From: radinsky@spot.Colorado.EDU (Wayne Radinsky)
Subject: Re: Oh so worried.
Organization: University of Colorado, Boulder
Date: Tue, 22 Dec 1992 05:55:48 GMT

drake+@cs.cmu.edu (Drake) writes:
>>> Maybe some of you would like to come up with a definition of what
>>> exactly Satanism *is*...
>>
>>Satanism [in this context only] -- n. the ability to summon and
>>influence demonic spirits, and possibly induce the spiritual posession
>>(see below) of someone else.
> 
> What is a "demonic" spirit and how is it differentiated from a regular
> spirit?

I don't know.  Malicious, maybe.  Or, if we assume "regular" spirits are
dead people, a "demonic" spirit would have to be an evil, non-human
spirit.

> Is this newgroup operating in the Christian paradigm, or have we
> gotten beyond that?  (Sorry; I'm new here.)

No, the newsgroup doesn't operate on the Christian paradigm.

I personally was using some "Christian" concepts, for example, life
after death, demonic possession caused by real demons vs. psychological
effects, etc.  I wouldn't consider my postings representative of the
newsgroup, however.

>>>>>My point, however, is: IF Voodoo hexes are for real it's just as
>>>>possible for Sagan to get hexed as it is for him to die from AIDS.
>>> 
>>> Interesting theory.  What do you mean by "for real?"
>>
>>I mean real.  Gravity is real, anti-gravity is not (but the concept is
>>real).
> 
> Interesting example of recursion (or is that an endless loop?)
>
> So the things that you have experienced are real, the things you have
> not aren't?  Rather myopic, it seems.  Magic is a branch of psychology,
> not physics.  "There are more things in heaven and earth..."

Actually the underlying assumption I've been making all this time, and one
which everyone seems to have missed, is that there =is= an objective reality
(of which "demonic spirits" either are, or are not a part of).  I guess we
don't have many experts in quantum physics on alt.satanism.  A quantum
physicist would have recognized this assumption!

As for the statement "the things that you have experienced are real", there
are various optical illusions that dispel that notion.  Here's an example;
I don't know if this will work with text drawings but:

       \                        /         /              \
        \                      /         /                \
         \                    /         /                  \
          XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX          XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
         /                    \         \                  /
        /                      \         \                /
       /                        \         \              /

The idea is that one of the lines of X's looks longer than the other
(they're actually the same length -- count the characters).  Stand back and
look at them from a distance, that seems to improve the effect for me.

It's worth pointing out, however, that, even though you misinterpret what
you see, you're still seeing something "real" -- that is, the ascii figures
are "real".  The conclusion, perhaps, is that while "the things that you
have experienced are real" they may also be misunderstood.

> To continue your example, yes, I think it's possible for Sagan to "get
> hexed," as you phrase it.  Probable?  No.

Why do you think it's possible?

--Wayne, the anxious puppy