been popular. Many people who hold the eschatological views which originated during the Second Great Awakening are also the ideological descendants of the Holiness movement, so it is understandable that they do not like being described as drunk on anything, but I’m not sure there is a better way to describe the delirium and mania that often comes with these beliefs. The American apocalyptic tradition from the Second Great Awakening onward has affected religious life in general outside the schools of thought that originated therein. There are those who are influenced by these views without holding to them fully. If dispensationalists are drunk on the millennium, then non-dispensationalists whose views regarding politics and ecumenism resemble those of dispensationalists are "tipsy" on the millennium. Here are just a few examples. If you call yourself a Christian and believe that the "alliance" between Israel and the US benefits most Americans, you are tipsy on the millennium. If you call yourself a Christian and unironically use the term "Judeo-Christian," you are tipsy on the millennium.1 If you call yourself a Christian and listen to what Ben Shapiro says about race relations before you'd listen to what Jemar Tisby or Esau McCaulley say, you are tipsy on the millennium. If you call yourself a Christian and think any current social issues can be brushed away because everything will be resolved in the Eschaton, you are tipsy on the millennium. If you call yourself a Christian and unironically use the terms, "Israeli War of Independence," "Suez Crisis," "Six-Day War," "Yom Kippur War," "Temple Mount," you are tipsy on the millennium.2 If you call yourself a Christian and think Orthodox Jews would ever be your ideological partners, you are tipsy on the millennium. If you call yourself a Christian and your definition of "nation" somehow includes Israel and Taiwan while excluding ISIS and the Republic of Lakota, you are tipsy on the millennium. If you call yourself a Christian and think Bush was in any way, shape, or form justified in invading Iraq and that he didn't bald-facedly break the Ninth Commandment regarding the nebulous WMDs he claimed Sadaam held, you are tipsy on the millennium. If you call yourself a Christian and think "fundamentalist" is a slur, you are tipsy on the millennium. If you call yourself a Christian and unironically use the term "fundamentalism" prefixed by any religion besides (Protestant) Christianity or Mormonism, you are tipsy on the millennium. If you call yourself a Christian and cannot demarcate "evangelicalism" from "Christian fundamentalism," you are tipsy on the millennium. If you call yourself a Christian and think any work of socialist authorship being promoted in schools will bring America one step closer to a Stalinist dystopia except the Pledge of Allegiance, you are tipsy on the millennium. If you call yourself a Christian and think that Gramsci’s association with Marxists taints any ideas he might have proposed, but don’t think the same way about Irving Kristol, Frank Meyer, John Shachtman, or James Burnham, you are tipsy on the millennium If you call yourself a Christian and object to building a dance hall on top of Reagan or Bush Sr's remains on strictly moral grounds, you are tipsy on the millennium. If you call yourself a Christian and think the BHIs are crazy but at the same time don't object to the IDF blowing up hospitals and orphanages because most of its members think, correctly or otherwise, that they are descendants of the ancient Israelites, you are tipsy on the millennium. If a member of your church has ever suggested celebrating Passover, Hanukkah, or the Feast of Tabernacles, Trumpets, or Atonement and you never even considered trying to have them put under church discipline, you are tipsy on the millennium. If you call yourself a Christian and think "Free Palestine" is a phrase used by bigots or the ignorant, but "east-coast elite," "fake news," "welfare queen," "globalist," "states' rights," "tough on crime," "black-on-black crime," "All/Blue Lives Matter," and "Make America Great Again" aren't, you are tipsy on the millennium. If you call yourself a Christian and think white American evangelicals are the custodians of Christian orthodoxy, you are tipsy on the millennium. If you call yourself a Christian and have an ounce of respect for Falwell (father and son) or Moody, you are tipsy on the millennium. If you call yourself a Christian and don't care if the map in your child's Sunday school room supposed to present the Levant as it existed at any point between 720 BC and 1948 includes "Israel,"you are tipsy on the millennium, especially if you consider "Palestine" to be a deplorable word. If you call yourself a Christian and think that routine, non-therapeutic infantile male circumcision has medical benefits, you are tipsy on the millennium. If you call yourself a Christian and your conception of Judaism is Christianity without the New Testament, you are tipsy on the millennium. If you call yourself a Christian, know what the Talmud is, and still think the primary sacred text of Judaism is the Old Testament/Tanakh, you are tipsy on the millennium. If you call yourself a Christian, know what the Talmud is, and do not think that it was the source of most of Jesus' disagreements with the Pharisees before it was committed to the written word, you are tipsy on the millennium. If you call yourself a Christian and think Rabbinical, Talmudic Judaism as it currently exists is the source of Christianity, you are tipsy on the millennium. If you call yourself a Christian and think the Shoah had any meaningful impact on when, how, or why the modern, geopolitcal nation-state of Israel was established, you are tipsy on the millennium. If you call yourself a Christian and think fascism is a political structure, that "leftist fascism" can ever exist, that the Confederate States of America wasn't a fascist or proto-fascist state, or that Zionism and fasicsm are irreconcilable, you are tipsy on the millennium. If you call yourself a Christian and believe any of Nazi Germany's antisemitic policies had a meaningful impact on America's entry into WWII, you are tipsy on the millennium. If you call yourself a Christian, and have your suspicion aroused by any use of the Pan-African tricolor, the Arab tetracolor, moon-related imagery, or red star imagery, and at the same time insist, "The blue lines on the Israeli flag represent the tallit, you bigot," you are tipsy on the millennium. If you call yourself a Christian, consider dispensationalism and (other) explicitly antisemitic theologies to be equally unbiblical, but have a more visceral reaction to reading the modern geopolitical nation-state of Israel into Revelation 2:9 or 3:9 than into Genesis 12, Jeremiah 15 or Isaiah 11, you are tipsy on the millennium. If your church actively pays someone who promotes another religion's doctrine as a profession, it is led by people tipsy on the millennium. If you use the term "Pharisee" to describe anyone who believes that Jesus is the Messiah, you are tipsy on the millennium.

1. The term was invented to refer to Jewish converts to Christianity, but no one uses it that way anymore. The first person to use it in referring to elements shared (perceived or in reality) between Judaism and Christianity was Nietzsche. The term was not popularly used in that context by Jews, Christians, or anyone else until the 1967 Arab-Israeli War. 2. The terms for these events which are not ideologically charged are the "1947 Arab-Israeli War," "Tripartite Aggression," "1967 Arab-Israeli War," "October War," and "Mt. Moriah."

HOMILY for the Last Sunday after Pentecost

Col 1:9-14; Matt 24:15-35

Are we living in the last days? Are these the end times? Is the Great Tribulation which Christ foretells in today’s Gospel now upon us? In our current circumstances, many Christians – both Catholic and Evangelical Protestants – can be found speculating and affirming that yes, indeed, the signs are apparent that we are now living at the end of time. After all, they say, was the desolating sacrilege not committed in St Peter’s Basilica itself – or, at least, in the Vatican Gardens? And are we not, therefore, now being devastated by the pandemic; our churches having been emptied and desolate on Easter Sunday of 2020?

One could, certainly, make such speculative arguments. But if we engage in apocalypticism we should also be ready to be wrong, or even to flirt with heresy. In 1187, for example, when Saladin re-conquered Jerusalem the Cistercian Joachim of Fiore, who was a huge influence on the Spiritual Franciscans, was confident that this event was the desolating sacrilege, the abomination of desolation mentioned in the book of Daniel and referenced by Christ in today’s Gospel that would usher in a new age for the Church, namely the ‘spiritual Church’ led by the Franciscans, with St Francis as the new messiah. Needless to say, Joachim’s ideas and the apocalyptic movement based on his writings were condemned as heretical.

For, on the other hand, the one thing that is certain in the Gospel is that the exact dating of the end time, when Our Lord will return in glory, is not ours to know. As Jesus says: “Of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only.” (Matt 24:36) St Thomas Aquinas comments that this does not mean that the Son does not himself know the hour of his return, for to do so would be to deny his divinity and his divine knowledge; the heretic Arius would cite this passage to try and prove that Jesus was not divine. But the Fathers of the Church and St Thomas say that in fact this passage of Scripture tells us that the Lord does not wish to reveal the time of his return to his apostles, and thus he does not want us to know. My guess is that Our Lord does not want us to speculate too much either even if our natural human curiosity and our love for sensational religion can sometimes get the better of us. Rather, Christ wants us to remain sober, living in a good conscience, and thus ever ready for his return as Judge. As we hear in the epistle: “lead a life worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God.” (Col 1:10) Note: we are to increase in the knowledge of God, not of the time of his second coming, nor indeed, in the knowledge of those things which the Saviour has purposely hidden from us.

And this point is worth considering. St Thomas Aquinas tells us that “whereas man's whole salvation, which is in God, depends upon the knowledge of [the] truth [about God]. Therefore, in order that the salvation of men might be brought about more fitly and more surely, it was necessary that they should be taught divine truths by divine revelation.” It follows, then, that whatever the Saviour did not see fit to reveal to us is not necessary for our salvation. For while we need to know that the Lord will return in glory to judge the living and the dead, we do not need to know when he will come. Indeed, it would seem that it is more conducive to our salvation not to know the hour and moment of his return. Nor are we thereby to spend our time speculating on the time of his return. Rather, we are to be “strengthened with all power”, as St Paul says in today’s epistle, that is to say, strengthen by the graces and virtues of Christ, so that we might be prepared “for all endurance and patience with joy.” (Col 1:10)

For we can be sure that in each of our lifetimes we will encounter circumstances that challenge our faith; temptations that will cause us to stumble; and spiritual battles that will test our resolve. Hence the prophet Daniel, too, who was warned about the abomination of desolation, was also told by the Lord God to “go your way till the end; and you shall rest, and shall stand in your allotted place at the end of the days” (Dan 12:13) In other words, Daniel was told not to worry, nor speculate about the end times, but to remain steadfast in faith, walking daily in the ways of the Lord, trusting in him and obeying him. To follow the way of the Lord as Daniel did means to remain uninfluenced by pagan ideas and cultures, and to remain steadfast in trusting God and worshipping him alone.

For the abomination that Daniel foretells was an act recounted in the first book of Maccabees, when in 167 BC the statue of Zeus Olympios is placed in the Temple in Jerusalem and Antiochus IV orders sacrifices to be burnt before it. The abomination, therefore, is sacrilege, the act of offering worship to an idol, giving to another the reverence and honour that is due only to the one true God. The result of idolatry, of replacing the worship of God, is devastation – of the Temple, the nation, and indeed, the soul. For this reason, the abomination of idolatry is horrific.

We are warned by the Lord, therefore, not to give in to the idolatrous ways of the peoples around us, that is to say, not to put our trust in any creature or human person in such a way as to replace God. Rather, we must trust only in God, in his wise and loving providence, and in his Word. We must, therefore, heed and study and know the Scriptures by which God has willed to reveal his ways of salvation to us. Thus Jesus says in today’s Gospel: “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.” (Matt 24:35)

It seems to me that a besetting problem for us Catholics is that many remain largely ignorant of the Scriptures and thus ignorant of Christ and of his ways, his wisdom, his teachings. Rather, all too many prefer to turn to private revelations, supposedly mystical visions and apparitions, or some prelates even try to supplant Scripture with their own teachings. The Lord forewarns us then: “If any one says to you, `Lo, here is the Christ!' or `There he is!' do not believe it. For false Christs and false prophets will arise and show great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect.” Christ in today’s Gospel, therefore, calls us to stand on the firm foundation of his word revealed in sacred Scripture. Perhaps as Advent approaches and a new liturgical year begins you can make a resolution to engage in some study of Scripture and read the Bible daily. Did you know that a partial indulgence is granted to anyone whenever they make a spiritual reading from the Scripture, and if they do this for at least half an hour they can gain a plenary indulgence? So, reading the Bible for half an hour a day would be a more profitable use of our time then speculating or worrying about whether these are the end times!

For in the final reckoning, whether or not we should live in the end times, the focus of our Christian lives must surely be to ensure that we live each day as true followers of Christ, and that we should thus remain in communion with Christ’s holy Church, never separated from her by any temptation to schismatic ideas or heretical speculations. Hence Jesus says in today’s Gospel: “Wherever the body is, there the eagles will be gathered together.” (Mt 24:28) For the Body he refers to is his Mystical Body the Church, wherein we are fed on his sacred Body the Eucharist. And we Christians are referred to as eagles because these creatures were thought to fly to the heights of heaven and look into the sun. So, too, if we remain in the Church and feed on Christ’s Body and Blood, and if are nourished by his Word which endures forever, so shall we rise up by God’s grace to see Christ face to face forever in heaven. The goal of divine revelation is just this: that we should desire to know God, and so love him, and walk daily in his ways with childlike trust. So St Thomas Aquinas says: “man is ordained by [his moral actions] to the perfect knowledge of God in which consists eternal bliss.”

Therefore, whatever our current circumstances, and however turbulent the times might appear, or however close we might suppose the end to be, let these words of Scripture, from psalm 131, be our frequent prayer: “O Lord, my heart is not proud, my eyes are not raised too high; I do not occupy myself with things too great and too marvellous for me. But I have calmed and quieted my soul, like a child quieted at its mother's breast; like a child that is quieted is my soul. O Israel, hope in the Lord from this time forth and for evermore.”

Amen.

Something I've noticed is that apocalypticism runs very deep in American culture. Evangelical Christians are famously apocalyptic, but it's not just them. I see it everywhere in various forms, whether religious or secular. I've been wondering why this is.

Idk. I have some theories, but nothing super concrete. Mostly I assume it's because we're a young country constantly living through upheavals and instability and minimal power to control what happens around us, and it can make it feel like the end of the world is coming.

In favor of Islamic Apocalypse: an overseas coup d’état against caliphs’ militarism The thrilling apogee of liberation: All endeavors of Western democracy and American liberalism in particular extricate the leering head of Islamic Apocalypse (Qiyamah) from the repressed heart of caliphate-restrained Islamic militarism instead of emancipating what rapidly grows as Umma, the oppressed crowds of Muslims. It is more than 1250 years that what can be ambiguously defined as Islamic militarism has been forked to two contradictory but essentially entangled military threads, one with a semi-organized and exposed military power, and a twisted obsession with the West and Western infidelity, an obsession whose occasionally utopian rage converges upon the crusade from another side of monotheism; the other one is headless, without face, omnipresent, silent and enshrouded in the recesses of the legitimated Islamic heresies where the reign of caliphs does not exist; it is motivated by a self-devastating zeal in immortalizing itself as the last religion – the sole opening to the glorious encounter with the all-consuming generosity of Qiyamah (Islamic Apocalypse) and its Desert. But since the outer surface of Islam is confined and mainly governed by the caliphs-like Order whose seemingly corrupt and precarious existence is actually a protective layer for the fragile outer world, this clandestine devotee of Qiyamah has to tear this obstacle and shield apart to submit the outside world in its self-immolating path towards Qiyamah. Not sufficiently awake to notice this ramification of the Islamic militarism after hundreds of years mainly because of being in a distracting and grueling crusading exchange with the outer layer of Islamic militarism or the caliphs-like order of Islam, Western capitalism has blindly begun to topple, undermine and threaten the existence of this caliphate-dominated sphere whose role is protecting the outer world from an inner threat not the other way around. This caliphate-dominated sphere is mostly populated by the Sunnis and other Islamic revivalists whose inclinations move in the direction of past, a vitalized, empowered, anti-infidel Islam but without the unspeakable fury of the Islamic Apocalypse. Once this protective layer is deteriorated, the legion of Qiyamah – restricted by caliphate order – will pour toward the outer world and fulfill the apocalyptic task always repressed by the conservative but alert caliphs and Islamic revivalist working positively to hinder the Islamic Apocalypse on the one hand and acting retrogradely in the sense of Islamic acceleration toward the complete unfolding of itself as the Last Religion on the other hand. If the Sunnite order has always been revivalist even from the dawn of Islam with a morbid fascination in blooming Islam not yet inflamed by the doctrine of Qiyamah, Shia flourished the religions-ending scenario of Islam and its campaign in the Desert of Qiyamah alarmingly fast. With an extreme hatred mixed with a manipulative calculation towards the reign of caliphs, Shia soon spread a military network marked by secrecy, misuse, decentralization and lack of detectable formation whose speed and passion was and is still guaranteed by its fervent progress through the chain of Imams to the point that the last omnipresent yet absent Imam of Shia is taken as the ever-fighting human counterpart of Qiyamah (the Islamic Apocalypse) itself. While the Sunnite brotherhood heads for the harmless past, the time of exporting Islam and eradicating idolatry, Shia’s strategic militarism leads everyone and everything – no matter if they have united with Islam, Infidels or Pagans – towards a future not built upon the past but the suspension of time where Qiyamah awaits on the growing chain of Imams. West has mistaken Shia Imams with saints, fundamentalists or the Shia twins of caliphs; but Imams are the gradient of Islamic Qiyamah, they do not lead to each other, they merely pass and convey the Islamic Qiyamah. Beguiled by conventional strains of monotheism, Western capitalism can only perceive Shia’s enthusiasm for Qiyamah as a furiously evangelistic version of the Kingdom comes but Shia Apocalypticism has been built upon secularism thus it lacks the romantic passion of evangelism; its cold and strategic nature makes it a perfect vehicle for submission to the Desert of Allah whose Being will never be revealed to man, a pure exteriority which extinguishes all traces of heroic evangelism. Looking at the decentralized and deeply meshed clandestine army of Jihad, the technocapitalist hegemony blinded by the localized anti-infidel spectacles never suspected if these military activities really correspond to the Sunnite revivalist and molar caliphs’ militarism or a fluid militarism of an entirely different kind seething behind the exotic surface of Islam. Misguided by its wrong impressions of Islam and the distracting spectacles, America and its allies struck hard at the heart of caliphate crowds, regimes and everything connected with Islamic revivalism; they even ignored the suspiciously inept reactions and impotency of caliphs-militarism in War on Terror, and finally let the inner space of Islam pass and erupt through the caliphs’ safeguard, a gate protected more than 1000 years vigilantly, faithfully. Bestowing western democracy upon Shia crowds in Iraq turned the ultimate western democracy into a democracy for reaching the Islamic Apocalypticism, a democracy prerequisite for Iraqi Shias joining their neighboring Shia country and blending within the strategic militarism of Islam; the liberation of the Shia population from the oppression of a caliphs-like regime in Iraq was nothing but the first major step in liberating the Islamic Qiyamah, the ultimate desert, not by ragtag armies of Muslims but by perfectly armed forces of the US and its allies. Pour more Shias into the countries liberated by the West. More and faster before the Sunnite shield is entirely consumed and the Islam’s true form of militarism exposed, before we run out of our revivalist brethren.

https://rhizzone.net/articles/complicity-anonymous-materials/

QAnon is a lot like those apocalyptic cults whose fervor only increases when the prophesied end does not happen. That’s how Adrienne LaFrance has characterized them. Anons wait anxiously for what they call the “Great Awakening,” when all will be revealed, their beliefs justified by the light of truth. In this sense, as LaFrance points out, QAnon continues “a tradition of apocalyptic thinking that has spanned thousands of years.” As for those movements before them, the point was not so much the arrival as it was anticipation. In LaFrance’s words, it offers a “polemic to empower those who feel adrift.” So, whether what Q says comes to pass is beside the point, because for “the people of QAnon, faith remains absolute. True believers describe a feeling of rebirth, an irreversible arousal to existential knowledge. They are certain that a Great Awakening is coming. They’ll wait as long as they must for deliverance.”

In the Name of the Father, Son, and Q: Why It’s Important to See QAnon as a ‘Hyper-Real’ Religion | Religion Dispatches

In a May 13th article published in The Atlantic, Adrienne LaFrance offers her readers a deep dive into the QAnon movement. The article argues that when surveying QAnon, we’re not only examining a conspiracy theory, we’re observing the birth of a new religion. LaFrance underscores this argument by highlighting the apocalypticism found in QAnon; its clear-cut dualism between the forces of good and evil; the study and analysis of Qdrops as sacred texts, and the divine mystery of Q. 

Following the mass suicide of the Peoples Temple in Jonestown in 1978, historian Jonathan Z. Smith wrote an essay locating the study and definition of religion within an academic context, where he highlights that “almost no attempt was made to gain any interpretative framework” of what occurred at Jonestown by academics. Adrienne LaFrance’s article on QAnon makes clear that the movement and its believers demand to be taken seriously. Her piece acts as a springboard to ask the question: Can QAnon be considered a religion? 

Though many enjoy mocking the QAnon conspiracy theories and those who profit from them, it’s important to note that the movement’s adherents firmly believe in the theories—even to the detriment of their families and communities. Therefore, in an effort to avoid the mistakes of the past and to better understand the movement as it continues to grow and evolve, I suggest that we view QAnon as a “hyper-real religion.” Sociologist Adam Possamai, who coined the term, defines it as “a simulacrum of a religion created out of, or in symbiosis with, commodified popular culture which provides inspiration at a metaphorical level and/or is a source of beliefs for everyday life.” Or, to put it more simply, a religion with a strong connection to pop culture. Based on Jean Baudrillard’s work on hyper-reality and simulations, hyper-real religion is based on the premise that pop culture shapes and creates our actual reality, with examples including, but not limited to: Heaven’s Gate, Church of All Worlds, Jediism, etc. As a movement in a constant state of mutation, QAnon clearly blurs the boundaries between popular culture and everyday life.

What this means is that technology and the marketplace of ideas have inverted the traditional relationship between the purveyors of religion and the consumers of religion. Thus, we see religious doctrinal authority (that is, those who can contribute to the religion’s teaching) being created by popular culture. 

For example, the QAnon cosmology (how the world/universe appears; what it looks like; its characteristics, and types of creatures that populate it) and anthropology (ideas about human beings, their origin and destiny) are rooted in conspiracy theories, historical facts, and mythical history from film and popular culture. As such, Terry Gilliam’ Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas is recommended by QAnon followers as evidence of the effects of Adrenochrome; The Matrix’s blue pill/red pill scene is used to frame the choice to either be a part of the Great Awakening or to remain “asleep”; and the slogan “Where We Go One, We Go All” is from the film White Squall, whose official YouTube trailer’s comments section is filled with QAnon followers (the top-rated comment, with over 5,000 up-votes, reads “Thumbs up if Q sent you here”). The prophetic figure of the movement, known only as ‘Q’ , also regularly references movies in their QDrops, as demonstrated from the screenshots below:

The QAnon theology (conceptions of the sacred, gods, spirits, demons, the ancestors, culture heroes and/or other superhuman agents) is rooted in American evangelicalism and neo-charismatic movements developed in the 1970s and 1980s—specifically theology involving a worldwide cabal that controlled governments and aimed to control the freedoms of people through technology, medicine, and liberalism. For example, QAnon reworked elements of the Satanic Ritual Abuse (SRA) panic (aka “satanic panic”)that originated in the U.S. in the 80s. SRA was the belief that a global network of elites was breeding and kidnapping children for the purposes of pornography, sex trafficking, and Satanic ritual sacrifice. 

Furthermore, QAnon adopts the language of spiritual warfare found in many neo-charismatic movements. Based on some of the data analytics work I’ve done, Ephesians 6:11-18 is the most shared verse among QAnon adherents. Given the verse’s apparent condemnation of governments, the reaction of QAnon to the pandemic is rooted in the language of spiritual warfare, especially when addressing conspiracy theories surrounding 5G, ID2020, Bill Gates and vaccines, HR 6666, etc. Since the start of the pandemic, QAnon have spread a false racist theory that Asians were more susceptible to the coronavirus and that white people were immune to COVID-19; they’ve promoted drinking bleach to cure the virus; that COVID-19 is a Chinese bioweapon and that the virus release was a joint venture between China and the Democrats to stop Trump’s re-election by destroying the economy. If that weren’t enough, they also played a key role in promoting the Plandemic video and the ObamaGate and #FilmYourHospital hashtag; and forced Oprah Winfrey and Hilary Duff to come out with statements declaring that they are not pedophiles.

When taking into account how much neo-charismatics, American evangelicalism, theological conspiracy theories, and spiritual warfare is influenced by the distrust of the everyday reality as being false (with their reality being ‘true’), one could make the argument that QAnon theology is not only influenced by pop culture, but is in fact, deeply rooted in the conception of the sacred within a hyper-real world.  

Some might argue that a hyper-real religion isn’t a “real” religion because it’s invented, but scholars of religion don’t validate or discredit claims of what constitutes ‘true’ religion, because it’s true to the people we study. As a scholar of religion I study what people do when dealing with the sacred, rather than try to validate the religious message or experience. What people do when dealing with the sacred is routinized over time as believers construct their religion. All religions, hyper-real ones included, are socially constructed and are thus invented. QAnon is blatantly invented as it openly uses works of popular culture, media, entertainment, American evangelicalism and conspiracy theories at its basis, that have been organically developed across time and space by a community of believers. Belief in QAnon reflects a created hyper-real world based on such theories. 

This is unsurprising, as Travis View stated on PBS’s The Open Mind “we’re living in an age where conspiracy theories are promoted at the highest levels of power, when it wasn’t that long ago conspiracy theories were the pastime of the powerless.” Similarly in 2018, Joseph Uscinski stated that QAnon is different from normal conspiracy theories. “Conspiracy theories are for losers,” he told the Daily Beast’s Will Sommer, “you don’t expect the winning party to use them.” 

By framing QAnon as a hyper-real religion, it can offer insight into the confusion that people feel when discussing the movement, which is critical for observers, scholars, and decision-makers who need to take QAnon seriously. The past months have highlighted how QAnon is a public health threat, a threat to national security, and a threat to democratic institutions.

The essence of conspiracy beliefs like QAnon lies in the attempts to delineate and explain evil; it’s about theodicy, not secular evidence. QAnon offers comfort in an uncertain—and unprecedented—age as the movement crowdsources answers to the inexplicable. QAnon becomes the master narrative capable of simply explaining various complex events and providing solace for modern problems: a pandemic, economic uncertainty, political polarization, war, child abuse, etc. 

The result is a worldview characterized by a sharp distinction between the realms of good and evil. The movement accomplishes this by purporting to be empirically relevant. That is, they claim that QDrops are testable by the accumulation of evidence about the observable world in fighting evil. Those who subscribe to QDrops are presented with elaborate productions of evidence in order to substantiate QAnon’s claims, including source citation and other academic techniques. 

However, their quest for decoding QDrops masks a deeper concern: the more sweeping a conspiracy theory’s claims, the less relevant evidence becomes—notwithstanding the insistence that QAnon is empirically sound. At its heart, QAnon is non-falsifiable. No matter how much evidence journalists, academics, and civil society offer as a counter to the claims promoted by the movement, belief in QAnon as the source of truth is a matter of faith rather than proof.

Therefore, rather than ask questions like, How can people believe in QAnon when so many of its claims fly in the face of facts?, we should instead ask What are QAnoners doing with their belief system? QAnon believers have committed acts of violence in response to QAnon conspiracy theories. Elected officials or those campaigning for elected office have campaigned on QAnon. Those studying and combating the movement need to move beyond viewing it as a mere conspiracy theory; QAnon has grown beyond that. We are, as Adrienne LaFrance asserted, witnessing the birth of a religious movement. QAnon as a belief system only appears to be dependent on Donald Trump’s presidency and his ability to remain in power. Whether we will be speaking of future or former President Trump, the person known as Q will likely fuel the movement for a long time to come. Q will continue to claim special insights, knowledge, and frame things for their followers in terms of their enemies’ alleged ambitions. 

If Donald Trump wins in November, QAnon will be vindicated in their beliefs and say this is what God has mandated, reinforcing the belief that they are right. If Trump loses, it will be attributed to the Deep State Luciferian cabal and they will have a role to play in fighting against the fake government that’s replaced Donald Trump. 

QAnon has become a hermeneutical lens through which to interpret the world. Already we’ve seen a formalized QAnon religion at Omega Kingdom Ministries (OKM). OKM is part of a network of independent congregations (or ekklesia) called Home Congregations Worldwide (HCW). The organization’s spiritual adviser is Mark Taylor, a self-proclaimed “Trump Prophet” and QAnon influencer with a large social media following on Twitter and YouTube. At OKM, QAnon is a hermeneutic by which the Bible is interpreted; and the Bible, in turn, serves as an interpretive lens for QAnon. Furthermore, QAnon is built into their evangelical Christian rituals. OKM may be a sign for what’s to come in terms of QAnon’s proximity to evangelical and neo-charismatic movements in the U.S.

In categorizing QAnon as a hyper-real religion rather than a decentralized grouping of conspiracy theorists, it provides an analytical framework to quantify and qualify QAnon-inspired acts of violence as ideologically motivated violent extremism. Furthermore, there’s an increasing overlap between QAnon and the far-right/Patriot movements on Telegram, a messaging app that has attracted extremists because due to its privacy protections. From the perspective of national security, we need to be prepared for more acts of violence by QAnon believers as it’s proven to be a catalyst for radicalization to violence, terrorism and murder.

By considering QAnon as a hyper-real religion, it becomes possible to frame how QAnon has found resonance not only within the American electoral system, but with populists around the globe. This is especially important not only in the context of elections, but also when framing the global response to the pandemic and public health. Policy makers at all levels need to take the QAnon ideology seriously when planning strategies to mitigate the spread of the novel coronavirus.

QAnon may not be a recognized religion, a tax exempt 501c3 institution, or the kind of traditional brick-and-mortar religion most are familiar with. However, by framing QAnon as a religion—in particular, a hyper-real religion—we create a framework that helps us better study, report and understand QAnon. More importantly, it demonstrates that the movement needs to be taken seriously and has the socio-political and behavioral impacts that other religions have. In doing so, it provides a pathway to protecting our societies and institutions from the public health, democratic, and national security threat that QAnon potentially poses.

This content was originally published here.

White evangelicalism doesn’t have bishops, but in the market-driven ecclesiology of its implicit magisterium, LaHaye was an archbishop or a cardinal. His Left Behind series married Hal Lindsey’s pop-apocalypticism with a stew of undiluted Bircherism — including the whole anti-Semitic conspiracy mythology that the John Birch Society inherited from the Nazis and from the same ancient blood libels that false prophet Shevkunov is peddling. LaHaye’s fictional Antichrist rises to power thanks to a conspiracy of international bankers. It’s pure Bircherism — the idea that a shadowy global conspiracy of Jewish puppeteers is controlling the world from behind the scenes with its many tentacled nefariousness. LaHaye doesn’t just repeat that whole construct as the basis of his story’s plot, he rechristens it as “Bible prophecy” — assuring his devout readers that the fever dreams of the far right are not just true but divinely ordained and prophesied by the infallible words of scripture.

The old, old story that we have loved so long

when we went over puritans texts in my apocalypticism class, a bunch of people acted like they were silly or funny stories, until it was pointed out that a lot of evangelicals today say literally the same things.

then all the straight dudes thought it was funny & everyone else was like, it’s easy to laugh when you’re not the target, jackass

Perception management filters

short intro to several ideologies for pattern recognition

the list isn’t exactly cover everything, however it gives an illustration to picture possible archetypes of perceptions

abolitionism absenteeism absolutism abstractionism absurdism academicism academism achromatism acrotism actinism activism adoptianism adoptionism adventurism aeroembolism aestheticism ageism agism agnosticism agrarianism alarmism albinism alcoholism aldosteronism algorism alienism allelism allelomorphism allomorphism alpinism altruism amateurism amoralism anabaptism anabolism anachronism analphabetism anarchism anecdotalism aneurism anglicism animalism animism anisotropism antagonism anthropocentrism anthropomorphism anthropopathism antialcoholism antiauthoritarianism antiblackism anticapitalism anticlericalism anticolonialism anticommercialism anticommunism antielitism antievolutionism antifascism antifeminism antiferromagnetism antihumanism antiliberalism antimaterialism antimilitarism antinepotism antinomianism antiquarianism antiracism antiradicalism antirationalism antirealism antireductionism antiritualism antiromanticism antiterrorism aphorism apocalypticism apocalyptism archaism asceticism assimilationism associationism asterism astigmatism asynchronism atavism atheism athleticism atomism atonalism atropism atticism autecism authoritarianism autism autoecism autoeroticism autoerotism automatism automorphism baalism baptism barbarianism barbarism behaviorism biblicism bibliophilism bicameralism biculturalism bidialectalism bilateralism bilingualism bimetallism biologism bioregionalism bipartisanism bipedalism biracialism blackguardism bogyism bohemianism bolshevism boosterism bossism botulism bourbonism boyarism bromism brutism bruxism bureaucratism cabalism caciquism cambism cannibalism capitalism careerism casteism catabolism catastrophism catechism cavalierism centralism centrism ceremonialism charism charlatanism chauvinism chemism chemotropism chimaerism chimerism chrism chromaticism cicisbeism cinchonism civicism civism classicism classism clericalism clonism cockneyism collaborationism collectivism colloquialism colonialism colorism commensalism commercialism communalism communism communitarianism conceptualism concretism confessionalism conformism congregationalism connubialism conservatism constitutionalism constructivism consumerism controversialism conventionalism corporatism corporativism cosmism cosmopolitanism cosmopolitism countercriticism counterculturalism counterterrorism creationism credentialism cretinism criticism cronyism cryptorchidism cryptorchism cubism cultism cynicism czarism dadaism dandyism defeatism deism demonism denominationalism despotism determinism deviationism diabolism diamagnetism diastereoisomerism diastrophism dichroism dichromatism dicrotism didacticism diffusionism dilettantism dimerism dimorphism dioecism ditheism divisionism doctrinairism dodoism dogmatism druidism dualism dwarfism dynamism dysphemism ecclesiasticism echoism eclecticism ecoterrorism ecotourism ecumenicalism ecumenicism ecumenism egalitarianism egocentrism egoism egotism electromagnetism elitism embolism emotionalism empiricism enantiomorphism encyclopedism endemism endomorphism endoparasitism entrepreneurialism environmentalism eonism epicenism epicureanism epicurism epigonism epigrammatism epiphenomenalism epiphytism epizoism equalitarianism eremitism erethism ergotism eroticism erotism erraticism erythrism escapism esotericism essentialism establishmentarianism estheticism etatism ethnocentrism eudaemonism eudaimonism euhemerism eunuchism euphemism euphuism evangelism evolutionism exceptionalism exclusivism exhibitionism existentialism exorcism exoticism exotism expansionism expatriatism experimentalism expertism expressionism externalism extremism factionalism factualism faddism fairyism familism fanaticism faradism

fariseism fascism fatalism fauvism favism favoritism federalism feminism ferrimagnetism ferromagnetism fetichism fetishism feudalism feuilletonism fideism finalism flagellantism fogyism foreignism formalism fraternalism freneticism funambulism functionalism fundamentalism futilitarianism futurism gallicism galvanism gangsterism genteelism geomagnetism geotropism giantism gigantism globalism gnosticism gourmandism governmentalism gradualism grangerism greenbackism gutturalism gynandromorphism gypsyism heathenism hedonism heliotropism helotism hemimorphism henotheism hermaphroditism hermeticism hermetism hermitism heroinism heroism heteroecism heteromorphism heterothallism highbrowism hipsterism hirsutism hispanism historicism hoboism holism holometabolism homeomorphism homoeroticism homomorphism homothallism hoodlumism hoodooism hooliganism hucksterism humanism humanitarianism hybridism hydrotropism hylozoism hypercatabolism hypercriticism hyperinsulinism hypermetabolism hyperparasitism hyperparathyroidism hyperpituitarism hyperrealism hyperthyroidism hyperurbanism hypnotism hypocorism hypoparathyroidism hypopituitarism hypothyroidism idealism idiotism idolism illiberalism illuminism illusionism imagism immanentism immaterialism immobilism immoralism imperialism impressionism incendiarism incrementalism indeterminism indifferentism individualism industrialism infantilism inflationism initialism institutionalism instrumentalism insularism intellectualism internationalism interventionism introspectionism intuitionism invalidism iodism iotacism irrationalism irredentism ism isochronism isolationism isomerism isomorphism jesuitism jingoism jism journalism jujuism kaiserism laconism laicism landlordism lathyrism latitudinarianism leftism legalism legitimism lesbianism liberalism libertarianism libertinism literalism lobbyism localism locoism loyalism luminism lyricism lyrism magnetism majoritarianism malapropism

mammonism mandarinism mannerism manorialism masochism materialism maternalism mechanism medievalism melanism meliorism mentalism mercantilism mesmerism messianism metabolism metamerism metamorphism metasomatism methodism microorganism microprism microseism militarism millenarianism millennialism minimalism misoneism modernism momism monachism monadism monarchism monasticism monetarism mongolism monism monochromatism monoecism monometallism monomorphism monorchidism monotheism moralism moronism morphinism mosaicism mullahism multiculturalism multilateralism multilingualism multiracialism mutism mutualism mysticism nabobism nanism narcism narcissism nationalism nativism naturalism naturism necessitarianism necrophilism negativism neoclassicism neocolonialism neoconservatism neoliberalism neologism neoplasticism neorealism nephrism nepotism neuroticism neutralism nihilism nomadism nominalism nomism nonconformism nondenominationalism nonobjectivism nonrepresentationalism nudism obeahism obelism obiism objectivism obscurantism obstructionism occultism officialism ogreism ogrism onanism operationalism operationism opiumism opportunism optimism oralism organicism organism orientalism ostracism overoptimism pacificism pacifism paeanism paedomorphism paganism paleomagnetism paludism pantheism parajournalism parallelism paralogism paramagnetism parasitism parecism parkinsonism parochialism particularism passivism pastoralism paternalism patriotism pauperism pedestrianism peonism perfectionism personalism pessimism phallicism phallism pharisaism phenomenalism philhellenism philistinism photochromism photojournalism photoperiodism phototropism physicalism pianism pictorialism pietism plagiarism plebeianism pleinairism plenism pleochroism pleomorphism plumbism pluralism pococurantism poeticism pointillism polycentrism polyglotism polyglottism polymerism polymorphism polytheism populism porism positivism postmillenarianism postmillennialism postmodernism pragmaticism pragmatism predestinarianism premillenarianism premillennialism presentism priapism priggism primitivism prism privatism probabilism professionalism prognathism progressivism prosaism proselytism prostatism protectionism provincialism pseudoclassicism pseudomorphism psychologism ptyalism puerilism pugilism purism puritanism pygmyism quackism quietism quislingism quixotism rabbinism racemism racialism racism radicalism rationalism reactionaryism realism rebaptism recidivism reconstructionism reductionism reformism refugeeism regionalism relativism representationalism republicanism restrictionism revanchism revisionism revivalism rheumatism rightism rigorism ritualism robotism romanticism rowdyism royalism ruffianism ruralism sacerdotalism sacramentalism sadism sadomasochism salvationism sansculottism sapphism sardonicism satanism saturnism savagism scapegoatism scepticism schematism schism scholasticism scientism sciolism secessionism sectarianism sectionalism secularism seism seismism semicolonialism sensationalism sensualism sentimentalism separatism serialism servomechanism sexism shamanism simplism sinapism skepticism slumism snobbism socialism solarism solecism solidarism solipsism somnambulism sophism sovietism specialism speciesism spiritism spiritualism spoonerism standpattism statism stereoisomerism stoicism structuralism subjectivism supernaturalism superorganism superparasitism superpatriotism superrealism superromanticism supranationalism suprematism surrealism survivalism sybaritism sycophantism syllogism symbolism symmetallism synchronism syncretism syndactylism syndicalism synergism systematism tachism talmudism tarantism tautomerism tectonism teetotalism televangelism tenebrism teratism territorialism terrorism theatricalism theism theocentrism thermoperiodism thermotropism thigmotropism thromboembolism titanism toadyism tokenism totalism totalitarianism totemism tourism traditionalism transcendentalism transnationalism transsexualism transvestism traumatism triadism tribalism trichromatism triliteralism tritheism triumphalism troilism tropism truism tsarism tzarism ultraconservatism ultraism ultraleftism ultraliberalism ultramontanism ultranationalism ultrarealism uniformitarianism unionism unitarianism universalism uranism urbanism ureotelism uricotelism utilitarianism utopianism utopism vagabondism valetudinarianism vampirism vandalism vanguardism veganism vegetarianism ventriloquism verbalism verism vernacularism vigilantism virilism vitalism vocalism vocationalism volcanism voltaism voluntarism voluntaryism volunteerism voodooism vorticism voyeurism vulcanism vulgarism warlordism welfarism wholism witticism workaholism xenofeminism xerophytism yahooism zionism

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