The New Millennium

How will it affect our lives?

Introduction

On Dec. 31, millions of people from New York to New Zealand will celebrate the coming of a new millennium. But some scholars and others argue that the next millennium actually begins in 2001, since the Christian calendar started at 1 A.D., not at zero. Others say that such arguments are too technical and that the year 2000 warrants great millennial celebrations. At the same time, some say that the millennium, which after all commemo-rates the 2000th year since the birth of Jesus Christ, has lost its religious significance and become a largely secular event. Still other millennium-watchers say that the countdown to 2000 has increased the sense of apocalypticism in the United States, with dire results.

“The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse” (1498) by the ...

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