Providentia

Storming the Ark

Predicting the end of the world is never easy.

At least, that's what Johannes Stoeffler quickly came to realize.  Born in 1452 in which is now Germany, Stoeffler excelled as a scholar and later established himself as the parish priest for his native town of Justingen.   In addition to his religious duties, Stoeffler became famous for his learning in such diverse fields as astronomy, mathematics and astrology as well as designing and constructing complex astronomical instruments, clocks, and orreries.  He also wrote a manual on the construction and use of the astrolabe and corresponded regularly with some of the leading intellectuals of the 15th century. 

And so, when Stoeffler confidently predicted in 1499 that a universal flood would cover the world on February 24, 1524, people paid attention.   He based this prediction on the various planetary conjunctions that would happen in that year.  While only six planets were known at the time, almost all of them (including the sun) would be in conjunction in the constellation of Pisces and, given that this was the sign of the fish,  it surely meant that the world would be drowned.  While he was hardly the only doomsday prophet of his time, he was certainly the most prominent.  By 1507, Stoeffler occupied the first-ever chair of astronomy and mathematics at the University of Tubingen and was eventually elected rector in 1522. 

As the dreaded prophecy date drew closer, more and more people heard about the prediction.  Not only was Stoeffler a respected academic, but he was also an advisor to royalty which made him a credible source.  More than one hundred pamphlets were written about the impending catastrophe and the panic set in.  Property in valleys, along river banks, or on the sea coastline was sold at a loss (the fact that there were still willing buyers didn't seem to reassure anyone).  Although some skeptics suggested that the planetary conjunction wouldn't be as fatal as predicted,  the fear of impending doom still persisted.  English astrologers, not wanting to be upstaged by their European counterparts, announced that the universal deluge would occur on February 1, 1524 (and the first rainfall would occur in London, of course). 

While 1524 proved to be an unusually dry year, the preparations for a flood continued.  In London, true believers built an elevated fortress at the Priory Church of St. Bartholomew the Great and equipped it with two months worth of provisions. On February 1, more than twenty-thousand Londoners abandoned their homes and gathered on surrounding hillsides to wait for the rain to come.   When the predicted universal deluge proved to be a wash (sorry, couldn't resist), everyone just went home again.  To cover their embarrassment, English astrologers announced that their calculations were out by one hundred years and that February 1, 1624 was the true date for the Apocalypse.

In continental Europe, meanwhile, February 24 drew closer and preparations continued despite the debacle in England.  Boat builders became rich as landowners and nobles prepared emergency arks for their own survival.  Local merchants also played up the Apocalypse angle by stocking their shelves with a variety of emergency supplies and prepared to do brisk business.  River banks across Europe were dotted with new boats laden with all the food and water they could safely carry.

Of the various known arks to be built, the most ambitious was by a German count named von Iggleheim who constructed a luxury, three-story ark for his friends and family.   At the crack of dawn on February 24, von Iggleheim boarded his ark and had his servants drag assorted supplies up the gangplank.   Crowds had gathered, mostly out of curiosity, although some of them were having fun at von Iggleheim's expense.  The jeering stopped when the rain started however.  While it wasn't a particularly impressive rainstorm as such, it was enough to panic the crowd.  Hundreds were killed in the stampede that followed and then they turned their attention to von Iggleheim's ark and the other ships nearby. When von Iggleheim refused to allow any of them aboard, he was dragged off his ship and stoned to death by the crowd.   The panic only ended when the rain stopped (though the corpses still remained).

When 1524 eventually proved to be one of the driest years on record, Johannes Stoeffler shamefacedly revised his calculations and concluded that the Great Flood would come in 1528.  This time aro0und though, nobody really took notice and the new date passed without incident.  He died in 1531 (of plague, not drowning) and is mainly remembered for his accomplishments in astronomy and mathematics.  

Stoeffler's example hardly stopped new predictions of apocalypse however.    During the 17th century,  astrologer and Rosicrucian Johann Jacob Zimmerman became famous for announcing that the Apocalypse would occur in the fall of 1694 and that the Pennsylvania wilderness would be the best place to observe the world's end.  With forty fellow enthusiasts, he made arrangements with the Governor of Pennsylvania to build a small settlement which he named the "Society of the Women of the Wilderness" (despite the fact that most of his followers were men).  The proposed settlement would allow Zimmerman's followers to live a utopian existence of quiet contemplation while waiting for the end.  Sadly, Zimmerman died unexpectedly before he could accompany his supporters as they left Rotterdam.  The planned community went ahead under the leadership of Zimmerman's second-in-command, Johannes Kelpius.    The settlement, near what is now Wissahickon Creek, Pennsylvania, is still the stuff of local legend and managed to survive the non-ending of the world in 1694.  The settlement only dissolved with Kelpius' death fourteen years later.  

Although you would think that people would have become leery of apocalyptic prophecies after a while, that never seems to happen.  Virtually every new generation seems to spawn another prophet of doom proclaiming the imminent end of the world.    Even Isaac Newton wrote a treatise offering his own estimation of when the world would end (it was published after his death).  Famous prophets of the 18th and 19th century included such notables as  Joanna Southcott with her box of prophecies and  Mary Bateman with her Hen of Doom.  Well into the 20th century, apocalyptic prophecies continued to be announced linked to spirit messages and/or celestial signs.  Now that the dreaded 2012 date has come and gone, it is only a matter of time until yet another apocalypse craze comes along.

 

The Xhosa Prophecy

How dangerous can a prophecy be?  And what happens to a prophet who turns out to be wrong?  The story of Nongqawuse and the prophecy that led to the deaths of thousands of her fellow Xhosa in the mid-19^th century is an important chapter in the history of skepticism despite being so little known outside of South Africa.

Even in the early days of British colonialism in southern Africa, the various tribes that made up the Xhosa nation were one of the largest ethnic groups in what would eventually become the Eastern Cape Province of the Republic of South Africa.   Though apartheid policies still lay in the future, the Xhosa were largely shut out of most businesses and depended on their cattle herds and crops for food and trade.  Despite a major outbreak of cattle lung sickness that had struck the Xhosa cattle herds between 1855 and 1856, the economic disaster that would devastate Xhosa society came from another direction entirely.

According to historical records, the Xhosa girl at the centre of the crisis that would follow is believed to have been born in 1840.   After losing both of her parents at an early age, Nongqawuse was raised by her uncle , Mhlakaza, a prominent spiritualist, and her childhood appeared otherwise normal .   

Everything changed in the spring of 1856 when Nongqawuse and her friend Nombada went to fetch water from a nearby river.    After returning,  the fifteen-year old Nongqawuse told her uncle that she had met the spirits of two of her ancestors who were using her to relay an important prophecy to her people.   The prophecy instructed them to destroy their crops and kill their cattle as a sacrifice to the ancestors who would rise up and drive all the white settlers from the sea.    After the settlers were gone, the sun would turn red and a new golden age would come for the Xhosa.  

There was already racial tension brewing among the Xhosa, who blamed the British for the lung infections that kept decimating their herds.   At the same time,  their food crops had been hit by a new infection that killed the corn before it ripened.  Believing the infections were caused by witchcraft,  the Xhosa turned to traditional remedies as a way of saving themselves.    Prophets and healers offering miraculous cures became commonplace although none of them would have the impact of  Nongqawuse and her prophecies.  

Whatever her reason for making the prophecy (and who inspired her to make it),  Nongqawuse’s strange message likely would not have gone much further without her uncle’s endorsement.   While the two girls were ridiculed at first, they went back a few days later and claimed to have received the same message.  When her uncle went with them, he reportedly saw nothing though his niece relayed the message from the spirits to him.    Convinced that his niece’s message was genuine, Mhlakaza dedicated himself to the prophecy and even began killing his own cattle.  

Eventually, he managed to persuade the local chief, Sarili ka Hintsa, about the coming golden age.   The prospect of eliminating the white settlers who were already taking all the best land was definitely appealing and Mhlakaza’s reputation helped as well.    There was also considerable anger about the recent defeat that the Xhosa had experienced during a frontier war that had ended just three years earlier.    Along with that humiliating defeat, the growing culture clash between the European settlers and the Xhosa contributed to a tense situation.  Sarili decided to set an example for his people by killing his own cattle and destroying his crops.  Though likely horrified at the potential for disaster, his subjects had little choice but to follow that example.  

And so, in 1856, the Great Cattle Killing began.   During the thirteen months that followed, hundreds of thousands of cattle were killed and all the crops were burnt.    Though approximately 15% of the 70,000 Xhosa living in the Eastern Cape at the time refused to take part, they were largely condemned by the ones who did.   A common nickname attached to them was amagogotoya (stingy ones).   Nongqawuse continued hearing the “voices” of the ancestors telling her that all of the cattle needed to be destroyed since they were tainted by the Europeans.   As for the British settlers themselves, they watched the cattle killing helplessly (and some historians suggest that they quietly encouraged it).   Though one prominent missionary, Charles Brownlee, tried to counter Nongqawuse’s prophecy, he was largely ignored.

Acting as his niece’s spokesman, Mhlakaza took the bold step of providing a specific date for when the prophecy would be fulfilled (Nongqawuse  had been carefully vague up to that time).   According to Mhlakaza,  the ancestors’ promise would be fulfilled on the first day of the full moon.  He assured them that the sun would turn red and the believers would be rewarded for their faith.   Not only would all the cattle be replaced by new cattle more beautiful than ever, but new fields of crops ready to harvest would appear as well.   The dead warriors would all come back to life and a new era of youth and beauty would begin. 

When the full moon came and went with the sun being the same colour as ever,   Mhlakaza managed to provide a new date for the prophecy, this time on the first day of the new moon.    To ensure that people believed in the prophecy, Mhlakaza even organized demonstrations where he would point out to the sea and show them the heads of the New People bobbing out of the water (he was the only one who could hear their message).   Some believers even claimed to hear the invisible cattle and goats.  As each date failed, he and Nongqawuse tried to place the blame on the nonbelievers who had refused to destroy their cattle and crops.   Finally, after repeated failures,  Mhlakaza set a final date of February 18, 1857 when the ancestors would definitely appear. 

After that date came and went,  Sarili and his subjects had completely run out of patience though the Xhosa who had destroyed their cattle and crops had much bigger problems by then.   With the loss of their main source of food,  they had no way of avoiding mass starvation.   For all that Sarili and Mhlakaza shared most of the blame for the coming catastrophe, Sarili insisted on laying all the blame on Nongqawuse.  

Knowing that she would likely be killed if she remained, Nongqawuse fled to the British for safety and they placed her in protective custody on Robben Island.  She would stay there for years before being quietly released.  In the meantime,  mass starvation set in among the Xhosa with over 40,000 deaths and thousands more being forced to leave their ancestral lands to find work in the nearby Cape Colony.   According to some accounts, thousands of vultures could be seen overhead as they were drawn to the countless human and animal corpses.   There were also documented cases of some Xhosa turning to cannibalism.

The British colony governor,  Sir George Grey, took full advantage of the mass starvation.  Though he had warned Sarili against the cattle killing and also provided food to the starving Xhosa afterward, it was hardly enough to avoid the mass starvation that would last for years.   As the refugees began flooding into the Colony, Grey ordered the colonists not to offer any help to the starving Xhosa unless they agreed to sign binding labour contracts.   He also imprisoned many of the Xhosa chiefs on the pretext that they were planning war against the colonists.    The total population of Xhosa living in the Eastern Cape dropped and the Governor eventually seized much of their land to be used by European settlers.  More than 600,000 acres of land fell into British hands as a result of Grey’s actions. 

While Nongqawuse  survived,  her uncle was one of the casualties and much of the blame for what happened fell on her.    No reliable details of her later life are available but she was believed to have changed her name after her release from custody and moved far away from the village where she had lived to avoid being killed.   She is believed to have died in 1898 though details about her later life are scarce.  

The Xhosa prophecy and the resulting famine is one of the most horrifying examples of mass hysteria in the past two centuries.  It is also a graphic example of the devastating power of belief when it is allowed to override common sense.

Accused Witch Burned Alive in South Africa

Four people are currently in custody in the South African village of Mbuzini after an 80-year-old woman was hacked with a hoe and subsequently burned alive in her house for being a suspected witch.  

The woman, Dumisile Mahlangu  had been living alone since her husband's death and with no adult children in the area, was accused of witchcraft following allegations that she had been caught "sprinkling something" in a neighbour's yard last Saturday. After word spread that "a witch had been caught", a mob forcibly took the accused witch back to her house where she was repeatedly struck with a hoe.   She was then locked in her house which was then set on fire leaving her to burn to death inside.

In a statement released by police spokesperson Brigadier Leonard Hlathi, where was no proof that the old woman was guilty of any wrongdoing  and that eyewitnesses should have called the police to prevent mob action.   Police have since arrested four people, aged 22 to 44, including the owners of the house that the accused witch was supposedly cursing.   The investigation is still underway and other arrests are also expected in future.    he arrested suspects have been charged with murder and arson and will appear in the Tonga magistrate's court next week.

Mpumalanga Police Commissioner Lieutenant General Mondli Zuma has publicly stated that it is "disheartening that the elderly community often suffered such accusations from sections of the society."   Along with warning villagers that they would be prosecuted over any other witch killings, he also directed police to  ensure that those people arrested  for these crimes face the full might of the law.

As for the villagers themselves, they have already refused to allow Mahlangu to be buried in their village and accused police of protecting witches.  “This woman have been bewitching us here... we caught her in the act. We don't want her to be buried in our village. Tomorrow (Tuesday) we will be protesting outside the court because they arrested people who saved the community from the witch,” said a community member when talking to the press and who who asked not to be named.

Belief in witchcraft remains strong in many parts of Africa, including South Aftrica's Mpumalanga province where  Mbuzini is located.    Elderly villagers living alone are often accused of being responsible for any calamity that occurs though accusations of witchcraft can be made against people of all ages, including children, albinos, the disabled, and the mentally ill.   Children, especially orphans, remain particularly vulnerable and may be subjected to violent exorcism rituals to "purge" them of the evil spirits possessing them.   Witchcraft accusation are also becoming increasingly common in immigrant communities due to the influence of evangelical movements.

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The Rise and Fall of The New Messiah

Whatever else you can say about the Reverend Homer Aubrey Tomlinson, he was definitely a showman.   As for his other achievements, real and self-proclaimed, you will have to decide that for yourself...

Born in 1892 in Westfield, Indiana, he was the oldest son and presumed heir of Ambrose Jessup Tomlinson, the founder of the Church of God of Prophecy, one of the earliest Pentecostal denominations.     Despite an early career in an advertising agency, Homer joined his father's ministry in 1922, reportedly after a life-changing experience when he was "almost struck by lightning."    Along with establishing a congregation in Jamaica, New York and evangelizing across the Northeast, Homer Tomlinson also became well-known for grandiose stunts.   This included conducting the world's first parachute wedding at the New York World's Fair.   Along with Tomlinson, the bride and groom, best man, maid of honour, and four musicians all took part in the ceremony after they jumped out of a plane together.  

Possibly due to his controversial antics, Homer Tomlinson was passed over as his father's successor following Ambrose's death in 1943.   The church elders claimed to have received a message in tongues to "bring forth the younger son" and Homer was left out in the cold when his legal battle to control the church failed.   Bouncing back from this disappointment,  Homer Tomlinson went on to found his own denomination, the Church of God based in New York city.  

With his usual flair for self-publicity (did I mention he was a former ad-man?),  Homer announced that his mission was to usher in the Kingdom of God by getting church members elected to public office.   With little hope of securing a Democratic or Republican nomination as a presidential candidate,  he decided to found his own political party instead.    The platform for the Theocratic party he founded in 1952 was straightforward enough:   unification of church and state, abolishing taxation in favour of tithing, and creating two new cabinet posts, a secretary of righteousness and a secretary of the Holy Bible.   Despite running for president in 1952, 1960, 1964, and 1968, his support was never particularly strong.  Best estimates suggest that he only got 20 votes in 1964 alone. 

Despite the failure of his presidential ambitions, Homer Tomlinson moved on to more grandiose goals.   After a 1954 convention of his Church of God reportedly acclaimed him a "almost a new Messiah", he declared himself to be King of the World.    Traveling to more than 100 countries, he staged numerous coronation ceremonies to proclaim his royal status.  With his gold-plated crown, his blue silk robes, an inflatable globe that he held in his hands,  a 15-inch flag featuring the "scepter of righteousness", and a cheap folding chair which served as his surrogate "Throne of David",  Tomlinson's coronation ceremonies were certainly picturesque, if nothing else.  

Though most of these ceremonies took place at local airports, one of them was held in Moscow's Red Square to the bemusement of the Soviet government (Pravda referred to it as a publicity stunt by "an American actor").    He later claimed that his 1958 Red Square coronation "melted the Iron Curtain" and fostered peace (not that anyone else noted an easing of Cold War tensions afterward).   In the years following his first coronations as King of All The Nations of Men, he stated: "I crowned myself in every state, and at 67 colleges, and I visited 101 nations and crowned myself King in every one, including Russia in Red Square, in Moscow on July 12, 1958.  Crowds greeted me everywhere."    Homer insisted that his traveling to different countries helped usher in the Kingdom of God by preventing revolutions, encouraging world peace, and ending droughts.

As part of his grandiose plan to reshape the world, Homer planned to move the seat of the United Nations to Jerusalem where its ambassadors would be replaced by preachers.   Not only would Jerusalem become the world's centre of finance and culture, any nation that waged a war would be struck by drought and plague.   The Ten Commandments would be formally enacted into law everywhere and taxation would be replaced by tithing.   All laws everywhere would be replaced by his own "48 laws" which, among other things, banned liquor and tobacco, provided equality for all, offered forgiveness for repentant criminals, and promoted love. 

The actual size of Homer Tomlinson's congregation, all of whom he dubbed "saints", was always hard to calculate but he confidently placed it at 75,000 with 600 ministers under his control.    At other times, he assumed that all the world's Pentecostalists were under his dominion (though they likely didn't share this opinion).   As for his actual congregation, many of his followers were apparently dissatisfied with his leadership and one of them, Grady R. Kent, formed a separate denomination, Church of All Nations in 1957.  

When he wasn't travelling, Homer ran his world-wide empire from the two-story frame house in Queen's Village in New York City where his "mission" continued right up to his death in 1968.  According to an obituary in the New York Times,  he died quietly in a Manhattan hospital after a long illness.   Described as the "portly, pink-faced, cheery leader of the Church of God",  he was survived by his wife Marie whom he had met in an Aimee Temple McPherson revival tent in 1919.   Along with their two sons, he was also survived by their six grandchildren.   He is buried in Long Island cemetery. 

Though the Church of God still exists, the church website rather downplays the eccentric life of Bishop Tomlinson.   After his death, he was succeeded by Voy M. Bullen who then moved the church to Huntsville, Alabama to be closer to the centre of the movement.    While Tomlinson's church has undergone various moves and schisms since his death, the Church of God is reported to have over 70,000 followers at present but this figure is considered to be likely inflated.  

So, was Homer Tomlinson prone to grandiose delusions or was his "King of the World" campaign nothing more than an elaborate publicity stunt?   While his various "coronations" had no actual validity, they certainly kept him in the public eye.   Stirring up controversy ensured that Homer A. Tomlinson had greater name recognition than the other competing denominations, even if he picked up a reputation for being a crackpot along the way. 

And, perhaps that was enough for him.

Missouri Couple Charged in Exorcism Death of Four-Year-Old Child

Two people living in Missouri's Benton County have been charged with second-degree murder of a four-year-old child who police say was tortured for weeks before her death.   According to a probable cause statement issued by Benton County Sergeant Chris Wilson, the child's body was found at her family home wrapped in a pink blanket and covered in bruises from her neck to her feet.   The child's father, James Mast, 28, had called the police stating that had been beaten and submerged in  a pond neighbours Ethan Mast, 35, and Kourtney Aumen, 21,  to rid her of  a "demon".   

According to the probable cause statement, James Mast told investigators that Mast and Aumen were neighbours who attended the same church that they did.  Despite having the same surname, Ethan Mast is not related to the family of his victim.   The child's ordeal reportedly began when they told the girl's parents that she was possessed in the same way that her mother was and that she and their other two children "would end up just like her if it was not taken care of,"    Mast and Aumen then proceeded to beat the child over the course of two weeks and then threatened to shoot James Mast and his remaining family if he or his wife attempted to intervene.  Mast and Aumen reportedly told them that "Satan would come" if they attempted to protect their children from harm.  Both Ethan Mast and Kourtney Aumen are currently being held without bond.

In his own statement to police, Ethan Mast stated that he and Aumen used a leather belt to beat the girl on Dec. 19 and that she e was then taken to a pond behind the home and "dunked" in the water in near-freezing temperatures.  Though she was returned to her home, it still isn't clear exactly when she died.   James Mast and his wife, Mary Mast, 29, were also severely beaten as was the couple's two-year-old son.   Their youngest child was not harmed.   After being taken to hospital to be treated for their injuries, James and Mary Mast were arrested for felony child endangerment resulting in death and are jailed without bond.   The two remaining Mast children have been taken into protective custody.  Though James and Mary Mast asked permission to attend their daughter's funeral, this request was denied.  

In an official statement released by the Benton County Sheriff's department, the killing and abuse was a "“religious-type episode" by the people involved and not the activity of a larger cult despite earlier speculation.   Hearings are scheduled for January 5 to determine how the case will proceed.

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The Man Who Had Visions

It's hard to think of the right word to describe Emmanuel Swedenborg. Complex doesn't even come close.

Born in 1688, Emmanuel Swedenborg's father was a bishop who often claimed to see spirits and made claims of miraculous cures (he also did exorcisms). His religious upbringing didn't prevent Emmanuel Swedenborg from traveling extensively and immersing himself in the natural sciences.  Despite a stuttering problem that made him extremely reluctant to speak in public, Swedenborg devoted the next two decades of his life to projects in astronomy, physics, and mineralogy including various attempts to reconcile philosophy and the physical sciences (he even proposed early versions of a flying machine and a submarine). After turning down an appointment as professor of mathematics at Upsala University (his stuttering made the idea of public lectures unthinkable), he turned to the life sciences in 1736.

Traveling to medical centres in France and Italy, he went on to do extensive research in anatomy and physiology. It was Swedenborg who first proposed that the cerebral cortex could be divided into specific regions that controlled different parts of the body. These specialized "cortical territories" were highly interconnected and enable the brain to function as a coherent whole. He also identified the role of cortical region at the back of the frontal lobes in voluntary muscle control, and even suggested that the frontal lobes of the brain were linked to intellectual functions (including imagination memory and thought).

Although many of Swedenborg's discoveries were revolutionary, the mainstream medical community in other countries didn't really become aware of them until the late 19th century (his treatises on the brain were all written in Swedish and weren't translated into other languages for decades). By then, most of Swedenborg's astounding discoveries had been made by other researchers working independently. His lack of an academic post worked against him as well but Swedenborg might still have become one of the pioneers of medical science if he had persisted in his research. Unfortunately, all of his scientific activities had ended by 1743.

Which was when the visions started...

While he had been a religious man all his life, Emmanuel Swedenborg was fifty-five when first began experiencing a strange spiritual crisis. After taking a leave of absence from his research and traveling to the Netherlands, he was haunted by strange dreams that he faithfully recorded in his journal. In one story that was often retold years later, Swedenborg was eating in a London tavern when "a darkness fell upon his eyes and the room shifted character. Suddenly he saw a person sitting at a corner of the room, telling him: "Do not eat too much!". Frightened by this experience, Swedenborg hurried home. Later that night, the same man appeared in his dreams and  told Swedenborg that He was the Lord, that He had appointed Swedenborg to reveal the spiritual meaning of the Bible through His guidance.   He reportedly became so agitated by these strange visions that the physician who was treating him had six men guard him as he slept.

After arranging for a government pension, Swedenborg devoted himself to his strange visions and the religious books that he wrote based on what he experienced (and which he later claimed were dictated to him by an angel). He spent the remaining years of his life traveling between London, Stockholm, and the Netherlands,  and wrote fourteen books on various spiritual topics. The visions that he described took him from Heaven to Hell and across the solar system (and meeting the inhabitants he found there). Most of his works were published during his lifetime and he quickly developed a reputation as a mystic (or a lunatic depending on who you asked).

His books were remarkably consistent and his descriptions of the nature of Heaven, Hell, and the universe has had a tremendous influence over the years. Although some of Swedenborg's writings are bizarre (he claimed that the moon was inhabited by a race of creatures who spoke through their stomachs), his sincere manner and reputed psychic ability won over many doubters. Other critics were more skeptical (Immanuel Kant wrote that Swedenborg should be in a madhouse and two of his supporters were tried for heresy in Sweden), but Swedenborg's crusade continued.

The bulk of his spiritual writings focused on God's plan to initiate His kingdom on earth but he denied that anything he wrote was theological (they were based on his personal experiences after all). In later years, Swedenborg became increasingly deranged and lived on a diet of milk and bread. He claimed that evil spirits continually harassed him with temptations although he was comforted and protected by good spirits. Although he was already a lifelong bachelor, Swedenborg was so frightened of women that he would never see them alone.

By the time of his death in 1772, Swedenborg was one of the most well-known mystical writers of his time and his works have since been translated into numerous languages. His books inspired later writers including William Blake, Goethe, Dostoevsky, Henry James Senior (father of William and Henry James), and Carl Jung. Swedenborg's supporters founded the New Jerusalem Church in 1778 (a branch in the United States was founded in 1792). Despite the inevitable schisms over interpretations of his writings, he still has a devoted following and the Swedenborg Society (founded in 1810) is actively engaged in disseminating his works.

The question of why an accomplished scientist like Swedenborg made such an abrupt change in his later life from science to mysticism has baffled later writers and researchers. While it's tempting to link Swedenborg's experiences to the mystical visions and religious grandiosity often experienced by schizophrenics and patients with certain neurological conditions, the available evidence doesn't really indicate a clear diagnosis. If there was a neurological basis to these visions, then it would be especially ironic that it would occur in someone who might well have become one of the great pioneers in brain research had his life not take such a strange direction.

Laying an Egg

England was in full religious ferment during the first few years of the 19th century.  Joanna Southcott was leading a messianic crusade with countless followers revering her as "the Lamb" who would bring them to salvation.  Other prophets like Richard Brothers had their own crusades  promising the imminent coming of God's kingdom on Earth (the English were considered to be God's chosen people).  Tales of signs and wonders proclaiming the impending Second Coming spread widely.

Which brings us to Mary Bateman (a.k.a. "The Yorkshire Witch")...

Born Mary Harker on a small farm in North Yorkshire in 1768, Mary had few choices but to go into service (much as Joanna Southcott did).  Unfortunately, Mary was not a particularly good servant and quickly acquired a reputation for petty thieving which got her fired.  As a compulsive liar, thief, confidence artist, and all-around crook, Mary never managed to hold any job for long.  She was a very good actress however and managed to impress people with her claims of supernatural powers.  By 1788, she had set herself up in Leeds as a dressmaker and part-time fortune teller.  Her marriage to John Bateman nearly ended when her husband discovered his wife's criminal past.  On one occasion, she tricked him into going to his home town to see his father who was supposedly ill.  While he was away, Mary sold her husband's clothes to pay off a debt and avoid prison. He eventually joined the militia to get away from his treacherous wife but  later returned.   The two of them then settled down into a larcenous life together (they had four children and Mary was the main supporter of the entire family).

With no other source of income, Mary became a full-time fortune teller and con artist.  Posing as "Mrs. Moore", a seventh child of a seventh child, Mary carried out elaborate schemes to trick victims into handing over their savings to her.  She developed quite a reputation as a local miracle worker who could accomplish amazing things with her powers.  She was also a keen observer of new trends and always trying to find ways to exploit them for her own profit.  When Joanna Southcott began "sealing" her followers in 1802 (giving them a special token to mark them as being among the 144,000 to be saved according to the Book of Revelation), Mary managed to get one of the markers herself.  It was then that she began one of her most notorious (and profitable) schemes.

Although her reputation as a fortune-teller had begun to suffer (too many of her victims complained), Mary played on her status as one of Southcott's "sealed" to make an amazing announcement. Like many other country women of her time, she kept several hens to supply her with fresh eggs and she claimed that one of them had laid an egg with the inscription "Crist is coming."  Mary announced that she had been granted a vision which told her that her hen would lay fourteen special eggs and that the last one would mark the beginning of the Apocalypse.  As word of this marvel began to spread, more eggs bearing religious inscriptions were laid and crowds quickly gathered (she charged them a penny each to seen her marvelous hens). Not only did the eggs proclaim Christ's coming, but they announced that it would happen very soon which added to the growing hysteria.  Along with making money from displaying the chickens, Mary also began providing pilgrims with special "seals" (a piece of paper bearing the initials "JC") which would guarantee its bearer admission into Heaven following the Apocalypse.  Thousands of visitors came to be saved. 

It's hard to say how long this would have gone on but a skeptical doctor managed to examine one of the eggs and found that the inscription had been written in ink.  When authorities were notified, they staged a raid on the tavern where Mary lived with her chickens.  They caught her red-handed (so to speak) inserting one of her special eggs up the chicken's egg duct so it could be "laid" later.  Mary was arrested and the resulting scandal forced Joanna Southcott to stop sealing her own followers because of the stigma.  

A little thing like public exposure didn't stop Mary Bateman for long.  She simply switched to becoming a practitioner of folk remedies (as well as being an abortionist).  Her services were in high enough demand that the inevitable rumours about the people buying her "medicines" didn't deter other customers.    Two Quaker sisters named Kitchen sought out her services until one of them sickened and died after taking "medicine" that Mary had provided.  When the mother of the two women arrived to deal with her daughter's death, she ended up sickening and dying as well along with her surviving daughter.  All three of them were buried in the same grave.  Although Mary insisted that all three of the Kitchen women had died of the plague, authorities quickly became suspicious.   After their creditors investigated what property was remaining, they found scarcely any furniture or belongings left in the Kitchen sisters' house. 

Amazingly, Mary was able to continue with her frauds despite the suspicion that she had crossed the line from theft to murder.  The previous death of another woman, Rebecca Perigo, was also being investigated after her husband complained to authorities in 1808.  It was the husband, still being fleeced by Mary two years after his wife's death, who arranged for a meeting at which she was arrested by two officers.  A search of Mary Bateman's house turned up items that had belonged to Rebecca Perigo and the Kitchen sisters.  The various ingredients that went into her "remedies" were also found, including poison.  After going on trial at York in 1809, Mary was quickly found guilty of murder despite her repeated claims of innocence.  Desperate to escape hanging, Mary even tried "pleading her belly" (claiming to be pregnant) although a medical examination proved otherwise.

With all her legal options exhausted, Mary Bateman went to the gallows on March 20, 1809.  More than five thousand people turned out for the hanging including many who still believed in her supernatural powers and were convinced that the "Yorkshire witch" would somehow save herself from death.  As the Annals of Yorkshire later described the hanging, Mary "was launched into eternity with a lie upon her lips having denied her guilt to the last".   As was the common practice of the time for executed murderers, her body was turned over the the local medical school for dissection.  There was enough public interest in Mary's corpse for the local hospital to charge money to see the body (more than 2500 people paid threepence each).  Her skin was also tanned and cut into pieces so they could be sold as souvenirs.  Believers in the powers of the ``Yorkshire Witch`` used the skin pieces as talismans (it would have galled Mary to know that she wasn`t making any money from her corpse).

Mary Bateman`s skeleton is still on display at the Thackray Medical Museum in Leeds, England.  Visitors seeing her there can appreciate her presence as a strange sort of testimonial to the power of human gullibility and how easily it can be exploited. 

The Possession of Nicole Aubrey

In November 1565, a married teenaged girl named Nicole Aubrey (also spelled Obry) began experiencing physical torments that she claimed had been brought on by a vision of her dead grandfather.   A native of Vervins, France, the fifteen-year-old Nicole had become so sick that she could not eat and reportedly went into such contortions that, as one eyewitness would later describe, twelve or fifteen men were needed to hold her down.   She also spoke in a gruff and frightening voice and claimed that the spirit of her grandfather was possessing her.   The grandfather told that that he had died without confessing and instructed Nicole and her family to carry out various penances as a result.   Despite  the family doing what was requested, the possession continued.

Nicole's family arranged for a Dominican priest, Pierre de la Motte, to exorcise her.   Through repeated exorcisms,  de la Motte managed to get the possessing spirit to confess that it was a devil rather than an angel.   Nicole's possession became worse and she became deaf, blind and mute (to make her unable to take communion).   Also, the chief devil possessing her reportedly invited numerous other devils to come in to possess her body as well.    According to reports,  de la Motte drove out twenty-eight of the demons possessing Nicole after which they "fled to Geneva" (which was the centre of the Calvinist movement at the time).    The chief demon possessing her,  who named himself "Beelzebub, the Prince of the Huguenots"  (Huguenots were French Protestants)  insisted that no one less that the Bishop of Laon could drive him out.   When  Bishop Jean de Bours arrived in Vervins in January 1566 to do an exorcism, he was no more successful than the other priests.

The case quickly took on political dimensions with the local Huguenots insisting that the entire possession story was a hoax and attempted to have the exorcisms stopped.   They had good reason for their skepticism considering that "Beelzebub" was accusing them of consorting with Satan.   Largely for her own protection, Nicole was transferred to Laon where she was subjected to a series of public exorcisms which took on all the pomp of a religious pageant.     Each day, Nicole was taken from the convent where she was staying in a great religious procession to the majestic Cathedrale Notre-Dame de Laon where she mounted a specially constructed scaffold.   There, before a large audience, the exorcist would order "Prince Beelzebub" to speak and Nicole would dutifully deliver a sermon on the evils that the Protestants would inflict on France's Catholics.   The content was little different from the anti-Huguenot sermons that priests and bishops across the country were delivering on a daily basis.  

That a demon, one of Satan's fallen, was telling the Catholics who were listening what they largely wanted to believe about their Huguenot neighbours seemed guaranteed to boost religious tensions.   Among other things, "Prince Beelzebub" told his listeners that local Huguenots had stolen a communion wafer, cut it up, and burned the pieces.   "Beelzebub" also boasted that "I with my obstinate Huguenots will do Him [Christ] more evil than the Jews did!"   

According to one Catholic chronicler describing Nicole Aubrey's public exorcisms, "The Catholics in great joy gave thanks to God, being more confirmed in their faith; while some Huguenots returned to the way of salvation, others became more and more stubborn, mocking the entire proceeding thing.”    That Huguenots continued to insist that the entire spectacle was a hoax perpetrated by the Church using a gullible young girl did nothing to ease tensions.     On February 8, 1566, the "miracle of Laon" occurred when the Bishop of Laon held up a communion wafer and drove out the last of the demons from Nicole's body.    Nothing more seems to have been recorded about Nicole and she faded into obscurity afterward.

The Laon "miracle" helped reinforce anti-Protestant attitudes with Catholic clergy spreading the word across Europe to become one of the rallying points of the Counter-Reformation,.    It also played an important role in the religious holy wars that wracked France during the 16th century.   That included the St Bartholomew's Day Massacre in August 1572 in which thousands of Huguenots were killed.   The French Wars of Religion would drag on until the end of the 16th century and would eventually lead to the expulsion of the Huguenots from France.

One of the most intriguing descriptions of Nicole's possession was how she was able to speak without the apparent use of her vocal cords.  According to Jean Boulaese, who wrote the most well-known description of Nicole and her possession:

Speaking in Nicole, with her mouth open wide enough to allow the passage of a walnut, and with a swelling beneath the throat; or, to be more exact, in the throat beneath the chin; but in any case without either making use of or moving the lips, the grandfather replied loudly in a cracked voice: I am from God, who endured death and suffering for us all, from the virgin Mary, and all the saints of Paradise. I am the soul of Joachim Willot.

Though Nicole had initially insisted that her grandfather's spirit was using her body with her conscious cooperation, she was later forced to revise this to be more in keeping with Catholic doctrine.   Since doctrine didn't allow for the existence of "good spirits" using living people to pass on messages, their interrogation shaped her responses to comform with Church views on demonic possession.  Given her desire to please her interrogators, the anti-Protestant message she delivered hardly seems that surprising.  

Along with spurring the anti-Huguenot mania gripping France,  Nicole Aubrey's possession also became influential in terms of inspiring copycat cases of possession.     In the French city of Soissons,  four people were publicly exorcised in 1582.   One of these, a 13-year-old boy named Laurent, was reported possessed by a demon calling himself Bonnoir.    Another possessee was more unusual since he was a 50-year-old man who managed to be possessed twice (repossessed?).    A third case was more unusual still since it was a woman named Marguerite Obry (no relation) who claimed to be possessed by the same Beelzebub who had possessed Nicole Aubrey years before.   

Though the Soissons possessions were never as well-known as Nicole Aubry's case  there were numerous similarities.   All of the the possessees went into convulsions whenever holy relics were placed on their stomach or when they were forced to drink holy water.    And, like Nicole Aubrey, they accused the local Huguenots of various religious crimes.   The demons reportedly claimed that they had come to "give comfort to their Huguenot friends" but were forced to recognize the power of the True Church during the public exorcism which drove them out.e

The last great possession case of the 16th centuy was Marthe Brossier who apparently became convinced that she was possessed after reading about Nicole Aubrey's case.   Beginning in 1598, Marthe's family carried her from town to town in the Loire valley where she received multiple public exorcisms.    This continued for over a  year before French authorities had her arrested out of fear that she would stir up anti-Huguenot prejudice.    Marthe either escaped (or was helped to escape) and returned to seeking out exorcisms, this time in southern France.   Despite travelling to Rome and appealing to the Vatican,  Marthe was diagnosed as suffering from illness rather than being truly possessed.   According to the various doctors and theologians who examined her, her condition was  nihil a daemone: multa ficta: a morbo pauca (nothing from the demon; much invention; a little from illness).  

Though the age of possession was hardly over (there would be other cases throughout the 17th and 18th centuries), the Nicole Aubrey exorcism and others like it became a central plank in the propaganda war being waged by the Catholic Church against Protestant movements.  The "miracle of Laon" would be part of Catholic tradition long after the political turmoil that inspired it died down.   That exorcism and cases of demonic possession are still with us today in many societies demonstrates its popularity as a tool for propping up belief systems being threatened by skepticism.   How effective that tool is depends on the willingness of people to believe the unbelievable.

William Miller and the Great Disappointment

William Miller was never your typical doomsday prophet.

Born in Massachusetts in 1782, he was the son of a captain who had served in the American Revolution and spent most of his early life in Washington County, New York.   Despite his solid Baptist upbringing,  William Miller would later say that he always felt the need for a more personal connection with God but was never quite sure of the form that relationship should take.

After marrying and settling down to his life as a farmer, he likely would have had an uneventful life had it not been for the War of 1812 where he served as a captain.   In 1816, likely as a result of his wartime experiences,  Miller developed an obsession with the afterlife and the need to use the Bible to develop clear and accurate answers to all of the questions in life.   He then spent the next fifteen years in a careful study of the Bible where he "found everything revealed that my heart could desire, and a remedy for every disease of the soul."

Along with his Bible study, William Miller also followed news of the various millennial movements that were springing up throughout the United States at the time.   It is hard to say why people were so receptive to idea that the Second Coming was at hand in that part of the country.   Whether it was due to anxiety over the worsening economic climate (the Panic of 1837 had led to a terrible recession), political uncertainty (the tension that would lead to the Civil War breaking out was already being felt), or lingering anxiety over New England's Dark Day,  numerous religious figures came forward with their own message of coming doom and the need to repent.  

Religious figures such as Jemima Wilkinson ,  Ann Lee and even the venerable John Wesley were proclaiming an impending day of judgment.  Many of these inspirational preachers advocated postmillennialism with Christ returning after a thousand years of universal brotherhood and peace.  Miller was deeply bothered by these teachings since he believed that the Second Coming of Christ would happen first with the millennium of peace following. 

In a statement of faith which wrote to his brother, Miller said that Christ would come:

In the glory of God, in the clouds of Heaven, with all the saints and angels, change the bodies of all that are alive on Earth that are his, and both the living and raised saints will be caught up to meet the Lord in the air. 

As for the ones "left behind" however,they would not fare so well.   Miller maintained that the Earth would be "cleansed by fire, the elements will melt with fervent heat, the works of men will be destroyed, the bodies of the wicked will be burned to ashes."    Not only would the wicked (i.e., anyone who rejected the Gospel) die but their spirits would be "banished from the Earth, shut up in the pit" and not be allowed to return to Earth for 1000 years.    Along with Isaac Newton and a host of other Bible scholars, William Miller examined apocalyptic works such as the Book of Daniel and Revelation to calculate when the Second Coming would occur.

Working from Daniel 8:14 "Until two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed", Miller determined that the Second Coming would occur on March 23, 1843.   Knowing full well that he would be mocked if he openly announced this to the world, Miller only told a few friends and likely would never have come to public attention at all if not for Joshua Vaughan Himes.

Himes, was the minister at Boston's Chardon Street chapel and also a zealous evangelist.   Convinced by Miller's message, Himes invited him to give a sermon in 1839 which led to numerous other invitations from other ministers for Miller to speak.   Not only did this lead to Miller's message being heard by thousands of people, other ministers (including Himes) began preaching the message of imminent judgment as well.

In addition to frequent sermons, Joshua Himes also published a series of magazines and pamphlets including the Midnight Cry and Signs of the Times.   Though Miller and his supporters gained countless supporters,  there was considerable public scorn as well.  Newspapers began reporting on Miller's appearances and the crowds that inevitably gathered.   Editorials blaming Miller for cases of insanity or suicide that they attributed to his message became common. 

The sighting of an extremely bright comet in 1843 set off new apocalyptic fears and William Miller had more followers than ever.  Oddly enough, he largely ignored the comet since he felt that the Bible alone provided all the information needed.    He certainly had no intention of founding a new religion (why bother with converts when Judgment Day was just around the corner?).   Most of his teachings were perfectly consistent with what mainstream Christian preachers were saying in their own sermons, hence his frequent invitations to give guest sermons across much of the country. 

Despite Miller's reluctance to pin down a specific date for the Second Coming, he and his followers eventually settled on April 23, 1843 based on their careful calculations.    As the date approached, the crowds attending his sermons swelled and newspapers were alarmed by his message.   Newspaper editorials warned that widespread belief in Miller's message might lead to social and economic upheaval if farmers decided not to plant crops or if craftsmen stopped producing goods.  

When April 23 came and went with no Second Coming, William Miller went back to the Bible and started recalculating.   Concluding that he had made a mistake by relying on solar years instead of lunar years, he recalculated the date as occurring in the spring of 1844.   Despite their previous disappointment, the Millerites (as they were then known) decided to prepare for the new date in spectacular fashion.  After purchasing an enormous tent capable of holding more than two thousand people, they went on a grand tour through New York and Ohio.  Rumours also began circulating that the Millerites had prepared "ascension robes" that they could wear as they rose into Heaven.  Though these rumours were likely exaggerated, some sources suggest that many Millerites prepared special robes for that reason (even though Miller never called for any special preparations). 

March 21 came and went with nothing remarkable happening.  Undaunted, William Miller insisted that the Second Coming was at hand but concluded that it would likely happen in the fall instead (though this time, he was careful not to provide an exact date).    Another Millerite, S.S. Snow, floated the suggestion that October 22, 1844 would be the correct date since it fell on Yom Kippur (also my birthday, but that was likely a coincidence).   William Miller had his doubts but allowed his followers to convince him.  

At the same time, there was also a growing disenchantment with Miller and his followers.  Many of the ministers who had invited him to speak to their congregations were now ignoring him completely.  Even the newspapers were doing little more than ridiculing the movement.    Editorials predicted "mob scenes" and public disorder while many stores and shops were closed with signs saying "This shop is closed in honor of the King of Kings, who will appear about the 20th of October.  Get ready, friends, to crown him, Lord of All."    When October 22 came and went, the Millerite movement was essentially over though William Miller and Joshua Himes took up a new cause raising money for Millerites who had impoverished themselves by leaving their jobs and giving away their possessions.

Thus began the period known as "the Great Disappointment".   While many Millerites tried to come up with varied explanation of which Christ failed to arrive (eg, Miller had his date wrong, Christ HAD arrived secretly, etc.), the anguish that many of the followers felt was immense.   As one follower later wrote, "Our fondest hopes and expectations were blasted, and such a spirit of weeping came over us as I never experienced before... We wept, and wept, till the day dawn."     Though the movement struggled on, William Miller was no longer part of it.   Though devastated by the failure of his calculations, William Miller continued preaching until his eyesight failed him.   He died on December 20, 1849, still convinced that the Second Coming would happen at any time. 

The Millerite movement might well have petered out completely if it had not been for Joshua Himes.  Refusing to give up on the message of imminent salvation, Himes and his son established the Adventist movement and launched a series of publications, including the Advent Christian Times.    Himes eventually abandoned the Adventists and rejoined the Episcopalian church before dying in 1896 but, by that time, Adventist churches were well-established with various offshoots including the Seventh-Day Adventists and Advent Christians. 

Though the Adventists who followed after Miller and Hines tended to downplay Miller's message of imminent judgment, there were several other false alarms involving Adventist predictions of Christ's return.  These included Jonathan Cummings' prediction that Christ would return in 1854 and William Thurman's prediction that it would happen in 1875.   Despite attracting a small following, neither of them had the impact that William Miller did.

Miller's ultimate legacy was to discredit Doomsday prophets for a least another generation.   Though other doomsayers would arise, it would a long time before any of them would work up the nerve to have their predictions put to a public test and risk the same fate as Miller and his followers.    The "Great Disappointment" would cast a shadow on evangelist movements for decades to come.

Indonesian Lawmakers Seek to Pass Anti-LGBT "Rehabilitation" Law

Human rights critics are condemning a new "Family Resilience" law tabled by conservative  lawmakers which has been condemned as sexist and homophobic.   Under the new law, gay and transgender people would be forced to undergo “rehabilitation” — an catch-all term likely to include exorcisms and other “conversion treatments” to purge the country of "sexual deviancy".     “Conversion therapy, such as exorcisms, amount to violence against LGBT people,” said Budi Wahyuni, a former commissioner at the Indonesian women's commission in discussing the new legislation.  

Despite being the world's most populous Muslim majority nation, homosexuality is  legal in Indonesia except for conservative Aceh province (which adheres to Sharia law).  In Aceh, the backlash against sexual minorities is especially severe with public whippings being a common punishment for people convicted of same-sex relations.  In 2018, police  rounded up a group of transwomen and publicly humiliated them by cutting their hair and forcing them to dress in male clothes. 

But even outside of Aceh, anti-gay and transgender persecution remains extremely common throughout the country.   Since homosexuality is widely believed to be caused by possession by "evil spirits", many gay and transgender people are forced to undergo exorcisms conducted either by Muslim imams as well as animist shamans to "cast  out" their inner demons.   If the new law is passed, exorcism is expected to be one of the most widely-applied conversion techniques used.

Exorcisms are already extremely common and are used to treat everything from mental illness to hauntings.  One prominent exorcist speaking of the new law told reporters that he anticipated a boom in demand once it is passed.   Boasting of "curing" ten clients in the previous decade alone, he says that his exorcisms consist of him reading from the Quran as he places his hands on clients and then watches for signs he believes suggest evil spirits are being expelled.  “It's usually a strong reaction but that means they'll be cured quicker,” he explains, adding that he's witnessed vomiting and screaming in the process.   Numerous clinics in Jakarta also offer exorcisms to cure same-sex attraction though they rarely advertise such services openly.

But that may be changing since surveys show a sharp rise in radicalism and intolerance among most Indonesians.  According to a 2017 survey, more than 80 per cent of Indonesians now support the country adopting strict Islamic law, including harsh punishments for same-sex attraction in line with other Islamic countries.   At present, many gay men, lesbians, and transgender people are being forced to undergo exorcisms arranged by their own families in the hope that they would somehow be "cured."

One 31-year-old transgender woman, identified only as "Andin" in an AFP story, reported that she has endured harassment and abuse from her family for nearly two decades.   She remains traumatized by the various "treatments" she was forced to endure, including being bombarded with Quranic verses while trapped in a locked room for days as well as being doused with freezing water by an imam promising to purge the “gender disease”.   On another occasion, she was forcibly taken to an unknown religious guru who showed her a burial shroud and given a harsh choice: Relinquish life as a woman, or go to hell.    "Nothing changed after the exorcism. I'm still LGBT, but my family didn't give up easily,” she said.  "It's traumatising — the horror of that memory stays in my head.”   

Still, despite the rising intolerance, there is a vocal minority opposing the new legislation and they have succeeded in blocking similar laws in the past.   Last year, lawmakers tried to push through a criminal law overhaul that would have made premarital sex a criminal offence, but a sharp backlash led to the bill being dropped.   But people like Andin remain pessimistic about future persecution of sexual minorities in Indonesia, especially when much of that persecution comes from members of her own family.   

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