What happened
Gottliebin Dittus, a poor young woman from the village of Möttlingen on the edge of the Black Forest, suffered from about 1840 from convulsions, bleeding and visions. Knocking and shuffling were heard in her house, and she spoke in strange voices. The local Lutheran pastor, Johann Christoph Blumhardt, hesitated for a long time, but from 1842 he visited her more and more often and prayed over her – eventually in a “spiritual battle” lasting hours at a time. According to his account, the souls of the dead and demons spoke through Gottliebin, among them the spirit of a woman said to have killed two children. At the end of 1843, during a last dramatic night of struggle, the cry “Jesus is Victor!” rang out – and the ordeal was over. The words became Blumhardt’s motto and the watchword of a religious revival throughout the area.
Witnesses
Pastor Johann Christoph Blumhardt, Gottliebin’s siblings and villagers; Blumhardt described the events in a report to church authorities.
Explanations and hypotheses
Blumhardt’s account, later published as “Blumhardt’s Battle”, became the foundation of his healing ministry at Bad Boll and influenced theologians such as Karl Barth. Gottliebin recovered, in 1844 became the first teacher at the parish kindergarten, married and died in 1872. Modern doctors and historians see her symptoms rather as severe mental illness, hysteria or epilepsy, eased by devoted care and strong community support.
Disputed A likely explanation exists, but some of the facts are still disputed.
Sources
More: Wikipedia (en)