Ben said:
I am starting to wonder if the grimoire mentality may be considered a
heresy. However very different from others. It was not organised, it did
not challenge the authority of the church, there was no great moral
panic about it in its day. Indeed it would have been very surreptitious
so there would not have been much knowledge about it. The impression I
get is that beyond the material world there were thought be the powers
of Light, which were heavenly and the forces of Darkness which were
infernal. As a Christian the magician thought he could call upon the
powers of Light to control the powers of Darkness for his personal gain
I'm not sure I see how this would be a heresy. The ability of
Christians to command demons has a strong tradition from the Bible down
through the centuries. What typically got magicians in trouble was the
means by which they did so (suffumigations, images, barbarous words
which might hide statements honoring demons) or the specific commands
they gave to the demons. It's like swiping the collection - it's a
crime, but it doesn't say anything untoward about one's theology.
Dan Harms
Coordinator of Instruction Librarian
SUNY Cortland Memorial Library
P.O. Box 2000
Cortland NY, 13045
(607) 753-4042
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