Ethics News
News: Occultism
>> = Important Articles; ** = Major Articles
>>Survey: Wicca Unknown to Majority of Americans (Christian Post, 090126)
**Spontaneous human combustion (From Wikipedia, 100901)
**Spontaneous Human Combustion (Crystalinks, 100901)
**How Spontaneous Human Combustion Works (Internet, 100901)
Security Camera Catches ‘Ghost’ at English Palace (Foxnews, 031220)
Beasts of Satan’s killing spree has Italy transfixed (WorldNetDaily, 050114)
Beaters of Satanist guilty of hate crime? (WorldNetDaily, 050114)
Wiccan fights for religious freedom (WorldNetDaily, 051101)
Dark carnival of Satanists meet in Hollywood (WorldNetDaily, 060607)
Widows Sue Over Wicca Symbol, Headstones (WorldNetDaily, 061113)
How Many Americans Believe in Ghosts, Spells and Superstition? (Christian Post, 071027)
Is It All a Grand Illusion? (Breakpoint, 080404)
Nothing Innocent about It (BreakPoint, 080602)
Megachurch Pastor Guides Christians on Demonic Spirits (Christian Post, 100308)
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Although some say Wicca is the fastest growing religion in the United States, most Americans still say they have never heard of the term before, according to a new survey released Monday.
Slightly more than half of Americans (55%) say they have not heard of Wicca, a national survey conducted by The Barna Group found. Among those that have heard of the religious group, most have an unfavorable view (52%) of it.
Those most likely to hold a “very unfavorable” view of Wicca were found among residents of the South and Midwest (52% of whom had a very unfavorable opinion); born-again Christians (67%); and socio-political conservatives (61%).
Two-thirds (62%) of those who have heard of Wicca described it as an organized form of witchcraft. A much smaller percentage of Americans think Wicca is a form of Satanism (7%) or a religious cult (7%).
Wicca is a loosely organized, under-the-radar religious group that is best known for its use of magic sorcery, and engagement in witchcraft. It has no recognized guidebook or body of “sacred literature” to define its practices, but instead is based on rituals and pagan beliefs.
Members go through initiation rites and worship gods and goddesses found in nature. In general, Wiccans embrace the concept of karma and reincarnation, and do not follow any strict code of morality.
The growing religious movement is most popular among young people, who are increasingly interested in witchcraft and are comfortable with the idea of worshipping nature, according to The Barna Group.
Yet despite its mounting popularity, very few people claim to be Wiccan. Based on interviews with more than 4,200 adults in 2008, The Barna Group found that Wiccans represent about 0.1% of all American adults.
In other words, among the nation’s 230 million adults, less than 250,000 people claim Wicca as their primary faith group.
The report is based on telephone interviews with a random sample of 1,203 adults across the United States, age 18 and older, in November 2008.
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Spontaneous human combustion (SHC) is a name used to describe alleged cases of the burning of a living human body without an apparent external source of ignition. While there have been about 200 cited cases[1] worldwide over a period of around 300 years, most of the alleged cases are characterized by the lack of a thorough investigation, or rely heavily on hearsay and oral testimony. In many of the more recent cases, where photographic evidence is available, it is alleged that there was an external source of heat present (often cigarettes), and nothing occurred “spontaneously.”
There are many hypothesized explanations which account for the various cases of human spontaneous combustion. These generally fall into one of three groups: paranormal explanations (e.g. a ghost or alien caused it), natural explanations that credit some unknown and otherwise unobserved phenomenon (e.g. the production of abnormally concentrated gas or raised levels of blood alcohol cause spontaneous ignition), and natural explanations that involve an external source of ignition (e.g. the victim dropped a cigarette).
Objections to natural explanations usually revolve around the degree of burning of the body with respect to its surroundings. Indeed, one of the common markers of a case of SHC is that the body — or part of it — has suffered an extraordinarily large degree of burning, with surroundings or lower limbs comparatively undamaged.[1]
Many hypotheses have attempted to explain how SHC might occur, but those which rely on current scientific understanding say that with instances mistaken for spontaneous combustion, there was an external source of ignition, and that the likelihood that true spontaneous human combustion actually takes place within the body is quite low.[2]
* Since every human body contains varying strengths of electrical field and the human body also contains flammable gases (mainly methane in the intestines), an electrical discharge could ignite these gases.
* SHC victims are sometimes described as lonely people who fall into a trance immediately before their incineration. Heymer[3] suggests that a psychosomatic process in such emotionally-distressed people can trigger off a chain reaction by reacting nitrogen within the body and setting off a chain reaction of mitochondrial explosions. This theory has been criticized on the basis that Heymer “seems to be under the illusion that nitrogen exist as gases in the blood and are thus vulnerable to ignition, which is, in fact, not the case.”[4] (Mitochondria are organelles found within cells.) The theory also fails to take into account the fact that nitrogen is an inert, non-flammable gas.
* Another theory suggests high-energy particles or gamma rays[1] coupled with susceptibilities in the potential victim (e.g. increased alcohol in the blood) triggers the initial reaction. This process may use no external oxygen to spread throughout the body, since it may not be an oxidation-reduction reaction. However, no reaction mechanism has been proposed, nor has a source for the high-energy particles.
* The victim is an alcoholic and has been smoking while drinking or shortly after drinking a strong spirit. There are claims that this raises the blood alcohol level to a point where it ignites; however, this theory is implausible, since ethanol typically burns only if the concentration is greater than about 23%, whereas a fatally toxic level is about 1%.[5] However, this does introduce the probability that the victim will fall asleep while holding a lit cigarette.
* A suggested possibility is that both clothing and the person are caused to burn by a discharge of static electricity. A person walking across a carpet can build up sufficient charge and voltage to create a spark. It is unlikely that this could start a clothing fire, as although the voltage can be high (several thousand volts), the stored energy is very low (typically less than a joule).
* The controversial phenomenon of ball lightning has also been proposed as one of the causes of spontaneous combustion.[citation needed]
* Cigarettes are often implicated as the source of ignition. Usually, the victim is alone at the time of death, and it is thought that natural causes such as heart attacks may lead to the victim dying, subsequently dropping the cigarette. Embers from cigarettes and pipes may also ignite clothes.[3] Additionally, cigarettes smoulder at a temperature too low to trigger a flare up of most otherwise combustible materials. Typically if a person drops a lit cigarette on an article of clothing, it will create a burn-hole, but not ignite into an open flame and spread.
* The “wick effect” hypothesis suggests that a small external flame source, such as a burning cigarette, chars the clothing of the victim at a location, splitting the skin and releasing subcutaneous fat, which is in turn absorbed into the burned clothing, acting as a wick. This combustion can continue for as long as the fuel is available. This hypothesis has been successfully tested with animal tissue (pig) and is consistent with evidence recovered from cases of human combustion.[6][7]
* Scalding can cause burn-like injuries, including death, without setting fire to clothing. Although not applicable in cases where the body is charred and burnt, this has been suggested as a cause in at least one claimed SHC-like event.[8]
He was a homeless person who allegedly died by spontaneous human combustion.
At 5:21am on 13 September 1967, an unnamed member of a group of female office workers phoned the London Fire Brigade. While waiting for a bus, they had noticed flickering blue flames visible through an upper window of 49 Auckland Street, Lambeth, London. They presumed it was burning gas. 49 Auckland Street was a derelict council house owned by Lambeth Borough Council, and was disconnected from gas and electricity supplies.
At 5:26am, Station Officer Jack Stacey and his crew arrived. Stacey was first up the ladder and through the window.:
“When I got in through the window I found the body of a tramp named Bailey laying at the bottom of the stairs leading up to the second floor. He was lying partly on his left side. There was a four-inch (10 cm) slit in his abdomen from which was issuing, at force, a blue flame. The flame was beginning to burn the wooden stairs. We extinguished the flames by placing a hose into the abdominal cavity. Bailey was alive when he started burning. He must have been in terrible pain. His teeth were sunk into the mahogany newel post of the staircase. I had to prise his jaws apart to release the body. The fire was coming from within the abdomen of his body.”
In 1986, Stacey was interviewed on BBC television’s Newsnight programme, and went into detail:
“The flame itself was coming from the abdomen. There was a slit of about four inches in the abdomen and the flame was coming through there at force, like a blowlamp - a bluish flame, which would indicate that there was some kind of spirit involved in it. There’s no doubt whatsoever, that fire began inside the body. That’s the only place it could have begun, inside that body.”
The flames had scorched an area of floor measuring approximately six square feet and totally incinerated Bailey’s right hand. Stacey does not believe in the paranormal, in which category he includes SHC, explaining: “Bailey was an alcoholic, addicted to meths drinking, and had drunk too much of it. The meths had erupted through his abdomen and somehow exploded into flame.”
However, Heymer has written that Stacey’s account contains a number of problems:
* If Bailey was indeed conscious enough to respond to pain by sinking his teeth deep into a mahogany post, why did he not cry out, or indeed move at all?
* Can a person really drink enough meths to ignite and burn to death?
* Can enough gas at sufficient pressure to provide a blowlamp-like flame really be sustained from the contents of a stomach with a four-inch (10 cm) slit in it? (This pressure had been sustained for at least five minutes, because the time of the call and the time of the fire brigade’s arrival are both known).
* If one supposes that Bailey did not move due to alcoholic stupor, the idea that he clamped his teeth into a solid wooden post in agony becomes hard to support.
However, Bailey’s head was fire-damaged and a less contradictory explanation could be that his jaw tendons contracted in the heat, clamping his jaws shut where his open mouth was already in contact with the post.
At inquest, it was found that the cause of Bailey’s death was ‘asphyxia due to inhalation of fire fumes’. Bailey had suffocated on the fumes of his own combustion. A search of his body revealed no portable sources of ignition (lighters, etc) or inflammable substances. He was a non-smoker.
He was a physician burned to death in the bathroom of his house in Coudersport, Pennsylvania. His death was allegedly caused by spontaneous human combustion.
Discovery of Bentley’s remains
Bentley was last seen alive on December 4, 1966, when friends visiting him at his home said goodnight to him at about 9:00 P.M. On the following morning, December 5, Don Gosnell, a meter reader, let himself into Bentley’s house and went to the basement to check the meter—since Bentley could only move about with the help of a walker, Mr. Gosnell had permission to enter as necessary.
While in the basement, Gosnell noticed a strange smell and a light blue smoke. Intrigued, he went upstairs to investigate. The bedroom was smoky and in the bathroom he found Bentley’s cremated remains.
All that was left intact of the aged doctor was the lower half of his right leg with the slipper still on it. The rest of his body had been reduced to a pile of ashes on the floor in the basement below. His walker lay across the hole in the floor generated by the fire. The rubber tips on it were still intact, and the nearby bathtub was hardly scorched. Gosnell ran from the building to get help, screaming “Doctor Bentley’s burned up!”
Theories
The first theory put forward was that Bentley had set himself on fire with his pipe, but his pipe was still on its stand by the bed in the next room. Perplexed, the coroner could only record a verdict of ‘death by asphyxiation and 90% burning of the body.’
Joe Nickell, in his book Secrets of the Supernatural, gives an account of this event he got from Larry E. Arnold’s article “The Flaming Fate of Dr. John Irving Bentley,” printed in the Pursuit of Fall 1976. Nickell mentions that the hole in the bathroom floor measured 2-1/2 feet by 4 feet, and details the remains as being Bentley’s lower leg burned off at the knee.
Nickell mentions that Bentley’s robe was found smoldering in the bathtub next to the hole, and that the broken remains of “what was apparently a water pitcher” were found in the toilet; he adds that the doctor had dropped hot ashes from his pipe onto his clothing previously (which “were dotted with burn spots from previous incidents”), and that he kept wooden matches in his pockets which could transform a small ember into a blazing flame.
Nickell believes that Bentley woke up to find his clothes on fire, walked to the bathroom, and passed out before he could extinguish the flames. Then, he suggests that the burning clothes ignited the flammable linoleum floor, and cool air drawn from the basement in what is known as “the stack effect” kept the fire burning hotly.
He was a firefighter who burned to death in his home outside Crown Point, New York, in 1986. He is often cited as an example of Spontaneous Human Combustion. His body was consumed along with the mattress he was lying on, an implausibly shrunken skull, and piece of rib cage.
Fire investigators suggested that the death was either caused by an electrical arc that shot out of an outlet and set fire to Mott, or a gas leak. Some believe his alcoholism and heavy smoking could have contributed to it; he was not wearing his oxygen mask, and matches were found near the oxygen machine, unignited. He was 56 years old when he died.
She was a suspected victim of spontaneous human combustion.[1]
Reported events
On the night of July 1 – July 2, 1951 she burned to death in her apartment[1] and the nickname “The Cinder Lady” was given to her posthumously by the local media.
The alarm was raised at about 8 a.m. July 2 when Reeser’s landlady, Pansy Carpenter, arrived at her door with a telegram. Trying the door, she found the metal doorknob to be uncomfortably warm to the touch and called the police.
Evidence
Reeser’s remains, which were largely ashes, were found among the remains of a chair in which she had been sitting. Only part of her left foot (which was wearing a slipper) and her backbone remained.[1] Plastic household objects at a distance from the seat of the fire were softened and had lost their shapes.
Reeser’s skull had survived and was found among the ashes, but was ‘shrunken’ (sometimes with the added descriptive flourish of ‘to the size of a teacup’).[1] The extent of this shrinkage was enough to be remarked on by official investigators and was not an illusion caused by the removal of all facial features (ears, nose, lips, etc). The shrinking of the skull is not a regular feature of alleged cases of SHC, although the ‘shrunken skull’ claim has become a regular feature of anecdotal accounts of other SHC cases and numerous apocryphal stories. However, this is not the only case in which the remains featured a shrunken skull.
On 7 July 1951, St. Petersburg police chief J.R. Reichert sent a box of evidence from the scene to FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover. He included glass fragments found in the ashes, six “small objects thought to be teeth,” a section of the carpet, and the surviving shoe.
Even though the body was almost totally cremated, requiring very high temperatures, the room in which it occurred showed little evidence of the fire.
Reichert included a note saying: “We request any information or theories that could explain how a human body could be so destroyed and the fire confined to such a small area and so little damage done to the structure of the building and the furniture in the room not even scorched or damaged by smoke.”
The FBI eventually declared that Reeser had been incinerated by the wick effect. As she was a known user of sleeping pills, they hypothesized that she had fallen unconscious while smoking and set fire to her nightclothes. “Once the body starts to burn,” the FBI wrote in its report, “there is enough fat and other inflammable substances to permit varying amounts of destruction to take place. Sometimes this destruction by burning will proceed to a degree which results in almost complete combustion of the body.”
At the request of the Chief of Police, St. Petersburg, Florida, the scene was also investigated by physical anthropologist Wilton M Krogman. Professor Krogman, of the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Medicine[citation needed], had spent some time in the 1930s experimenting and examining the remains of such incidents, in order to aid in the detection of crimes.[citation needed]
Krogman was frequently consulted by the FBI for this reason but after examining the scene and reading the FBI’s report, he strongly disputed the FBI’s conclusions concerning Reeser. However, the full circumstances of the death—and Krogman’s objections to the FBI’s version of events—would not become known publicly for a decade.
Quotations
In a 1961 article for The General Magazine and History Chronicle of the University of Pennsylvania, Krogman wrote extensively about the Reeser case. His remarks included:
“I find it hard to believe that a human body, once ignited, will literally consume itself — burn itself out, as does a candle wick, guttering in the last residual pool of melted wax [...] Just what did happen on the night of July 1, 1951, in St. Petersburg, Florida? We may never know, though this case still haunts me.”
With regard to Reeser’s shrunken skull, Krogman wrote:
“[...]The head is not left complete in ordinary burning cases. Certainly it does not shrivel or symmetrically reduce to a smaller size. In presence of heat sufficient to destroy soft tissues, the skull would literally explode in many pieces. I have never known any exception to this rule.”
Krogman concluded:
“I cannot conceive of such complete cremation without more burning of the apartment itself. In fact the apartment and everything in it should have been consumed. [...] I regard it as the most amazing thing I have ever seen. As I review it, the short hairs on my neck bristle with vague fear. Were I living in the Middle Ages, I’d mutter something about black magic.”
Later, having put this statement on the record, Krogman moved away from this position. He instead put forward the theory that Reeser had been murdered at another location. Her murderer had access to crematorium-type equipment and had incinerated her body. The hypothetical murderer had then transported the results of the partial cremation back to the apartment and used portable heat-generating equipment to add the finishing touches, such as the heat-buckled plastic objects and the warm doorknob.
In this connection, the FBI files on Reeser’s death contain a large number of photocopies from a book on organized crime, specifically about Lucky Luciano.[
He was a 73-year-old man who was found burned to death in the living room of his council house on the Rassau council estate in Ebbw Vale, south Wales in 1980.
Incident
Thomas’ entire body was incinerated, leaving only his skull and a portion of each leg below the knee. The feet and legs were clothed in socks and trouser legs. The fire had also destroyed half of the chair in which he had been sitting and melted the control knobs on a TV set some meters away.
The victim’s spectacles were sitting neatly folded in the grate of his open fire, within arm’s reach of the position of the chair. The victim’s slippers were on the carpet just beyond his unburned feet, suggesting that Thomas had eased his slippers off and settled back to watch television before being burned. (Thomas was farsighted).
Investigation
The police officer in attendance was John E Heymer, and what follows is taken from his own notes on the incident- “The living room was bathed in an orange glow, coming from windows and a lightbulb. This orange light was the result of daylight and electric light being filtered by evaporated human fat which had condensed on their surfaces. The remainder of the house was completely undamaged”.
Heymer describes the entire room as ‘comfortably warm’ despite the fact that the house was halfway up a mountain, in the middle of a Welsh winter (the temperature outside was ‘well below freezing’), and had no double glazing or central heating. This is attributed to heat absorbed by the walls during the fire, being slowly released back into the room. The temperature during the fire had evidently been high enough to melt knobs on the TV set, which was some metres away from Thomas’s remains, and to soften a plastic lightshade sufficiently for it to slide off its fittings and fall to the floor.
A coal fire in the grate had gone out. There was no sign of disturbance to the fire place, and no evidence (blood, etc.) of any injury occurring there. A stack of chopped sticks, suitable for laying a fire, had been prepared by Thomas and were sitting ready by the fire-tools. Thomas’s ashes lay on a rug and a foam-backed carpet, both of which were only burned where they were in contact with the ashes. Thermoplastic tiles under the carpet, which should have been permanently marked by the proximity of a heat source, were unblemished.
Questioning Mr Thomas’s neighbour, Heymer found that the night before the ashes were discovered, the neighbour had gone out into his garden and seen foul-smelling smoke pouring from Thomas’s chimney. He had assumed Thomas was burning rubbish on his open fire. Pathologists found that Thomas had been alive when he began to burn, as his blood (taken from the remains of his legs) contained a high level of carbon monoxide.
Heymer reached the following conclusions;
* The body had begun to burn properly while seated in the chair.
* The chair had caught fire while in contact with the body.
* When one side of the chair had burned sufficiently, it collapsed, depositing the body on the floor.
* Now out of contact with the body, the unburned portion of the chair ceased to burn.
* The body continued to burn until only the skull and lower legs were left.
Police forensic officers arrived and announced that the incineration of Thomas was due to the wick effect.
They reconstructed the scene as follows;
* Thomas had fallen in the fireplace for some reason, while tending the fire, and had accidentally set alight to his hair. This accounted for his spectacles being in the hearth. He had then sat down in his chair and burned to death via the wick effect.
* A scrap of fibrous matter on the fireplace was seized upon and it was declared that this would prove to be forehead skin, proving Thomas fell and injured himself. In fact, analysis proved the scrap was of bovine origin, probably from some leather item that Thomas had burned on the fire.
Heymer, a trained crime scene officer, argued that everything about the remains showed that the victim had been sitting comfortably in his chair when he burned to death. He argued that even a victim who had fallen and injured themselves would not get up and sit down in a chair while alight. Moreover, he argued that the lack of fire damage to the rest of the room indicated a rapid blaze which went out before anything not in contact with the victim had caught light.
He also pointed out that the victim had draught-proofed his living room very effectively (to such an extent that no smoke particles were found on the outside of the living room doorframe) and that the oxygen supply in the room would not support the long slow burning of the wick effect. He also pointed out that the remains of the victim’s trouser legs were undamaged, except for a very narrow burned ‘fringe’ where the remains terminated. Heymer described this ‘fringe’: ‘as though the clothes had been burned through with a laser beam’. This, he said, also indicated something different from the wick effect.
Thomas’s death was ruled ‘death by burning’, as he had plainly inhaled the contents of his own combustion.
Two examples of people surviving static flash events are given in a book on SHC.[9] The two subjects, Debbie Clark and Susan Motteshead, speaking independently and with no knowledge of each other, give similar histories.[10] In addition, Jack Angel claims to have survived an SHC-like event:
* In September 1985, Debbie Clark was walking home when she noticed an occasional flash of blue light.[11] As she claimed, “It was me. I was lighting up the driveway every couple of steps. As we got into the garden I thought it was funny at that point. I was walking around in circles saying: ‘look at this, mum, look!’ She started screaming and my brother came to the door and started screaming and shouting ‘Have you never heard of spontaneous human combustion?’” Her mother, Dianne Clark, responded: “I screamed at her to get her shoes off and it [the flashes] kept going so I hassled her through and got her into the bath. I thought that the bath is wired to earth. It was a blue light you know what they call electric blue. She thought it was fun, she was laughing.”
* In winter 1980, Cheshire, England, resident Susan Motteshead was standing in her kitchen, wearing flame-resistant pajamas, when she was suddenly engulfed in a short-lived fire that seemed to have ignited the fluff on her clothing but burned out before it could set anything properly alight.[10]
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http://www.crystalinks.com/shc.html
Spontaneous human combustion (SHC) is the alleged burning of a person’s body without a readily apparent, identifiable external source of ignition. The combustion may result in simple burns and blisters to the skin, smoking, or a complete incineration of the body. The latter is the form most often ‘recognized’ as SHC.
There is much speculation and controversy over SHC. It is not a proven natural occurrence, but many theories have attempted to explain SHC’s existence and how it may occur. The two most common explanations offered to account for apparent SHC are the non-spontaneous “wick effect” fire, and the rare discharge called static flash fires. Although mathematically it can be shown that the human body contains enough energy stored in the form of fat and other tissues to consume it completely, in normal circumstances bodies will not sustain a flame on their own.
Many people believe that Spontaneous Human Combustion was first documented in such early texts as the Bible, but, scientifically speaking, these accounts are too old and secondhand to be seen as reliable evidence.
Over the past 300 years, there have been more than 200 reports of persons burning to a crisp for no apparent reason.
The first reliable historic evidence of Spontaneous Human Combustion appears to be from the year 1673, when Frenchman Jonas Dupont published a collection of Spontaneous Human Combustion cases and studies entitled De Incendiis Corporis Humani Spontaneis. Dupont was inspired to write this book after encountering records of the Nicole Millet case, in which a man was acquitted of the murder of his wife when the court was convinced that she had been killed by spontaneous combustion. Millet, a hard-drinking Parisian was found reduced to ashes in his straw bed, leaving just his skull and finger bones. The straw matting was only lightly damaged. Dupont’s book on this strange subject brought it out of the realm of folkloric rumor and into the popular public imagination.
On April 9, 1744, Grace Pett, 60, an alcoholic residing in Ipswich England, was found on the floor by her daughter like “a log of wood consumed by a fire, without apparent flame.” Nearby clothing was undamaged.
In the 1800’s is evidenced in the number of writers that called on it for a dramatic death scene. Most of these authors were hacks that worked on the 19th century equivalent of comic books, “penny dreadfuls”, so no one got too worked up about it; but two big names in the literary world also used SHC as a dramatic device, and one did cause a stir.
The first of these two authors was Captain Marryat who, in his novel Jacob Faithful, borrowed details from a report in the Times of London of 1832 to describe the death of his lead character’s mother, who is reduced to “a sort of unctuous pitchey cinder.”
Twenty years later, in 1852, Charles Dickens used Spontaneous Human Combustion to kill off a character named Krook in his novel Bleak House. Krook was a heavy alcoholic, true to the popular belief at the time that SHC was caused by excessive drinking. The novel caused a minor uproar; George Henry Lewes, philosopher and critic, declared that SHC was impossible, and derided Dickens’ work as perpetuating a uneducated superstition. Dickens responded to this statement in the preface of the 2nd edition of his work, making it quite clear that he had researched the subject and knew of about thirty cases of SHC. The details of Krook’s death in Bleak House were directly modeled on the details of the death of the Countess Cornelia de Bandi Cesenate by this extraordinary means; the only other case that Dickens actually cites details from is the Nicole Millet account that inspired Dupont’s book about 100 years earlier.
In 1951the Mary Reeser case recaptured the public interest in Spontaneous Human Combustion. Mrs. Reeser, 67, was found in her apartment on the morning of July 2, 1951, reduced to a pile of ashes, a skull, and a completely undamaged left foot. This event has become the foundation for many a book on the subject of SHC since, the most notable being Michael Harrison’s Fire From Heaven, printed in 1976. Fire From Heaven has become the standard reference work on Spontaneous Human Combustion.
On May 18, 1957, Anna Martin, 68, of West Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, was found incinerated, leaving only her shoes and a portion of her torso. The medical examiner estimated that temperatures must have reached 1,700 to 2,000 degrees, yet newspapers two feet away were found intact.
On December 5, 1966, the ashes of Dr. J. Irving Bentley, 92, of Coudersport, Pennsylvania, were discovered by a meter reader. Dr. Bentley’s body apparently ignited while he was in the bathroom and burned a 2-1/2-by-3-foot hole through the flooring, with only a portion of one leg remaining intact. Nearby paint was unscorched.
Perhaps the most famous case occurred in St. Petersburg, Florida. Mary Hardy Reeser, a 67-year-old widow, spontaneously combusted while sitting in her easy chair on July 1, 1951. The next morning, her next door neighbor tried the doorknob, found it hot to the touch and went for help. She returned to find Mrs. Reeser, or what was left of her, in a blackened circle four feet in diameter.
All that remained of the 175-pound woman and her chair was a few blackened seat springs, a section of her backbone, a shrunken skull the size of a baseball, and one foot encased in a black stain slipper just beyond the four-foot circle. Plus about 10 pounds of ashes.
The police report declared that Mrs. Reeser went up in smoke when her highly flammable rayon-acetate nightgown caught fire, perhaps because of a dropped cigarette.
But one medical examiner stated that the 3,000-degree heat required to destroy the body should have destroyed the apartment as well. In fact, damage was minimal - the ceiling and upper walls were covered with soot. No chemical accelerants, incidentally, were found.
In 1944 Peter Jones, survived this experience and reported that there was no sensation of heat nor sighting of flames. He just saw smoke. He stated that he felt no pain.
- Alchoholism - many Spontaneous Human Combustion vicitms have been alcoholics. But experiments in the 19th century demonstrated that flesh impregnated with alcohol will not burn with the intense heat associated with Spontaneous Human Combustion.
- Deposits of flammable body fat - Many victims have been overweight - yet others have been skinny.
- Devine Intervention - Centuries ago people felt that the explosion was a sign from God of devine punishment.
- Build-up of static electricity - no known form of electrostatic discharge could cause a human to burst into flames.
- An explosive combination of chemicals can form in the digestive system - due to poor diet.
- Electrical fields that exist within the human body might be capable of ‘short circuiting’ somehow, that some sort of atomic chain reaction could generate tremendous internal heat.
No satisfactory explanation of Spontaneous Human Combustion has ever been given. It is still an unsolved mystery.
- The body is normally more severely burned than one that has been caught in a normal fire.
- The burns are not distributed evenly over the body; the extremities are usually untouched by fire, whereas the torso usually suffers severe burning.
- In some cases the torso is completely destroyed, the bones being reduced completely to ash.
- Small portions of the body (an arm, a foot, maybe the head) remain unburned.
- Only objects immediately associated with the body have burned; the fire never spread away from the body. SHC victims have burnt up in bed without the sheets catching fire, clothing worn is often barely singed, and flammable materials only inches away remain untouched.
- A greasy soot deposit covers the ceiling and walls, usually stopping three to four feet above the floor.
- Objects above this three to four foot line show signs of heat damage (melted candles, cracked mirrors, etc.)
- Although temperatures of about 3,000 degrees Fahrenheit are normally required to char a body so thoroughly (crematoria, which usually operate in the neighborhood of 2,000 degrees, leave bone fragments which must be ground up by hand), frequently little or nothing around the victim is damaged, except perhaps the exact spot where the deceased ignited.
Some events of Spontaneous Human Combustion are witnessed but some are not.
All reported cases have occurred indoors.
The victims were always alone for a long period of time.
Witnesses who were nearby (in adjacent rooms) report never hearing any sounds, such as cries of pain or calls for assistance.
In the witnessed combustions - people are actually seen by witnesses to explode into flame; most commonly. Here the witnesses agree that there was no possible source of ignition and/or that the flames were seen to erupt directly from the victim’s skin. Unfortunately, most of the known cases of this type are poorly documented and basically unconfirmed. Sometimes there are no flames seen by the witness.
Non-fatal cases - Unfortunately, the victims of these events generally have no better idea of what happened to them than do the investigators; but the advantage to this grouping is that a survivor can confirm if an event had a simple explaination or not. Thus, there are far fewer cases of Spontaneous Human Combustion with survivors that can be explained away by skeptics without a second look.
Sometimes victims develop burns on their bodies that have no known external cause. These strange wounds commonly start as small discomforts that slowly grow into large, painful marks.
Sometimes the victim will exhibit a mysterious smoke from the body. In these odd and rare occurences smoke is seen to emanate from a person, with no associated fire or source of smoke other than the person’s body.
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http://science.howstuffworks.com/science-vs-myth/unexplained-phenomena/shc.htm
In December 1966, the body of 92-year-old Dr. J. Irving Bentley was discovered in his Pennsylvania home by a meter reader. Actually, only part of Dr. Bentley’s leg and slippered foot were found. The rest of his body had been burned to ashes. A hole in the bathroom floor was the only evidence of the fire that had killed him; the rest of the house remained perfectly intact.
How could a man catch fire — with no apparent source of a spark or flame — and then burn so completely without igniting anything around him? Dr. Bentley’s case and several hundred others like it have been labeled “spontaneous human combustion” (SHC). Although he and other victims of the phenomenon burned almost completely, their surroundings, and even sometimes their clothes, remained virtually untouched.
Can humans spontaneously burst into flames? A lot of people think spontaneous human combustion is a real occurrence, but most scientists aren’t convinced.
In this article, we will look at the strange phenomenon of spontaneous human combustion, see what believers have to say about it and try to separate the scientific truth from the myths.
Spontaneous combustion occurs when an object — in the case of spontaneous human combustion, a person — bursts into flame from a chemical reaction within, apparently without being ignited by an external heat source.
The first known account of spontaneous human combustion came from the Danish anatomist Thomas Bartholin in 1663, who described how a woman in Paris “went up in ashes and smoke” while she was sleeping. The straw mattress on which she slept was unmarred by the fire. In 1673, a Frenchman named Jonas Dupont published a collection of spontaneous combustion cases in his work “De Incendiis Corporis Humani Spontaneis.”
The hundreds of spontaneous human combustion accounts since that time have followed a similar pattern: The victim is almost completely consumed, usually inside his or her home. Coroners at the scene have sometimes noted a sweet, smoky smell in the room where the incident occurred.
What makes the charred bodies in the photos of spontaneous human combustion so peculiar is that the extremities often remain intact. Although the torso and head are charred beyond recognition, the hands, feet, and/or part of the legs may be unburned. Also, the room around the person shows little or no signs of a fire, aside from a greasy residue that is sometimes left on furniture and walls. In rare cases, the internal organs of a victim remain untouched while the outside of the body is charred.
Not all spontaneous human combustion victims simply burst into flames. Some develop strange burns on their body which have no obvious source, or emanate smoke from their body when no fire is present. And not every person who has caught fire has died — a small percentage of people have actually survived what has been called their spontaneous combustion.
The validity of spontaneous human combustion is viewed with skepticism by the scientific community. But some objects have been scientifically proven to burst into flames without an outside heat source. One example is a pile of oily rags stored together in an open container such as a bucket. As oxygen from the air hits the rags, it can slowly raise their internal temperature high enough to ignite the flammable oil. Piles of hay or straw have also been known to spontaneously combust. When they decompose, the bacteria inside them that orchestrate the decomposition process can generate enough heat to kindle a spark.
To combust, a human body needs two things: intensely high heat and a flammable substance. Under normal circumstances, our bodies contain neither, but some scientists over the last several centuries have speculated on a few possible explanations for the occurrence.
In the 1800s, Charles Dickens ignited great interest in spontaneous human combustion by using it to kill off a character in his novel “Bleak House.” The character, named Krook, was an alcoholic, following the belief at the time that spontaneous human combustion was caused by excessive amounts of alcohol in the body.
Today, there are several theories. One of the most popular proposes that the fire is sparked when methane (a flammable gas produced when plants decompose) builds up in the intestines and is ignited by enzymes (proteins in the body that act as catalysts to induce and speed up chemical reactions). Yet most victims of spontaneous human combustion suffer greater damage to the outside of their body than to their internal organs, which seems to go against this theory.
Other theories speculate that the fire begins as a result of a buildup of static electricity inside the body or from an external geomagnetic force exerted on the body. A self-proclaimed expert on spontaneous human combustion, Larry Arnold, has suggested that the phenomenon is the work of a new subatomic particle called a pyroton, which he says interacts with cells to create a mini-explosion. But no scientific evidence proves the existence of this particle.
As of March 2005, no one has offered scientific proof of a theory explaining spontaneous human combustion. If humans can’t spontaneously combust, then what is the explanation for the stories and pictures of people who have seemingly burned from within?
If spontaneous human combustion isn’t real, then what really occurred in the many pictures that exist of the charred bodies? A possible explanation is the wick effect, which proposes that the body, when lit by a cigarette, smoldering ember or other heat source, acts much like an inside-out candle.
A candle is composed of a wick on the inside surrounded by a wax made of flammable fatty acids. The wax ignites the wick and keeps it burning. In the human body, the body fat acts as the flammable substance, and the victim’s clothing or hair acts as the wick. As the fat melts from the heat, it soaks into the clothing and acts as a wax-like substance to keep the wick burning slowly. Scientists say this is why victims’ bodies are destroyed yet their surroundings are barely burned.
And what about the images of a burned body with feet or hands left intact? The answer to that question may have something to do with the temperature gradient — the idea that the top of a seated person is hotter than the bottom. This is basically the same phenomenon that occurs when you hold a match with the flame at the bottom. The flame will often go out without provocation because the bottom of the match is cooler than the top.
Finally, how does science account for the greasy stains left on walls and ceilings after a “spontaneous combustion”? They could simply be the residue that was produced when the victims’ fatty tissue burned.
No one has ever conclusively proven or disproven the truth of spontaneous human combustion, but most scientists say that there are more likely explanations for the charred remains. Many of the so-called victims of spontaneous human combustion were smokers who were later discovered to have died by falling asleep with a lit cigarette, cigar or pipe. A number of them were believed to have been under the influence of alcohol or to have suffered from a movement-restricting disease that prevented them from moving quickly enough to escape the fire. Another possibility is that some of the fires and strange states of the victims’ bodies were the result of a criminal act and subsequent cover-up.
In 1938, a 22-year-old woman named Phyllis Newcombe was leaving a dance at the Shire Hall in Chelmsford, England. As she descended the staircase of the hall, her dress suddenly caught fire with no apparent cause. She ran back into the ballroom, where she collapsed. Several people rushed to her aid, but she later died in the hospital. Although the theory was that Newcombe’s dress had been ignited by a cigarette or a lit match thrown from the stairwell, no evidence of either was ever found. Coroner L.F. Beccles commented on the incident, “From all my experience I have never come across a case so very mysterious as this.”
In 1951, a 67-year-old widow named Mary Reeser was at home in St. Petersburg, Florida. On the morning of July 2, a neighbor discovered that Mary’s front door was hot. When she broke into the apartment with the help of two workmen, they found Mary in an easy chair with a black circle around her. Her head had been burned down to the size of a teacup. The only other parts of her that remained were part of her backbone and part of her left foot. Other than Mary’s charred remains, there was very little evidence of fire in her apartment. A forensic pathologist, Dr. Wilton Krogman, said of the incident, “[It’s] the most amazing thing I have ever seen. As I review it, the short hairs on my neck bristle with vague fear. Were I living in the Middle Ages I’d mutter something about black magic.” But the police report cited a far less supernatural explanation for the cause of death: a dropped cigarette, which ignited Mrs. Reeser’s highly flammable rayon-acetate nightgown.
In 1982, a mentally handicapped woman named Jean Lucille “Jeannie” Saffin was sitting with her 82-year-old father at their home in Edmonton, in northern London. According to her father, a flash of light caught his eye. When he turned to his daughter, he saw that her upper body was enveloped in flames. Mr. Saffin and his son-in-law, Donald Carroll, managed to put out the blaze, but Jeannie died of her third-degree burns about a week after entering the hospital. According to Carroll, “the flames were coming from her mouth like a dragon and they were making a roaring noise.” There was no smoke or fire damage in the room. Some have wondered if an ember from her father’s pipe ignited Jeannie’s clothing.
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LONDON — Are there ghostly goings-on at Henry VIII’s palace, or is that hazy image of a fellow in fancy robes just a bit of Christmas cheer?
Closed-circuit security cameras at Hampton Court Palace, the huge Tudor castle outside London, seem to have snagged an ethereal visitor. Could it be a ghost?
“We’re baffled too — it’s not a joke, we haven’t manufactured it,” said Vikki Wood, a Hampton Court spokeswoman, when asked if the photo the palace released was a Christmas hoax. “We genuinely don’t know who it is or what it is.”
Wood said security guards had seen the figure in closed-circuit television footage after checking it to see who kept leaving open one of the palace’s fire doors.
In the still photograph, the figure of a man in a robe-like garment is shown stepping from the shadowy doorway, one arm reaching out for the door handle.
The area around the man is somewhat blurred, and his face appears unnaturally white compared with his outstretched hand.
“It was incredibly spooky because the face just didn’t look human,” said James Faukes, one of the palace security guards.
“My first reaction was that someone was having a laugh, so I asked my colleagues to take a look. We spoke to our costumed guides, but they don’t own a costume like that worn by the figure. It is actually quite unnerving,” Faukes said.
The palace, built in 1525 on the River Thames 10 miles west of central London, is a popular tourist attraction and some of the guides wear costumes of the Tudor period.
Wood said she was hoping people would come forward with similar stories and try to explain the figure.
The palace has been the scene of many dramatic royal events, and already is supposed to have a few ghosts.
King Henry VIII’s third wife, Jane Seymour, died there giving birth to a son, and her ghost is said to walk through one of the cobbled courtyards carrying a candle.
Her son, Edward, had a nurse called Sibell Penn who was buried in the palace grounds in 1562. In 1829 her tomb was disturbed by building work, and around the same time an odd whirring noise began to be heard in the southwest wing of the palace. When workmen traced the strange sounds to a brick wall, they uncovered a small forgotten room containing an old spinning wheel, just like the one Penn used to use.
Henry’s fifth wife, Catherine Howard, condemned for adultery, was held at the palace under house arrest before her execution at the Tower of London. An 1897 book about the palace says she was reportedly seen, dressed in white and floating down one of the galleries uttering unearthly shrieks.
The palace was once a prison for King Charles I, who later was beheaded, and then home to his nemesis Oliver Cromwell, who briefly ruled when Britain was for a short time a republic.
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Eight members of an alleged Satanic cult were ordered to stand trial in an Italian court yesterday in relation to three supposedritual killings.
The eight suspects, four of whom are members of the Beast of Satan band from Busto Arsizio near Milan, are facing charges in relation to the murder of three companions.
The discovery of the body of Mariangela Pezzotta, who was buried in a shallow grave after being shot, in January last year led police to the gang, and to the discovery that two other members, Fabio Tollis and Chiara Marino, had been killed in 1998.
Chiara Marino, a 19-year-old girl, was reportedly killed under a full moon by a knife plunged into her heart in 1998.
Her companion, Fabio Tollis, the Beasts’ 16-year-old lead singer, was allegedly killed at the same time by a hammer blow to the head and buried alongside her in woods near Milan after he tried to stop the other band members carrying out the murder.
Yesterday, a judge in Busto Arsizio ordered three of the suspects to face charges in a fast-track trial starting on 21 February. The fast-track system will allow only a limited amount of evidence to be introduced in a closed-door hearing and will result in a reduced sentence if a defendant is convicted. The remaining suspects will stand trial in June.
Italian authorities have been investigating whether the alleged killers were part of a wider network of Satanists, according to Antonio Pizzi, who is appearing for the prosecution.
Among those standing trial in the fast-track system will be Andrea Volpe, one of the alleged leaders of the group and the former boyfriend of Pezzotta.
After turning state’s evidence, Volpe revealed the grisly details surrounding the alleged murders. He claimed that, after the first two victims were murdered, another sect member, a 26-year-old woman, danced on their graves shouting: “Zombies, now you are only zombies.”
Describing Pezzotta’s death, Volpe detailed a bizarre meeting at a chalet. Pezzotta, who was thought to have threatened to make public the previous alleged murders, met with her former boyfriend and his current girlfriend.
After toasting one another with champagne, Ms Pezzotta was reportedly shot in the face by Volpe, who then contacted another alleged group leader to help bury her.
Last October, a leaked notebook appeared to link the young suspects to devil worship.It contained grisly entries such as “blood and death, blood raining down, blood bathing all my body, blood thirsty for blood” and “crush those who are our friends, or who would like to be but aren’t up to it, crush them then laugh”.
There were also pages of instructions on conducting Satanic rites and the dangers involved. “Madness is always one of the risks,” the notes warn. “It’s necessary to maintain concentration on hatred.”
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Teens who allegedly attacked man could get tougher prison sentences
Two New York teenagers who allegedly assaulted a Satanist face hate-crime charges because the attack supposedly was motivated by the victim’s “religion.”
The case stems from the Queens, N.Y., attack of a self-described Satanist, Daniel Romano, 20, by two 18-year-old men. According to news reports, Romano, who wears dark clothing and fingernails and sports a prominent upside-down crucifix, was attacked on Sunday by two teenagers who jumped from a car, yelled “Hey Satan” and beat him with a metal club and an ice scraper. Romano claims the beating, which left him in the hospital, was the culmination of more than a month of verbal harassment.
On Tuesday, Queens district attorney Richard A. Brown said the victim was attacked because of his “religious” beliefs – the youths thought he worshipped Satan – and announced that the two men, Paul Rotondi and Frank Scarpinito, would be charged with “second-degree assault as a hate crime” and two other charges, which could carry a 15-year prison term.
“The defendants are alleged to have harassed and attacked the victim because he was different from them,” Brown said, according to the Flushing Times. “Crimes motivated by bias – particularly those involving violence – can never be tolerated.”
Joseph Seehusen, executive director of the Libertarian Party, is outraged by the prosecutor’s action.
“What in heaven’s name are these prosecutors thinking?” asked Seehusen. “When a law supposedly designed to protect religious minorities is being used to protect devil-worshippers, our criminal justice system has been turned upside down.”
“I think this is a misuse of the hate-crime statutes,” said Richard Leff, Scarpinito’s lawyer. “These are just two nice kids who have never been in trouble in their life. They got into a fight and it’s been blown way out of proportion.”
Noted Seehusen: “Under such a bizarre interpretation of the law, thugs who assault a Satanist because of ‘religious bias’ could be punished more severely than if they attack a priest, rabbi or any ordinary American and steal their wallet, assuming they’re motivated only by greed.”
Seehusen said if someone were to murder a Satanist with a religious motivation, under hate-crimes law, the killer would be more severely punished than someone who killed the president with political motivation.
“Is the life of a priest, rabbi, president or any ordinary American worth less than that of a Satanist?” he asked. “In the bizarre world of hate-crime legislation, the answer is yes – because their murderer would get a less severe punishment.”
Hate crimes are nothing more than thought crimes, in which people are punished for what they think, not for what they do, the Libertarian Party noted.
“Bigotry is despicable, but it shouldn’t be illegal,” Seehusen said. “The job of government is to punish people who harm others, not to improve their character. Until politicians understand that mission, Americans in New York and elsewhere have the right to ask just what the devil has gone wrong with our justice system.”
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The bodies of three unborn children concealed in statues of Christian saints reportedly were found yesterday, with authorities believing they were intended for use in satanic rituals in the U.S.
The BBC and other wire services say the gruesome discovery was made at the international airport in Bogota, Colombia, as police were conducting routine searches for contraband.
The country’s anti-narcotics police chief, Gen. Jord Alirio Varon, said the 4- to 5-month-old fetuses were discovered wrapped in plastic alongside crucifixes inside a cardboard box, all hidden inside porcelain statues of Christian icons, which were smashed open.
He did not provide details on why he believed they were intended for satanic rituals.
No arrests have been made, and officials now are trying to track down who sent the packages, which came from Colombia’s northern city of Barranquilla and were destined for Miami.
As WorldNetDaily reported in June, a Kansas City abortionist was put out of business after investigators discovered a grisly house of horrors at his clinic – with fetuses kept in Styrofoam cups in his refrigerator and one employee accusing him of microwaving one and stirring it into his lunch.
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DERBY — Make-believe witches may worry most about not getting enough chocolate today. But a real-life witch has her hands full with more pressing matters.
Alicia Folberth, a Wiccan high priestess, has persuaded the state Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities to review her complaint last June that she was fired, ostensibly because of her need for time off to practice her faith.
Folberth, 40, was a graphic artist for more than six years at U.S. Surgical Corp. in North Haven. She said she was fired because she began requesting unpaid Wicca holidays off. The holidays include the Celtic New Year, known as Samhain — or Halloween as it is more widely known.
“If the investigation is decided in my favor, the state can force my reinstatement on the job, which I’m not interested in,” the Derby resident said. “Or they can compensate me with back pay from the time I was fired to the time the decision is made. “I’m definitely interested in that. I feel I’m owed that.”
Commission officials could not comment on specifics of the case, but confirmed they are working on it.
“Once there is a finding, there will be an attempt to conciliate the matter between the two parties,” said Lena Ferguson, spokeswoman for the commission. “If that fails, there will be a public hearing with referees to determine whether discrimination has occurred and we’ll make appropriate remedies.”
U.S. Surgical officials did not return a telephone call seeking comment.
In the meantime, Folberth has been working as a tarot card reader at her friend Rapid Freeman’s witch store in East Haven, called SubRosa Magick.
She has also made appearances on Freeman’s public-access cable show, “The Witchin’ Hour,” to drum up support for her campaign for legislation protecting religious freedom in the workplace for all faiths. The show is no longer aired in the Valley but is broadcast in the New Haven area.
“I haven’t gotten much support for my campaign for religious freedom,” Folberth said.
But she said she is trying to get legislators to pass a law providing unpaid religious days off in the workplace.
Christians, Jews, Muslims, and believers of other faiths would benefit from the law as much as any Wiccan, Folberth said.
Wiccans are pagans who follow the Celtic traditions of pre-Christian England. They have a pantheon of goddesses and gods, much like ancient civilizations including Greece, Rome and Egypt. They have roughly eight significant holidays, including Samhain today.
They get a chuckle out of all the attention paid to Halloween, which has become a multibillion-dollar consumer holiday.
“I laugh about it,” Freeman said. “There are so many pagan elements that nobody thinks about. Samhain [pronounced sow-wen] is our Celtic New Year, the day to honor our ancestors, and the day the barrier between the living and the dead is thinnest.”
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While the “all-American college boys” arrested for a series of church arsons claimed they had committed their crimes for the fun of it – with no religious or political motivation – new reports from friends say the students dabbled in the occult and Satanism.
Benjamin Moseley and Russell DeBusk, 19, were theater students at Birmingham-Southern College. Matthew Cloyd, 20, lived in the same dorm as DeBusk, an academic overachiever and son of a doctor.
Less enthralled with fame and film, Matthew Cloyd, 20, hooked up with the others when he and DeBusk lived in the same dorm.
An academic standout, Cloyd grew up a doctor’s son in Shelby County. His true love was deer hunting. But hunting was intertwined with alcohol, and a rebellious anger crept into Cloyd’s personality.
Cloyd wrote to Moseley last summer, as the two planned a road trip: “Let us defy the very morals of society instilled upon us by our parents, our relatives and of course Jesus.”
About the same time, DeBusk and Moseley started dabbling in the occult, according to a report by Religion News Service. They told friends they were Satanists on a hunt for knowledge.
The trio was arrested last Wednesday in connection with a string of church fires in central and west Alabama.
DeBusk had just signed on for the lead role in an independent film called “Work,” which was to make its debut at a local festival in September.
DeBusk and Moseley had a darker side, according to friends. They said they claimed to be Satanists, which, they explained, was “not about worshipping the devil, but about the pursuit of knowledge.”
Jeremy Burgess, DeBusk’s roommate, said he discussed religion with him.
“He told me I was one of the more intelligent Christians he’s talked to,” Burgess said. “Coming from a Satanist, I didn’t know quite how to interpret that.”
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Satanists from around the world gathered in Hollywood for a mass to mark June 6, 2006, or “6-6-6,” and to mock fears over the date known by dark believers as the number of the beast.
The sold-out evening high mass also commemorates the anniversary of the organizing group, the Church of Satan, founded by Anton Szandar La Vey in 1966 who was dubbed “the black pope” by the press.
“Satanists from around the globe are converging on that city-of-the-damned known in common parlance as Los Angeles,” the group said on its website.
The mass, an original three-act dramatic ritual, will be celebrated in a theatre with a telephone prefix of 666 by Bryan Moore and Heather Saenz, married suburbanite Satanic priests and parents.
But Satanists say they actually have no regard for the number. “For Satanists, numbers are just numbers, and June 6, 2006 is a day like any other,” says Satanic High Priest Peter Gilmore.
Some believers though have tried to time childbirth with the date, and some of the superstitious have attempted to delay deliveries to avoid it, according to Gilmore’s comments posted on the church website.
La Vey appeared in the Roman Polanski film “Rosemary’s Baby” as Satan himself, but maintained up until his death in 1997 that church members were just “iconoclasts and pranksters,” and called Satanism a “cosmic joy buzzer.”
His “Satanic Bible” has been in continuous print since 1969 and cites German philospher Friedrich Nietzsche and Italian Niccolo Machiavelli as influences. The dark church has been conspicuously absent from the mainstream since La Vey’s death, and has withheld its numbers since it counted 7,000 members, but hopeful Satanists believe the mass may lead to more congregants and greater organization.
But Satanists do not actively recruit, instead they rely on selective breeding, otherwise known as eugenics, to grow the flock. “Satanists are born, not made, and we are interested in preserving and improving our genetic integrity,” La Vey wrote in The Cloven Hoof, a Satanic magazine, in 1988.
La Vey also advocated the design of “humanoids”, artificial human companions, as birth control. “Unfortunately, many humans sole contribution to the world is to produce another human being,” he wrote.
Representatives of the church, which was founded in San Francisco, but has since moved to New York’s Hell’s Kitchen area, could not immediately be reached for comment on the event that is closed to the press and public.
The church’s website said that Hollywood star Jayne Mansfield, who died in 1967, and crooner Sammy Davis Junior had at one time been among the ranks of its faithful.
This year’s 6-6-6 date has prompted some US schools to beef up security after murky rumors of possible threats emerged, while Hollywood has jumped on the date as a perfect marketing tool.
Tuesday marks the launch of a remake of the 1976 horror classic “The Omen,” a movie event preceded by a months-long advertising campaign built around the ominous 06-06-06 launch date.
The Twentieth Century Fox movie is about a child born with the mark of the beast — the “666” based on the Bible’s book of Revelation who goes on to wreak terrifying havoc.
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The widows of two combat veterans sued the government Monday for not allowing Wiccan symbols on their husbands’ military headstones.
The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs allows military families to choose any of 38 authorized headstone images. The list includes commonly recognized symbols for Christianity, Buddhism, Islam and Judaism, as well as those for smaller religions such as Sufism Reoriented, Eckiankar and the Japanese faith Seicho-No-Ie.
The Wiccan pentacle, a five-pointed star surrounded by a circle, is not on the list, an omission that the widows say is unconstitutional.
The lawsuit was filed by Roberta Stewart, whose husband, Nevada National Guard Sgt. Patrick Stewart, was killed in combat in Afghanistan last year, and Karen DePolito, whose husband, Jerome Birnbaum, is a Korean War veteran who died last year.
Wiccans worship the Earth and believe they must give to the community. Some consider themselves “white” or good witches, pagans or neo- pagans. Approximately 1,800 active-duty service members identify themselves as Wiccans, according to 2005 Defense Department statistics.
Attorneys for Americans United, a group advocating separation of church and state, argued in legal papers that it makes no sense for Wiccans to be excluded. The Army allows Wiccan soldiers to list their faith on dog tags, Wiccan organizations are allowed to hold services on military installations and the Army Chaplains Handbook includes an explanation of the religion, attorneys said.
Stewart, whose husband was awarded the Bronze Star and Purple Heart, has sought federal government approval to affix the pentacle to the Veterans’ Memorial Wall in Nevada. Veterans officials denied the request but Nevada officials said they would erect a plaque with the symbol.
In memos and letters cited by the lawsuit, Lindee L. Lenox, director of memorial programs for the veterans agency, said the government was reviewing the process for evaluating and approving new emblems and would not accept new applications until the review was complete.
Circle Sanctuary, a Wiccan church located in Barneveld, Wis., is also suing, saying Wiccans have been trying for years to get the religion recognized.
The suit was filed in U.S. District Court in Western Wisconsin.
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A third of Americans say they believe in ghosts, a pre-Halloween poll found.
The same proportion, 34%, say they believe in unidentified flying objects, according to the poll by the Associated Press and Ipsos, and 23% say they have actually seen a ghost or believe they have been in one’s presence.
Those most likely to have experienced that are single people, Catholics and those who never attend religious services. Three in 10 have awakened sensing a strange presence in the room.
Nearly half (48%) believe in extrasensory perception, a drop from the 66% who said they accept ESP in a similar question asked by Newsweek in 1996. Those with a higher education were found to be more likely to accept ESP – 51% of college graduates compared to 37% with a high school diploma or less.
Nineteen percent believe that spells or witchcraft exists. Urban dwellers, minorities and lower-earning people are more likely to believe in spells and witchcraft.
A 2006 Barna Group poll found that the supernatural world is more readily believed by teens. In the midst of the Harry Potter phenomenon, the Barna report revealed that 73% of America’s youth have engaged in at least one type of psychic or witchcraft-related activity beyond media exposure or horoscope usage. Moreover, 30% of all teens claimed they had supernatural encounters. Non-evangelical teens were nearly three times more likely (69%) than evangelical teens (26%) to have engaged in witchcraft or psychic activities.
More than 10% of youth claimed they communicated with the dead.
As Americans bring out ghosts and the Grim Reaper and homes stock up on candy for Halloween on Oct. 31, a ministry leader is urging Christians to take up the opportunity to talk to their peers about topics of death and whether we should be afraid of dying.
“Ask your friends if they think people have a soul? Do they believe in an afterlife? Use the opportunity to share about God’s free gift of eternal life through Jesus gift of salvation,” suggests Jane Dratz of Dare 2 Share Ministries.
Other findings by the latest AP-Ipsos poll include the one in five people who say they are at least somewhat superstitious and the most likely admitted superstition – finding a four-leaf clover, according to 17% of the people. Also, 13% dread walking under a ladder or the groom seeing his bride before their wedding, while slightly smaller numbers named black cats, breaking mirrors, opening umbrellas indoors, Friday the 13th or the number 13.
The poll was conducted Oct. 16-18 on 1,013 adults.
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By Kim Moreland
Science’s Attempt to Explain the Supernatural
Whether he was in the kitchen washing pots and pans or out buying supplies for his order, 17th-century Carmelite monk and mystic Brother Lawrence continually talked to God. “The time of business,” Lawrence maintained, “does not with me differ from the time of prayer. . . . I possess God in as great tranquility as if I were upon my knees at the Blessed Sacrament.” But were the monk’s conversations with the divine merely a byproduct of evolution or DNA (or the wine he was sent to buy)—or were there other “aspects of reality” in which he inhabited?
Since the modern era, man—especially scientific man—has started to believe God to be a mere crutch for the weak-minded, gullible, uneducated, or mentally deficient. Most scientists are materialists who believe that the visible or material universe is all there is and that researching spiritual matters is unthinkable. Philosophically, materialists are monists who claim that mind and matter are of a single substance, so their presupposition—that materialism is all that exists—excludes all other ideas.
For more than a century, materialists have had a stranglehold on the sciences, to the point where they have actually hindered research. Neuroscientists, those who study the brain, have largely accepted the materialist belief, though some brave ones are asking whether the evidence really sustains the materialistic point of view.
The question is, can neuroscientists test for a spiritual brain? Mario Beauregard and his doctorial student Vincent Paquette set out to see if they could. Beauregard contacted Carmelite nuns in Quebec who agreed to become test subjects, and documented the results in The Spiritual Brain: A Neuroscientist’s Case for the Existence of the Soul, where Beauregard and science journalist Denyse O’Leary make a fascinating case for the spiritual brain.
One might think that a book about neuroscience would be difficult or boring to read, but this one is interesting and accessible to all levels of readers. Beauregard and O’Leary include a handy glossary of technical terms, but they explain the terms in the text so the reader will not have to flip back and forth. There are also visual aids such as diagrams and cross-sectioned images of the brain.
Cloaked in mantles of scientific expertise, scholars like Edward O. Wilson, Daniel Dennett, and Dean Hamer have declared that religious and spiritual beliefs are nothing more than an adaptation for survival. But have they proved it? Using a number of examples, Beauregard and O’Leary expose “promissory materialism” and faulty assumptions made among materialists.
For example, molecular biologist Dean Hamer has long been in search of a God gene to demonstrate that our sense of self-transcendence is merely an adaptive trait. Hamer, an agnostic, believes we are merely “a bunch of chemical reactions running around in a bag.” Conducting a study of twins, Hamer hypothesized that their religious or spiritual beliefs were caused by shared genes. When the dust settled, the twins’ religious stories proved to be quite dissimilar. Beauregard and O’Leary conclude that “genes help provide the equipment for a sense of self-transcendence and may influence its direction, but they do not create the self-transcendence” (emphasis in original).
Materialists tell us that we have no mind, no soul, and our sense of awareness is just an illusion. Yet are we nothing, as philosopher Daniel Dennett baldly states, but “big, fancy robots?” Is there no such thing as a “nonphysical mind,” as sociologist Edward Wilson suggests?
Beauregard and O’Leary question whether the evidence from neuroscience supports such claims. For answers, they looked to quantum physics, which, they write, “is the study of the behavior of matter and energy at a subatomic level.” The brain, the authors assert, “is a quantum system,” meaning that instead of our brains being “driven to process a given decision; what we really experience is a ‘smear’ of possibilities.” Depending on one’s focus, neural circuits grow or shrink, and neurons can even reorganize. The authors explain that our “conscious effort causes a pattern of neural activity that becomes a template for action.” Quantum physics has helped to verify, say Beauregard and O’Leary, “the existence of nonmechanical causes.”
During the 19th century, the notion surfaced that some people who had experienced intense religious, spiritual, and/or mystical experiences (RSMEs), like St. Paul and Joan of Arc, suffered from temporal-lobe epilepsy (TLE). After reviewing the literature, the authors conclude that there is no evidence that Paul had TLE; and while we have more documentation about Joan’s life, her visions were not consistent with TLE and her mental acuity stayed sharp after her visions. Beauregard and O’Leary assure us that “most people who have RSMEs are not epileptics; and very few epileptics report RSMEs during seizures.” They continue, “The experience of union with God is not associated only with the temporal lobe: the experience is multidimensional.”
For years, materialists have insisted that the brain and the mind are the same thing. French neuroscientist Jean-Pierre Changeux calls us “Neuronal Man.” Francis Crick concurs, claiming that we are “nothing but a pack of neurons.” In his day, G. K. Chesterton summed up opinions like these as nothing but “a desperate effort to destroy all experience and sense of reality.”
What materialists are asking us to do is to deny reality. They assure us that we are nothing but a collection of body parts, and the mind and brain are synonymous. Despite its fascinating molecular structure, the brain’s physical properties can’t tell us about our “beliefs, goals, aspirations, desires, expectations, and intentions.” Ask four people to explain their ideas and beliefs, and they’ll provide four different answers because everyone looks at the world through his own inalienable eyes. Neurologist-psychologist Erwin Straus describes this idea well: “Seeing is…located neither in the eye nor in the retina, nor in the optic nerve … the brain does not see.”
It is people—unified beings—who see. Beauregard and O’Leary call this phenomenon “qualia.” Because of qualia, when we talk with one another “we [have to] rely on general agreement and an overlapping range of meaning.”
Is it possible for scientists to measure a spiritual event? As better brain-imaging equipment becomes available, neuroscientists like Beauregard are able to pinpoint precise areas of activity that occur in different regions of the brain during a given activity. Using standard industry criteria for testing the Carmelite nuns, Beauregard wanted to see “what happens in their brains when they recall and relive unio mystica, the mystical union with God.” Specifically, he says he set out to see what the “neural correlates—the activity of the neurons—during such a [mystical] experience might be.”
Beauregard carefully points out what neuroscience can’t prove; for instance, specific brain states cannot prove that God exists. But, he qualifies, “it shows only that it is reasonable to believe that mystics do contact a power outside themselves.” Beauregard rules out the erroneous belief that RSMEs are nothing but the result of epilepsy or a “God” gene or spot, but the Carmelites’ testing reveals something far more captivating: As Beauregard and O’Leary write, “[W]hen the nuns were recalling autobiographical memories, the brain activity was different from that of the mystical state.”
Intriguingly, as medical science advances with better brain imaging techniques, the harder it will be for materialist to sustain their nothing but one-substance creation story. The stakes are high, but materialist philosophy is starting to crumble. As Carmelite philosopher Edith Stein once wrote, “Those who seek the truth seek God, whether they realize it or not.” One way or another, human beings resist being turned into flat, two-dimensional machines, which must be because we are made in the image of God, and our whole being speaks to that reality.
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By Mark Earley
Teens and the Occult
According to a study conducted by the Barna Group called “Teens and the Supernatural,” three out of every 10 teenagers have played the Ouija board, had their palms read, and eight out of 10 have read horoscopes.
Maybe these numbers do not shock you. But while these activities may seem innocuous, below the surface there lurks an extremely dangerous and powerful world—something Scripture refers to as “the powers of darkness.”
Take, for example, the Ouija board, a game young people have played for decades. Manufactured by Parker Brothers, the game combines numbers and letters around a pointer that mysteriously indicates answers to questions players ask. Even Parker Brothers cannot explain how the pointer moves. That’s because the game taps into spiritual forces outside the realm of human control.
Another “pastime” with dark undertones is horoscope reading.
According to one survey, 29% of Christian teens said they did not see anything wrong with it. Eighteen percent said they read horoscopes, but do not think it really predicts the future. And another 8% said they read it, but feel guilty about it.
Just like the Ouija board, the horoscope can also be dangerous—a dangerous first step into the world of the occult. One woman, Barbara Gardner, writing in Today’s Christian Woman, explained how reading horoscopes sucked her into a dangerous pattern that led to astral projection—also known as “out of body experience”—palm reading, and fortune-telling. She ultimately attributed the breakup of two of her marriages to her obsession with occult activity.
And the list goes on, from seemingly innocent activities like yoga (which is steeped in Eastern mysticism) and playing video games with demonic themes, to more obviously sinister things like communicating with spirit guides. Beyond that, many popular films, TV shows, and books have minimized the seriousness of dabbling in the occult, movies and shows like Goosebumps and Buffy the Vampire Slayer. No wonder many kids find the spiritual world harmless at best, or deeply intriguing at worst.
A representative of the Barna Group said: “Teens give the supernatural world the same treatment as any other aspect of their lives. They cut and paste supernatural experiences and perspectives from a variety of sources . . . Most of all, they are motivated by their desire to find out what works for them and what feels right.”
The Barna report also indicates that the teens who feel like their lives have spun out of control are the ones most likely to dabble in the occult. But instead of gaining control, they are relinquishing control to powers more terrifying than they can imagine.
Far from being harmless activities, Ouija boards, palm-reading, and horoscopes are really gateways into a world that is Satanic at its core, and directly opposed to God’s commands.
There is a reason that Isaiah 8:19 says, “When men tell you to consult mediums and spiritists, who whisper and mutter, should not a people inquire of their God?” And if you really want to know what God thinks of all those who tell fortunes or who inquire of the dead, read Deuteronomy 18.
So, parents, be alert when it comes to your children and the occult. Talk with your kids honestly about it. And always, always point them to the source of true power and love and acceptance—Jesus Christ Himself.
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Eight suspects have been detained by police in Russia for the alleged satanic ritual killing – and cooking – of four teens, according to a report in the London Daily Mail.
Police in the Yaroslavl region northeast of Moscow told the newspaper the victims – three girls and one boy – were stabbed 666 times each, dismembered and cooked on a bonfire in the satanic ritual. Satanists link the number 666 with Satan.
Police identified the four victims as Anya Gorokhova, Olga Pukhova, Varya Kuzmina and Andrei Sorokin. The four disappeared from their homes in June, and their bodies were found in August. Police now are revealing some of the results of their investigation.
According to the newspaper, one of the suspects, whose name was not revealed, said, “Satan will help me to avoid responsibility. I made lots of sacrifices to him.”
Police were able to make the arrests after linking the four victims to telephone calls all made to an alleged ringleader, identified as Nikolai Ogolobyak, who lives some 300 yards from a pit where body pieces were recovered.
The Daily Mail said police reported the victims’ limbs, hearts and other body parts were severed and dumped in the pit along with a small rodent that was crucified on an upside-down cross.
The victims all were described by police as goths, ages 16 and 17, and authorities said they apparently were forced to get drunk before the murders.
The newspaper reported police said the killers then allegedly lit a bonfire where they cooked and ate other pieces of the victims.
Another suspect, Alexander Voronovic, said it was not the group’s first foray into cannibalism; he reported gang members previously dug up a grave and consumed the deceased’s heart, the newspaper said.
The newspaper reported another gang member said, “I tried to turn to God, but it didn’t bring me any money. I prayed to Satan, and things improved.”
The father of one victim, Sorokin, told the Daily Mail, “My son said he knew some goths, and that he had goths and Satanists among his friends. I wasn’t scared. I though, ‘Well, let him spend his time sitting around in a cemetery, there’s not much harm in that, is there?’”
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While many Christians today are closely monitoring the growth and activity of Islam, especially after 9/11, another religious movement has been steadily growing “under the radar” and could become among the largest religions in the United States in less than five years.
“Wicca is the fastest-growing religion in America, set to be the third largest religion by 2012,” claims Marla Alupoaicei, who co-wrote the recently released book “Generation Hex” with fellow Christian author Dillon Burroughs.
“The numbers of adherents are doubling every 30 months,” she says.
Furthermore, every major city in the United States has networks of Wiccans, adds Burroughs.
“Certain parts of the country, such as the Pacific Northwest, the mountain states (New Mexico and Colorado) and areas near Salem, Mass., are the strongest in the U.S.,” he says. “However, I live in Tennessee and have found pockets of Wiccans in Tennessee, Georgia, North Carolina, and Virginia to interview. I didn’t have to travel far or even outside of the so-called Bible belt to find Wiccans.”
On Wednesday, Alupoaicei and Burroughs were the special guests at Abunga.com’s bi-weekly “Authors at Abunga” chat, which connects avid book readers with their favorite authors.
During the hour-long chat, the authors fielded questions submitted to them regarding their new book, Generation Hex, which informs and equips Christians – especially parents – about Wiccan and New Age teachings.
To write the book, the authors interviewed neopagan conference practitioners, travelers to Salem, Mass., and current and former Wicca followers.
“We … talked to over 20 Wiccans in the process of Generation Hex to be as authentic as possible about the movement,” Burroughs noted during the chat.
“The catchy title, Generation Hex, reveals that this current generation is the first to grow up with witchcraft as an accepted part of the culture,” added Alupoaicei, who was inspired to write a book about Wicca after not feeling equipped to engage in a spiritual conversation with a Wiccan girl she encountered.
While “Harry Potter” and other media like “Charmed,” “Buffy,” “Sabrina,” and “The Craft” have skyrocketed witchcraft into the public eye, the authors both agreed that among the biggest draws to the Wiccan culture is how community-oriented it is.
“Many involved in Wicca come from lonely backgrounds or difficult relationships and find new friends in the Wiccan community who embrace them (sometimes better than Christians do),” explained Burroughs, who served as a youth pastor for about a decade and said he was asked by students about Wicca and witchcraft more than any other religious movement.
“As our culture becomes more and more isolated and busy (and as real relationships are replaced by texting, IM, etc.), young people are starving for real relationships and true community, as well as for a powerful experience of faith,” Alupoaicei added.
“People want a supernatural experience,” she said.
And while the Christian life is an abundant, supernatural life in which the power of God can be experienced, Alupoaicei said Christians are not communicating that very well to the world.
Furthermore ignorance and misunderstanding within the Christian community has prevented people from drawing near to Christ and leaves them looking for something else.
“And, ironically, a desire to uphold Scripture,” Alupoaicei added. “The Bible does say that Christians should not be involved in witchcraft, but that doesn’t mean that we should not reach out to those involved in this practice.
“God loves every Wiccan and every pagan just as much as He loves every Christian. He does not want ANYONE to perish, but ALL to come to repentance,” she added, referring to 2 Peter 3:9.
She recalled how one person that she interviewed said she was thrown to a sidewalk as a teen and told she would burn in hell.
“This is inexcusable,” she said.
“Second, many Christians simply avoid Wiccans,” Alupoaicei continued. “People tend to avoid stuff they don’t understand.”
The authors urged for more engagement from the Christian community, and more long-term engagement at that.
Burroughs said the number one complaint they received from Wiccans about Christians was that they would befriend them but later desert them if they did not convert in a short period time.
“To change this perspective, we must decide to love Wiccans whether they ever become Christians or not,” Burroughs stated. “Only this long-term approach will work with many Wiccans.”
Alupoaicei also advised Christians to simply take the time to listen to Wiccans instead of starting out using terms that might alienate the person or keep him or her from sharing his or her story.
“Many Wiccans/pagans had a specific triggering experience that caused them to turn toward Wicca or paganism. You could ask, ‘What led you to embrace Wicca? What do you like about it?’ and use that as a steppingstone to talk about your own faith.
“Most people love to talk about themselves,” she added. “Why not ask them to share a bit about themselves with you?”
As for parents who think that their child may be getting involved with witchcraft, Burroughs also encourages them to first hear their child’s story.
“They may be exploring their spirituality and see Wicca as a real option,” he said. “If you listen first, then they are more likely to listen to your concerns as well.”
Burroughs further encouraged parents to build a Christian worldview into their kids from the earliest time possible.
“I can’t catch every idea my son or daughter will hear, but I can help them know God’s Word so they can spot ideas that are not consistent with it,” he explained.
Other topics discussed during the one-hour chat on Wednesday included Wicca’s foundational creed and belief, the practicing of chants and spells, and the Wiccan belief in reincarnation and The Summerland – the Wiccan equivalent of heaven.
Published as media reports have claimed the existence of more than 700,000 Internet sites for teenage witches, “Generation Hex” has been described by its promoters as “perfect for personal study or as a gift for anyone interested or involved in Wicca” and a book that “identifies with the spiritual hunger of a generation seeking truth, authenticity, and hope in a fragmented world.”
Burroughs says part of the goal with Generation Hex is awareness.
“People tend to avoid stuff they don’t understand,” he said during the chat. “If you know what Wicca is, maybe you won’t be so scared to strike up a conversation with someone wearing a pentacle or pentagram.”
Generation Hex was published early last month by Harvest House Publishers and includes a foreword written by Dr. Ron Rhodes, one of the world’s best-renowned scholars in the field of apologetics as well as the author of over 40 books, many of them bestsellers.
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In the 20-plus years he has known Christ, Brady Boyd has never been to a megachurch where demonic spirits was discussed.
And Boyd, who is currently senior pastor at New Life Church in Colorado Springs, considers it a “big, big, big” topic that needs to be talked about.
Boyd is now ten weeks into a message series on “The Supernatural.” He has already addressed healing, miracles and the gift of prophecy. “Distinguishing Between Spirits” was his message title for this past Sunday.
“Do demons really exist?” Boyd, who replaced former pastor Ted Haggard in 2007, posed to thousands of attendees.
“I don’t want to assume in this building today that all of you even believe that there are demons. I would guess there are some of you out here that may have never heard anyone talk about this and you may not even believe that there are spiritual forces of evil that wish you harm,” he said.
For Boyd, the existence of demons is very real. He recalled a time when his young son, Abram, had “intense night terrors” (nightmares). They kept Abraham and Boyd up at nights regularly. After recognizing that there was “a spiritual element attacking” his son, Boyd prayed a “short, emphatic, decisive prayer” calling on the name of Jesus. The “night terrors” stopped, he said.
It all started with an awareness of something that wasn’t holy.
“I’m convinced ... that all of us, no matter how long we’ve been Christ followers, are open to being deceived and influenced by the enemy,” he stated.
The problem with many believers, however, is that they are deceived or influenced by evil spirits without even knowing it, whether it’s through a T.V. show or a relationship, the senior pastor noted. People are led astray from the truth subtly, in small incremental steps and eventually they wake up and ask themselves “how did I get here?”
“The enemy’s tricky,” the Louisiana native underlined. “He’s good at this.”
“You can be led astray but you don’t have to be,” he assured the mega-congregation.
Calling the congregation to a higher level of discernment, Boyd warned that every temptation begins with a thought. And the most powerful weapon a Christ follower has when confronting demons is repentance (of such thoughts), he stressed.
“A lot of the counseling I do at New Life Church could be settled if we just had a culture where when a thought came to you we had a sensitivity, an awareness that it’s not from God. If we just repent of it ... then adulterous affairs would stop, all the things wrecking families would stop,” he said. “It all just starts with a thought.”
The New Life pastor also told Christ followers that they have more authority than they know. Even as a young person of faith, if a believer feels an evil influence, he or she can say the name of Jesus Christ. Body reminded them God already defeated the devil 2,000 years ago. The devil has only gained some stature in people’s lives because they do not realize the authority they have as Christ followers, he noted.
“It should be impossible for us as Christ followers to ever be deceived,” he said.
On a congregational level, some of the warning signs of possible evil spiritual forces at work include: when hype has replaced the Holy Spirit and when the focus is on a person and not Jesus, Boyd listed.
Though passion and excitement can come from God, it doesn’t always mean it’s God at work, he cautioned. And though someone may talk about Jesus, they may not be making Jesus the center point of everything, he said, alluding to false preachers.
In addition to being sensitive to the presence of evil, the spiritual gift of discernment also allows one to have an awareness of when the Holy Spirit is active.
It’s a spiritual gift that Boyd wants more and more in his life and not because he’s fascinated by evil, but because he’s fascinated with God and by the Holy Spirit, he said.
This upcoming Sunday, Boyd will be covering the gift of tongues. He assured the congregation, “It will be completely weird-free.”
“If it is in Scripture I think we should have permission to talk about it and not just ignore the things that seem awkward or weird because tongues is not awkward and weird,” he said.
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With renewed attention on the rite of exorcism, one theologian has chosen to articulate the evangelical stance on the ritual that few practice today.
The existence of the devil and demons are real but a rite of exorcism is unnecessary, said Dr. Albert Mohler, president of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, in his popular blog Monday.
The only weapon Christians need is the name of Jesus, he stressed.
“Evangelicals do not need a rite of exorcism, because to adopt such an invention would be to surrender the high ground of the Gospel,” Mohler wrote.
This past weekend, a group of Catholic bishops held a closed-door conference in Baltimore to discuss the theological foundations of the rite of exorcism and to present, in detail, the practice and use of the rites associated with exorcism.
Bishop Thomas J. Paprocki of Springfield, Ill., who organized the conference, said that demon possession is rare but that they have to be prepared.
“The real hope here and the purpose is to provide some training so that really every diocese could have its own resources to handle such inquires,” he told ABC News.
Not all Catholic priests are on board with Paprocki’s efforts.
One priest who sent the National Catholic Reporter a copy of the invitation letter by Paprocki back in May wrote: “CAN YOU BELIEVE THIS? IN 2010.”
Mohler does not deny accounts in the New Testament that show clear and real cases of demonic possession. Jesus and the Apostle Paul liberated afflicted individuals, he noted.
But the evangelical leader pointed out that no rite of exorcism was performed in those cases and there was no notion of a priestly ministry of ordained exorcists. The only thing involved in casting out demons from an individual was “the name of Jesus and the proclamation of the Gospel.”
What the forces of darkness fear the most is the name of Jesus, the authority of the Bible and the Gospel, Mohler underscored.
“There is nothing the demons fear or hate more than evangelism and missions, where the Gospel pushes back with supernatural power against their possessions, rendering them impotent and powerless. Every time a believer shares the Gospel and declares the name of Jesus, the demons and the Devil lose their power,” he stated.
He also noted that there is no evidence that Christians – once united with Christ by faith and given the gift of the indwelling Spirit – can be possessed by demons.
“We do not need a rite of exorcism, only the name of Jesus,” he stated. “We are not given a priesthood of exorcists – for every believer is armed with the full promise of the Gospel, united with Christ by faith, and indwelt by the Holy Spirit.”
Some of the specific topics discussed by Catholic bishops during the weekend conference included the phenomenon of evil in contemporary culture, strategies for pastoral care, an examination of other phenomena related to the presence of evil, and matters of special interest to bishops related to the phenomenon of evil and the use of the rite of exorcism.
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Olabode Ososami
Danielle Tumminio, a Yale University lecturer who teaches “Harry meets the Bible” and Episcopal priest recently spoke with CNN’s Kyra Phillips about the connections between the “Harry Potter” series and faith. She describes witchcraft as a gift that can be used for good or evil. The Potter series according to Danielle: is said to teach “good” witchcraft and guides us to ask questions of ultimate meaning.
“Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2” broke box office records for a midnight opening Thursday, hauling in $43.5 million according to Warner Bros. Pictures. There is nothing any will write that will stop the latest film from becoming another huge financial triumph ... but please do not interprete this blog to mean you need to discover why for yourself. I admit if it helps to see my bias that I have not watched any Harry Potter Film and will not recommend it to any. J.K. Rowling in the Potter Chronicles, no doubt provides an unsurpassable educational, entertainment and cultural experience as many observers have already confirmed. No special discernment is required to see that the prime motivation for this movie offering is commercial at the expense of watchers who assume there are no other costs but the ticket price. But spiritually, it will cost a Christian everything ... and there are implications for nations.
What does the Bible call witchcraft and are there good ones? Saul once found a good witch, an experience which preceded his gory end. Moses also wrote in Deuteronomy.
Deuterenomy 18 [10] Let no one be found among you who sacrifices his son or daughter in the fire, who practices divination or sorcery, interprets omens, engages in witchcraft, [11] or casts spells, or who is a medium or spiritist or who consults the dead. [12] Anyone who does these things is detestable to the LORD, and because of these detestable practices the LORD your God will drive out those nations before you. [13] You must be blameless before the LORD your God. (NIV)
In Galatians 5:17 - witchcraft is listed amongst other vices like uncleanness, murders and lasciviousness as the works of the flesh – practitioners will not inherit God’s kingdom.
While in the Bible, witchcraft is never spoken of as good – or in colours as black, white or blue - it can appear very respectable as we see in the story of Balaam hired to curse Israel. Today witchcraft is as prevalent in the boardroom, pulpit, politics and careers as with shamans in the jungles.
A witch is simply an alternative problem solver. Sounds innocent enough but according to the Word of God all kinds of witchcraft (voodoo, black or white magic), any charms for protection or destruction - all are bad no matter what and how the witches represent it to deceive people. Christians do not need any protection from Satan’s side. God is greater than the defeated Satan, also God’s angels are stronger than Satan’s army (evil spirits). According to Psalms 34:7 God’s angels guard those who honour the Lord and will rescue them from danger.
We should not follow those people that disobey the Lord, no matter how cultured or elegant the presentation even if they claim they are pastors, priests, Christians or have a gift from their mother or ancestors. Those kinds of gifts directly come from Satan not God. Some of the witches claim to be Christians but they are not. Instead, they are wolves in sheep’s vestures. According to the Bible Christians should never get involved with witchcraft of any kind - even for so called good purposes.
There is a twisted logic that propagates witchcraft in all cultures. When the missionaries came to Africa and had difficulties in winning people from witchcraft, they were told “ We already know that God is good and kind and we know the devil kills and is destructive and evil... but this tells us that we must worship and appease the devil for protection against death, destruction and evil” This twisted thinking can only be corrected by seeing as well the God of judgment who reigns over ALL ...even as we pray and learn to love God for who He really is ... and not love God for what He can or cannot not do for us. God, because of his benevolence, will not give you what you always want – He is God and not the butler we summon (by twitching our nose or waving a wand) as we wish. Witches provide a deceptive alternative path to obtaining our way – but though it may work for a while, soon payday comes. For this same reason witchcraft thrives on the pulpit – used with an humanitarian agenda and to prosper the impoverished. Imagine an already doomed marriage in which the groom weds the bride because of her fortune and powers or for fear that she can destroy him if he backs out. God wants us to love Him for Him.
In all cultures, there is a bad side to humans that loves to watch and I dare say practise witchcraft, crime, uncleanness, murder of the born and unborn etc. the Bible calls it the flesh. As we walk in the Spirit of God we must not give room to the flesh. But Is a nation really harmed by witchcraft? The plain Bible answer is yes. The Bible says God defeats entire nations as punishment for engaging in witchcraft (good or bad). Beware that God can use economic, natural, physical and extra normal methods, indeed a variety of ways to bring any nation to its feet. We already understand that a little inexplicable and unpredictable shudder of the earth or winds too gusty can reduce a great thriving metropolis in an instant to rubble.
In spite of claims that this is the last in the series, we do not expect this climax to be the final word on religious fantasy - not until Christians decisively shun it. Surprisingly a presumably Christian nation is the greatest market for laughing at and learning about witchcraft on the big screen. When we hate iniquity, God promises to anoint us above others...when we giggle at what God hates – we become God’s enemies. Can this be more plainly put?
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By R. Albert Mohler, Jr.
A flurry of media attention was directed in recent days to a meeting on exorcism organized by Roman Catholic bishops. The meeting, held in Baltimore, drew fifty bishops and sixty priests who learned how to discern if an individual is truly possessed by a demon and how to conduct an exorcism when needed.
Rachel Zoll of The Associated Press reported that the program of the meeting was intended to “outline the scriptural basis of evil, instruct clergy on evaluating whether a person is truly possessed, and review the prayers and rituals that comprise an exorcism.”
Major media reported two different angles on the story, with some, such as Zoll, outlining the lack of enthusiasm among American Catholics for the rite and others, such as Laurie Goodstein of The New York Times, explaining that the handful of priests now qualified to be exorcists are “overwhelmed with requests from people who fear they are possessed by the Devil.”
Goodstein did report a significant hesitation on the part of many American Catholics and cynicism about exorcism on the part of many priests. Still, there is a growing demand among grassroots Catholics.
“Not everyone who thinks they need an exorcism actually does need one,” explained Bishop Thomas J. Paprocki of Springfield, Illinois, the main force behind calling the event. “It’s only used in those cases where the Devil is involved in an extraordinary sort of way in terms of actually being in possession of the person.”
R. Scott Appleby, a professor of American Catholic history at the University of Notre Dame, told Goodstein that the effort is, in effect, a way of the church stressing its hierarchical spiritual power, since only priests and members of the hierarchy can perform the rite. “It’s a strategy for saying: ‘We are not the Federal Reserve, and we are not the World Council of Churches. We deal with angels and demons.’”
Bishop Paprocki said: “But it’s rare, it’s extraordinary, so the use of exorcism is also rare and extraordinary . . . . But we have to be prepared.”
So, why is there no evangelical rite of exorcism? We “deal with angels and demons,” too, right? The media attention to the Catholic meeting raises this issue anew.
Evangelical Christians do believe in the existence, malevolence, and power of the Devil and demons. About these things, the New Testament is abundantly clear. We must resist any effort to “demythologize” the New Testament in order to deny the existence of these evil forces and beings. At the same time, we must recognize quickly that the Devil and demons are not accorded the powers often ascribed to them in popular piety. The Devil is indeed a threat, as Peter made clear when he warned: “Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.” [1 Peter 5:8]
The New Testament is also clear that very real cases of demonic possession were encountered by Jesus and his followers. Jesus liberated afflicted individuals as he commanded the demons to flee, and they obeyed him. Likewise, the Apostle Paul performed exorcisms as he confronted the powers of evil and darkness in his ministry.
A closer look at the crucial passages involved reveals no rite of exorcism, however, just the name of Jesus and the proclamation of the Gospel. Likewise, there is no notion of a priestly ministry of ordained exorcists in the New Testament.
The weapons of our warfare are spiritual, and the powers that the forces of darkness most fear are the name of Jesus, the authority of the Bible, and the power of his Gospel.
Evangelicals do not need a rite of exorcism, because to adopt such an invention would be to surrender the high ground of the Gospel. We are engaged in spiritual warfare every minute of every day, whether we recognize it or not. There is nothing the demons fear or hate more than evangelism and missions, where the Gospel pushes back with supernatural power against their possessions, rendering them impotent and powerless. Every time a believer shares the Gospel and declares the name of Jesus, the demons and the Devil lose their power.
Furthermore, there is absolutely no New Testament evidence that a believer in Christ can be possessed by demons. Tormented and tempted? Sure. But never possessed. Once we are united with Christ by faith and given the gift of the indwelling Spirit, there is no way a demon can possess us. As the Apostle John reminds us, “Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.” [1 John 4:4]
So, we should respect the power of the Devil and his demons, but never fear them. We do not need a rite of exorcism, only the name of Jesus. We are not given a priesthood of exorcists - for every believer is armed with the full promise of the Gospel, united with Christ by faith, and indwelt by the Holy Spirit.
Let the final word come from the Apostle Paul:
Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints, and also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains, that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak. [Ephesians 6:10-20]
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By Mark Hensch
Does the potential existence of ghosts signal life beyond the grave?
It's a spooky question with extra significance as Halloween nears this weekend. For scores of workers in the scares industry, the answer is a "maybe" lying between the secular and spiritual realms.
"You can believe or you can't believe," said Bill Ott, director of marketing and communications for the 1886 Crescent Hotel and Spa in Eureka Springs, Ark. "There are hundreds of things in God's world I can't explain. Who am I to say it doesn’t happen?"
Located atop scenic Mt. Crescent in the Arkansas Ozarks, Ott said the 1886 is a resort member of Historic Hotels of America that often serves as a romantic getaway or wedding destination. It has a beautiful spa, he said, and is in direct view of the Christ of the Ozarks, the Northern Hemisphere's largest monument to Jesus. Last but not least, he added, it's also ranked among the nation's most haunted hotels.
"We run our resort 24/7, 365 days a year, and by the way, there are ghosts here too," he said. "I accept it not as a fact but possibility. People here hope to see something they've never seen before."
Ott said the 1886 immediately attracted notoriety when an Irish stonemason fell to his death from its upper levels after its construction but continued reappearing to witnesses. Later serving as a poorly run cancer hospital where scores of patients died, its current incarnation stands above a morgue Ott calls the "ghost hunter's holy grail."
"I refer to our ghosts as guests who checked out but haven't left," he said. "They're people who don't know they've died yet."
Frank Harris, manager of Nashville Ghost Tours in Tennessee, said the haunts he frequents have similar stories. Most of the spooks he shows tourists, he said, are those with unfinished business.
"Rarely do ghost stories have someone who lives a long, fulfilling life," he said. "Ghost stories tend to have a lot of scandals, murders and tragic love stories. I enjoy the historic aspect of it."
Chief among Harris' paranormal places of interest is the Tennessee State Capitol. He said that two rivals entombed near the historic location are known to yell and shout at each other, carrying on their feud for all eternity.
"I've had things happen there I can't explain," Harris said. "That site has always been a hotspot for this kind of activity."
Ott said he too had seen the supernatural firsthand. Filming an episode of the Biography Channel's "My Ghost Story" television show three years ago, he said he saw a long, heavy strip of metal sway without any visible breeze right before his eyes.
"It was not explainable by physics," Ott said of the experience. "It's a good chunk of steel and it wouldn't move on a whim."
Angela Lynn, president and CEO of 6th Sense World, a group that runs Savannah's "Sixth Sense Savannah" tour, said the stories her organization shares satisfies people’s curiosity about death.
"The death experience is not the end," she said. "Life is a metamorphosis. I compare it to the butterfly. It goes from a tiny egg to this beautiful creature."
Ott said his Lutheran background has forced him to conclude some things are known by Christ alone. Citing his own standoffs with the spectral realm, he said he believed that ghosts, if real, are harmless rather than hostile.
"Catechism taught me that when you die your spirit leaves your body and goes up to Heaven," he said. "We try to find out as much as we can about these spirits. There's nothing scary about them."
Harris said his tours teetered between true believers and relentless skeptics. As such, he believes both camps could find common ground in the history, entertainment and inquisitiveness they share instead.
"Whether or not you believe the stories is irrelevant," Harris said. "Everyone is curious and wants to know what happens after death. That's the big question."
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"Paranormal Activity 3" topped box office charts this past weekend, according to figures released Sunday on boxoffice.com. The movie earned $54 million at the domestic box office. It was the top debut of all time for a horror film and the best October debut ever, the site reported.
Horror movies are commonly released in October, catering to moviegoers who want to psych themselves up for Halloween. But as the new wave of horror films in recent years has hit theaters, parents are wondering what happened to Casper the friendly ghost.
AJ Fonseca, a police officer in Vacaville, Calif., told The Christian Post that he hadn't yet seen "Paranormal 3," but he saw the first. Describing himself as "a movie buff," he might check out the new flick.
"The first one was real well done. Especially considering how little a budget and the director filmed it at his own home. in general id (sic) say kids can be influenced by what they watch. But it all lies at home. if a child knows better they could watch it and know its phoney (sic), even better, a good parent wouldnt expose them to it," Fonseca said in an email to the CP.
The "Paranormal Activity" franchise is a perfect example of the trend toward increasingly real, increasingly spooky occult-like films, a trend that began with "The Blair Witch Project" more than a decade ago. The first "Paranormal" film tells the story of a young couple, Katie and Micah (played by Katie Featherston and Micah Sloat) who move into a house haunted with a presence. Katie tells Micah the presence has followed her since childhood.
To find the source, Micah puts a video camera on to record events in the bedroom as they sleep. They hire a psychic who says the presence is not a ghost but a demon and advises them to get a Ouija board. This inspires the classic scene in the movie where the Ouija board lights on fire and moves on its own.
The follow-up films, "Paranormal Activity 2" and the latest, "Paranormal Activity 3," both prequels, continue in the same eerie format, with a video camera, telling the story of Katie and her sister dabbling with the occult and retelling strange occurrences from Katie's childhood.
All three movies contain references to demons, witchcraft and the supernatural.
"Dear parents ... I assure you after watching 'Paranormal Activity 3', you will never leave your little ones in the bedroom ... alone," moviegoer Kat De Castro told The Hollywood Reporter.
"'Paranormal Activity 3' was insanely spooky. I can't even sleep me and my cats won't leave me alone they are making me paranoid," Tyler Carter told the online news outlet.
Because the film centers around two children, it has Christian parents concerned that films like Paranormal encourage kids to dabble in the dark side, with things like Ouija boards and séances.
"Funny thing, when I was a kid my parents wouldn't let me watch scary movies. After I became an 'adult' ... I saw every scary movie there was. It totally impacted me!" DeeDee Mann, of Denver, told The Christian Post. "To this day, I have to shut my closet doors, close the drapes, and check under the bed before I go to sleep at night. I'm 50 years old and wouldn't go see 'Paranormal' to save my life!"
Similar concerns arose with the Harry Potter books and movies. A 2006 survey by the Barna Group found the majority of even Christian teens have read or seen Harry Potter, with some saying it increased their interest in witchcraft.
Marcia Montenegro, author of SpellBound: The Paranormal Seduction of Today's Kids, said on her website, www.christiananswersforthenewage.org, "Many people today, influenced by television, movies, and fictional books, tend to think that magic is just made-up. ... We are in a world where many intelligent and nice people seriously practice the occult."
The book is a guide for parents on how to address issues of the supernatural with their children, and is available on Amazon.com.
Montenegro said in a previously released statement, "Parents need to be aware of the growing influence in our culture of the occult and the paranormal on children and teens."
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A multipart series on facing – and defeating – the forces of evil through Christ
By Mark Hensch
The occult is an object of fascination for Christians as it brings home the fact that God – and the dark forces against Him – are not of this world.
In its broadest sense, the word "occult" contains the entire supernatural realm. Modern science has made man quick to scoff at magic and monsters, demons and the divine. All the same, many Christians can't shake the feeling that good and evil are battling on Earth for their hearts and minds.
Few know this better than John Ramirez. The New York minister has fought for both God and Satan during the search for his soul. In his 2011 book Out of the Devil's Cauldron: A Journey from Darkness to Light, Ramirez reveals he started off serving the wrong side.
"I was drawn to the power and authority that the Devil gives you over people," Ramirez said. "I found that the more evil I acted, the more respect I earned from others. If they feared me, I could get more and more of what I wanted. People who knew me knew I was Satan's son."
Ramirez said his story began in the Bronx over two decades ago with a Caribbean cult known as Santeria. He said that African slaves shipped to the New World brought with them their faith in tribal spirits, and that such mysticism soon merged with Roman Catholicism. The resulting religious hodgepodge, he said, defined his youth growing up in a Puerto Rican family.
It was a tough childhood. Born to an absentee, alcoholic father and into severe poverty, Ramirez said Santeria enslaved him as it looked like an escape route. Delving deeper and deeper into the faith, he found that its reliance on saints and guardian spirits only trapped him more.
"The Devil can get you through identifying with your culture," Ramirez said. "I felt like I was loved and valued as part of an important family by joining Santeria. The sad thing is that the Devil can never love you or me. We are created in the image of God, and that is utterly alien to him now."
Dr. Karl I. Payne, the author of Spiritual Warfare: Christians, Demonization and Deliverance, said he'd encountered plenty of people like Ramirez who were drawn into the occult through tradition and culture. The writer was quick to point out, however, that supernatural forces could harm anyone who reached out to them regardless of their background.
"I would say that animalistic cultures provide more accessibility for demonization because they typically not only practice spiritism, they embrace it," he said. "But an atheistic biochemist teaching at an Ivy League College is just as susceptible to demonization as an illiterate hunter or farmer living in a rain forest. The only thing demons fear is Christ."
Payne said that emotions like fear and bitterness could leave people open to spiritual attack. Ramirez said he knows such feelings firsthand. The former Santeria high priest said he was often pressured by fear to do horrendous things.
"The demonic forces of the occult are so real you can touch them," he said. "They produce a spirit of fear that grafts onto people's hearts."
Ramirez's book claims that he participated in rituals including cutting and burning Santeria symbols into his flesh, summoning spirits and drinking animal blood. At one point, he said, he even sold his soul in a ceremony that cost him $3,500.
"I didn't see the occult's true colors until it was too late to turn back," Ramirez said. "It was like the mafia as they started me off with little errands and then got me hooked on bigger, more evil things."
Roy Speckhardt, the executive director for the American Humanist Association, said such stories of spiritual warfare and demonic possession were outdated superstition. He urged those interested in the occult to explore it through the lens of science.
"Nobody has ever verified, by rigorous scientific observation and experimentation, the existence of any demon," Speckhardt asserted. "Moreover, there's a long history of myths and superstitions about demon possession that show they are the product of ignorance rather than knowledge. We've come a long way, and no good can come from turning back."
Ramirez said those skeptical of his experiences are wrong to doubt the occult. The forces of Hell, he said, had personally invaded his life. He said he now rests easily knowing he is allied with Jesus Christ, the supernatural world's supreme force.
"If I give false testimony, I have to give an account of that someday to God," he said. "There's nothing to prove besides the truth of Jesus Christ. If he can save me, he can save anybody."
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A multipart series on facing – and defeating – the forces of evil through Christ
By Michael Gryboski
It was the week before Halloween, 1988. Bill Scott was an announcer working at a major Christian radio broadcaster when he received a call from someone claiming that a coven of Satanist witches was after her.
Scott initially thought it was a prank, but the events of that morning would lead him into a dark world of demon possession, hauntings at his home, and witchcraft.
So begins the book The Day Satan Called, released in October, which is a written account of these events by Scott.
“I was very fearful to write the book,” said Scott in an interview with The Christian Post, admitting how unbelievable his experiences were.
“Now that the book is out I am amazed at how many people believe what I have shared and even have shared their own experiences. It's like the book has given them permission to tell their story as well.”
The caller that fateful day was a 30-something woman known as Roxanne, who claimed to be a high priestess for a violent witch coven. She was the one making the calls to the station and it was she who seemed to bring this great evil wherever she went. Upon her visit to the radio station, it became apparent to those at the station that she was possessed.
After Scott and several of his coworkers appeared to prevail in driving out her demons, he offered to let Roxanne stay with him and his wife until she could get her life back together.
“This book also contains a nice-size list of things not to do. Taking home a person who is or has been demon-possessed is one of them,” wrote Scott.
Over the next 18 months, demons within Roxanne would make their presence known and would not leave until after hours of intense prayers took place, Scott wrote.
In those days, everywhere Scott went, the Satanically-centered coven Roxanne said she was part of threatened to kill him, his wife, and Roxanne. Even during the time when Roxanne was away at a Christian help center for several weeks, the terrifying experiences continued at Scott’s home.
Scott wrote of constant phone calls, threats on his life, and even members of the coven appearing in spirit form in his bedroom late at night.
When asked by The Christian Post if Scott ever found definitive proof that this coven even existed, he admitted that he never received full confirmation.
“I didn't have 100 percent verification that she was part of a coven. My wife and I have had this discussion many times. We both believe she was at some level,” said Scott.
“It seems odd that people would come looking for her if she wasn't involved in a coven. During our 18 month journey with Roxanne, we met a few individuals in person and on the phone that were searching for her and very angry they couldn't find her.”
Ultimately, despite the many problems that befell Scott, he remained stubborn. Even as demons came, sometimes in bodily form to his house, he fought back.
Scott talked about how unprepared he was to deal with the demons Roxanne had, and how as time passed, he learned through his experiences to achieve a level of success.
These efforts led to people around him asking for help when they encountered family or friends that appeared to be possessed. As Scott wrote, “at the time, I was a magnet for spiritual warfare.”
But the ultimate success came years later. By the end of her stay, Roxanne left with no apparent evidence that she had been cured of her demons. As Scott wrote about his experiences, he contacted Roxanne to ask permission to write about her story. When he did, talking to her years later, he heard good news.
“After a few seconds of small talk, Roxanne opened up to tell me where she was in life. She had been involved in a great church for nearly five years,” wrote Scott.
“She shared that her mental state was up and down, but the demons were gone.”
The Day Satan Called offers readers a disturbing account of what one man went through to help someone overcome demonic possession. All the while, that man himself doubted everything that was taking place.
“How had I found myself in a cheap horror movie?” wrote Scott early on in the book.
The issue of demonic possession and exorcisms can be tenuous as individuals who claim to have had experiences akin to Scott’s find themselves living in a largely skeptical society. Part three of this series will look at the controversy.
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A multipart series on facing – and defeating – the forces of evil through Christ
By Michael Gryboski
“How had I found myself in a cheap horror movie?” wrote Bill Scott in the first pages of his book The Day Satan Called. The sense of disbelief in Scott’s tone of voice is one that is common for someone brought up in mainstream American society.
Scott is not alone in his conclusion that stories of demon possession, the occult, and overall “spiritual warfare” are largely rejected as fantasy in popular culture.
Dr. Karl Payne, chaplain for the Seattle Seahawks, recently wrote a book on the subject titled Spiritual Warfare: Christians, Demonization, and Deliverance.
In an interview with The Christian Post, Payne noted the contrast in belief in demon possession both in regards to countries and in regards to denominations.
“In developing countries demons are typically feared and appeased. In industrialized countries demons are usually ridiculed, ignored or entertained as a curiosity,” noted Payne.
Both Scott and Payne believe that Christian schools, especially the evangelical Protestant ones they were educated in, do not provide a good education on this issue.
“Our churches have not adequately dealt with the issue of spiritual warfare. I am receiving emails on a regular basis from Scotland to the United States and the theme is, our churches do not talk about the battle we are in spiritually,” Scott told CP.
“So why is it we don't spend time in our churches getting to know the enemy, how he works and how to win the battle? Honestly, it's time to leave our comfort zone and get ready for battle.”
Payne wrote in his book Spiritual Warfare that neither of the evangelical institutions he attended in the 1970s had “remotely pretended or attempted to prepare students to recognize, distinguish, or contend with the realities of spiritual warfare.”
“Discussions I’ve had since then with alumni of other evangelical Bible schools and seminaries have consistently confirmed that my experience was the norm,” wrote Payne.
While Payne and Scott consider the lack of preparation for dealing with demonic possession and the occult to be harmful, others find it to be a step in the right direction.
Roy Speckhardt, executive director for the American Humanist Association, told The Christian Post that he supports the trend of American seminaries not addressing spiritual warfare.
“We see this as a positive trend in American religion today. It shows that even the faithful can no longer believe such superstitions,” said Speckhardt.
Regarding demonic possession, Speckhardt and the AHA “find insufficient grounds for belief and recognize the whole idea to be both unscientific.”
“These sorts of claims are nothing new and have always been unconvincing.”
As for the strange behaviors of those who appear to be possessed, Speckhardt believes these to be more of a medical matter rather than a supernatural one.
“[T]he next time you need medical attention, thank your doctor for choosing scientific treatments instead of simply uttering magic words over you to cast out your demons,” said Speckhardt.
As someone who claims to have treated many people suffering from demon possession, Payne does not believe all physical or psychological problems come from a demonic source.
“On a number of occasions, I’ve referred individuals to clinical counselors or medical doctors when I’ve sensed that their problems weren’t spiritual in nature,” wrote Payne.
“I don't believe there is a demon under every rock and we need to be very careful not to assume someone is being controlled by a demon,” Scott agreed.
Scott explained that in addition to demons, Roxanne, a demon possessed woman who claimed to be part of a witch coven, probably also had Dissociative Identity Disorder (formerly called Multiple Personality Disorder).
“I have heard the argument before and there is some truth to it. Many are challenged with mental illness. I have seen those who have multiple personalities,” said Scott.
However, Scott added that “Mental illness doesn't leave a person's body and begin to turn lights on and off, open and close doors, move objects within the home...”
“I am not saying Roxanne was exempt from some mental illness but it was very evident that demons were using her in a massive way.”
Even though in America, seminarians and secularists alike tend to dismiss discussion on the issue of demonic possession and the occult, books written by John Ramirez, Bill Scott, and Karl Payne may bring about conversation on these taboo topics.
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