Providentia

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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The Possession of James Davenport

Evangelism has a long and strange history in the United States, but there were few  evangelists who had a more, ahem, colourful career than the Reverend James Davenport. 

Born in Stamford, Connecticut in 1716, Davenport was part of an extremely distinguished Puritan family.  His great-grandfather founded the New Haven colony while his father and grandfather were both Puritan pastors.   James seemed destined to follow in their footsteps and attended Yale University so that he could be ordained as a minister,   Whatever plans he had for a quiet career in the ministry ended when he met the overzealous David Ferris in Yale and became part of his inner circle.  Ferris was a radical evangelist who took his inspiration from the evangelical movement that was sweeping parts of Europe and the pre-Revolution American colonies around this time.

Known as the First Great Awakening, Protestant ministers led by George Whitefield in the United Kingdom and Jonathan Edwards in Massachusetts began to reject traditional religious teachings and preached a more personal relationship with God.  This also marked a major split in Protestant churches along class lines.  While the Evangelists talking about being "born again" and publicly proclaiming their faith, the traditionalists were increasingly disturbed at what was happening at the Evangelist rallies, including screaming, "talking in tongues", fainting spells, and cries of salvation.   Although the new Evangelist movement was mainly limited to local revivals in numerous places throughout British North America, at least a few religious leaders were especially prominent, James Davenport among them.

After Davenport  graduated from Yale at the age of seventeen (the youngest on record), he went on to complete his religious training so that he could be ordained as a minister. It was somewhere around this time that he developed a "cancry humour" on his leg, likely a severe ulcer, that would plague him for the rest of his life.  While staying at the house of the Reverend Jared Eliot, Davenport managed to recover to the point of continuing his religious studies.  He credited his recovery to the power of faith and his future vocation seemed even clearer.

Ordained as a minister in 1738, he took up  position at a Puritan church in Long Island though he was only twenty-one years old.  Meanwhile, momentous things were happening as other Evangelists began preaching the "Good News of salvation" and Davenport became convinced that the Day of Judgment was at hand. Inspired by the success of other Evangelists, Davenport decided that God was calling him to follow their example.  As he would later claim, opening his Bible to a passage in which Jonathan and armor-bearer attack the Philistine camp inspired him to launch his crusade in 1741. 

This transition from staid minister to fiery evangelist was somewhat, um, abrupt.  During one marathon session, he ranted at his congregation for twenty-four hours straight before collapsing.  After recovering, he then called on all of his parishioners to make full confessions and chose the most worthy among them to become his formal "brethren" (the less worthy among them were relegated to being called "neighbors").   Though Davenport insisted that it was the Holy Spirit which inspired him to choose who were most likely to be saved,  quite a few parishioners were disgruntled to find out they were considered unworthy. 

Davenport also tried his hand at faith healing.   One mentally ill parishioner who was "distracted and dumb"  (possibly catatonic) became a special project for him as he predicted that she would be "delivered and recover her speech" on a given day as a result of his prayers and fasting over her.  As it happened, she died on the predicted date though she never recovered her sanity or speech.   Not wasting an opportunity, the good reverend insisted that his prayers had been answered and that she had been received into Heaven instead.   Quite a few of his parishioners accepted this explanation and managed to get themselves promoted to "brethren" status afterward.

Soon afterward, James Davenport gave up his comfortable congregation and became a traveling preacher, much like his Evangelist heroes.  One of his "brethren", Daniel Tuthill, joined him as an assistant.  Davenport's new mission depended on recruiting converts by reaching as many people as possible in order to save them before the world ended.   His preaching, much like so many of his fellow Evangelists before and since, was filled with descriptions of hellfire, the inherent sinfulness of mankind, and the need for salvation by allowing the Holy Spirit to flow through their hearts so that they could avoid damnation.   

With other Evangelists paving the way, whipping congregations into a religious frenzy, Davenport certainly found his share of receptive converts. One media account describes the kind of sermons he gave and the fever of religion he helped inspire:

Divers women were terrified and cried out exceedingly. When Mr. Davenport had dismissed the congregation some went out and others stayed; he then went into the broad alley, which was much crowded and there screamed out, “Come to Christ! Come to Christ! Come Away! Come Away!” Then he went into the third pew on the women’s side, and kept there, sometimes singing, sometimes praying; he and his companions all taking their turns; and the women fainting and in hysterics. This confusion continued until 10:00 at night and then he went off singing through the streets

Not surprisingly, he also had to deal with the numerous enemies he made along the way.   Along with converting the unbelieving, he also began attacking other ministers, including some he declared to be "unconverted" after they refused to confess their own sins to him.  He declared these uncooperative ministers to be "wolves in sheep's clothing" who were leading their parishioners into "perdition."   Considering that a few of his targets were fellow Evangelists, you can imagine the controversy Davenport inspired.   Many even refused to allow him to deliver sermons in their churches and Davenport was obliged to conduct his revival meetings out in the open.  

Davenport's crusade had mixed success at best.  His illustrious family guaranteed him a few sympathetic listeners among the more established communities but he still had an unfortunate tendency to divide entire congregations.  The sermons he delivered were, well, provocative.  Here is a bit of one of his sermons that one witness described:

"At length, he turn’d his Discourse to others, and with the utmost Strength of his Lungs addressed himself to the Congregation, under these and such-like Expressions; viz. You poor unconverted Creatures, in the Seats, in the Pews, in the Galleries, I wonder you don’t drop into Hell! It would not surprise me, I should not wonder at it, if I should see you drop down now, this minute into Hell. You Pharisees, Hypocrites, now, now, now, you are going right into the Bottom of Hell…. Then he came out of the Pulpit, and stripped off his upper Garments, and got into the Seats, and leapt up and down some time, and clapt his Hands, and cried out in those Words, the War goes on, the Fight goes on, the Devil goes down, the Devil goes down; and then betook himself to stamping and screaming most dreadfully.

Even supposedly "converted" ministers quickly regretted inviting him to give guest sermons to their parishioners.   When some of them visited him to try to get him to explain himself, he denounced them as "Wolves in Sheep's Clothing" and prayed for their conversion instead. 

Still, Davenport was amazingly successful  when he went out to preach to Native American tribes and the support he received with Protestants tended to split along class lines.  The wealthier merchants and farmers mistrusted this new preacher whom they regarded as a dangerous fanatic but the less well-off townspeople loved his antics.   A general court in Connecticut even passed a law in 1741 banning preachers from giving sermons to parishes without the express permission of the presiding minister.    Davenport promptly broke that law and was arrested soon after. 

Appearing before the Connecticut general assembly, he gave his most bizarre performance yet.   Some of the available descriptions of James Davenport's bizarre behaviour at his new trial are downright entertaining.  According to one new story:

"At one point everyone there heard him "vehemently crying out, That he saw hell-flames slashing in their faces; and that they were now! now! dropping down to hell; and also added, Lord! Thou knowest that there are many in that gallery and in these seats, that are now dropping down to Hell! etc.”

Screaming about persecution, Davenport compared himself to Christ with his own suffering and, when the sheriff tried to eject him, he shouted "Lord! thou knowest somebody’s got hold of my sleeve, strike them! Lord, strike them—".     A mob of his supporters quickly gathered and attacked the sheriff and his deputies as they led Davenport to jail.  

On the following day, the court concluded that Davenport was insane and deported him from the Connecticut colony.   Though supporters tried to stop them, Davenport and his assistant were shipped back to Long Island.   Once there, he discovered that his old parishioners were rather tired of his antics and frequent absences.    He was basically ordered to stay at home and tend to his own congregation but Davenport was unrepentant.  As far as he was concerned, he was one of the leading lights of the new Evangelical movement and his crusade would continue.

By 1742, his crusading had taken him to Boston where a group of ministers promptly ordered to explain his attacks on fellow preachers.  His critics included many Evangelists who refused to allow him to preach to their own parishioners.   But this didn't stop him.  Instead, he took to the streets and held open-air rallies that would last whole nights.  As one Boston newspaper described it: 

"Though were you to see him in his most violent Agitations, you would be apt to think, that he was a Madman just broke from his Chaines: But especially had you seen him returning from the Commons after his first preaching, with a large Mob at his heels, singing all the Way thro’ the streets, he with his Hands extended, his Head thrown back, and his Eyes staring up to Heaven, attended with so much Disorder that they look’d more like a company of Bacchanalians after a mad Frolick than sober Christians who had been worshipping God."

People in Boston were forced to put up with Davenport and his disciples singing hymns in the streets at all hours, day or night.  Most of these followers were young people, including children, from the less well-off segments of Boston society.   Though some of them simply came to watch the antics, Davenport's vicious attacks on fellow clergy proved to be extremely popular.  Like everywhere else he went though, Davenport divided Boston society and his exhausted critics finally persuaded Boston magistrates to have him arrested and put on trial.

And what a trial it was!

Davenport was in fine form throughout the hearing, denouncing the unconverted ministers and making grim prophecies about what would happen to them when they faced judgment.  His supporters predictably insisted that he was being persecuted though he was extremely well-treated while in jail (his jailors likely worried about mob violence if any reports of abuse got out).   The outcome was never really in doubt though.   The only two holdouts in the jury were a Quaker and a lay supporter, both of whom objected to the trial being held at all.   When the court declared Davenport to be non comp0s mentis, he promptly decamped for a more congenial city.   It took a considerable amount of time for things to settle down in Boston afterward and his trial would remain a hot issue for years.

The final saga in James Davenport's strange career occurred in 1743 when he was invited to New London, Connecticut.   Despite having already been deported (and risking a heavy fine in the process), Davenport and one of his chief disciples, Daniel Tuthill, set sail immediately.  By this time, Davenport was visibly weaker because of his health problems.   He needed Tuthill's help to walk but this hardly deterred him from his mission.   On arriving in New London, he preached to his followers about the "Messages which he said, he received from the Spirit in Dreams and otherwise, importing the great Necessity of Mortification and Contempt of the World.” 

To accomplish this great goal, Davenport encouraged his followers to throw away any worldly possessions to which they were attached.  Along with wigs, fine clothing,artworks, and jewelry, they also had to throw away those books he deemed offensive.   To nobody's surprise, this included books by religious authors he regarded as "unconverted", including some of his own fellow Evangelists.  These various works were destroyed in two "bonfires of the vanities" in which his followers danced around the flames while these books were still burning.  

During the last of these bonfires, Davenport and his followers were reportedly in a state of hysteria as they cast clothing onto the bonfire.  According to one account, "some of them in the heighth of their Zeal, conferred not with Flesh and Blood, but fell to stripping and cast their Cloaths down at their Apostle’s Feet; one or two hesitated about the Matter, and were so bold as to tell him they had nothing on which they idoliz’d: He reply’d, that such and such a Thing was an Offense to him; and they must down with them."   Davenport, in his zeal, began stripping off his own clothing, including his breeches which he then threw on the fire.   One woman, perhaps a little distressed by this radical act, snatched the breeches from the fire and basically told the good Reverend to restrain himself.  This was apparently what broke the spell and made Davenport realize that he had gone too far.

And, that was pretty much it for James Davenport.   While his other antics had done little to curb the enthusiasm of his followers, indecent exposure was a bit much for them.   He left town soon afterward and, because of declining health, was taken home to recover.  As for the local townspeople who had taken part in the book burnings, they were later charged though most of them just got off with small fines.  A council of ministers was held later that year which marked the end of Davenport's crusade, not to mention the Great Awakening itself.   While Evangelism still continued, the zeal was somewhat more restrained from that point onward.

As for the Reverend Davenport, he was deeply disturbed by the New London incident and began to wonder whether he had been possessed by God or Satan.  His doubts about what he had been doing, not to mention the deep schism he had caused, left him depressed.   Though he still believed that the Holy Spirit had spoken to him, he recognized that he he had been too arrogant in denouncing his fellow preachers.   By 1744, he had recovered enough to go on a "repentance tour" visiting many of the towns in which he  had carried out his most outrageous episodes so he could personally apologize for what he had done. 

Still, while he was considerably wiser, his great success as a preacher was largely behind him.  His movement broke up and he was largely abandoned by almost everyone, even his "armour bearer" Daniel Tuthill.  Though he made a new tour across Connecticut in which he personally apologized to many of the ministers he had previously denounced,  the spirit had largely gone out of him.  In 1744, he wrote The Confessions and Retractions of James Davenport in which he publicly apologized for much of what he had said in the past and blamed himself for "falling into the Snare of the Devil." 

Reaction to Davenport's confession was largely mixed.  Some critics argued that he didn't go far enough in apologizing considering the harm he had already done while others were prepared to accept his apology at face value.  Davenport resigned his Long Island post and went to a new church in New Jersey where he would spend the rest of his days.  Somewhere along the way, he managed to marry and have three children though little else is known about this final period in his life.  In 1756, with the outbreak of the Seven Years' War, Davenport made one last proclamation that the war was an omen of the coming Apocalypse,  A year later, he was dead at the age of forty-one. 

So what can anyone say about James Davenport's legacy?  His fervent crusading and his humiliating disgrace can probably serve as a warning for modern evangelists whose outrageous claims have a way of blowing up in their faces.   If nothing else, his antics can be considered a prime example of the dangers of hubris (not to mention, ahem, overexposure).   Sadly, modern day pundits seem determined to fall into the same trap as Davenport, even if they definitely lack his personal charisma. 

In an era of smartphones and social media, embarrassing moments have a way of being recorded for posterity.   We may be seeing quite a few "penitence tours" in the years to come.

Endorsing the Canadian Conversion Therapy Ban

When Gabriel Nadeau was 12 years old, he realized he was gay. It wasn't a happy time for him.

Growing up in a small community in rural Quebec meant that his strict family upbringing helped shaped his own attitudes about homosexuality.  "I believed that it was wrong," Nadeau said in a recent media interview.  "Every day of my life as a teen, I was trying to get my sexual orientation changed."   When he sought help from his family, and later from his church,  he was forced to undergo bizarre rituals aimed at "curing" his same-sex attraction.

This included repeated attempts at exorcising his demons.   On one occasion,   four members of his church held him down on a table while he was forced to drink olive oil.  The minister repeatedly shouted at the demon inside him.   "I was obviously crying, crying very much, because I was so traumatized," he said, in describing his memory of that ordeal. "I wanted to change so bad."   When the exorcism didn't work, he tried again.  After seeking conversion therapy at the age of sixteen and, again, at the age of eighteen, he became severely depressed over his failure to change.    Though he eventually worked through his self-hatred, he says he continues to be affected by his exorcism experiences.   

Which is why he welcomes the recent federal announcement that it was introducing a bill to ban the practice of conversion therapy across the country.   The proposed bill defined conversion therapy as "any practice, treatment or service designed to change an individual’s sexual orientation, gender identity, eliminate, reduce sexual attraction or sexual behaviour between persons of the same sex. It does not include gender reassignment surgery or any related service."   

A long-promised part of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's platform, the proposed ban declares conversion therapy to be "a scientifically discredited practice that targets vulnerable LGBTQ2 Canadians in an attempt to change their sexual orientation or gender identity.”   The ban also reflects international consensus from national and international medical groups that have long denounced therapists providing conversion therapy services.   Other parties, including NDP, Green Party and Bloc Quebecois, have already expressed their support for the idea.   The new ban follows similar bans in Ontario, Manitoba, and Prince Edward Island.   Conversion therapy is also banned in Vancouver, Calgary and Edmonton and, while Nova Scotia bans conversion therapy for children under the age of sixteen, allows older minors to consent.  

But the proposed legislation is expected to face opposition from religious groups, some of which have already declared the bill to be an attack on religious freedom.   ""If a person feels uncomfortable with their sexual orientation, who is the government to tell them…[they] have no right to change their orientation?" said Georges Buscemi, the president of Campagne Québec-Vie, an anti-abortion organization.   

As to how prevalent conversion therapy actually is in Canada, a new report released by the The International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association (ILGA)  indicates that conversion therapy continues to be offered in many places across the country, and seventy other countries as well.  Along with organizations such as the Alliance for Therapeutic Choice and Scientific Integrity (formally known as NARTH) and other faith-based initiatives, many individual therapists also offer conversion therapy despite the opposition of professional organizations such as the American Psychological Association and the American Psychiatric Association.  The report also provides testimony of“deliverance sessions” carried out by ministers of the Pentecostal Church in Montreal to exorcise the “demon of homosexuality," among other examples.   

Given the opposition they face, many religious groups deny offering conversion therapy  but instead direct interested people towards what they describe as "reparative therapy services" aimed at changing unwanted sexual feelings.  They also deny that conversion therapy is harmful and insist that the option should be made available to those who want to change.    Despite denying that anybody is forced to participate against their will, many parents often request conversion therapy for their underaged children, something the new legislation is aimed at preventing.

Conversion therapy survivors such as Gabriel Nadeau have no reservations about the harm they experienced.  "It's not a matter of religious freedom and just being free to go in life doing whatever you want," he said. "It's a question of security because people might die."    Now twenty-six, openly gay, and living in Montreal, Nadeau says it took years for him to work through his trauma but that he is now where he wants to be.  "I'm so happy and so free," he said. "I would never go back."

Exorcisms to "Cure" Homosexuality on Rise in Indonesia

Despite a well-publicized call by  President Joko Widodo of Indonesia for better police protection of all minorities, including the country's embattled LGBT population, news stories about the widespread use of exorcisms to "straighten" out people with same-sex attractions are disturbingly common.   In November and December of last year, police in the Indonesian city of Padang arrested eighteen same-sex couples and forced them to participate in exorcisms.  “We have an exorcism expert for LGBTs," said one source closely involved with the exorcism movement in Padang.  "Gay men are usually possessed by female demons. We also have a program that will allow transgenders to train in the military.”

People who have undergone these exorcisms reported being slapped, massaged, and "bathed in  holy salt water."    In a recent story by Vice Magazine, a source identified only as "Syifa" reported that her parents had taken her to an Islamic exorcism centre due to their refusal to accept her being with another woman.   Syifa described her personal experience of the half-hour exorcism as being "hilarious" saying  “It was just so dumb to me, but I tried to appreciate what they were trying to do for me.”   While her own experience seemed relatively benign, Syifa said she heard screams and people being whipped in other rooms. “I was lucky they didn’t do anything like that to me,” she said.    Despite the efforts of her parents and the exorcists, she is currently in a committed relationship with another woman.

Long considered a taboo subject in Indonesia, public discussions of same-sex attraction or any other form of "unconventional" sexual behaviour  continues to be condemned by the country's religious leaders.   A 2017 survey conducted by Saiful Mujani Research and Consulting (SMRC) revealed that 87.6 percent of a sample of 1,220 Indonesians perceived members of the LGBTQ community as a "significant threat" and verbal harassment remains common.  While not technically illegal under Indonesian law, police routinely harass sexual minorities, including transsexuals and cross-dressers, under vaguely-worded "public indecency" laws.   At the local level, provincial laws are often used to fine or imprison homosexuals and cross-dressers.   In parts of the country where sharia laws are closely filed, including the state of Aceh, anyone caught having gay sex can be sentenced to receiving 100 lashes.

As for the rising use of exorcisms, Yuli Rustinawati, current head of Arus Pelangi (one of Indonesia’s few LGBTQ non-governmental organisations), warns that the normalisation of such conversion therapy can have dire consequences.  “The moral doctrine used against the LGBTQ community leads to unbelievable violence towards them. Then the police join in and force them to undergo exorcisms,” Rustinawati told BBC Indonesia.    Some members of the LGBTQ community even request exorcisms themselves in the hope of "curing" their same-sex feelings with no real success.

While most Indonesians are becoming more aware of gay issues due to foreign news agencies, movies, and television shows from other countries, this increased awareness shows no sign of improving hardline attitudes.   For now,  members of sexual minorities continue to be viewed as "misfits" who have no place in traditional society.   Only time will tell whether this will change in future.

Russian Police Investigate Exorcism Death of Nine-Year-Old Child

Acting on a tip from a family member, police in Yekaterinburg, Russia unearthed the body of a nine-year-old boy who had been killed during an exorcism by a religious sect to which his parents belonged.   Identified only as "David K.", the boy and his parents belonged to a religious sect, the Disciples of Jesus Christ and had apparently been subjected to a violent ritual aimed at "driving out the devil" though the reason for this abuse has not been given.   The ritual had been conducted in the apartment where the boy and his family had been living.  

During the course of this ritual, David was held down by his mother while other cult members, including his father, whipped him repeatedly..  He had also been gagged to prevent him from screaming out.   After the child died, sect members then prayed by the body for two days hoping that he would be returned to life.   He was then buried in a wooded area near the city while the parents and other sect members fled the city to avoid arrest.  An autopsy of the body determined that the boy had died of asphyxiation with whip marks being clearly visible.   

Police have since located the boy's father, 40-year-old Ivan Kazantsev, and a sect elder, Zemfira Gainullina in the nearby Republic of Bashkiria and arrested them.   David's mother has since fled to Belarus where she is being held as a material witness and awaiting extradition.   Both of David's parents had recently immigrated to Yekaterinburg from Belarus

Defending the sect's actions in an online post before her arrest, Gainullina wrote that, "Many times we were persecuted for the name of Jesus Christ, but no-one could blame us for anything, because there was no crime in us....No-one could forbid us to live the way the Lord Jesus Christ leads us.”  According to available sources,  arrested sect members are refusing to cooperate with authorities and insisted that they only obeyed "heaven's law".    In describing the behaviour of Kazantsev and  Gainullina while in custody, a police spokesperson said that "both detainees behaved, to put it mildly, strangely. They  produced the impression of being zombified."   

While the sect has an active social media presence, including footage of Gainullina playing guitar while her followers danced and prayed together, little information appears available, including "private practices" such as the use of extreme corporal punishment, including whipping, on children to "drive out demons."  

An investigation is continuing.

 

 

Newton's Revelation

Nature and nature's laws lay hid in night.  God said "Let Newton be!" and all was light!  Alexander Pope

Sir Isaac Newton was a very complex individual.

Not only did he revolutionize physics and mathematics, but he also made groundbreaking contributions in various other areas of science including astronomy and natural philosophy.  His 1687 work Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica is still considered one of the most influential books in the history of science.  It's hardly surprising that his scientific contributions have made his name so well-recognized by scientists and the general public alike centuries after his death.  

Perhaps not so well known were Newton's other accomplishments.  His lifelong fascination with alchemy seemed to be a natural extension of his wish to uncover how all things in nature were interrelated.  He was hardly unique in his alchemical research since many prominent intellectuals had been doing the same for centuries.  Still, there was a certain irony in the fact that the scientific revolution that Newton ushered in helped make alchemy obsolete.  Inspired by Elizabethan alchemist, John Dee as well as the Rosicrucians, Newton had one of the most extensive collection of alchemy texts in England.   The full extent of his research into alchemy will likely never be known given that Newton went to great lengths to keep it hidden.  His writings on the subject only surfaced long after his death and many of Newton's biographers tended to dismiss them as being a source of embarrassment for admirers of the great scientist.

In writing about alchemy, Newton stated that "They who search after the Philosophers' Stone [are] by their own rules obliged to a strict & religious life. That study [is] fruitful of experiments" which certainly fit in with his empirical search for understanding.  There was also a touch of egoism at work since many of his contemporaries were also searching for the Philosopher's Stone (including Robert Boyle) and Newton didn't want one of them to discover it before him.  Considering that much of the laboratory equipment developed by alchemists would later become part of the standard tools for chemists, Newton's research was more practical than it seems today.  Suffice it to say, Newton never succeeded in finding the Philosopher's Stone but his lifelong fascination gave alchemists an added respectability that they might not have had otherwise.  Newton's work in alchemy may also have played a role in his death in 1727.  An autopsy on his body found elevated concentrations of mercury which may explain much of the eccentric behaviour he showed in life.

In his old age, Isaac Newton's interests turned in a new direction: theology.  As with his work on alchemy, many of his theological writings were only published after his death.  While he remained a devout Christian all his life, many of his ideas on religion were frequently at odds with the Church of England (and he might well have been considered a heretic in earlier times).  He railed against purely mechanistic views of the universe and argued that God created the basic rules that governed nature.  He also stressed that the Bible represented the source of all true wisdom and, towards the end of his life, Newton devoted himself to an in-depth examination of the books of Daniel and Revelation.  Although never published in his lifetime (Newton was reluctant to antagonize the powerful Church of England),Newton's Observations on the Prophecies of Daniel and the Apocalypse of St. John was one of his most ambitious works, at least in terms of providing a reasonable chronology for the events described throughout the Bible.  Drawing on other historical sources (such as Flavius Josephus) and using his own peerless mathematical skills, Newton carefully calculated, among other things, the Crucifixion as occurring on Friday, April 23, 34 CE. 

In analyzing the prophetic texts, Newton carefully broke down each book by applying the same principles to Biblical study that he devoted to studying the heavens.  Although some biographers dismissed his attempts as being a "rambling muddle", Newton used information from the book of Ezekiel and the writings of Maimonides to work out the dimensions of Solomon's Temple which he considered to be a key element in understanding Revelation.  He also developed a future timeline based on his knowledge of astronomy and predicted the Second Coming of Christ in 1948 (although the Last Judgment wouldn't occur until around 3370 CE).   Much of Newton's biblical work seemed to focus on hatred for the Catholic Church (which he considered to be the Antichrist) and the eventual coming of the "True Church" after the "Evil One" (Rome) was destroyed.   Part of this hatred of Catholic doctrine stemmed from his opposition to the idea of the Trinity which he considered false.  He also believed in a literal interpretation of Genesis by the way (although he did suggest that the seven days of creation may have been longer than twenty-four hours).  

If his biographers were apologetic about Newton's fascination with alchemy, they were even less accepting of the theological writings that largely consumed the last years of his life.  He always stayed true to the idea that the universe was inherently understandable and that theology, like science, was a reflection of God's meaning and plan for the human race.  As the chief patriarch of the Royal Society (he was known as "Le Grand Newton" across Europe), Newton's scientific reputation was secure enough but he was still reluctant to publish his conclusions about the Bible.  Weeks before his death, Newton burned a collection of papers at his house in Leicester Fields.  While historians dispute whether the papers he burned were historically significant, one witness later suggested that Newton had burned several manuscripts as well.  Considering the eccentric nature of the alchemical and theological works that did survive, it's hard not to wonder what else Newton was afraid would reflect poorly on him after his death.

Isaac Newton died on March 20, 1727 after a brief illness.  After a public funeral, he was buried in Westminster Abbey in what is now known as "Scientist's corner" (which he shares with Charles Darwin and James Clerk Maxwell among others).  A monument standing by one side of the Abbey shows Newton leaning on a pile of four books labeled "Divinity', 'Chronology', 'Optica' and 'Phil Princ. Math'".  His more, unconventional, works aren't mentioned.