Episode 3, "Countdown Culture," explores the psychology and sociology behind repeated date-setting for the Rapture despite consistent failures. Host Solomon Bishop examines Leon Festinger's groundbreaking research on cognitive dissonance and failed prophecy, analyzing how believers respond to disconfirming evidence through creative reinterpretation rather than abandoning their beliefs. The episode provides detailed case studies of major prophetic failures, from William Miller's 1844 "Great Disappointment" through Jehovah's Witnesses' multiple predictions to Harold Camping's 2011 campaigns. Bishop investigates how prophetic communities form around shared expectations, the social dynamics that reinforce beliefs, and the psychological functions that date-setting serves - providing meaning, control, and hope during uncertain times. The episode also examines how internet-age communities create new dynamics around prophetic beliefs, using the 2017 "Revelation 12 sign" as an example of how online platforms amplify both expectation and creative rationalization of failed predictions.
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