Skip to main content

Persuasion 2

One man who lived in Russia in the early 1900s demonstrated the power of influence or persuasion. This man, named Grigori, had a poor enough reputation that he was given a nickname that means “denegrate” (Rasputin, someone of low status). His influence over the Russian princess was a result of “mysterious healing powers.” The son of the princess, named Alexei, had a disease called hemophilia, which causes its sufferer to bleed continuously even from the smallest cut. While doctors could not heal this boy, Rasputin was able to help, possibly through hypnosis (or encouraging his mother to let him rest). Because he helped their son, the prince and princess believed he was a holy man, a friend, prophet, and man of God.

Rasputin’s influence over the princess as a result of his “healing powers” was strong enough that he was able to say who should and shouldn’t be in power. Three Russian aristocrats believed he was damaging the entire country and believed he needed to die. On a cold night in November, 1916, one of the aristocrats invited him into his home. He fed him cakes and wine laced with cyanide, but Rasputin did not die. The story goes that when the man saw that Rasputin did not die, he shot Rasputin in the back. Still alive, the men shot him a number of times, beat him, wrapped him in a bag, and threw him into a the frigid Reva river. His autopsy stated that he died of drowning, not poisoning, gunshot, or beating.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Savior

This wasteland cold and dark runs free Its fearful creatures speak to me One fateful day one nudged my hand To set my eyes upon a tree He knew I could not understand For I was in his native land His signs became our common speech To lead me through the deadly sand Now stuck I saw him me beseech He could not lift me out to reach The firm foundation of a cave Outside the boundaries of this beach Withal, the beast became more brave To risk his own my life to save To carry me, its life it gave To carry me, its life it gave. This poem was inspired by Robert Frost's "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening." That poem, like this one, has four four-line stanzas of eight syllables per stanza. Its rhyme scheme is AABA BBCB CCDC DDDD.
Post a Comment
Read more

Soul and Spirit

As a friend told me about a conversation she had with one of our pastors about whether animals go to heaven, she told me about the Hebrew word nephesh ("soul"). I wondered, then, what the difference was between soul and spirit. After a little research, I came across what many seem to agree is a main difference. The soul of a person is that person's being--personality and life--while the spirit is that part of us that connects with God. There are several verses that refer to spirit in this way:* "The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned." (1 Corinthians 2:14) "But I, brothers, could not address you as spiritual people, but as people of the flesh, as infants in Christ." (1 Corinthians 3:1) "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly p...
Post a Comment
Read more

Evil, According to Republicans and Democrats

Please note that the following thoughts are only my observations. Please consider the evidence you see in the behavior of both parties for yourself. In our politically polarized climate, I was thinking about how Democrats and Republicans are different, and where those differences come from. Democrats seem to place more hope in institutions, and seek to reform those institutions when there is something wrong in society. Hence, there is more willingness to levy taxes to offer more social services as a support to those with less than others. They see the state as a way to equalize society. Thus, evil, to Democrats, seems to be a social issue: if there is a problem in society--poverty, racism, climate change, etc.--it is a problem with the structure of society and must be addressed as such: repair the system, and you will solve the problem. They are generally accepting of a larger state bureaucracy because they believe that increased accountability within a state structure will prevent evi...
Post a Comment
Read more