From the Founding of the City: :A fall of stones

From the Founding of the City: :A fall of stones

A fall of stones in a military context occurs in the middle of the sixth century, when the Abyssinian Army, laying siege to Mecca, was put to flight by a fall of stones, supposedly dropped by birds. However, at least one famous stone-fall in ancient times occurred in the aftermath of a military action. The story is told in Chapter 31 of the first book of Livy s history of Rome, From the Founding of the City:

After the defeat of the Sabines, when King Tullus [672-640 b.c.] and the entire Roman state were at a high pitch of glory and prosperity, it was reported to the king and senators that there had been a rain of stones on the Alban Mount [Mount Albanus]. As this could scarce be credited, envoys were dispatched to examine the prodigy, and in their sight there fell from the sky, like hailstones which the wind piles in drifts upon the ground, a shower of pebbles.

The envoys also thought they heard “a mighty voice issuing from the grove on the mountaintop,” commanding the Albans to resume the ritual sacrifices they had neglected since the Roman victory. The Romans themselves took this order to hear, according to Livy, because thereafter “it remained a regular custom that whenever the same prodigy was reported there should be a nine days’ observance.” (Whether “the same prodigy” refers to all subsequent falls of stones or only to repeated falls on Mount Albanus is unclear.)

#astronomicalmiracle #atmosphericaloddities #unquietsky #phenomena #skyfalls #abyssinianarmy #theabyssinianarmy

Condemned to die at the stake: Saint Polycarp, the bishop of Smyrna

THE EPISTLE OF POLYCARP TO THE PHILIPPIANS

One of the earliest Christian martyrdom for which an eyewitness account survives is that of Saint Polycarp, the bishop of Smyrna (today known as Izmir, in Turkey). Condemned to die at the stake because he would not recognize the divinity of the Roman emperor, he was put to death in the stadium at Smyrna in a.d. 155, when he was 86 years old. The manner of his death is described in a letter of unquestioned authenticity written by members of the church in Smyrna:

When he had offered up the Amen and finished his prayer, the firemen lighted the fire. And a mighty flame flashing forth, we to whom it was given to see, saw a marvel, yea, and we were preserved that we might relate to the rest what happened. The fire, making the appearance of a vault, like the sail of a vessel filled by the wind, made a wall round about the body of the martyr; and it was there in the midst, not like flesh burning but like gold and silver refined in a furnace. For we perceived such a fragrant smell, as if it were the wafted odor of frankincense or some other precious spice.

So at length the lawless men, seeing that his body could not be consumed by fire, ordered the executioner to go up to him and stab him with a dagger. And when he had done this there came forth a quantity of blood so that it extinguished the fire, and all the multitude marvelled that there should be so great a difference between the unbelievers and the elect.

After Saint Polycarp died the fire was lit again, and his body was cremated.

(Herbert Thurston, The Physical Phenomena of Mysticism, pp.171, 222-23)

#levitation #miracle #supernatural #occurs #cures #immunities #polycarp #stpolycarp #saintpolycarp #phenomena

Mad Monday Discussions; Demonic Possession, Epilepsy, or Hysteria? Mystery behind the mystery

''Paranoia'' by Ankel Volkov (Buy this art from the link)

As far as many doctors and psychiatrists are concerned, the diagnosis of demonic possession is one that reeks of medieval superstition and ignorance, and the symptoms that lead to it are subject either to a wide range of medical and psychiatric interpretations or to being dismissed as misperceptions or hallucinations.

Other medical and psychological conditions likely to produce symptoms confused with those of possession are epilepsy, hysteria, and multiple personality. During a convulsive seizure, a person with epilepsy can experience extreme muscular rigidity and foam at the mouth and is sometimes subject to rapid back-and- forth head movements. The face may be distorted, and strange, guttural noises may be produced by a spasm of the throat muscles. During the period immediately before a seizure, the patient may experience auditory and visual hallucinations and various sensory distortions. Most seizures last no more than five minutes.

All these symptoms may also be present in a person diagnosed by the church as suffering from possession. But there are distinguishing characteristics. The first of these is that a demonic attack can continue for many hours. Extreme liveliness, rather than rigidity, is characteristic and muscular reflexes tend to be strong.

According to the Roman Ritual, other signs of possession include “the ability to speak with some familiarity in a strange tongue or to understand it when spoken by another; the faculty of divulging future and hidden events; and the display of powers which are beyond the subject's age and natural condition.”

Hysteria also produces many of the symptoms of possession. The following description of a female hysteric was recorded at the turn of the century by Prof. Paul Richter, a doctor at La Salpetriere, a famous hospital in Paris for mental disturbances:

Suddenly, we heard loud cries and shouting. Her body, which went through a series of elaborate motions, was either in the throes of wild gyrations or catatonically motionless. Her legs became entangled, then disentangled, her arms twisted and disjointed, her wrists bent. Some of her fingers were stretched out straight, while others were twisted. The body was either bent in a semicircle or loose-limbed. Her

head was at times thrown to the right or left or, when thrown backward with vehemence, seemed to emerge from a bloated neck. The face alternately mirrored horror, anger, and sometimes fury; it was bloated and showed shades of violet in its coloration....

One of the most striking details in this description is that of the body “bent in a semicircle.” This is also known as the hysterical arch and is frequently seen in cases of possession. All the other symptoms described above have been observed by exorcists. In addition, the appearance of livid marks on the skin — sometimes resembling bites, letters, or graphic symbols — are also known to be produced by hysterics. Given this partial duplication of symptoms, how does the church distinguish between hysteria and possession? The determining factor is the context in which the symptoms occur. If they arise in relationship with a hatred of religious objects, and if they are accompanied by paranormal phenomena (the ability to detect religious objects that have been hidden, to understand languages never learned, to levitate, and so on), the church is likely to consider them manifestations of the Devil.

As mysterious as hysteria, and as likely to be confused with possession, is the multiple personality, in which the patient may at different times manifest one, two, three, or even more different personalities — each with its own goals, likes, dislikes, speech patterns, and memories. Each personality may be indifferent or opposed to the others, or ignorant of them. If one or more should have a diabolic cast, the church has no means of determining whether to treat the case as possession other than the criteria it applies to distinguish hysteria from possession.

Those criteria are the hatred of religious objects and the paranormal phenomena referred to earlier, and they are precisely the phenomena that many doctors and psychiatrists are likely to reject as misperceptions or hallucinations on the part of witnesses. Those less skeptical, on the other hand, are likely to view such things as para psychological but not as the work of demons. Again, the church’s test is likely to be whether or not the paranormal manifestations occur in the context of a general hatred of religion.

#possession #exorcism #poltergeist #epilepsy #hysteria #parapsychology #phenomena #paranormal #paranormalphenomena