anyone know the straight dope on theresa neumann?

[reveille]

hello all,

i’m a long time SD reader, and i’ve visited this board on several occasions as well. i have a question regarding a famous stigmatic named theresa neumann, but i decided to post it here first before consulting the master.

anywa, i came across a thread at my message board yesterday that got me feeling extremely skeptical. the thread was about theresa neumann, a stigmatic who lived in the first half of the 1900’s. after an exhausting 5 to 10 minute web search, all i could find were christian websites that backed up this information. i was wondering if any of you knew any differently, as some of this information seems like it couldn’t possibly be true. this is the information posted about her:

•1898-1962. lived in rural bavaria, germany. had a seventh grade education.

•blinded and paralized for seven years as result of a severe fall. then…uh…healed. all better!

•often spoke fluent Latin, Greek, Hebrew and Aramaic, though not even haven been instructed in anything. native german speaker. studied by linguists, who were outskilled by her ability.

•bled from hands, feet, eyes, head, and chest exactly 35 times a year.

•didn’t eat or drink anything for over THIRTY-SIX years. however, in her late teens (when spookiness begins) she was 115 pounds. by her death, she weighed 210 pounds.

•died for hours (medical doctors, almost constantly by put off delcaration of death for some time) and then…revived. at 3 pm. on good friday.

•died (for real) healthily of old age.

so, any of you dopers know the straight dope on theresa neumann? any information would be appreciated. i’d hate to let all my friends just go ahead and believe in something that’s obviously fictional. thanks in advance…

[Ice_Wolf]

Cecil’s take on stigmatics in general.

Something about Therese Neumann here.

One of the most celebrated of modern stigmatics, a Bavarian woman named Therese Neumann (1898-1962), bled regularly every Friday or more than 30 years. At the age of 20, the trauma of witnessing a fire at a neighbor’s farm had left her with a case of hysterical blindness and paralysis and she was confined to bed for most of her adult life. the appearance of her stigmata has been explained as another manifestation of this hysteria.

Cases such as Neumann’s undermine the idea that the appearance of stigmata are miraculous, religious events brought about by God’s grace. A further problem with this interpretation is the typical position of stigmata on the hands.

Also, this from the Skeptical Inquirer:

For example, some wounds have been tiny, straight slits, others simple crosses, multiple slash marks, or indentations–even, in the case of Therese Neumann, shifting from round to rectangular over time, presumably as she learned the true shape of Roman nails.

My vote: not a miracle.

[reveille]

hmmm… it wasn’t exactly the stigmatic aspects of the story that i was concerned with. i’ve read cecil’s column on it already, and even if i hadn’t, i still would never believe that stigmata was the result of divine intervention…

what i was wondering about was the “didn’t eat or drink ANYTHING for over 36 years” comment… i can’t see how this would be possible. others i have consulted inform me that this was actually relatively common in bavaria, common enough to even have a word of their language devoted to it… to which i said “huh?”

thanks for the help, though…

[Derleth]

If you don’t eat or drink for more than 36 hours you begin to run into problems related to dehydration. If you go more than a few weeks without water, you are courting death. 36 years is simply impossible.

[MaryEFoo]

•often spoke fluent Latin, Greek, Hebrew and Aramaic, though not even haven been instructed in anything. native german speaker. studied by linguists, who were outskilled by her ability.

Well, I can’t give a factual answer for this particular case, but here is the method (the modern term is spin):

Person says, “Omnium orbis gafoozalum est”.

Latin linguist says, “Some of those words are Latin, but I do not recognize gafoozalum, I have never heard or read it in all my studies”.

Advocates of person say, “See? She outskilled him in Latin!”