On the Dangers of Ignoring Apocalyptic Icebergs, Y1K, Y2K (original) (raw)

Climate change and apocalyptic faith

For at least as long as the birth of environmentalism, discourses of ecological crisis have adopted, both consciously and unconsciously, themes and concepts derived from Jewish and Christian Apocalypses. These are ancient texts remembered best for their cosmic and spiritual revelations about the world and the world to come. The scope and methods of this adoption have varied widely: from symbolic representation (images of the Four Horsemen, for instance) to the influence of end-time belief upon environmental policy. More recently, references to apocalypse have accompanied the study of climate change specifically. However, they have tended to do so without more than a superficial engagement with the theological and philosophical underpinnings of apocalyptic faith. This review article addresses this issue by engaging the meanings of apocalyptic faith within four distinct areas in the interdisciplinary study of climate change: (1) Christian ecotheology; (2) critical and social scientific discourse; (3) policy and media communications; and (4) contemporary philosophy and ethics.

On the Edge of Apocalypse: An Introduction

CrossCurrents, 2018

A pocalypse. In popular culture in the U.S., the term typically evokes a terrifying moment of cataclysmic destruction. While a common subject for film, television, books, and music, this broad understanding of apocalypse belies the complexity of the ways of thinking, speaking, and being that can be described as "apocalyptic." Although scholars across disciplines have mapped many of the characteristics and much of the content associated with "apocalyptic," the category's meaning remains up for debate, and it continues to be used in new ways and toward new ends. In 2017, the symposium "On the Edge of Apocalypse," sponsored by the Center for the Study of Religion, Culture, and Society at Elon University, asked participants from a variety of academic disciplines to map the edges of apocalyptic, including its patterns, symbols, and rhetorics. 1 The following essays, which we situate here within the context of the study of apocalyptic, emerged as part of the symposium and demonstrate some of the elasticity within this oft-contested category. Scholarly attention to the apocalypse initially emerged within the context of the nineteenth-century scientific study of religion and in conjunction with the study of sacred texts and traditions. German scholar Gottfried Christian Friedrich L€ ucke introduced the German term "Apokalyptik," used as a noun, in an 1832 introduction to the biblical Book of Revelation, also known as the Apocalypse of John. 2 L€ ucke's use of the term in this context points to the close connection between "apocalyptic" and writings that were eventually characterized as "apocalypses." Distinct

Understanding Apocalyptic Belief...or not

In the first century CE, significant parts of the Christian church expected Jesus to return in a triumphant fashion. Today in the United States, significant parts of the Christian church still expect the imminent return of Jesus. This paper explores the variety of explanations for the continuing popularity of apocalyptic ideas. Building on existing scholarship, I suggest a number of new reasons why apocalyptic thought continues to be part of Christianity. These reasons also help us understand why the roots of apocalyptic thought will never be fully explained.