2 - The social setting of apocalypticism and the function of apocalyptic eschatology

Summary

The social setting of apocalypticism

Having defined in the previous chapter the basic elements of apocalyptic eschatology, we may proceed to the explanatory part of the discussion. As stated earlier, apocalyptic eschatology is the religious perspective of a particular socio-religious phenomenon, apocalypticism. In this section we shall examine the social setting of this phenomenon. Do the various writers (and readers) of the texts which emphasise the end of the age and the universal judgement share a common social setting? If they do, then which social factors contribute to their embracement of this distinctive religious perspective?

In response to these questions, most scholars agree that in general terms there is a common social setting. Apocalypticism, whether it be expressed in an apocalypse or not, arises in minority groups as a direct response to a situation of great crisis or distress. P. D. Hanson has taken this general point an important step further by emphasising the group alienation inherent in ancient apocalyptic groups; the crisis experienced by the group occasions a sense of intense alienation from the wider world. A further point to note in this regard is that the crisis might be either real or perceived to be real. In the latter case, we are dealing with what is known as ‘relative deprivation’. Here we must take seriously the perspective of the author or group involved, no matter what the reality of the situation. What might be viewed by a neutral or objective observer, either ancient or modern, as of trifling importance might have been interpreted by the participants themselves as a situation of great crisis.