Millenarianism
Posted by anthonynorth at 10:21, 12 Apr 2008The number thousand seems innocuous enough, but it has been at the root of some of the most dangerous influences mankind has suffered. A thousand years is a millennium, a symbolic time span, which developed into the concept of Millenarianism.
Best described by Prof Norman Cohn in his book, The Pursuit of the Millennium, it is the belief that a major transformation of society is about to occur. Movements formed from the belief see the existing society as corrupt.
It will be destroyed by a powerful force.
In this sense, it forms the root of the belief in Apocalypse, or Armageddon. The Book of Revelation itself is the usual blueprint in the west for what such transition will involve.
From early Christianity, to present-day Al Qaeda, the Millenarianist impulse involves violence, ranging from self-destruction, to turning that violence upon others. And it does not just include major movements.
The Millenarianist mentality lies behind many cults.
The Branch Davidians and the horror of Waco is a classic example. Even 19th century Native Americans adapted their religion in the Ghost Dance, and the active belief that their worship would result in the destruction of the white man.
In this sense, we can often see Millenarianism as an act of desperation – a plea for a better world, invoking extreme or supernatural forces because normal means have collapsed. But there are numbers and there are symbols. When they mix, watch out!
© Anthony North, April 2008
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Comments
22 November 2004
2 days 7 hours
Things are supposed to happen at midnight. Or at high noon.
And we can count to ten because we have 8 fingers and 2 thumbs. Can't see our feet that good, especially the last few thousand years that we have been wearing shoes.
So base-10 has been simpler. Is base-20 more prevalent in hot climates, with no shoes?
Ok then, we have 10. And we can't count that well. So 50 is 10, and then 5 on one hand. 50 years, wow that is difficult to count. Also, you get sort of slow and fat at 50.
10 times 10 - 100. That takes concentration with the fingers. Better not use the toes. Or use the toes - one for each time you ran out of fingers.
10 times 10 times 10 - wow that is "many". But in an organized way. How do you say "a lot", to impress people, yet leave them with the impression that they could count if they wanted to try real hard?
Thousand.
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if everything is under control, you are not going fast enough (Mario Andretti)
13 April 2007
5 years 1 day
Earthling, you old cynic, you! :-)
Maybe 2000 years makes more sense. After all, these are astrological - but also understanding of the precession of the equinoxes - Earth's wobble - and the 26,000 year cycle.
Not sure how they work out where each cycle begins, though.
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Wise people usually begin as stupid ones
Anthony North
10 August 2004
2 weeks 5 days
Each cycle begins after the end of the last one!
Regards, Kathrinn
13 April 2007
5 years 1 day
Thanks, Kathrinn. Never thought of that :-)
...
The balanced adult retains an inner child
Anthony North
22 November 2004
2 days 7 hours
Perhaps there are two or more systems at work here.
The cycles that are easily observed - day and night, seasonal (aka day and night if you live on the poles), precession if you watch the stars accurately. Women have cycles.
And then there are the cycles in counting systems. You run out of fingers, or out of writing symbols. When it's more than 10, you count the 10s. And so on. This looks like cycles.
Then people jump to the conclusion that the natural cycles we can clearly see are somehow related to the counting system cycles.
Cycles themselves seem to be magical to many people.
There is something magical about nice round numbers, like 100 miles, or 100 kilometers.
Or 50 eggs.
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if everything is under control, you are not going fast enough (Mario Andretti)
10 August 2004
2 weeks 5 days
Base 20 used to be the most common counting system in the world. Whether this ceased to be the case with the introduction of footwear, I don't know. If you wanted to count higher than 20 you added an extra person, higher still another person again etc., thus having more fingers and toes to count with.
I believe the Welsh still use a base 20 system. If they want to say '30', they say '20 and a half-20'. I'm sure any Welsh readers will correct me if I'm wrong.
The Sumerian base 60 counting system came into being because of the interaction of the orbital periods of Jupiter and Saturn.
Regards, Kathrinn
12 April 2007
12 min 41 sec
Someone asks me my age, I answer that I'm twenty-fourteen years old ;-)
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It's not the depth of the rabbit hole that bugs me...
It's all the rabbit SH*T you stumble over on your way down!!!
Red Pill Junkie
22 November 2004
2 days 7 hours
As you probably know already, French language uses base-20 to some degree. German language uses base-12, so does English. Ten, eleven, twelve, thir-teen. I think the Maya writing system uses base-5.
As for my age - I tell people that I have been 29 for 19 years now. You would be surprised how many people can't add two small numbers without a calculator.
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if everything is under control, you are not going fast enough (Mario Andretti)
13 April 2007
5 years 1 day
I never lie about my age. I tell people I'm 21 and some months.
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The balanced adult retains an inner child
Anthony North