Diana G. Tumminia
- Published in print:
- 2005
- Published Online:
- July 2005
- ISBN:
- 9780195176759
- eISBN:
- 9780199835720
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195176758.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion and Society
This ethnography details the UFO religion, Unarius Academy of Science, and their belief system, which includes visions, channeling, dreams, myths, healing, past-life therapy, and recovered memories. ...
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This ethnography details the UFO religion, Unarius Academy of Science, and their belief system, which includes visions, channeling, dreams, myths, healing, past-life therapy, and recovered memories. From the theoretical perspective of the social construction of reality, it analyzes the way members create their own social world of contact with extraterrestrials. Based on lengthy field research, the everyday life and history of one of America’s oldest contactee groups is described. The text explicates the lives of the founders, Ernest and Ruth Norman, who claimed to be Space Brothers from higher realms of knowledge that offer a celestial science to Earth. Max Weber’s theory of charisma is used to analyze Ruth Norman, who led the group as Uriel the Archangel, Goddess of Love. Since Unarius had a failed millennial prophecy of spaceships landing in 2001, the author compares them to the group Leon Festinger studied in the 1950s. In looking at the interpretive methods Unarius used to explain success rather than failure, the text discusses the reasons why prophecies rarely fail in the eyes of believers.Less
This ethnography details the UFO religion, Unarius Academy of Science, and their belief system, which includes visions, channeling, dreams, myths, healing, past-life therapy, and recovered memories. From the theoretical perspective of the social construction of reality, it analyzes the way members create their own social world of contact with extraterrestrials. Based on lengthy field research, the everyday life and history of one of America’s oldest contactee groups is described. The text explicates the lives of the founders, Ernest and Ruth Norman, who claimed to be Space Brothers from higher realms of knowledge that offer a celestial science to Earth. Max Weber’s theory of charisma is used to analyze Ruth Norman, who led the group as Uriel the Archangel, Goddess of Love. Since Unarius had a failed millennial prophecy of spaceships landing in 2001, the author compares them to the group Leon Festinger studied in the 1950s. In looking at the interpretive methods Unarius used to explain success rather than failure, the text discusses the reasons why prophecies rarely fail in the eyes of believers.
Francesca Aran Murphy
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780199219285
- eISBN:
- 9780191711664
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199219285.003.0007
- Subject:
- Religion, Theology
Because of their descriptive cast, narrative theologies are oriented to considering the future as the most significant tense; they thus recoup the ancient Christian millennarian tradition, as it ...
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Because of their descriptive cast, narrative theologies are oriented to considering the future as the most significant tense; they thus recoup the ancient Christian millennarian tradition, as it surfaces in, for instance, Joachim of Fiore. This focus on futurity indicates that the basic motivation in narrative theologies is the quest for scientific predictability. A philosophical theology which gives metaphysical status to the way in which scientific hypotheses are epistemically verified (in the future) is bound to say, with Hegel, that the truth of a proposition is what it becomes, just as the ‘truth’ of a story is its outcome. Rather than making God the epistemic outcome of human acts of knowledge or story-telling, this chapter proposes that God is a much livelier and energetic thing, love. The two foremost analogies of this dramatic love are tragedy and comedy. The book's thesis thus achieves the aim of narrative theologies to be true to the ‘God of the Gospel’ rather than the gods of our culture.Less
Because of their descriptive cast, narrative theologies are oriented to considering the future as the most significant tense; they thus recoup the ancient Christian millennarian tradition, as it surfaces in, for instance, Joachim of Fiore. This focus on futurity indicates that the basic motivation in narrative theologies is the quest for scientific predictability. A philosophical theology which gives metaphysical status to the way in which scientific hypotheses are epistemically verified (in the future) is bound to say, with Hegel, that the truth of a proposition is what it becomes, just as the ‘truth’ of a story is its outcome. Rather than making God the epistemic outcome of human acts of knowledge or story-telling, this chapter proposes that God is a much livelier and energetic thing, love. The two foremost analogies of this dramatic love are tragedy and comedy. The book's thesis thus achieves the aim of narrative theologies to be true to the ‘God of the Gospel’ rather than the gods of our culture.
Stephen Spector
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- January 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780195368024
- eISBN:
- 9780199867646
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195368024.003.0006
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion and Society, Judaism
This chapter addresses criticisms of Christian Zionism. There are four principal charges: First, that evangelical Christians support aliyah (Jewish emigration to Israel) mainly because it speeds the ...
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This chapter addresses criticisms of Christian Zionism. There are four principal charges: First, that evangelical Christians support aliyah (Jewish emigration to Israel) mainly because it speeds the battle of Armageddon, the mass conversion or death of the Jews, and Christ’s Millennial kingdom. Second, that evangelicals’ true motive is to convert the Jews. Third, that Christian Zionist theology distorts Christianity: that it misunderstands biblical covenants and ignores the scriptural emphasis on doing justice, relieving suffering, and showing compassion to the oppressed, who, in this view, are the Palestinians. The fourth major criticism is that the evangelical Zionists’ biblical worldview allies them with extreme right-wing Israeli politicians in opposing any exchange of land for peace. The chapter discusses efforts to evangelize Jews, and notes the beliefs of Messianic Jews. It examines the claim by some evangelicals that Christians are the heirs to God’s promises to Israel; that the covenantal promises to the Jews are conditional; and that modern Israel is not the fulfillment of prophecy. The chapter notes the role of the Sabeel Ecumenical Liberation Theology Center in opposing Christian Zionism and Israeli policies. It also considers the limits on empathy toward the other in this conflict.Less
This chapter addresses criticisms of Christian Zionism. There are four principal charges: First, that evangelical Christians support aliyah (Jewish emigration to Israel) mainly because it speeds the battle of Armageddon, the mass conversion or death of the Jews, and Christ’s Millennial kingdom. Second, that evangelicals’ true motive is to convert the Jews. Third, that Christian Zionist theology distorts Christianity: that it misunderstands biblical covenants and ignores the scriptural emphasis on doing justice, relieving suffering, and showing compassion to the oppressed, who, in this view, are the Palestinians. The fourth major criticism is that the evangelical Zionists’ biblical worldview allies them with extreme right-wing Israeli politicians in opposing any exchange of land for peace. The chapter discusses efforts to evangelize Jews, and notes the beliefs of Messianic Jews. It examines the claim by some evangelicals that Christians are the heirs to God’s promises to Israel; that the covenantal promises to the Jews are conditional; and that modern Israel is not the fulfillment of prophecy. The chapter notes the role of the Sabeel Ecumenical Liberation Theology Center in opposing Christian Zionism and Israeli policies. It also considers the limits on empathy toward the other in this conflict.
Larry A. Braskamp
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- May 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780195323443
- eISBN:
- 9780199869145
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195323443.003.0010
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion and Society
After surveying the literature related to college students' religious expectations and experiences, Braskamp concludes that a majority of students want to explore questions of faith and meaning. His ...
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After surveying the literature related to college students' religious expectations and experiences, Braskamp concludes that a majority of students want to explore questions of faith and meaning. His portrait of college spirituality is complex, including the acknowledgement that three different subgroups (described as millennials, postmoderns, and the missionary generation) exist side by side on campus. Braskamp argues that a full picture of religion on campus has to include attention to the culture and community of the institution as well as to the curriculum and co‐curriculum.Less
After surveying the literature related to college students' religious expectations and experiences, Braskamp concludes that a majority of students want to explore questions of faith and meaning. His portrait of college spirituality is complex, including the acknowledgement that three different subgroups (described as millennials, postmoderns, and the missionary generation) exist side by side on campus. Braskamp argues that a full picture of religion on campus has to include attention to the culture and community of the institution as well as to the curriculum and co‐curriculum.
Thomas O Beebee
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- January 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780195339383
- eISBN:
- 9780199867097
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195339383.003.0004
- Subject:
- Literature, American, 20th Century Literature, American, 18th Century and Early American Literature
Literature has not neglected the fact that millennial expectations have hitherto always been defeated. Leon Festinger developed his theory of cognitive dissonance in part to explain the persistence ...
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Literature has not neglected the fact that millennial expectations have hitherto always been defeated. Leon Festinger developed his theory of cognitive dissonance in part to explain the persistence of belief in the face of disconfirmed prophecy. This chapter examines numerous literary examples of defeated millennium under the hypothesis that literature replaces cognitive dissonance with what I call reflective dissonance. It analyzes fictional texts’ rhetorics of reflection vs. persuasion, the types of possible worlds they construct, and the contribution these make to millennial discourse in the Americas. Three types of millennial defeat are posited: 1) defeated millennium nearly always takes historical examples as its objects of mimesis, and thus simply documents the defeats of millennial outbreaks by real-world forces; 2) pseudo-millennium shrinks millennial activity down to a simulation exercise, as in Ahab’s elevation of a whale hunt to a “final battle” between good and evil; and 3) dystopic millennium allows the millennial movement to “succeed,” but with a result far from the joy and plenitude promised by Revelation, and with the eschatechnologies of the New Order resembling those of a prison.Less
Literature has not neglected the fact that millennial expectations have hitherto always been defeated. Leon Festinger developed his theory of cognitive dissonance in part to explain the persistence of belief in the face of disconfirmed prophecy. This chapter examines numerous literary examples of defeated millennium under the hypothesis that literature replaces cognitive dissonance with what I call reflective dissonance. It analyzes fictional texts’ rhetorics of reflection vs. persuasion, the types of possible worlds they construct, and the contribution these make to millennial discourse in the Americas. Three types of millennial defeat are posited: 1) defeated millennium nearly always takes historical examples as its objects of mimesis, and thus simply documents the defeats of millennial outbreaks by real-world forces; 2) pseudo-millennium shrinks millennial activity down to a simulation exercise, as in Ahab’s elevation of a whale hunt to a “final battle” between good and evil; and 3) dystopic millennium allows the millennial movement to “succeed,” but with a result far from the joy and plenitude promised by Revelation, and with the eschatechnologies of the New Order resembling those of a prison.
Frank Graziano
- Published in print:
- 1999
- Published Online:
- February 2006
- ISBN:
- 9780195124323
- eISBN:
- 9780199784561
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195124324.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion and Society
The opening chapter of this book defines millennialism in its broadest sense, encompassing apocalypticism, messianism, and utopia. The subsequent chapters explore a wide range of colonial and modern ...
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The opening chapter of this book defines millennialism in its broadest sense, encompassing apocalypticism, messianism, and utopia. The subsequent chapters explore a wide range of colonial and modern movements, myths, and ideologies. as they pursue millennial themes through Latin American history. The study of Spanish messianic imperialism and perceptions of the New World as Eden and New Jerusalem provide European precedents. Extensive treatment of nativist and syncretic millennialism includes the Land-without-Evil, Taqui Onqoy, the Tzeltal Rebellion, the Caste War of the Yucatan, and the myths of Inkarrí and Quetzalcóatl, among many others. End-of-the-world sects and their messiahs are also considered, as are utopian communities, Pentecostalism, Liberation Theology, military messianism, and popular Catholicism. The discussion further encompasses the secular millennialism of revolutionaries and populists, including such figures as Lope de Aguirre, Túpac Amaru, Simón Bolívar, Augusto César Sandino, Juan and Evita Perón, Che Guevara, and Shining Path’s Abimael Guzmán.Less
The opening chapter of this book defines millennialism in its broadest sense, encompassing apocalypticism, messianism, and utopia. The subsequent chapters explore a wide range of colonial and modern movements, myths, and ideologies. as they pursue millennial themes through Latin American history. The study of Spanish messianic imperialism and perceptions of the New World as Eden and New Jerusalem provide European precedents. Extensive treatment of nativist and syncretic millennialism includes the Land-without-Evil, Taqui Onqoy, the Tzeltal Rebellion, the Caste War of the Yucatan, and the myths of Inkarrí and Quetzalcóatl, among many others. End-of-the-world sects and their messiahs are also considered, as are utopian communities, Pentecostalism, Liberation Theology, military messianism, and popular Catholicism. The discussion further encompasses the secular millennialism of revolutionaries and populists, including such figures as Lope de Aguirre, Túpac Amaru, Simón Bolívar, Augusto César Sandino, Juan and Evita Perón, Che Guevara, and Shining Path’s Abimael Guzmán.
Diana G. Tumminia
- Published in print:
- 2005
- Published Online:
- July 2005
- ISBN:
- 9780195176759
- eISBN:
- 9780199835720
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195176758.003.0002
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion and Society
The author describes the setting, entry into the field, and the difficulty of writing an ethnography about a group with an unusual worldview. She meets members, who are called students, and the ...
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The author describes the setting, entry into the field, and the difficulty of writing an ethnography about a group with an unusual worldview. She meets members, who are called students, and the coordinator named Antares. The students explain their science and their belief in past-life therapy, cycles, and recovered memories. They glean knowledge from channeling, inspiration, and the practice of psychodrama. The 2001 millennial prophecy speaks of the arrival of a fleet of flying saucers that will lead an age of spiritual and scientific transformation.Less
The author describes the setting, entry into the field, and the difficulty of writing an ethnography about a group with an unusual worldview. She meets members, who are called students, and the coordinator named Antares. The students explain their science and their belief in past-life therapy, cycles, and recovered memories. They glean knowledge from channeling, inspiration, and the practice of psychodrama. The 2001 millennial prophecy speaks of the arrival of a fleet of flying saucers that will lead an age of spiritual and scientific transformation.
Frank Graziano
- Published in print:
- 1999
- Published Online:
- February 2006
- ISBN:
- 9780195124323
- eISBN:
- 9780199784561
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195124324.003.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion and Society
This chapter defines the key terms millennial, millennialism, messianism, messiah, apocalypse, apocalyptic, and apocalypticism, then provides an overview of the attributes of millennial thought and ...
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This chapter defines the key terms millennial, millennialism, messianism, messiah, apocalypse, apocalyptic, and apocalypticism, then provides an overview of the attributes of millennial thought and action. The overview introduces such themes as messianic responses to social crisis, charisma, legitimacy, fragmentation and unification, ritual and symbolic violence, symbolic inversion, and polarization.Less
This chapter defines the key terms millennial, millennialism, messianism, messiah, apocalypse, apocalyptic, and apocalypticism, then provides an overview of the attributes of millennial thought and action. The overview introduces such themes as messianic responses to social crisis, charisma, legitimacy, fragmentation and unification, ritual and symbolic violence, symbolic inversion, and polarization.
Frank Graziano
- Published in print:
- 1999
- Published Online:
- February 2006
- ISBN:
- 9780195124323
- eISBN:
- 9780199784561
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195124324.003.0005
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion and Society
This chapter surveys utopian ideas in Latin America, from the European myths projected onto the New World during exploration to more recent endeavors to discover or build paradise on earth. Themes ...
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This chapter surveys utopian ideas in Latin America, from the European myths projected onto the New World during exploration to more recent endeavors to discover or build paradise on earth. Themes include pursuit of allusive utopian islands and enclaves, the relation of utopia and subversion, the projection of utopia into the future, and reunification of a fragmented world. The case studies focus on the Tupí-Guaraní Land-without-Evil, El Dorado, Christopher Columbus’s belief that he discovered terrestrial paradise, and the utopian missions founded by priests and friars, including the Jesuit Reductions of Paraguay and the missions of Bartolomé de Las Casas.Less
This chapter surveys utopian ideas in Latin America, from the European myths projected onto the New World during exploration to more recent endeavors to discover or build paradise on earth. Themes include pursuit of allusive utopian islands and enclaves, the relation of utopia and subversion, the projection of utopia into the future, and reunification of a fragmented world. The case studies focus on the Tupí-Guaraní Land-without-Evil, El Dorado, Christopher Columbus’s belief that he discovered terrestrial paradise, and the utopian missions founded by priests and friars, including the Jesuit Reductions of Paraguay and the missions of Bartolomé de Las Casas.
John Dombrink
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- May 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780814795170
- eISBN:
- 9780814771365
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- NYU Press
- DOI:
- 10.18574/nyu/9780814795170.001.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, American Politics
This book examines the ongoing contests and shifting political and social landscape of America in the Obama era as it applies to the core elements of the “culture war.” It considers a central ...
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This book examines the ongoing contests and shifting political and social landscape of America in the Obama era as it applies to the core elements of the “culture war.” It considers a central disjuncture: the liberalization of American society on many measures, at the same time as the enormous conservative pushback that continues, and a political polarization that still characterizes us in America in 2015. This book concludes that these “wedge issues,” successful in American politics for three decades, have lost their power. This “unwedging” is what characterizes America in 2015, especially amidst the effect of the rising importance of the millennial generation – a decidedly more secular and progressive generation on these issues. As one religious conservative leader recently wrote, such shifts in American society suggest that like-minded religious-based social conservatives should now view themselves as a “prophetic minority” rather than a “Moral Majority.” It seems improbable that these wedge issues will soon regain their potency.Less
This book examines the ongoing contests and shifting political and social landscape of America in the Obama era as it applies to the core elements of the “culture war.” It considers a central disjuncture: the liberalization of American society on many measures, at the same time as the enormous conservative pushback that continues, and a political polarization that still characterizes us in America in 2015. This book concludes that these “wedge issues,” successful in American politics for three decades, have lost their power. This “unwedging” is what characterizes America in 2015, especially amidst the effect of the rising importance of the millennial generation – a decidedly more secular and progressive generation on these issues. As one religious conservative leader recently wrote, such shifts in American society suggest that like-minded religious-based social conservatives should now view themselves as a “prophetic minority” rather than a “Moral Majority.” It seems improbable that these wedge issues will soon regain their potency.
