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witch and visions of glory

Posted: Wed Oct 25, 2023 10:49 pm
by huckelberry
dark center of gravity around which the book revolves. (my proposed reading)

When we think of witch hysteria and deadly hunts we of course think of Salem. We are also aware of the fact that the events there were the end of a multiply century European terror which cost many lives. That hysteria was shaped or given form by books (one in particular whose name is partly out of my memory, includes hammer) utilizing Christian themes and imagery to construct fantastical theories generating fear and requiring good folks to take extreme measures.

It is natural to think first of those European examples but violence against witches is a world wide thing and it is reasonable to suspect that it goes very deep into human history. Perhaps there are patterns in the human imagination where in we hope for magical safety against the many dangers and unknowns in life. Those hopes link up with the idea of spiritual power through connections with the gods. (or sources of power) This idea can suggest the possibility of reversal, magical power to spread negatives. If so then action against those magical powers appears desirable to people. Christian culture has its version of this, devils angels and God but the pattern with different names and costumes is found all about the world.
https://www.my wife.com/en/witch-hunts-a-glo ... a-54495289

I think the same themes in the book Visions of Glory disturb me that other see as disturbing. They are obvious, perhaps my thoughts about them are obvious as well though they disturb me. First the books portrays many people as beset and controlled by devils or evil spirits. They swarm, especially about sexual desire. Second and clearly magnifying the danger some people get special experience like nde which gives them broad discernment about the evils in other people. Third current history is entering a time when disruption will start a separation of the good and bad folks and the bad may need to be disappeared.

clearly these ideas suggest a power for some people which they may aspire to or imagine they possess. It is a power over and in contrast to those people controlled or beset by devils. Imagining that one has such power is both morally repugnant, sinful, and absurd. Why would people allow themselves to slide into such negative delusions? I think the pattern of imagination in the idea of witchcraft makes a template that a desire to believe can support itself with.

Clearly the picture of evil spirits is shaped to create fear it is the same general type of fear as is happening with fear of witches. In this case there is a special power proposed against that fear and an invitation to join that power..The sense of power can expand in relation to the fear.

I think the idea that a person has a special power to discern and judge the spiritual state of others is fundamentally immoral and makes the person imagining they have such power a danger to others. It is as if they become the witch they wish to fight. In a sense Lori Vallo and company become what the fear image of coven of witch is. But they have no magic only twisted ideas which can manipulate people. A hunt does not stop that sort of power, better shine a light to show the twisted and false thinking which controls people.

Re: witch and visions of glory

Posted: Fri Oct 27, 2023 2:23 am
by Kishkumen
You make a great observation here, huckelberry. I had not thought to connect the discernment of these NDE Preppers to witch hysteria, but the similarities are there. Those who think they can detect witches are very much like Daybell and his fellow travelers in imagining they have this special power to find the demons and those who are infected by them. It is definitely a deadly delusion, as we see in the murders perpetrated by Daybell and Vallow. I had to chuckle when one of Dehlin’s guests suggested that the LDS Church might teach people that demons cannot inhabit people. Good luck with that. Casting out demons is not at all that uncommon in LDS practice. Better to give the people a way to navigate the issue that does not have deadly consequences. One option is to condemn, unequivocally, Brigham Young’s blood atonement doctrine. No one should think that they are justified in killing another person who poses no physical danger to others. Witch hunting is very much a practice that is extrajudicial in our country, and it should stay out of the LDS Church, too. It is one thing to condemn apostates, and quite another to claim that people are demon possessed and can only be saved by having their lives forfeited.

ETA: I read my response the morning after and it SEEMS so ridiculous. Too bad that the world is screwy enough to make it a serious concern.