Why I’m a Skeptic

The Great Disappointment proves my point.

A pamplet explaining Miller’s prediction of the second coming of Christ. Courtesy of the University of Virginia.

I was reading this morning about an incident that happened 177 years ago, kind of a gee-whiz moment that reminded me of the power of fanaticism and the human toll it can bring.

Have you ever heard of the Great Disappointment? It occurred on October 22, 1844, when tens of thousands of followers of Baptist preacher William Miller waited expectantly for the second coming of Christ. By the end of the day, nothing had happened and the disappointed Millerites, as his followers were known, found good reason to question their faith.

Miller, a former agnostic who came to accept religion after his experience in the War of 1812, based his prediction on the biblical prophecy of Daniel about the end of time. He spent a few years calculating when the end of time would occur, then with the backing of a publisher in Boston, spread the word about the second coming.

He first predicted that the great rapture, when the faithful are transported up to heaven, would occur on March 21, 1844. When that date passed without incident, Miller re-calculated and settled on the date of October 22.

In mid-Coast Maine, not far from where I live, followers of Miller gathered that morning to climb to the highest points, ready for the moment when they would be lifted to heavens. A group of local history…