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Apocalypse now in lecture

University of Wisconsin Emeritus history professor Paul Boyer gave a lecture to nearly 80 faculty members and students about apocalyptic thinking and its evolution Monday.

The lecture was the first of three in a series dedicated to prominent social historian Merle Curti, the signature lecture event for the university's department of history.

This year's theme for the annual Merle Curti Lecture is "Apocalypse Then, Apocalypse Now: Bible-Prophecy Belief in American Religion, Politics and Popular Culture."

Boyer's lecture, held in the Pyle Center, focused on the origins and development of the apocalypse, especially in American culture.

He cited a 1996 survey in which 42 percent of Americans believed the world would end in a battle between Jesus and an antichrist.

"This issue is not only important for the intellectuals, but for every citizen concerned about contemporary life," he said.

Boyer said he grew up around bible prophecy but was not concerned about it until he researched the cultural impact of the atomic bomb in the 1980s. Many people believed the bomb to be "evidence of the end of the world."

"I'm revisiting [the topic] because my own understanding has evolved," Boyer said. "The prophecy belief has entered the cultural mainstream."

Boyer explained the word "apocalypse" is a Greek word meaning "an unveiling of hidden mysteries."

The idea itself is rooted in ancient myths about light and darkness and good and evil.

"Apocalyptic images and themes proved irresistible," he said of the topic's various nuances.

Boyer said the apocalypse permeates numerous religions, including Christianity, Islam, Middle Eastern Judaism, Anabaptists and Puritanism.

According to Boyer, the reason for its emergence in many ideologies is the idea's malleability.

"Surely a promise of a coming of age seemed powerful," he said.

Boyer said apocalyptic thinking "pervades American discourse," and provided quotes from George Washington and Thomas Payne's "Common Sense" as examples.

New England Puritans believed the New Jerusalem "would arise in America," Boyer said.

According to Boyer's research, many people believe the apocalypse will come as a culmination of societies' conflicts in the form of a final battle between a "good" protagonist and "evil" antagonist — for Christians, the two are represented by Jesus and the antichrist.

"In the kingdom age, literally all hell breaks loose," he explained.

Boyer added the apocalypse is still generally accepted in Christian society because of its "deeply satisfying" ending, where Christ will defeat the antichrist.

"It's hard to deny the power of revelation imagery," he said. "[The apocalypse is] the original utopian ideal."

Boyer said the appeal of a perfect world "speaks to our discontent" of an imperfect world, "and thus to our individual life."

After the lecture, first-year graduate student Brittany McCormick said she personally did not believe in the apocalypse, but added Boyer was very informative on a subject she previously knew nothing about.

"I like how he went through the different time periods and focused on the evolution of the apocalypse in America," she said.

UW associate professor of history Nan Enstad agreed, and said Boyer "always does a good job of taking a timely topic and giving you the history of it."

"I liked that he talked about the progressive uses of millennial thinking and how people have used it to gain power awareness," she said.

Enstad added she does not believe in the apocalypse, but will attend upcoming lectures to learn about its place in the current world and if it can help her gain insight into her own life.

Boyer will expand upon the topic of the apocalypse on Tuesday and Wednesday.