Anna

Dear dear Cos. you are fond of these rather demeaning responses aren't you? Is this how you were taught?
"mystical" eh? Now that's a word my Trinitarian religious teacher used in answer to questions I had on the Trinity doctorine at school!
With regard to your request, it is the entire discussion provided by Jesus on the subject. His words for me stand alone without any need for me to amplify or explain.
I'm quite happy with your definition. Although I would add that Jehovah's power does not cease to exist when it is not in action.

Thanks for the offer but, as even those professing an understanding of the Greek cannot agree on this text, my schedule won't run to revisiting all the arguments. As I said, one's understanding of Scriptural context will dictate the conclusion on matters like this anyway.
You see, this is YOUR opinion, to which you are entitled. Although I shared your view at one time, (not expressed in such detail), I now differ as to my understanding of Jesus' teaching on this matter and, (ironically), consider Holy Spirit to have been an enlightening factor in this, as it was certainly not involved in the imparting of my previously held concepts on the subject.
Your selective phrasing is to assume "power" as a synonym for the phrase "power in action", and to quote other phrases using either term as synonomous. By omitting the qualifying phrase "in action",  you create a contradiction by comparing in parallel phrases that are actually describing different elements. To place "power" against "power(in action)" is actually an "apples and oranges" comparison. The terms although related, are different. Now, "power in action"  is synonomous with the word "force" however, and these can be substituted for each other.
The concept of "force" has been defined as something that "only exists as a result of an interaction'", and thus for me adequately describes the relationship between God's Almighty power (His potential) and His Holy Spirit, the force, which is His power applied (or, "in action"), to accomplish His will. His Power is Almighty, without limitation. His spirit acomplishes a variety of operations, and is His power applied to the extent required at any particular moment. Thus Holy Spirit is limited to the demands of the moment and task at hand, otherwise it would be destructive. (Also, Scripture identifies  the need for those who have it already to pray for more).
So that explains my understanding which for me harmonises wth all the scriptural references I have seen both literal and figurative, be they descriptive or allegorical. Other explanations I find inadequate, or contradictory, or both.

No ... it's not ... that is why there are MANY different types and sizes of 12v batteries that you can buy, all at the same auto parts store ... once you put a load on them, that POTENTIAL energy behaves quite differently when actually doing work.

Awwww..........that was a let down!

Awwww..........that was a let down!

I don't mind bringing it back to its A&W roots here. Angels and Women (A&W) was already discussed around these parts once, and I think you had apparently done some good research on it, if I remember right. I don't think it does much good to guess what was going on in the minds of Russell, Woodworth and Rutherford, but Allen pointed to the particular Golden Age magazine that provides an explanation for a start.
I think we can start there or even go back a little farther. (To the first announcement in The Golden Age, July 30, 1924, p. 702.) I have numbered some sentences and paragraphs of that article so I can reference them.
Review of Book    "ANGELS AND WOMEN" is the title of a book just off the press. It is a reproduction and revision of the novel, "Seola" which was written in 1878, and which deals with conditions prior to the flood. Pastor Russell read this book with keen interest, and requested some of his friends to read it because of its striking harmony with the Scriptural account of the sons of God described in the sixth chapter of Genesis. Those sons of God became evil, and debauched the human family prior to, and up to, the time of the great deluge. We call attention to this book because we believe it will be of interest to Bible Students, who are familiar with the machinations of the devil and the demons and the influence exercised by them prior to the flood and also now in this evil day. The book throws light on the subject and is believed, will aid those who carefully consider it to avoid the baneful effects of spiritism, now so prevalent in the world. The book is revised and published by a personal friend of Pastor Russell, and one who was close to him in his work. It is published by the A. B. Abac Company, New York city. The publishers advise that the regular price of the book is $2.00; but to all subscribers to The Golden Age, it will furnished at $1.00 per volume, when ordered in lots of ten or more. This is not an advertisement, but a voluntary comment. Remember that this is from the first announcement in July. It wasn't until December 1924 that they started explaining what they thought was most important about the book. The original book was written in 1878, which brings up an interesting question (speculative) about whether Russell read it prior to a point he made in the very first Watchtower in July 1879 when he said that truth is truth even if it comes from Satan. This was a phrase that both Rutherford and Woodworth re-quoted from Russell on occasion.
But Russell said more on the subject. I don't want to skip too much from context so I will only deal with this first point from the numbered paragraphs above in this post:
In a 1911 Watch Tower, with the same idea repeated again in 1914, Russell claimed that some of the "fallen angels" were probably already being judged in fulfillment of Paul's words saying "Do you not know that we will judge angels?" Russell thought these would be the same angels held in Tartarus in bonds of dense darkness. But now released with a higher degree of freedom. Depending on how they handled this freedom, some would no doubt be repentant and gain forgiveness. The following is from the September 1911 Watch Tower in the article: "The Judgment of the Angels." Keep in mind that the theory behind the promotion of the book "Angels and Women" was that it was dictated in 1878 by one of the fallen angels who had repented and desired to do God's will. Since about this time, the anointed might even have currently (since 1878 at least) held some kind of power over them and might be involved in judging them.
-------------------------rest of this post is a long quotation from the 1911 Watchtower--------------------------
THEIR JUDGMENT PROBABLY NOW
We have answered in previous issues of THE WATCH TOWER that this trial will be, we believe, at the very beginning of this Great Day. And why at the beginning? For the reason that there is only one way, so far as we can see, in which these fallen angels can have a trial, their trial consisting in having a fuller opportunity to sin, if they so desire, or an opportunity to show, if they wish, that they are sick of sin and desire to return to harmony with God. . . .
THEY ARE CONFINED TO EARTH'S ATMOSPHERE
The Apostles Peter and Jude tell us that after their wrong course these angels were separated from association with the heavenly and holy angels, who were in harmony with God, and were cast down to tartarus, to our earth's atmosphere, "to be reserved in chains of darkness until the Judgment of the Great Day." What does that expression mean? The "chains of darkness" we believe to be a figurative statement signifying that they were no longer permitted to materialize in the light and, generally, not able to materialize at all. But of late spiritists claim, and we believe truthfully, that these spirits can now materialize in as real and tangible flesh as any human being possesses. As they state, and as the facts prove, this can be done only under certain circumstances; they still have a great deal of difficulty in materializing in the light. The "chains of darkness" still seem to be on them to some extent.
Spiritists further claim, however, that the spirits are breaking these bonds and that gradually they will be able to do fully in the light everything that they can now do in the dark, and even more than this. The Bible corroborates what the spiritists claim, only that the spiritists teach that these things are done by the dead; who, the spirits tell, are more alive after death than before. Spiritists assert that it is the spirits of dead human beings that materialize. But the Bible takes the opposite position and says that these spirits are the fallen angels, and that so far as humanity are concerned, the dead are totally dead and must remain so until the resurrection.
So, then, the Bible and the Spiritists are in decided conflict; and yet there is this harmony that we speak of, namely, that at the time of the Judgment of the Great Day we may expect the bonds restraining these spirits to be loosened. Of course God could hold them in restraint; but He will now permit these fallen angels to have a great lease of liberty. Then will come to them a great trial and testing, or judgment, in respect to their willingness or unwillingness to do according to the Divine will.
SOME OF THEM PROBABLY REPENTANT
It would not surprise us if some of the fallen angels who sinned in the past have repented and have had long centuries of experience with the unrepentant ones; and that these have suffered persecutions from those of evil mind. And so there may thus be two classes among the fallen angels; the one class desirous of doing the will of God and the other class, like Satan himself, wilfully opposed to the will of God. The trial time will prove each of these angels and manifest to which class each belongs.
We think, too, that we see in the Scriptures a passage which we had not seen with the same force before --a Scripture that seems to give a thought along this very line. It seems to imply that at a very near date probably these fallen angels will have wonderful power, such as they have never had since the days of the flood, and that this wonderful power will be used in a very malevolent manner, to stir up mankind to evil doing; and that this will be the key, the secret connected with the awful time of trouble which the Bible tells us will mark the conclusion of this Age and which will constitute the forerunner or beginning of the New Dispensation.
. . .
The Bible says that Satan is the Prince of the Power of the Air, that he is the Prince of Demons. (Eph. 2:2; Matt. 9:34.) Therefore we understand that in this symbolical sense "the powers of the air" are the demons; that these powers of the air that are being held until the saints of God shall have been sealed in their foreheads, are these fallen angels. As soon as the power that is now controlling them shall be removed, we shall have a reign of evil all over the earth. The evil spirits will do all the evil that is in their power, and this will constitute the trial of all the fallen angels--the lifting of the restraints to see whether they will go contrary to the Divine will. All who thus manifest their alliance with evil in any way will become subjects of the Second Death; while others who show their loyalty to God will mark themselves as worthy, presumably, of everlasting life.
It may be something in connection with the saints that will constitute the test of these angels. However, we need not wait many years until we shall know.
 
 

A futile policy . But nevertheless a common ploy in Satan's world.
Actually, all of his machinations are futile anyway. Prov. 21:30: "There is no wisdom, nor any discernment, nor any counsel in opposition to Jehovah".

I'll think about your post later. but will just provide some detail to keep inclusion of this detail on topic.
I came across the Atlantean Society many years ago when I was searching for answers, prior to studying the Bible. It was in an article in a volume of Pears Cyclopedia in a section on beliefs which I no longer possess. What I found curious was that they claimed (maybe still do?) spirit contact with some(one?) who had lived in Atlantis which was, they held, the antideluvian world which had been catastrophically ended.
Although interest in Atlantis persists, I haven't been able to to find much information on this paticular group now (the information wasn't on gold plates I promise), but I was curious as it seemed connected in view of this thread's subject matter and the era. In fact, along with the Theosophical movement, it might well deserve a place on Anna's list.  I was hoping someone else might have some knowledge. 

Let's offer a wider selection of favorites:

And just to help you keep @Anna's interest, she should know that Joseph Smith of Mormon fame also had his start in the Burned-over district. (In the same time period when Second Adventists began rescorching the region.)

@Anna
There is always the danger in going off-topic in these fascinating discussions. As this one has resulted from just that problem,  I will include a view that connects a discussion of Satan's tactics with the actual topic element "a plethora of other curiosities from the 1800's onward"
I do not see it as a coincidence that the peculiar conditions prevalent in New York State (Burned-over district) that provided a backdrop to the emergence of Charles Russell and his early Bible Students should be accompanied by the "plethora of curiosities" you refer to. The awakening of interest in end time prophecy and the return of Christ would be sure to attract the interest of spirit entities set on preventing the light of truth emerging from God's Word.
There! A connection to hopefully keep this intriguing thread on track! 

I remember that went on for YEARS ... from about 1960 through the late 1970's, , both in Virginia, where I grew up, and in California where I moved to circa 1969... and then it seemed to die out.
Strange how it never applied to buying a used car ..... I did run off the road backwards during a snowstorm, but that was due to my not having a better understanding of friction physics, and momentum ... not demons.

Yes. That was dumb of me, I shouldn't have used his name. I went ahead and edited it out.

Ever notice that demonic people always dress the same?
 

 
Thank you both!
I did discover though that I can go back and edit the title of the topic. I have actually done that several times now as I started only with "Seola aka Angels and Women", but there is only so much one can say about a book, and so when I introduced some of the background on spiritism I added mummies...and then the "plethora" in hopes this would cover a broader scope. Then I realised we were no longer discussing the 1800's so I added "onward". This is my way of beating that "old hen" Librarian, who, believe it or not, introduced a topic of the Smurfs right here, and even bid others to comment on what they knew about them. But then took it down within the hour realising that was introducing an entirely different topic! Ha! So.....I will just edit the topic as needed and that will stop "the old hen" from shutting down further comments! This is MY topic, so lay off Librarian

I thought I’d also mention that funnily enough this kind of “mass hysteria” regarding spiritism prevailed into the 1990’s among the Witnesses, and was marked by supposed demon possession of items brought in bazaars, including mattresses which would throw the person on to the floor. Friends were known to do almost public burnings reminiscent of those who practiced magic in Paul’s day, of any items thought to be demon possessed. I too was guilty of this "hysteria" which confirms what @Gone Fishinghad probably in mind when he said had we lived in Russell's day, we too would have made the kind of "errors" in judgement that they did. One morning I was lying in bed, when I could have sworn my mattress shook. I thought to myself, this is it, it's possessed. In my mind I was already going through the steps of how I would tell my mother, and then the practical procedure of where and how we would burn it. No doubt we would have to pour  gallons of petrol on it because these demons are very resistant and stubborn, as I learned in one account in one of our magazines. I was worried about how to broach the subject though. The thought did occur to me that maybe I had done something wrong, and this is why I had been chosen by these supernatural beings as their next victim. I didn't have to worry too long because as soon as my mother got out of the shower, she had a phone call from one of her friends asking her if she had felt the tremor too. There had been a small earthquake. Whew!

Yes it can have an impact. But we mustn't forget that demons too move with the times and adapt their methods. I doubt they would try to convince an atheist of their existence for example. In the "enlightened" western world, especially within more rational cultures the experience with demons like in Jesus' day is limited. Unless you're an Italian Catholic it appears. It's something that people like to get entertained by more than anything.

I thought I’d also mention that funnily enough this kind of “mass hysteria” regarding spiritism prevailed into the 1990’s among the Witnesses, and was marked by supposed demon possession of items brought in bazaars, including mattresses which would throw the person on to the floor. Friends were known to do almost public burnings reminiscent of those who practiced magic in Paul’s day, of any items thought to be demon possessed. I too was guilty of this "hysteria" which confirms what @Gone Fishinghad probably in mind when he said had we lived in Russell's day, we too would have made the kind of "errors" in judgement that they did. One morning I was lying in bed, when I could have sworn my mattress shook. I thought to myself, this is it, it's possessed. In my mind I was already going through the steps of how I would tell my mother, and then the practical procedure of where and how we would burn it. No doubt we would have to pour  gallons of petrol on it because these demons are very resistant and stubborn, as I learned in one account in one of our magazines. I was worried about how to broach the subject though. The thought did occur to me that maybe I had done something wrong, and this is why I had been chosen by these supernatural beings as their next victim. I didn't have to worry too long because as soon as my mother got out of the shower, she had a phone call from one of her friends asking her if she had felt the tremor too. There had been a small earthquake. Whew!

Possibly. There doesn't seem to be any information whether she did or didn't consult the account in Genesis, although perhaps that was a a given. But yes, she definitely seems to have consulted non canonical Hebrew writings and even the sanskrit literature of India. She would have got similar information about a flood since as we know, the flood "legend" appears in most ancient writings. What is definite is her novel is a hundred times more accurate Biblically than that awful movie Noah, which I only watched because of Russel Crowe and because everyone said how terrible it was.

As we know, spiritism has been around since the fall of Adam and Eve in various forms, but “modern spiritism” (or spiritualism), apparently  “developed and reached its peak growth in membership from the 1840s to the 1920s, especially in English-speaking countries. By 1897, spiritualism was said to have more than eight million followers in the United States and Europe, mostly drawn from the middle and upper classes"  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spiritualism  
My opinion is that Spiritism can be associated with a type of “mass hysteria” which is defined by Wikipedia as: "a phenomenon that transmits collective illusions of threats, whether real or imaginary, through a population in society as a result of rumors and fear"..
I don’t want anyone to think I am dismissing that spirits are real and that they have had influence in the past and present.  I am merely suggesting that a lot of beliefs and stories surrounding the concept of a spirit world in modern times can be attributed to “mass hysteria” and it could explain Russell and others being influenced by it (the hysteria, not the spiritism). I agree with JWI comment in one of the threads: “I do think people who tend to decide that everything is either Satan or Jehovah are more likely to fool themselves into thinking in black and white. When they don't understand something and think it's positive then that must be Jehovah. When they don't understand something and they think that it's negative, then it must be Satan” A classic example, as also brought out by JWI is the dramatic musings of Br Woodworth regarding what he thought were influences from Satan: “Visions may be tried, wonderful illuminations of the mind as by a soft but glorious greenish or yellowish haze. Seductive suggestions may be made, based on circumstances of the environment. Offers of inspiration may be made. (Finished Mystery) When I read that it reminded me of what the author of Seola said regarding her inspiration for the novel: “...listening to the performance of an extraordinary musical composition. It was sudden and unforeseen as the landscape which sometimes appears to a benighted traveller, for one instant only, illumined by the lightning's flash”
It seems like people in those days were full of notions of “Gothic Romanticism” and flowery speech. Coupled with the “mass hysteria” I mentioned, you have the ingredients for all kinds of perceived ideas and theories. Interestingly, during that period of time people were also fascinated with anything Egyptian, initiated by the public unwrappings of mummies in the 1920’s in Europe, (brought over by French archeologists during Napoleon's invasion of Egypt) and later the travelling mummy  exhibits in the United States (where Joseph Smith purchased the Egyptian papyri claiming they were  written by Abraham, sorry @TrueTomHarley)
I made up a (very incomplete) list of just some of happenings during that particularly “spiritistic” era.
1823 Joseph Smith is visited by Angel Moroni
1827 Jane Webb publishes her Gothic fiction “The Mummy!”
1835 Joseph Smith publishes the “Book of Abraham”
1845 Edgar Allan Poe publishes his poem “the Raven”
1848 The Fox sisters begin their “mysterious” rappings
1875 Ms. Mary Baker Eddy publishes her book “Science and Health”
1878 Ms. Smith publishes her novel Seola
1890 Elijah Bond gives commercial birth to the Ouija board (what is commercial birth?....I think I just made that one up)
1923 Greber attends his first séance
1937 Greber translates Bible manuscripts
etc. etc.
Of course in that list would also be Russell’s writings, including Woodworth’s “Finished Mystery”
But I am no more suggesting that Russell or Woodworth were under the influence of the spirit world than I am suggesting that any of the other the people in my list were.  Joseph Smith was an egotistical con man, Edgar Allan Poe, although brilliant, an alcoholic and drug addict, the Fox sisters con artists, Elijah Bond an opportunistic businessman....etc. etc.  I believe they all had their reasons for why and what they wrote or did, but communicating with the spirit world was not one of them. ...
Nor would I ever suggest Russell and co were con men, but rather, naively led along with the fascinations of that time, and maybe sometimes influenced by a lack of sleep.
 

The topic bellow is not accepting any further comments so I have no choice but to start another topic, although this thread will probably be really short...
I  wanted to comment on this remark made by @Alessandro Corona : "Russell was also involved in the distribution of a book written by a demon through automatic/angel writing called seola, later renamed to of angels and women. Samuel Herd has even come out and said it was a fantastic novel. So you can see the type of judgment the leadership of bethel really has".
That the book was written through automatic angel writing is mere speculation and not based on any know facts.  The publishers Leopold Classic Library commented on its re- print: ....."our view is that this is a significant literary work, which deserves to be brought back into print after many decades...... We hope that you will enjoy this wonderful classic book”  I have the book, and agree with both Leopold publishing and Br. Herd (if he really said anything like what was quoted). It is a romantic novel of the caliber of well known classics and if you can get a hold of it (Amazon has it) then I recommend it for your library.
I think the rumour originally got started because it was said that  Ms. Ann Eliza Smith, the author, had never read the Bible and despite that, her observations regarding that time (antediluvian) were remarkably accurate so much so that is was deemed she must have had this information communicated to her via an angel. I find it unlikely that she didn’t know anything about the Bible since most people at that time did, and one of her other novels (From dawn to sunrise) apparently deals with “the historical and philosophical religious ideas of mankind”. She herself says that : “the theory upon which the story is founded is in strict accordance with the sacred writings of the Hebrews and traditions of other ancient nations”.
Anyway, for those who want to know more about the novel: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seola
Note what the footnote says about the music that she said had inspired her: “A book review publisher called, "Good Company-Sunday Afternoon: A magazine for the household" released an article on the novel Seola in 1878. The magazine believed the compositions that motivated Smith to write the novel was the prelude to the “Creation”, one of Strauss’s waltzes, a scrap of a symphony of Saint Saens, and Wagner’s Centennial March, all played simultaneously in a small room”. 
Also note the reason Br. Russell recommended the book was because: "we believe it will be of interest to Bible Students, who are familiar with the machinations of the devil and the demons and the influence exercised by them prior to the flood and also now in this evil day. The book throws light on the subject and is believed, will aid those who carefully consider it to avoid the baneful effects of spiritism, now so prevalent in the world".
Of course this kind of reasoning was very popular at the time because as was said "spiritism was now so prevalent in the world"*. However now, we would just consider the novel an interesting read as any other, well written story, (that was made up but based on facts), would be.
*It seems the popularity of spiritism (called spiritualism by wikipedia) got it's modern start in Europe and the USA in the late 1800's with the "help" of the Fox sisters: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fox_sisters
 
 
 
 

I remember researching this connection once. It's also possible that the connection between spiritism (pharmakeia) and pharmacology is there, but might not be as close as we have imagined. Those who sold and studied herbs and medicines and poisons (drugs) were put into the same category as those who were known to use herbs and medicines and poisons to induce magic, spells, trances, or even induce prophecy and oracles.
As sure as dervishes will whirl, being a prophet was associated with strange behavior:
(Numbers 11:25) . . .And as soon as the spirit settled down on them, they began to behave as prophets, but they did not do it again. (1 Samuel 19:20) . . ., the spirit of God came to be upon Saul’s messengers, and they began behaving as prophets as well. (1 Samuel 19:22-24) . . .” 23 While Saul was on his way from there to Naiʹoth in Raʹmah, the spirit of God came upon him as well, and he walked along behaving as a prophet until he came into Naiʹoth in Raʹmah. 24 He also stripped off his garments, and he too behaved as a prophet before Samuel, and he lay there naked all that day and all that night. That is why they say: “Is Saul also among the prophets?” But oddly the "spirit medium" at Endor whom Saul visited was called a "bottle" in Hebrew. It's the same word here too: 
(Isaiah 8:19) 19 And if they say to you: “Inquire of the spirit mediums or of the fortune-tellers who chirp and mutter,” (Isaiah 29:4) 4 And you must become low so that you will speak from the very earth, and as from the dust your saying will sound low. And like a spirit medium your voice must become even from the earth, and from the dust your own saying will chirp. When the Greeks behind the LXX saw this word for "spirit medium" they translated it "engastrimyth" or "ventriloquist" -- so there's your "spirit" = "wind" = "vent." But not really, of course. The Latin translators used the word "python" in these places. 
1 Sam 28:7 (LXX) . . .καὶ ζητήσω ἐν αὐτῇ καὶ εἶπαν οἱ παῖδες αὐτοῦ πρὸς αὐτόν ἰδοὺ γυνὴ ἐγγαστρίμυθος ἐν Αενδωρ 1 Sam 28:7 (Latin V.) . . .et sciscitabor per illam et dixerunt servi eius ad eum est mulier habens pythonem in Aendor It's all tied back together for us here in the Acts 16:16 footnote in the NWT:
*** Rbi8 Acts 16:16 ***
Lit., “with a spirit of python.” Gr., eʹkhou·san pneuʹma pyʹtho·na. "Spirit of a python" is the literal wording that the NWT translates as "demon of divination."
(Acts 16:16) 16 And it happened that as we were going to the place of prayer, a certain servant girl with a spirit, a demon of divination, met us. She used to furnish her masters with much gain by practicing the art of prediction. Insight adds the following:
*** it-1 p. 638 Divination ***
“Spirit of Python.” In Philippi, Macedonia, Paul met a servant girl who was possessed by “a spirit, a demon of divination,” literally, “a spirit of python” (Gr., pneuʹma pyʹtho·na; Ac 16:16). “Python” was the name of the mythical snake that guarded the temple and oracle of Delphi, Greece. The word pyʹthon came to refer to a person who could foretell the future and also to the spirit that spoke through that one. Although later used to denote a ventriloquist, here in Acts it is used to describe a demon who enabled a young girl to practice the art of prediction. The reason for the Hebrew word "bottle" is not because of genies in a bottle or bottles sold at pharmacies, but probably simply because of the low, echoing sound you hear from tapping on a bottle made from skin, or the way it changes the sound of your voice when speaking "through" the bottle. So words sometimes got attached to ideas, and remained there, not strictly because of a direct connection that was still continuing but sometimes from a connection that was nearly lost over time. (Although the connection between SOME forms of pharmacy and SOME forms of witchcraft remain even today.)
Other examples of words that might have had spiritistic or astrological origin, but have lost that meaning over time were mentioned recently under another topic. They might include the words:
capricious disaster, influenza, jovial, lunatic, martial, mazel tov, mercurial, saturnine, venerial, etc.

12000 of them! Getting rid of them  might only have be the start of their nightmares however. 
Well yes, I suppose that there is the possibility that seances were held in garages and old vehicles. I always had my suspicions about those pairs of dices often found hanging from the driving mirror. 

Your experience reminds me of a thought I had when I read this bit of "news" back in 1992
*** g92 8/22 p. 29 Watching the World ***
Demonism in Rome  Gabriele Amorth claims that he has dealt with 12,000 cases of demon possession in the city of Rome alone since his appointment as a Catholic exorcist in 1986. “Why so many?” asked a journalist of the Italian newspaper Il Tempo. “All traditionally Catholic countries,” the priest asserted, “are immersed in a sea of infestation. Demon attacks can no longer be stemmed.” Amorth had harsh words for Rome: “The city of the pope is the most demon-possessed in the world. Over a hundred satanic cults operate there . . . Everybody should know that many children disappear in Rome and are used in satanic rites.” Of course, this man was just as likely to find that the reason for the demon possession, in his mind, was that he found an old Truth book under the bed.
When we were dating, my wife had a study with a couple that I took over when we got married. (Both now baptized for 30 years.) Many nights, both the husband and the wife would hear things being thrown and dishes breaking, etc. My wife had already gone through all the ideas about getting rid of all crosses and religious imagery (which they gladly did). I had been a complete skeptic, not about the fact of demon possession, but about the object and manner of demon possession. This skepticism started especially after hearing the comment of a District Overseer vetting assembly experiences around 1974/5. At any rate, I had never expected to hear about both a husband and wife simultaneously experiencing the same thing.
We told them to try praying aloud and calling out the name "Jehovah" which was always the best solution offered during the assembly experiences. They claimed that they had even called out "Jehovah! Jehovah!" and it didn't work. (Although I have personally heard persons claim that it worked for them and others.) What finally worked was to just tell them to call us any time of the day or night when the experience happened.
I might have mentioned it when this came up during a recent discussion of the pronunciation of YHWH, but it appears that some of the magical amulets and magical papyri in Egypt show that the spiritistic magicians around the time of Jesus' human life were using the pronunciation "Je-ho-vah" (in addition to Ye-ho-wa, Yahuweh, Joweh, Jove, etc) as a way to invoke the spirit of magic. It occurred to me then, although I didn't mention it, that these magicians were, in effect, invoking demons by calling out "Jehovah!! Jehovah!"
In our congregation in Missouri in 1964 to 1974 I remember many talks that seemed to be aimed at the sisters who shopped at Goodwill and Salvation Army. Salvation Army was ruled against for its religious ties anyway, but for those who hadn't made a religious connection to Goodwill Industries, there were always warnings about how items that might seem innocuous could still be demon-possessed. What JTR pointed out here once, which surprised me for how obvious it seems now, was that no one ever warned the brothers that a used car (or car parts from a junk-yard, or a used lawn-mower, etc) might just as well be demon-possessed. It was always the things that women were known to shop for.