-Caveat Lector- Kris Millegan <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > 15. GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION OF SRA > > > Belief about widespread SRA and a strong SRA industry exists only in > countries, where belief of the reality of the Christian devil as an > evil, active, person is widespread. These include the US, Canada, and > England. With the possible exception of the Netherlands, "Satanic > panics" have not been triggered in countries in which belief in the > Satan is rare. They have fizzled in the rest of Europe. > > If SRA exists internationally, one would expect it to be present in all > nominally Christian countries. The prevalence of SRA beliefs appear to > be related to our beliefs about Satan rather than any objective reality. > Satanism is a heresy that manifests most commonly in *Protestant* countries--and not all Protestant countries at that. In the U.S., Canada, and Britain, satanism has largely replaced witchcraft as a focus of popular hysteria (despite the best efforts of some on the religious right); however, in most of Europe, fear of the "Unknown" usually takes the form of withcraft hysteria. This is almost entirely directed at women who fall outside the norms of society; Finland is the only exception to this rule of which I am aware. Such public hysterias are fortunately not common today (except in the Anglophone countries)--the last major witch scandal in Germany was in the 1950's, in the Rhineland. Witchcraft is always a survival or revival of an older, often autochthonous religion practiced in spite of or in resistance to the dominant religion. In Classical Greece, <goetia> or "howling" referred to the practice of the witches of Thessaly, who seem to have preserved the goddess-centered religion of Old Europe which was suppressed and repressed by the Indo-European-speaking invaders. When Christianity became dominant, witchcraft took over attributes of the Greco-Roman deities, and the central figures became Diana and Pan. Over time, the Goat-God Pan was assimilated to his Christian allotype Satan or Lucifer, and the Church determined that witches were Satan-worshippers. Enough centuries of being told that they worshipped Satan meant that eventually many witches *did* worship Satan, often in parodies of the Mass. Alongside this mocking of the Church, however, more ancient forms of witchcraft survived, preserving pagan beliefs in an often warped and partial form; and the Church found it next to impossible--not to say undesirable--to distinguish between the different types of witchcraft. Satanism as practiced today appears to represent "cocking a snook" at the established churches. I honestly doubt that there are multigenerational conspiracies, etc.--there is simply no evidence for them, any more than there was any evidence for real witchcraft at Salem. But there *is* a hell of a lot of fear in our society, and Satanists make good scapegoats, because you can project whatever you want onto them. Bob ================================= Robert F. Tatman [EMAIL PROTECTED] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Remove "nospam" from the address to reply. NOTICE: In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml POSTING THIS MESSAGE TO THE INTERNET DOES NOT IMPLY PERMISSION TO SEND UNSOLICITED COMMERCIAL E-MAIL (SPAM) TO THIS OR ANY OTHER INTERNET ADDRESS. RECEIPT OF SPAM WILL RESULT IN IMMEDIATE NOTIFICATION OF THE SENDER'S ISP. ____________________________________________________________________ Get your own FREE, personal Netscape WebMail account today at http://webmail.netscape.com. DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion and informational exchange list. Proselyzting propagandic screeds are not allowed. Substance�not soapboxing! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory', with its many half-truths, misdirections and outright frauds is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRL gives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credeence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. ======================================================================== Archives Available at: http://home.ease.lsoft.com/archives/CTRL.html http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ ======================================================================== To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
