memory for emotionally neutral material (Lupien et al., 2007, p. 222). We have
seen above that memory for all details was better if stories included emotion-
ally arousing elements, but the weapon-focus effect was dominant when
emotions were elicited by a sudden visual stimulus. The effect of stress on
memory is similar to the latter pattern, inasmuch as it makes memorization
selective. If a strong visual stimulus and stress occur simultaneously, one
might expect an especially sharp limit to the amount of details remembered,
such as seen in the weapon-focus effect. Initiation rites could be especially
understood as stressful events. Stress in rituals might be sustained for a long
time, such as in initiation rites that span over several days. For example, in a
Melanesian“sweat ceremony”men in their mid-twenties spend a week or
more in the men’s house, sitting aroundfire, so that they sweat constantly
(Herdt, 1998, pp. 269–74). Their perspiration is scraped off their skin, they
drink no water and follow a special diet, while singing and discussing myth-
ical subjects. There is no particularly painful element involved in the ritual, but
the men are exhausted, many of them suffer from diarrhea, and soon after
finishing the ritual they start another ritual spanning several days. In his
ethnographic account of the splinter group Whitehouse described an
extended, spontaneously evolving sequence of rituals that included frantic
celebrations as well as vigils in a seriously overcrowded house—where people
suffered from cramped positions, lack of oxygen, and nausea caused by
previous overeating. Stressful rituals were certainly present in ancient religions,
as suggested by Livy’s description of Bacchic initiations (History of Rome
39.8–19) or Apuleius’description of the initiation to the mysteries of Isis
(Metamorphoses11). In such rituals stress will limit the memories of the
initiate to emotionally laden elements, such as strong visual stimuli, main
actors and objects, emotionally salient details of liturgical texts, and one’s
own fear and emotions. Unfortunately, the New Testament does not provide
us with a description of baptism and the preceding preparations. Perhaps
Paul’s conversion in Acts 9 provides a clue. Here Paul, after falling to the ground
and blinded on the road to Damascus, spends three days without eating and
drinking, before Ananias comes to visit him, gives back his eyesight, and baptizes
him.Didache7 prescribes fasting for one or two days in preparation for
baptism.
Although not directly connected to the rituals, itinerant lifestyle certainly
involved a great amount of stress, as indicated by the extended list of ordeals
given by Paul (2 Cor. 11:23–7). As we will discuss in more detail in Chapter 9,
itinerant Christians (apostles, missionaries, teachers, prophets) played an
important role in the development of the new religion, and although their
number was limited, their impact on the movement was great. Their experi-
ence and views certainly influenced the theology of the early Church, and
much of this experience was shaped by the stressful conditions in which they
often lived. Although strongly ascetic practices are not prescribed by the New
112 Cognitive Science and the New Testament