Millennium, Messiahs, and Mayhem: Contemporary Apocalyptic Movements [Paperback]

Thomas Robbins (Editor), Susan J. Palmer (Editor)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0415916496 | ISBN-13: 978-0415916493 | Publication Date: July 13, 1997 | Edition: 1

As we approach the millenium, apocolyptic expectations are rising in North America and throughout the world. Outside the symbolic aura of the millenium, this excitation is fed by currents of unsettling social and cultural change. The "millenial myth" ingrained in American culture is continually generating new movements, which draw upon the myth and also reshape and reconstruct it. This text examines many types of apocolypticism such as economic, racialist, environmental, feminist, as well as those erupting from established churches. Many of these movements are volatile and potentially explosive. The text brings together scholars of apocolyptic and millenial groups to explore aspects of the contemporary apocolyptic fervour in all orginal contributions. Opening with a discussion of various theories of apocalypticism, the editors then analyze how millenialist movements have gained ground in largely secular societal circles. Section three discusses the links between apocalypticism and established churches, while the final part of the book looks at examples of violence and confrontation, from Waco to Solar Temple to the Aum Shinr.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Robbins, an independent sociologist of religion, and Palmer (new religious movements, Dawson Coll. and Concordia Univ.) have compiled a collection of articles on the import of the coming millennium and associated groups and movements. The contributors?scholars in religion, sociology, and other social sciences?discuss the theory of apocalypticism; secular groups such as survivalists, militias, and feminists; religious groups; and the violence and confrontation associated with the millennium. This collection gives a good overview of a complicated topic by delving into the various movements that are looking at the millennium as a watershed event for their particular sets of beliefs. The work is scholarly with extensive references; it should find a place on academic library shelves, particularly those with strong sociology or religious collections.?Cynthia L. Peterson, Univ. of Texas Southwestern Medical Ctr. at Dallas
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

This is a fine collection of high-quality papers concerning millenarianism in Western culture. -- American Journal of Sociology
...a significant contribution as a general scholarly introduction to the subject of apocalyptic and millennial movements in contemporary North American society. -- Nathan Rousseau, Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion
This is a fine collection of high-quality papers concerning millenarianism in Western culture...enlightening...fascinating. -- American Journal of Sociology
This volume makes a worthwhile contribution to the literature. There is no question that the subject matter makes this a timely and important book...the book raises the standard for future studies. -- Contemporary Sociology
This volume documents the richness and diversity of the contemporary apocalyptic imagination. -- Stephan Stein, Religious Studies Review, April 2002
Robbins and Palmer's book...goes far toward filling the need for a broad, scholarly, and yet accessible overview of contemporary millennialism in North America... The case studies that constitute the bulk of this volume are highly effective in addressing many of the fundamental questions that face scholars of millennialism... it is unquestionably a significant contribution as a general scholarly introduction to the subject of apocalyptic and millennial movements in contemporary North American society. -- Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion
...excellent collection of original papers by 21 qualified authors from nine academic fields... Highly recommended for seminary, graduate, and professional libraries. -- R.L. Herrick Choice
...excellent... the contributors ... analyze contemporary religious movements from the Mormons to Waco and Aum Shinrikyo, and explain the central significance of prophecy in these movements. -- Elaine Showalter, Washington Post
Robbins and Palmer have gathered a number of essays that take a sober look at the phenomenon of apocalypticism in the modern world... In all of the essays, the authors attempt to show how apocalyptic groups may be defined by their attention to the signs of the millennium and the signs of a messiah, a figure who will draw to a close one epoch and usher in a new one, and the ways in which these dual beliefs often lead to mayhem. -- Publishers Weekly
This collection gives a good overview of a complicated topic by delving into the various movements that are looking at the millennium as a watershed event for their particular set of beliefs. -- Library Journal
[This book] provide[s] a wealth of details on groups arising out of Roman Catholic, Protestant, Mormon, and Seventh-day Adventist churches, as well as those originating from a diverse number of secular movements ranging from the militas to environmentalist. --Nikolas K. Gvosdev, Baylor Univ., Waco, TX for Journal of Church and State.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 332 pages
• Publisher: Routledge; 1 edition (July 13, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0415916496
• ISBN-13: 978-0415916493
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #436,677 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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10 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Definitely worth reading., August 14, 1999

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This review is from: Millennium, Messiahs, and Mayhem: Contemporary Apocalyptic Movements (Paperback)

Robbins and Palmer have assembled a fine anthology, with papers ranging from the highly theoretical to the purely descriptive. The selections give the reader a thorough and systematic introduction to the varied apocalyptic movements, secular and religious, out there.