Scourge same period we meet with the private use of the "discipline" by such saintly persons as King Louis IX of France and Elisabeth of Hungary. Semi-literal usages such as "the scourge of God" for Attila the Hun (i.e. "God's whip with which to punish the nations") led to metaphoric uses to mean a severe affliction, e.g. "the scourge of drug abuse". The scourge is described as one of the tools used in Wicca, primarily in the Gardnerian Tradition. The purpose of using the scourge is not to cause pain or to torture, but for purification purposes, particularly for Initiates. The
The Scourge of God (novel) point of departure, but still keeps a horde of fans wanting more." The Historyguy Book Review said "Stirling’s Scourge of God is a very good continuation of his Change books. The heroes are heroic, the villains are evil and worthy of killing, and the newly developing societies that Rudi and his fellowship encounter are interesting, spiritual in their own unique ways, and actually quite logical, given the circumstances of the Change." The "San Jose Mercury News" gave a mixed review saying the novel was a good read, but the fantasy elements detracted from the story. The book ranked #19 on