The Citizen, 1999-01-13, Page 13THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 13, 1999. PAGE 13.
From the Minister’s Study
The millennium — opportunity or threat?
By Rev. James Murray
Duff’s United and Bluevale
United Churches
The media hysteria concerning
the turning of the millennium on
Dec. 31, 1999 has already hit high
gear. Moderate voices who
correctly assert the millennium will
not really end until Dec. 31, 2000
have already lost the battle in the
public media. Dec. 31, 1999 is the
date.
Travel agents and big business
are all focussing on this one date,
as the party of the century. We can
expect some 'news' item on the
millennium every day of this year.
This is the big story.
The hysteria concerning the Y2K
computer crisis is hitting fever
pitch. Peter deJaegger, the
Canadian computer consultant who
is THE media guru on the topic,
admits he is paid to say something
shocking when he is interviewed by
the media. The CBC program
Undercurrents interviewed
deJaegger, and he admitted only
some computers would fail, and he
expected only some problems in
2000, and he believes most if not
all problems would be solved
within a few short months.
Certainly not apocalyptic or
cataclysmic expectations from the
source of the crisis.
Should we be buying into the
fear mongering and hysteria
associated with the millennium? I
tend to agree with the Pope on this
one. The year 2000 should be a
time of celebration, not panic.
On an e-mail list I belong to,
someone has proposed a religious
catch phrase which serves as an
antidote to all the Y2K hysteria.
The Christian response can be
expressed as Y2J - Year 2000
Jubilee. Celebration is the focus,
rather than fear.
This turning of the millennium
will be the first truly global mass
celebration. Are you Y2J Ready?
The reason we have such concern
about the millennium is a product
of two major factors, which are
intertwined. The first is our fear of
technology. The second reason the
global celebration is even possible
is because of our modern concept
of time.
One of the best looks at the
whole situation can be found in
Dreams of Millennium by
University of Toronto philosophy
professor Mark Kingwell,
published by Viking, in 1996.
Kingwell says this about the
turning of the last millennium.
"The reports of 'panic terror' on
the eve of 1000 are now widely
regarded as false; moreover,
contemporary historians argue they
had to be false. The Christian
calendar had no wide authority in
what we now call AD 999. Nor was
there even an accepted New Year's
Day. Indeed, the Arabic zero had
not yet been welcomed into the
mathematics of the West, and
disagreement reigned over the
beginning of the day and week.
Therefore the simultaneous pealing
of bells described so vividly by
subsequent historians could not
have happened. It wasn’t until the
1290s, when Pope Boniface VIII
ordered a Jubilee year for all
Christendom, that the centuries
began to take on the shape they
now have for us. And it wasn't until
the 1690s, according to some
historians that people began to see
themselves as products of a given
century, each with a particular
character all its own." p.34
I think we have been guilty of
projecting our fears back onto an
event in 1000 AD which never
happened! Our modem concept of
time, and even our concept of
centuries is fairly recent. The
concept of standard time zones was
not invented until this century (by a
Canadian!), when train travel and
telegraph communications forced
the adoption of time zones. Up
until then, there was local time,
determined by local noon.
Toronto and Hamilton had a
different time, which was almost 15
minutes different. Our current
concept of time is a function of our
modern world, with high speed
travel and even higher speed
communications.
It is important for us to check our
facts, and to know what really
might happen next. The last time
we all got hyped up about a year
was 1984. George Orwell's
fantastic novel about a future world
set the tone for our arrival in 1984 -
we were now living in 'the future'.
It was a special year, but his
vision of a totalitarian nation full of
doublespeak did not fully come to
pass. The world did not end. We
were just made aware of some
issues, and made something special
of it all.
There are some groups who are
convinced Christ will come again
you are ‘Welcome at the
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in 2000. On this, no one knows for
certain, and I will continue to live a
life of faith regardless of the date
someone predicts.
As for the groups who believe
they can force the coming of Christ
and the final battle of Armageddon,
I hope they can be stopped before
too many innocent lives are lost.
We shall see several examples of
this form of madness in th£ coming
year, I am afraid.
I think we as the church can use
the current times as a call for a
Jubilee, a celebration of life, a
forgiveness of debt, a time for
justice, and spiritual renewal for all
people. A new beginning doesn't
require hysteria, fear or violence
for it to happen. God's kingdom
doesn't run on computers.
This article was originally
written for United Online, and can
be viewed at their Web page:
http://www.rockies.net/~spirit/unite
d/united-online.html
Baptism, Duffs sermon topic
Continued from page 8
community of faith. It is the sign of
belonging.
"While we are all children of
God," Rev. Murray said, "baptism
is the act of claiming this particular
church family as our spiritual
home. It is the act of choosing to
live here. It is the act of saying I
belong to God’s family, which
gathers in this place."
In the Bible it is important
because of its association with the
forgiveness of sins
Jesus was baptized by John. He
agreed with John's open
relationship with God. For the first
time, God was freely available, to
all people, all the time, everywhere
- no middle man, no waiting, no
lineups.
"Baptism," said Rev. Murray, "is
our response to what God is already
doing. He is continually being
offered to us, seeking us, and is
universally available. This
ceremony teaches us that God is
involved in all of our life. We are
baptized because Jesus was
baptized."
Rev. Murray closed by saying,
"When I know who I am, I know
my purpose in life is to live as a
baptized, forgiven member of the
Christian Community every day. It
is to be a disciple, a follower, a
companion of Jesus. To be an
imperfect person who tries to walk
the way of faith every day. To be
someone who trusts in the promises
of God. By my words and actions I
can share the good -news of God's
love which is for all people."
"By the power of baptism we are
all witnesses to God's love for God
is with us all ways. Remember your
baptism, and live it every day.
Amen."
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