In order to conceive that a theoretical perspective exists on the year 2000 and the Y2K millennium bug, one must first recognize that the fear and anticipation surrounding the Y2K bug is a product of Western, post-modernist, ideology that many cultures, religions and beliefs systems of today embrace. Simply put, the belief and rhetoric of religions in America today often focuses on the individual and personal relationship to God. This is seen in mainstream religions such as Catholicism, Protestantism, and Islam, as well as in new religious movements like the New Age Movement, Branch Davidians, or Heavens Gate. In the secular world there is equally individualistic thoughts and adherences in business, government, and to an extent law. The term "year 2000" has become synonymous with the "Y2K millennium bug"; in this page will be discussing both and distinguishing between the two. The subject of our page "Y2K" refers to the coming of the millennium - the year 2000, and specifically the Y2K millennium bug. In America, it is impossible to distinguish the coming of the millennium and the Y2K bug because they will occur together. We will attempt to answer the theoretical questions surrounding the relationship between the coming of the millennium and the Y2K bug, why they are difficult to distinguish between, and philosophically what will happen when the year 2000 comes and all of the unknown will be answered.

To write about the Y2K millennium bug in conjunction with millennial studies is a difficult task facing academics of many disciplines. Part of it seems that since this is the second millennium, and in some opinions the third millennium(3), that we should be able to understand this phenomenon both philosophically and sociologically. Further, with the year 2000 millennium comes the phenomenon that whatever is written, immediately becomes obsolete (see The Center for Millennial Studies home page). There is new information, new technology, and new developments in the world of the Y2K millennium bug making it more of an issue than the coming of the millennium. With this page we are not joining the race to chase the Y2K before the end of its time, rather we are looking to where the Y2K came from and how it is directing people today. The secular world, the religious world, the technological and business world have all been forced to recognize the possibilities of the Y2K bug. However philosophically and sociologically, it is tediously evaluated by economists, historians, sociologists, and religious historians.

Millenarianism:
This site is a product of Religion 290: The Millennium, a religious studies course at Connecticut College. Millennial studies, millenarianism, or millennialism, is the study of what the rock group R.E.M. sang, "It is the end of the World as we know it, and I feel fine". The apocalypse is coming, and what will the end of the world bring? There are psychological consequences that go along with millennial thoughts, which can be traced back to Zoroastrians and the centuries before the birth of Christ. Millenarianism looks at the apocalyptic notions of how the end of the world will be the catastrophic end to life as it is known and lived now, and then the utopian state which will evolve as a result of the apocalypse. Millenarianism does not view the end of the world, rather it is an end to the life of the present followed by huge changes. This is why R.E.M. feels fine even though the end of the world is coming, and the artist formerly known as Prince is partying like its 1999. Neither of these artists are "millennial prophets" as the media has been tempted to call them, they are merely creating art in the fashion of western, twentieth century, American, millennial thought. Within millennialism there is the belief that the new millennium will end life as it exists now by forming a close to utopian state of existence.

The beginning of the Y2K bug:

In the 1970's the discovery was made that computers and all computer operated devices could not count into the year 2000(1), but at the rate that technology was expanding it was concluded that the problem would be fixed and little thought was given to the situation. Today, clocks count down the millennium and the impending doom of the Y2K millennium bug for nothing because it is our conclusion that nothing serious will happen when the clocks roll to the year 2000. The fear of the Y2K bug is simply a product of the post-modern ideology of the western world that evaluates this world, and the otherworldly, in terms of the individual self. We will explore the world of the sacred and the profane through the various case studies included in this web page (business and technology, Christianity, and the New Age Movement) in order to determine exactly where the fear of the Y2K bug came from, and then what it will lead to.

Finally, it must also be made clear that this site discusses the Y2K from the point of view of Twentieth Century America, which is primarily a Christian nation. The assumption has been made that much of the millennial thought of the Y2K bug is influenced by Christian millennialism. America was founded on the rhetoric and beliefs of Christianity, and therefore ideologically expecting the end of the world is not anomalous to people in America. Further, we recognize that not all cultures follow the Gregorian Calendar of the Christian world so the Y2K bug is not part of the coming of the new millennium for all cultures of the world. When it is the year 2000 in America, it is the year 4698 in China, and 5760/5761 in the Jewish Calendar. The Y2K - the millennium bug and the year 2000 - is a phenomenon specific to America and the western world. It only affects the rest of the world through the relationships that break cultural boundaries such as business, industry, and banking interactions, and not a shared spiritual phenomenon.

The Y2K bug in the 1990's:

The first half of 1996 was characterized by massive growth in awareness of the catastrophic possibilities of the Y2K millennium bug. The second half of 1996 was the assessment stage of what the new discoveries. The Y2K bug was not an issue that needed to be dealt with immediately, and the coming of the millennium was not close enough to react to. The 1990's was a time where cultures, people, and religions began to decide how they would celebrate, or rather, deal with the new millennium. Not only was it unclear how significant they Y2K bug would be, but it was equally not clear how significant people's reactions would be. They Y2K became the scapegoat for the non-religious people to put their belief and thoughts into as the answer to what the coming of the new millennium would be. All the writing, all analysis and interpretation of Y2K literature leads to no specific conclusion. It does highlight, though, that philosophically and sociologically people are reacting to the coming of the millennium in very different ways. The most common way that universally people are celebrating the coming of the millennium is the Y2K bug.

The Y2K bug in 1999:

The Y2K bug has become the symbol for the new millennium. Everybody knows about, everybody wonders if they are prepared, if the world is prepared, and if they will be safe. It was predicted in a study by J.P.Morgan done in 1997 (2) that by June, 1999 there would be a solution found to the Y2K, and the rest of the year would be spent implementing this plan. Technology moved ahead of the J.P. Morgan predictions and Y2K compliant technology has been available for a while. This is the main employer of IT programmers and computer specialist. The next fear is what will happen to the computer industry after the year 2000. Further, it was highlighted by Jay E Gary in a paper that he published entitled "frequently asked questions about Y2K". One very important revelation he came to in his writing was that the Y2K has brought and will bring the world together like never before. We are now in a position of evolution, etc., to be close and involved as a universal people waiting the coming of the millennium and the end of the world as we know it. The Y2K has the potential to break cultural and international boundaries as it connects all countries through the language and art of business. This is the status of the Y2K philosophically and sociologically today. There is fear about what will happen, but people have plans after the year 2000 making it clear that human existence will not end and through all of the year 2000 and the millennium bug struggles the world not come to an end in seven months.

Conclusion:

The Y2K has created an inevitable apocalypse. No matter what, the state of living will change with the year 2000 as the Y2K millennium bug will be over. The year 2000 is interpreted with excitement and haste in anticipation of a new era. Whatever effect it has on the world it will begin at 12.00 am January 1, 2000. It is interesting that human have created an inevitable apocalypse for themselves. It seems logical that the Y2K acts as reassurance to people that things will change. Why it causes chaos not, there will be a sense of peace when it is known what the Y2K millennium bug really will do. This idea that an apocalypse is going to happen is not the root of the chaos in the world that is approaching a new millennium, it is the impatience and uneasiness that people share as they anxiously await the utopia that exists on the other side of the year 1999.

The Y2K millennium bug has taken the attention of the world that does not believe in God and is not awaiting Jesus to come to earth, and given these people a need to search for answers and contemplate life. The new millennium as seen from the angle of the Y2K millennium bug believers, or the more religious persons, is difficult to understand and impossible to prepare for because it is unknown what this day will bring. It does not seem necessary for people to need to prepare for a new world. The coming of the year 2000 has raised a whole new set of millennial questions and understandings. These questions are what is important to recognize in our study of the millennium, not predicting what the series of event will be as the clocks roll over...

Please email and gives us your thoughts about our theory of the year 2000, our theory about the Y2K millennium bug, and what YOU think will happen when the clocks roll over.