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A remarkable man named Reginald Scot (1538-1599) was a Justice of the Peace in Kent, England. His major book, The Discovery of Witchcraft, gives an eye-opening exposure of the beliefs and superstitions of that time. With an insight — and courage — far in advance of his age, he sought to stop the hideous persecution which, especially in rural districts, made any lonely aged person — and many others — liable to charges of witchcraft. Once charged, the accused was essentially doomed to either prison or execution. There was little chance of escape from consequent barbarities. Scot's work was intended as a sensible argument disputing the existence of witches, and also as a reaction to and a protest against the zealous persecution of innocents by a superstitious clergy.
This collection of magical texts was published at approximately the same time that John Dee was conducting his mystical experiments. (Dee — 1527-1608 — was a brilliant scholar who had the favor of Queen Elizabeth, but fell into the hands of swindlers and became one himself.) Scot's purpose was to counter the witch-hunting craze of the Inquisition by ridiculing the texts and their implications. He also attacked the Catholic Church in general for superstitious practices. The author held that the prosecution of those accused of witchcraft was contrary to the dictates of reason as well as of religion, and he placed the responsibility at the door of the Roman Church.
At that time it was a common belief that witches could, and would — to quote a contemporary historian:
. . . sacrifice their own children to the devil before baptism, holding them up in the air unto him, and then thrust a needle into their brains . . .They use incestuous adultery with spirits . . . They eat the flesh and drink the blood of men and children openly . . . They kill men's cattle . . . They bewitch men's corn . . . They ride and fly in the air, bring storms, make tempests . . . They use venery with a devil called Incubus and have children by them, which become the best witches.
Scot quoted from Homer, who he echoed in his beliefs:
These dreams and terrors magical,
These miracles and witches,
Night walking sprites, or thistle-bugs,
Esteem them not two rushes.
Many of his contemporaries cautiously hailed his reasonable exposure of unreasonable superstition, for, as one of them put it, he
. . . unmasks sundry egregious impostures, and in certain principal chapters, and in special passages hits the nail on the head with a witness.
King James VI of Scotland, who was very dedicated to finding and executing witches, succeeded Elizabeth I in 1603 and thus became James I of England. This bigoted, fanatical, monarch described Scot's book as "damnable," and ordered all copies of the Discovery to be burned. Those copies remaining are now very rare. Even earlier, in 1586, a decree of the infamous Star Chamber had greatly tightened censorship laws. In spite of this, the book was reprinted several times, and was largely instrumental in changing the thinking which eventually ended the pursuit of witches in England and Scotland.
The complete work, covering such subjects as: charms, the names of demons, angels and other "words of power," conjuring tricks, astrology, alchemy, divination, spells, rituals, sabbats, Biblical and Egyptian magic, and more, was researched with such academic integrity that the Discovery remains today a much-quoted primary source for those interested in the occult sciences, believers or not. The text presents logical evidence for the witches' self-delusions — or outright fraud.
Much to the satisfaction of legitimate entertainers, the book also expresses respect for the art of legerdemain, which it discusses using that very term. Scot emphasizes that he considers such entertainments to be to the betterment of society and its citizens, and not the work of the devil or his allies. How refreshing!
I'm fortunate to have a third edition — 1665 — of this book.
Russell Winer of Tampa, Florida sees that in our April 16, 2004 commentary a reader mentioned the constitutional disqualification in Tennessee for a non-believer to hold public office. He looked that up and found that Section 1 also disqualifies ministers & priests:
ARTICLE IX — Disqualifications:Section 1. Whereas ministers of the Gospel are by their profession, dedicated to God and the care of souls, and ought not to be diverted from the great duties of their functions; therefore, no minister of the Gospel, or priest of any denomination whatever, shall be eligible to a seat in either House of the Legislature.
Section 2. No person who denies the being of God, or a future state of rewards and punishments, shall hold any office in the civil department of this state.
Section 3 is interesting also:
Section 3. Any person who shall, after the adoption of this Constitution, fight a duel, or knowingly be the bearer of a challenge to fight a duel, or send or accept a challenge for that purpose, or be an aider or abettor in fighting a duel, shall be deprived of the right to hold any office of honor or profit in this state, and shall be punished otherwise, in such manner as the Legislature may prescribe.
Are these matters of equal value and consideration? Dueling and belief in a deity?
Reader Peter Donnelly shows us there's nothing new under the Sun:
I happened to find the following in a collection of ancient jokes from the fourth-century compendium known as Philogelos, or Lover of Laughter:
Returning home from a trip abroad, a man visited an incompetent prophet and asked him about his household, and he said: "They are all healthy, including your father." When the man said, "But it's been ten years since my father died," the prophet answered, "You don't know your true father."
Peter, I've heard modern-day "psychic readers" use the same ploy. For example, they guess that their subject had an older brother, which is denied. The reader counters with, "Ah, you never knew about him. He was still-born."
I agree, there's nothing new….
Reader Valentijn van den Brink, in the Netherlands, solved for us the remainder of last week's item, "Transparent Religious Hoax":
Looking at the doctored photograph of the skeleton, I remembered I had seen it before, and that it is Mesolithic. A quick search with Google did the rest. Here is a site with some information: http://museums.ncl.ac.uk/flint/archrit.html.
Yes, compare this image with the second-last image on last week's page, and you have the proof. I've said it before: we have quite a powerful resource in our readers, who are not only great in number, but pretty smart and tenacious, as well! Thanks, Valentijn!
And, the religious hoaxers didn't even have to do the necessary trickery with the photo! It was already done for them, as a prank, but that didn't stop them from using it as proof of a miracle, of course. Reader Brandi Weed sends us to the "Worth1000" site, where we see that this was one of the winners in a contest to manipulate graphics. We're told that Photoshop 7, Painter 7, Freehand, Wacom, and Akloo 4.1 software was used to create this joke. Go to www.worth1000.com/view.asp?entry=18533&display=photoshop to see it all!
Hey! If there are Christians out there chortling over this heavy zeal by Moslems to prove that the Koran speaks sooth, just remember that there's yet another expedition actually forming up to go to Noah's Ark that the faithful think they see sitting atop Mount Ararat — at 17,800 feet (5,400 meters) high — which means that the Biblical flood had to find a whole lot of water somewhere — almost 700 million cubic miles of it, to float Noah and his zoo up there…. Also, look at Genesis 6:4, where Christians are told that just before Noah set sail, "There were giants in the earth in those days." The same giants that the Koran speaks of….?
And then there's turning water into wine, and lots of other points we could discuss….
Reader Carlton B. Morgan writes us:
I simply must tell you this, even though I am not sure if you can use it. My brother and I are in the habit of taking our mother to a pub in Cwmbran, Wales, for Sunday lunch. While waiting for our meals, my brother and I often play a gaming machine which features several quizzes. One of the games is a "snakes and ladders" type affair; if you manage to make your way to the end of the game you win a modest cash prize.The questions are general knowledge, multiple choice. Two wrong ones and a right one....well, usually. A few weeks back, we were playing it and the following question came up:
WHAT DID URI GELLER BECOME FAMOUS FOR IN THE SEVENTIES?
The options offered to us were as follows;
BENDING SPOONS
SPINNING PLATES
BEING A TWAT
Of course we pressed BENDING SPOONS, the other answers being self-evidently, er, not the one that was required. I know Uri is notoriously litigious; perhaps he would like to take on the company that manufactured the quiz machine?
Mr. Morgan, I'm sure that Geller has expressed his shock and horror at this invasion of his privacy, has already fired writs off in all directions, and has wailed about this to the media and to his lawyers. He's such a sensitive person, you see. And shy….
Reader David Bleines comments:
I was interested to see your bit on Sleep Paralysis in your column, which I always look forward to on a Friday. At one time in my life I had fairly frequent experiences of this, which started when I was both young and foolish enough to become mired in Transcendental Meditation, spending a couple of years working for the TM movement in Europe, and meditating for long periods.One of the claims of TM, which tend to be publicized more within the movement than outside, is that one of the signs of approaching enlightenment is "witnessing sleep," that is to say, being seemingly lucid in sleep — and sleep paralysis can certainly be seen in these terms. It was also believed within the movement that rakshashas (Hindu demons) may assail those making strides towards their own enlightenment and the good of all mankind. How nutty that seems to me now! My experiences of being paralyzed, finding it impossible to breath, and having a heavy weight on the chest and/or abdomen which seems to be trying to get into me, seemed to fit that quite well. It can be quite a disturbing phenomenon.
Since I came across the concept of sleep paralysis, and did some internet research on it, things became a lot clearer. My experiences seem to be midrange paralysis experiences — some people, it seems, have visual and auditory hallucinations as well. There is a lot about it on the web, if you look for it, though. It seems that people interpret these phenomena within the cultural mores of their day. It seems clear to me, having had these experiences, that reports of incubi and succubi can be rationally explained by seeing them as sleep paralysis experiences, and, in more recent years, alien abductions, medical examinations, etc., can often be put down to the same source. And, of course, as your correspondent suggests, ghosts.
Sleep paralysis, my researches tell me, is suffered to a greater or lesser degree of frequency and/or degree by a significant minority of people at some time in their lives — it is normal enough really not to be considered as a disorder at all, certainly not one which needs any sort of medical or psychological intervention, and I'd hope that you would reassure your readers who have had such experiences (and there will be many) that it is really not a problem.
All that is really needed is to be aware of what the phenomenon is. Since I've given up meditation, the frequency of my experiences has fallen away drastically — but when it recurs I'm lucid enough, after a few seconds, to think to myself, "bloody sleep paralysis again," and then to wake myself up.
David, there are still tens of thousands of victims of the TM scam out there who, like the scientology dupes, will never wake up, no matter how loudly we beat the drum. As you know, it's comforting to be accepted into a cult, to feel the camaraderie of the others who have decided to surrender their will and become sheep….
Michigan reader Dan Scholnik wrote us on last week's mention of quackery in Vegetarian Times. His comments were similar to several others on this subject:
. . . since I quit eating meat (while at school) I have been very disappointed to discover the strong connection between vegetarianism and new-age nuttiness. I gave up on magazines like Vegetarian Times long ago because of articles just like the one mentioned. Thankfully, eating only plant matter doesn't seem to cause this lack of critical thinking. My wife can attest that I rant about religion, pseudoscience and "alternative" medicine loudly and often.
Glad to hear that, Dan.
Last week, I wrote that "I've been unable to discover what 'SWT' means, but I think it's some sort of fawning modifier used when referring to this version of a deity." Reader Robert Matthews of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, informs me, as did several other folks:
That's exactly what it is. SWT stands for Subhana wa Ta'ala, which translates to "be he glorified and exalted," approximately. I'm not an expert on such matters, but it seems that when Muslims utter the name of their deity, they often tack on that ass-kissing phrase, perhaps to assure said deity that they're not taking its name in vain, as you or I might do by saying "Good god!" when we see a car accident or whatnot. They generally do the same thing when uttering the name of their main prophet, Mohammed: they commonly follow his name with the phrase "peace be unto him," often abbreviated in English "PBUH," for I'm sure what must be the same reason — to demonstrate that they're not saying their equivalent of "Jesus Christ!" in a blasphemous way.
It seems you gotta be very careful in this religion business. The gods are not only jealous and petulant, but insecure, as well. Constant kowtowing and apologies are called for. I recall that my paternal grandmother never dared to assume that there was anything that her god would allow. It was always "God willing," or "if God wills it," before every proposed action or announcement of intention. She lived in constant fear of offending this ghost.
Reader and JREF Member Ernie Garrett sends us this compliment:
I used to be a devoutly religious superstitious person. I never believed people had any reason to lie about things like psychic powers or UFOs, so I ended up believing a ridiculous amount of things. At one point, I was watching a television show about all the predictions of the end of the world that said 2000 was it. I remember crying because I believed them.But, alas, I heard about you. I don't remember how, or where, but I ended up visiting your website and reading your commentaries. The idea that all these crazy things — that I never saw myself and heard about only from others — could actually be hooey, seemed so shocking but yet made so much sense.
It's been a few years, and I can now consider myself a critical thinker. I'm a lot happier and more productive because of it. I have you to thank for that, as you've heard from some other recent letters. I know you must get tired of dealing with the endless stream of nonsense that comes your way every day, but for having the chutzpah and tireless energy to do it, you've become one of my personal heroes. You are touching lives and doing more for the human race than all those so-called mystics combined. If ANYONE could live forever — if it wasn't me — I'd pick you.
Keep up the great work, and thank you.
It might be a bit difficult for most of you to understand how a thinking human being can be driven to tears over belief in such matters. I don't have any problem with understanding that; I've seen such fear many times from folks who just didn't know better. Many years ago, I did a favor for a magician friend who was overbooked and asked me to fill in for him on a show at a local synagogue. The rabbi there was an amiable chap who made me very much at ease, equipped me with the appropriate yarmulke, and chatted while we waited for the time for my show. His secretary interrupted at one point, and he asked me to excuse him while he conferred privately with a visibly shaken and teary-eyed woman who had asked urgently to speak with him. Returning from that conference, he shook his head in dismay. "She's a PhD in history, teaches at NYU, and is very intelligent," he told me. "But she's in a panic because she found that the box of kosher salt she's been using to cook with, was put together using animal glue, and she's sure that she's committed a major sin by this oversight. Sometimes I wonder…."
Yes, rabbis are wise people….
Willie, "frae bonnie Scotland," writes:
I thought I would send you this short clipping from the METRO free newspaper (dated Friday, May 21, 2004) available on all good public transport in and around Scotland:
A PSYCHIC has set up a school to teach people the art of second sight. Emma King claims her one year course can develop anyone's sixth sense to make them a fully blown psychic. Subjects on the course — which has been launched in Glasgow, Edinburgh and Dunfermline — include dream analysis, clairvoyance and healing.
I wonder how many months it will take for the students to predict if they will pass or fail? Keep up the good work.
Ah, but Emma apparently doesn't teach precognition, Willie! Perhaps for good reason…..
Rodney M. Cluff is the author of World Top Secret: Our Earth Is Hollow! Mr. Cluff works in the real world as a computer programmer/analyst, and conducts research into evidences for hollow planets, as a fantasy hobby. Not only does he believe that the Earth is hollow, but following what he calls "scientific evidence," including satellite photos of the "polar holes," analysis of the observations of polar explorers, analysis of earthquake data and much more, coupled with evidence from the scriptures, he concludes that the Ten Lost Tribes of Israel are now to be found inside the Earth!
But wait! There's more! This not unexpectedly all-encompassing theory gives us the origin of Flying Saucers, the cause of earthquakes, the location of the Throne of King David, and of the City of Enoch, and many more items we've mislaid. Maybe, just maybe, all those orphan socks will be discovered by explorer Cluff, too.
He doesn't want to go there alone, though. He has a proposal for an expedition to the center of our Hollow Earth. Cluff says he's chartered a "nuclear icebreaker" June 26 to July 19, 2005, to take 108 passengers to find the polar opening, at a cost of from $18,950 to $20,950 per person. In case skeptics tend to doubt his story, he assures us that "there are some people in the government who are aware of the opening to the inner earth but have tried to keep that knowledge hidden from the public," and he has "indications that the U.S. military does know about it." Aha! So that's why we didn't know about all this! "We believe that in this expedition we, the people, have a right to know," he says.
For those who doubt his noble reasons for hauling folks to the pole looking for a huge hole, Cluff says that there are religious beliefs that he expects to be proven on the expedition. He says that the inner Earth is the location of the "Throne of King David" from the Bible, and that the "political kingdom of God" is located there. He also believes that the lost Garden of Eden is in the hollow Earth, and its inhabitants are friendly, highly civilized, and mostly members of the ten Lost Tribes of Israel. As for lighting arrangements, he says that "the inner sun" located inside the Earth, is the Throne of Jehovah and a paradise for the dead.
It seems Cluff is unaware that aircraft regularly fly over the poles of the Earth, and see no huge holes there. That could simplify the expedition, and make the costs far less.
There's still more. Cluff says he hopes to prove that UFOs originate from the inner Earth, and solar winds and the inner Sun cause the northern lights. Just think of the scope of his research. I'm sure that the common cold, Nostradamus, ear wax, Sophia Loren, and Tarot cards can all be explained by Rodney Cluff.
But Mr. Cluff, don't call us; we'll call you….
You remember Billy Meier, the man who's in touch with the UFOs and the "Pleidians"? See www.randi.org/jr/032604why.html if you want to refresh your memory of this member of the parade of nut-cases that shows up here. Well, Billy's now telling us that on September 29, 2004, this hunk of asteroid named "4179 Toutatis," 3 by 1.5 miles in size, is due to hit the Earth. Wow! Panic time!
Now for the actual facts: this approach will be the closest in this century of any known asteroid at least as prominent as Toutatis, and I have an idea that though the tabloids will eagerly fluff it up, and certain TV and radio hosts will be all a-flutter about it, this giant peanut-shaped rock will glide by quietly, as it's done regularly every four years or so, an endless number of times. This pass will be about a million miles from Earth, four times the distance of our Moon; astronomically speaking, that's pretty close.
Just to let you know the distinctive nature of this asteroid, here's an animation of its peculiar spin-pattern. The September 29 visit will doubtless give astronomers the opportunity of providing us with further, more detailed, information about the visitor. I look forward to that. I'll probably go out to try getting a glimpse of the rock, a privilege denied those who will be quaking under their beds as it whizzes by….
Need I tell you — after September 29th, these guys will fall silent, then we'll be bombarded with a slew of alibis and lame excuses for their failure. It was ever so, but as we also know, the media will still pester them for yet more scary prophecies about anything that pops into their bony heads — because that's "good press."
Reader Randall Wald tells us:
For the past few years, I've periodically had episodes of sleep paralysis. The weird thing is, I never thought them to be in any way paranormal. After the first one or two occurred, I thought, "Wow, I must have some sort of weird medical condition. I hope it isn't serious." At some level, my mind even started playing with these paralysis events as the jokes they were. My favorite sleep paralysis-induced hallucination involved a variety of colorful and oddly shaped creatures floating around my bed. I told them, "Listen, guys: I know you're just hallucinations, so go away." All of them went away, except for one, which quipped, "Wow, that was sure a weird collection of imaginary creatures, wouldn't you say?" I responded, "You're not fooling me, you know. I'm perfectly aware that you're imaginary as well." The creature sighed, said "Well, it was worth a shot," and disappeared as well.I'm still not entirely sure why I was so skeptical as to immediately recognize the hallucinations for what they were; as a kid, I was always interested in the paranormal and the occult, though I'm not sure how much I actually believed. One thing I did believe, however, was the Ouija board. For about two weeks, I would consult the board every day after school with my brother; I even made a small paper version that could fit into my backpack, so that we could ask questions when we were in the car on the way to school. At some point, my dad apparently realized that this had gone too far, and explained the ideomotor effect to me. I think he might have demonstrated it by saying, "Hold the planchette without asking a question, and see what happens. For that matter, think about it moving to the left without actually trying to move it there." For some reason, these explanations actually got through to me, and I recognized the Ouija board for the game it is. Now that I'm older, I look back upon these early experiences ruefully, and hope that if I ever have children, I might do as well by them.
Anyway, I'm not entirely sure how much of an effect you personally had on my skepticism; I do remember that my dad once took me to a magic convention where you demonstrated spoon bending (I think we might have even gotten your autograph afterward), but I don't really remember my reaction to this at the time. I'm sure, however, that there are people whose parents aren't as supportive of skepticism as mine were, and for them you might be their only hope. Keep up the good work.
IN CLOSING….
GREAT NEWS! We've just heard, from Flavio Rizzardi in Italy, that our excellent friend Piero Angela has just a few days ago been acquitted of the defamation charge brought against him there by the Italian Association of Homeopathic Doctors! Two years ago, his excellent TV show Superquark aired a piece highly critical of homeopathy. After a long trial, the judge concluded that homeopathy has no scientific basis whatsoever. She called it a "medicine of emotions," and rejected the charges.
We'll have full coverage of this welcome victory, next week….
Asks Mr. Rizzardi, "Does this mean that their medical skills are infinitesimally diluted?"
And, Michael Shermer tells us:
In case anyone is interested, we have posted on our web page, www.skeptic.com, our "How to Fake UFO Photographs" from Jr. Skeptic magazine, authored and photographed by Skeptic Art Director Pat Linse. To my eyes, Pat's fake UFO photos far surpass anything Billy Meier photographed, real or fake. Please feel free to reference this page to UFO and skeptic groups.
Done!
