Grant
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Grant
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It reads like a subplot from an X-Files episode: a Taiwanese UFO cowboy
cult from Texas visits the city of Gary's Lake Street Beach in early
January, wading into Lake Michigan's icy waters and anointing the shores
as the main loading dock from which God's flying saucer will rescue
survivors of a nuclear holocaust in 1999. Some members of the cult wore
white cowboy hats through which they believe God's spirit enters their
bodies, and two 9-year-old boys in the group were said to be the
reincarnations of Jesus and Buddha.
"This is not that uncommon," said Edward Grant, Distinguished Professor
emeritus, whose own IU Bloomington course‹X207 "The Occult in Western
Civilization"‹could pass as "X-Files 101."
"There are more and more cult-like groups, and what happened to the
Heaven's Gate people won't discourage it at all," he said. "If you surf the
Web, you will find many, many things. And if you are of that sort of bent,
you can find soul mates out there quickly enough."
Grant first introduced the course in the early '70s and has come back to
teach this semester. It is a popular draw for IUB's Department of History
and Philosophy of Science. Grant has had a distinguished career
researching and teaching subjects like medieval science and natural
philosophy, Aristotelianism from 1200 to 1700 and medieval universities.
Naturally, he brings an historian's perspective to bear on phenomena
ranging from witchcraft and spiritualism to UFOs and out-of-body
experiences.
"There is an historical context to all this. I try to treat it as a product of
the times in which it came into being," Grant explained. "In the Middle
Ages, witchcraft was a belief that was widely held. In fact, if you didn't
believe it, you would have been thought to be maladjusted and a very
suspicious character.
"The difference in the kinds of superstitions we have today is that they
have taken on a scientific character, using scientific jargon and
apparatus. They're dressed in scientific garb, but still trade on the
credulity of lots of people."
Grant was reluctant to speculate on how many of his students were
believers, guessing that perhaps about half believed in at least some
aspects of the paranormal. But a survey administered to the students at
the beginning of the semester may provide a better idea of what students
think about UFOs, astrology, magic, spiritualism, ESP and psychics.
Results of the survey will be included in a future edition of IU Home
Pages.
"I've had students tell me stories of seeing something, usually at night,
some sort of strange lights," Grant said. "As a matter of fact, I thought I
saw something once. I was looking out of my window and heard this
strange noise, then I saw lights. I didn't see anything else, just lights
moving. And finally, I saw it clearly and it said: 'Vote for Wendell
Stogsdill.' So some guy had rented some kind of helicopter or plane, but
you couldn't see it."
While some events have simple explanations, like the lights of a campaign
advertisement, other phenomena are harder to either prove or disprove. In
the case of something like reincarnation, it comes down to a matter of
personal belief in an individual's claim. Science may weigh heavily against
such claims, but it is difficult, if not impossible, to offer scientific
evidence for or against them, he said.
"Out-of-body experiences are like that, also," Grant said. "If someone says
they had an out-of-body experience last night and visited another galaxy,
what can you say?"
The professor's response: "I hope you had a good time."
Editor's note: If you're interested in IFOs (Identified Flying Objects), go to the NASA Web page to read about IU alum David Wolf's scheduled trip home from the Mir station :