Session 6(a): Lord, What Devils These Mortals Be!

Concurrent Session 6a: Lord, What Devils These Mortals Be!
Chair: Rob Fisher

Are Witches Good – and Devils Evil? The Conception Of Evil in Paracelsus
Peter Mario Kreuter
“Bonner Paracelsus-Projekt”, Medizinhistorisches Institut der Universität Bonn, Bonn, Germany

The physician, lay theologian and social reformer Theophrastus Bombast von Hohenheim, better known under his pseudonym Paracelsus, was one of the most radical reformers in the church history of the 16th century. His rejection of any kind of institutional church was as harsh as his critical commentaries on witch persecutions or his very own thoughts about the relationship between men and women. Still today, great parts of his œuvre are unknown or even not edited, and therefore it is possible to make even in our days some discoveries in his texts.
One of the main ideas of both the medical and the theological thoughts of Paracelsus was the question of the state and the place of evil in the world of mankind. For him, men and women were living in a world where they are surrounded by all kinds of nymphs, dwarfs, demons, opodeltocks, and even witches. And illness. But why are they here? Who has created them? Do they have a relationship with mankind, and if so, of what kind? And especially one question is important: are they evil? Necessarily? Is there an evolution in their relationship to mankind?
A lot of questions, and the paper will try to answer by giving a glance on an actual project about Paracelsus that is situated at the university of Bonn. Work in progress, so to speak, but following the main ideas by presenting them with permanent references to his own work.

Akhenaten, the Damned One: Monotheism as Root of All Evil
Robert W. Butler
Donald W. & Betty J. Buik Chair, Elmhurst College, Elmhurst, IL  USA

Akhenaten’s rule as pharaoh of  Egypt’s 18th dynasty witnessed a number of  accomplishments, both foreign and domestic.  But it is usually recalled today for a single major innovation:  the first recorded insistence on a single deity, the Aten, or Sun-disc.   This original exercise in monotheism has often been described in positive terms by western historians (all of them the product of a monotheistic world, whether they themselves were believers or not.)  But even a positive image can cast a shadow.  It is worth noting that to Egyptians of his own day, Akhenaten’s reign was a sacrilegious horror on an almost unimaginable scale; so much so that after his death, the name of the pharaoh was cut off his monuments, his capital was abandoned, and his reign purposely forgotten till modern times.
This paper will examine Akhenaten’s reign and try to explain the depth of hatred he provoked.  But it will also discuss the unexamined side of his religious revolution:  if  Aten was the ruler of the universe, was he now responsible for evil?  To what extent was opposition to Aten (or to his son, the pharaoh) to be characterized as evil?  How were such questions handled by Akhenaten, his theologians, and his priests? To what extent, in short, did Akhenaten’s religious novelty introduce a new facet to the dimension of evil?
The paper will also (briefly!) note the portrayal of Akhenaten in the modern world, traditionally veering between hero and villain, and how he might best be viewed today.  It will end by suggesting a place for him in the record of great human evil – for if we seek to understand the ancient world, we must be able to appreciate evil on their terms without superimposing ours in their place.  Akhenaten introduced evil in a new form,  the offense against god and universe:  an absolute decree from which no deviation could be tolerated.  In the human experience, it was a dubious achievement, and one that would be often repeated.

Witches, Mystics, and Martyrs in Pre-Raphaelite Painting: The Dichotomy of Good vs. Evil
Lois Drawmer
Department of Arts and Media, Buckinghamshire Chilterns University College, Buckinghamshire, United Kingdom

No abstract is presently available