Millennium Rage

As the world rushes toward the year 2000, millennialism--the belief that human history is near its end--is on the rise. In this far-reaching, well-considered work, Lamy, a sociology professor at Castleton College in Vermont, shines a floodlight on white supremacists, far-right paramilitias, apocalyptic cults, antigovernment zealots and other extremists who embrace millennialism and who, he cautions, are a growing danger to American society through their belief that the proper response to the coming apocalypse is ""survivalism"" through preparation for battle against the forces of evil. Through interviews with dozens of survivalists, he delves into Christian Identity, a quasi-religious movement preaching racism, anti-Semitism and antigovernment militancy, that provides a unifying theology for the Aryan Nations, the Ku Klux Klan, the Montana Freemean, skinheads and neo-Nazis. Lamy digs deeply into the roots of millennialism, tracing its evolution throughout the Christian era and exploring how latter-day survivalists misappropriate and pervert ancient Christian and Hebrew apocalyptic doctrines. He traces survivalist influence on media, through an insightful discussion of Soldier of Fortune magazine and the phenomenon of war games. Finally, he widens his focus to place extremist survivalism within a broad spectrum of millennialism that encompasses Mormonism, Zionism, Rastafarianism and Christian fundamentalism. ""The flames of the millennial rage,"" Lamy concludes, ""are fanned by widespread, fast-moving social and cultural changes."" Given that the pace of these changes is only increasing, most readers will likely conclude, as Lamy does in this perceptive work, that even though the year 2000 will roll by, millennialism and its attendant dangers may be with us for a long time to come. (Dec.)