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Christan Shamanism?

Mystery Gypt

21:15 / 28.06.02

been wondering if there are traditions somewhere in the world that are christian but make use of something with a structural equivalent to what we broadly call shamanism. someone adopting a liminal role outside of the society but healing / leading spiritually / gathering wisdom. certain forms of excorcism might be like shamanism, depending on where it is found. i'd be curious to hear if there is such a thing as christian shamanism, whether it is somewhere that has developed syncretism or perhaps in the appalachian mountains, etc.

Trijhaos

21:37 / 28.06.02

Google brought up a lot of good stuff about christianity and shamanism. Hit that and groups.google.com and you'll find a lot of stuff. I found stuff supporting the opinion that Jesus was a shaman, which is a pretty interesting idea.

I'm not sure if it's exactly what you're looking for but, Christianity and Shamanism looks like an interesting read.

SMS

01:22 / 29.06.02

I wrote an essay a few years ago that the character of Dante in the Divine Comedy acts as a shaman.

ciarconn

22:07 / 30.06.02

Look up on mexican contemporary witchcraft, it's a sincretism between precolombiine shamanism/religion and christianism. Similar things on all central and south America. I think that there are some tribes in the first nations that did something like that (I remember reading on a tribe that made communion with peyote)

grant

16:31 / 01.07.02

Native American Church did that - syncretism between Hopi and Christian traditional beliefs.

Also, if you read medieval literature at all, you'll come across lots of references to hermits of various stripes. They're all basically mystics and visionaries who separate themselves from society and are granted with abilities to heal/poison (the friar in Romeo & Juliet would be a close descendant) and a capacity for unclouded perception of God's intentions (setting knights on the proper road, warning against deceptions they will face).
Many of these hermits are also visionaries, an idea which comes out of tales of mystic saints like Teresa of Avila and Francis of Assisi, who were close to real-life Christian shamans.

I wish Lothar could answer this one - he'd do better.
Anyone care emailing him??

Rev. Wright

16:42 / 01.07.02

On a basic level Shamans/Medicine folk were the healers and intermediators between the community and the spirit world. If one takes a good look at Jesus in context to his acts and heritage, he appears to embody aspects of this.
I remember reading an article in Fortean Times about how the Nazzerines (spelling) were known to cultivate ancient herbal remedies as a major part of their culture.

cusm

18:26 / 01.07.02

And don't forget the fellows who handle snakes, lay on hands faith healings, and fall to the floor spasming speaking in tongues. Christianity goes *everywhere*, its almost more a flavor of religion than a religion of its own at this point.

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