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from one end of existence to the other by the power of numbers; so numbers are a part of
divine wisdom. All external things have forms because they have number; they have
number as their source; and they exist only insofar as they have number. Numbers exist
beyond space and time, they transcend the human mind, they are as changeless as truth
itself; and the wise man who beholds number and wisdom in truth itself values even
himself to be of less worth than that truth.1 The belief that God created the universe by
way of the divine, transcendent language of mathematics is one that captivated the minds
of many natural philosophers a millennium later.
Birthing Pains
Leaping a millennium at a single bound, we now turn to the end of the medieval
period to examine some of the proximate theological influences on the rise of science and
scientific materialism. During this era, the Devil figures prominently in the writings of
Christian contemplatives and theologians, who appeared to be in constant fear of Satanic
intrusion in prayer and all other aspects of the spiritual life. Preternatural effects were
asserted by the Church to emanate ultimately from only two possible sources: God or the
Devil. Benign supernatural effects, they maintained, could confidently be expected when
faithful men followed the rituals prescribed by God and the Church, and they were to be
found in the lives of the saints.
The Church had its own repertoire of methods for calling forth such effects,
including the Mass, the healing power of saints and relics, and exorcism of the possessed.
Just as the display of miracles, supernatural cures, and prophetic ability were important
means of conversion in the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament, so was the claim to
supernatural power an essential element in the medieval Church s fight against paganism.
Working miracles and prophesying were important means for demonstrating the veracity
of Roman Catholic doctrine.
Foremost among the Church s supernatural rituals were the sacraments, which
were believed to work regardless of the moral worth of the officiating priest. After the
sacraments came the prayers of the faithful for divine intercession. According to
Christian belief, a prayer had no certainty of success and would not be granted if God
chose not to concede it. A magical spell, on the other hand, was believed to work
automatically if it was performed correctly. Thus, the distinction is one of supplication as
opposed to a mechanical means of manipulation, or coercion. The term magic here refers
to a system of practices in which the imagination, verbal invocations, and other rituals are
performed as a means of manipulating occult forces and preternatural beings.2 While the
magical claims made for Christianity were refuted to varying degrees by the Church
leaders, at the popular level they were widely embraced.
Although the practice of some types of magic was tolerated by the Church, other
forms of magic were strictly banned. Indeed, those who sought to achieve marvelous
results by means that were neither purely natural nor commanded by God were thought to
have allied themselves, either tacitly or expressly, with Satan. The clergy thought
themselves to be especially well equipped in detecting the hand of the Devil because of
their training in Christian theology. This medieval attitude toward magic was clearly
expressed in 1486 by the two priests Henry Kramer and James Sprenger in their
influential work Malleus Maleficarum (The Hammer of the Witches). Drawing from
God s commandment to Moses,  Do not allow a sorceress to live, 3 they declared it
heretical to doubt the existence of witches. Although only God can perform true miracles,
Satan, they maintained, has knowledge of the whole of nature and is able to perform acts
that appear miraculous by causing effects that seem to be supernatural. On this basis they
concluded that witches achieve their effects only with the aid of Satan and demons and
are therefore worthy of being put to death.
Belief in the power of magic was prevalent throughout sixteenth-century Europe,
based not only on biblical authority but on experience as well. In his book Demonolatry,
published in 1595, Judge Lorraine Remy claimed that stories of witchcraft are true, for
they derive from the independent and concordant testimony of many witnesses. The
empirical facts alone, he asserted, make it  easy to understand and be fully convinced that
there are witches, unless we deliberately intend to see and understand nothing. 4 While
nearly all societies have believed in witchcraft, Christianity understood this in terms of
the Devil and his malevolent powers. In the view of a number of prominent intellectuals
of early modern Europe, violent and reckless events, such as hailstorms and other
calamities, were seen as alien to God s creation which God had deemed  good  and
were therefore attributed to diabolical influence.
During the sixteenth century conflicts arose between an emergent mechanical
view of the universe and resurgent interest in more organic views, argued by the
Paracelsians and others. Proponents of the latter philosophies believed that matter has the
power of self-motion and of perception and  miraculous events could occur without
supernatural intervention. Moreover, action at a distance which included the reading of
minds, healing through prayer, and moving physical objects by thought alone was seen
as a natural phenomenon. According to this view, the Divine is more an anima mundi
than an external, supernatural Creator.5
Both philosophies advocated  experimental philosophy, emphasizing experience, [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]