Great Disappointments

Part 1

When the 19th century American Baptist preacher, William Miller predicted to his followers that Jesus Christ would return at some point in 1844, a series of events followed that would lead to what is historically known as "The Great Disappointment".

The Millerites, as his followers were called, trusted the intricate calculations and the charismatic fortitude of their leader, who, they believed was divinely sent to facilitate their salvation on heaven’s behalf. They traded in all their possessions in return for white robes and waited in great anticipation for the return of Christ. Despite the rain check on the date, calculations continued with further scriptural interpretation by Samuel S. Snow, subsequently referred to as, “seventh-month message" or the “true midnight cry”, which gave a more precise date. Snow conjectured that the return would occur ‘the tenth day of the seventh month of the present year’, which would be 1844. Snow used the calendar of the Karaite Jews, from which he surmised that October 22 would be the great day. It is this final failed apocalypse that became known as the Great Disappointment.

While there are genuine questions about the first or second coming of the figure presently referred to as Jesus Christ, these failed advents do not prove nor disprove a coming, whether real or virtual. However, it reminds us that as a species, our hopes, fears, wishes and desires often cloud our judgment and ability to apply independent & critical thinking. In many cases, we tend to project our deepest fears & aspirations on to someone, entity or group in which we place all our trust, and on whom we can rely, by some divine ordinance, to exorcise our demons, intercede on our behalf or pave the way for our salvation. We are reminded that as a species, we are sometimes willing to trade in our intellectual possessions in return for mental white robes from our religious or political leaders that blanket our minds from objective analysis, in anticipation of the fulfillment of one promise or another.

Our hopes are not always misplaced though. It is in fact a natural and an important part of the human journey to hope, dream & strive for ideals that unite us. But our aspirations and expectations are sometimes unreasonable and we often forget that no matter how unique, exceptional and extraordinary our leaders are, they are human beings who are also subject to the same fears and limitations of their fellow. We often forget that our leaders are also subject to error.

I would therefore submit, that our leaders are the sum total of all our fears, hopes, strengths & weaknesses. Some of them/us, either through religious commitment, discipline (via other forms of moral persuasion), conscience, socialization or habit have learned to control & manage those things in us that are undesirable. It is the continued journey of life, for all in common, to cultivate & nurture those things in us which are most desirable & to reduce & control if not eliminate those things in us which are not.

Our impulse therefore must be to investigate for ourselves & to amass sufficient knowledge of the facts and information in order to either lend support to those who lead, or to question & challenge their hypotheses with constructive alternatives. Anything less will result in ‘great disappointments’.