A Miracle of the Holy Cross in Africa (Congo) 1

By Metropolitan Ignatios of Central Africa

Amazing things are happening in Congo, said Father Basil Muamba to a large audience in the lecture hall of Kananga Mission. They are authentic and leave one speechless!

Fr. Basil recounted:

"In 1996 I made a missionary trip to Dimbelenge, accompanied by a boy who was a chanter in the Center of the Mission of Kananga, and another boy who came with us on the road.

When we arrived we met the old faithful who I had baptized last year and some were waiting to be baptized now. They gave us a house to spend our days while we were living near them.

Among those awaiting baptism, there was a man who in a magical way was able to bring down lightning, and he had already killed many people.

The traditional chief of the village had punished him by forbidding him to drink from the local river Mukamba.

I baptized all of those who waited for baptism and among them was the magician.

Elijah Bond, the Original Patentee of the Ouija Board

Elijah Bond

Elijah Jefferson Bond (January 23, 1847 - April 14, 1921) was an American lawyer and inventor from Maryland. Although he invented and patented items, including a steam boiler, he is best remembered for patenting what became known as the Ouija Board in 1891.

David Bowie and the Occult

By John Sanidopoulos

When we speak of the occult we should not equate it with Satanism, as we often see in Hollywood, although Satanism can certainly be part of the occult. The occult is about esoteric and alternative teachings, whether they be through Christianity (Gnosticism, Manicheism), Judaism (Kabbalism), Buddhism (Zen, Tibetan), Hinduism (Yoga, Meditation), Tribal Religions (Shamanism) or even more modern movements like Spiritualism, Theosophy, the New Age Movement and the ritual magick of groups like the O.T.O. Most often it is about the elevation of one's being beyond what is ordinary through some sort of process and manipulation, or to communicate with something that is beyond who you are. This is why traditional Christians often view occult practices as sinister and evil, because it may involve communication with spirits in a way that drives one's success and ego, which is often associated with the demonic.

David Bowie's Encounter With the Devil

David, ex-wife Angie and son Zowie in the 1970's

The following story comes from Angela Bowie's (David Bowie's ex-wife) biography of him titled Backstage Passes: Life on the Wild Side with David Bowie. David Bowie himself, in interviews, also refers to this strange experience that he had.

During the mid-seventies, David Bowie entered a low period when he experimented with cocaine and the occult. It was the mid-seventies and he had moved to Los Angeles. Several years had passed since the horrific Manson Murders that Los Angeles was still recovering from. It was during this tumultuous period when David Bowie decided to perform an exorcism in his pool at his house in L.A. Perhaps fueled by a cocaine addled paranoia, Bowie believed that satanists and evil spirits were trying to capture him. He would try his best, using the occult, to stop them. The following is an excerpt from the book as told by Angela (Angie) Bowie:

Saint Theonas: From Pagan Magician to Martyr of Christ

Sts. Theopemtos and Theonas (Feast Day - January 5)

Theonas was a magician who lived during the reign of Emperor Diocletian (284-305). When Diocletian initiated his Great Persecution against the Christians, the first to be martyred was a Bishop named Theopemptos. Theopemptos was arrested and brought before Diocletian, and confessed before him his faith in Christ. He underwent several tortures, such as being thrown in flames, suffering from hunger and thirst, and having one of his eyes removed, but after emerging from these unharmed and miraculously restored, it was believed by Diocletian that he did so by means of magic. For this reason Diocletian sought for a magician who could overcome the magic of Theopemptos, by dispatching letters throughout the Roman Empire for a sorcerer to come to Nicomedia and overcome Christian sorcery, and in return he would receive costs gifts and high honor.