| Christianity Against Witchcraft History repeats itself for many reasons. Those lacking knowledge of the past blindly follow the actions of their predecessors, doomed to follow a bloodied, painful path without the wisdom that the road they walk on is well-worn. Others have been taught the lessons and warnings but choose to ignore them, comforting themselves with reassurances as the ignorance and misinformation of past peoples and the present and the present intelligence that would make such former mistakes impossible in the modern world. Still others have the education but revel in the earlier solutions, and thus bring back into being unimaginable suffering which will be ignored or recognized by the rest. It has happened with the concentration camps in Bosnia fifty years after the concentration camps in Germany; it has happened with the recent genocide in Rwanda long after the genocide in Africa by Europeans. It may happen again in North America, with the Salem witch trials as the precursor to modern-day hunts led by the radical religious right. Persecution of witches began in the fourteenth century in Europe, the Christian Church’s answer to peasant rebellion and other religions. Ruined crops, dead children, and plagues were attributed to the work of witches, as well as the downfall of the political system. The witches were supposedly able to fly to midnight meetings with the Devil, where they engaged in sexual intercourse with him and then swore their devotion. The Church nominated itself the protector of the people and scapegoated lower-class women to remove the blame from themselves and the nobility for the disastrous economic conditions. Nearly half a million women were tortured and killed by burning in England, France, Spain, Scotland, Italy, and Germany over the next three hundred years. While women were the primary targets, some men as well were accused of witchcraft. Damning evidence for a charge of witchcraft was simply a rumor. The justifications for their deaths was a quote from the Bible’s Old Testament, in the book of Exodus; "Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live" (Exodus, 22:18). Not only did this prove the existence of witches, it also defended the Church’s right to exterminate them. Hysteria swept over the ocean from England to North America. In 1692, in Salem Massachusetts, it found fertile ground and thrived , resulting in the deaths of nineteen women and men suspected of witchcraft one other for denying the charge of being a witch. Most were hung and one was pressed to death by rocks. As in Europe, the underlying motivation for the witchcraze was political as well as economic: many of those who were accused were successful merchants that threatened poor farmers in Salem, who had very little power in village politics. Of all those suspected of witchcraft, very few were poor women, unlike Europe. The farmers with their minister Samuel Parris, terrorized Salem for a year with the witch hunts. Those that opposed them and their hunts were accused of being witches themselves. Every Sunday, Parris gave inflammatory sermons; "...he took the nagging fears and conflicting impulses of his hearers and wove them into a pattern overwhelming in its scope, a universal drama in which Christ in Satan, Heaven and Hell, struggled for supremacy" (Boyer 1974). Satan’s fight for strength was conducted with the children of the Salem Village: his witches were believed to have driven a group of girls into fits in which they spoke nonsensically and had convulsions. (They had drawn it upon themselves by fooling with fortune-telling, considered a tool of Satan.) The death of an infant was also blamed on witches, in addition to the resurrection of a cow that had lain dead for several hours. Fear and anger became hatred and it was not until dozens had been accused and almost twenty people had died that the witch hunts ceased. The likenesses between the Salem witch trials and the current, growing hatred towards Wiccans are numerous. Once again, for the same reasons, with the same prejudices, and most unfortunately with the same solutions, the modern-day Christian Right is attacking. The Christian Right was reborn in the 1980s, with the goal of removing the separation between church and state. It drives for a complete abandonment of Constitutional Law and a replacement of Biblical Law, called Reconstructionism, in order to transform North America into a "Christian Nation." However, by the late 1980s the Christian Right suffered several blows when its most prominent leaders were caught in sex scandals and theft. But it was to make a comeback in the 1990s , maneuvering itself into a strong political system that can no longer be overlooked. The Christian Coalition was founded by Pat Robertson in 1991 to gain power in the Republican party, and those competing for public office now pander for their favor. Reconstructionism, the ideology behind the Christian Coalition will fight to create God’s Kingdom on earth - a kingdom that will exclude Jews, atheists, Buddhists, gays and lesbians, Muslims, Hindus, and Wiccans. The form of exclusion by execution, as well as the Coalition’s other radical beliefs, are held back from mainstream Coalition literature so that members have little to no understanding of Reconstructionist beliefs and goals. The religion of Wicca thrives today, to the upset of the misinformed (or uninformed) radical Christian community. Wiccans generally call themselves witches, and the age old definition of "witch" is not allowed to acquire an alternative meaning. It is clear that Christians do not even want an accurate view of what the Wiccan religion is or what its beliefs are. In a few more academic articles, a definition of Wicca can be found, but it is unlikely a typical Christian would spend the time to find these rare, biased articles and read them. It is simply non-Christian, and in the Reconstructionist belief, therefore anti-Christian. So the difference between the Wiccan witch and the witch myth is irrelevant, since Christians lump all forms of witchery (Satanism, voodoo, Wicca, etc.) into one category: people wanting to draw evil into the world through bonds with Satan. This is not a recently formed image of the witch and did not originate with the witch trials in Europe, as Cohn writes: "The stereotype of the witch comes from a specific fantasy that originates in antiquity. This fantasy - that there exists in the midst of larger society a small clandestine society engaged in anti-human practices, including infanticide, incest cannibalism, bestiality, and orgiastic sex - is an age-old tradition. It was first used by the Romans to characterize Christians, and later by the Christians to characterize Jews as well as heretical Christian sects..." (Adler 1986). It is now used by the Christians to characterize Wiccans. Little is anything has changed from the seventeenth century idea of a witch to the twentieth century. Wiccans, absorbed into the broad definition of witchcraft, stand accused in Christian Coalition articles of the same crimes against God and humanity that they were accused of hundreds of years ago. From "A Christian Perspective on Halloween: Hallowed or Harmful?," an article promoted by the Christian Coalition, it is written that on Halloween, witches practice a ritual which draws the moon goddess into them. "In this [the ritual] the chief witch of the coven (group of witches) becomes, they believe, a channel for the moon goddess. During this ritual the participants, both male and female are ‘sky-clad’ - that is naked" (the Christian Broadcasting Network, Inc., 1998). No mention is made of the one rule agreed upon by all Wiccans: do not harm anyone through magic. Wiccans are not allowed to perform negative spells. Christian education states people such as Wiccans disturbing occultish behaviors because of the societal ills of liberalism, materialism, and a loss of faith in the Bible. After the descent, a myriad of demon disguises can be engaged in. The list begins with sexual perversion, idolatry, ritual sexual acts, and self-deification. As it is written in Christian Coalition propaganda, Wiccans and other pagan religions practice a variety of occultish manifestations considered Satanic: "precognition (or fortune-telling), ESP, telepathy, clairvoyance, automatic writing, Ouija boards and other games that claim a magical or demonically spiritual orientation, astrology, horoscopes, tea leaf reading, palmistry, techniques of mind expansion, drugs, hypnotism, mind control, transcendental meditation, yoga, sorcery or witchcraft, physical phenomena, telekinesis, levitation, astral projection, spiritism, seances and satanism, animal and human sacrifices, animism, etc" (The Christian Broadcasting Network, Inc. 1998). No distinction is made between Wicca and the "occult", though few Wiccans employ such practices as telekinesis and telepathy. None practice sacrifice of humans or animals. The resemblance to the Salem witch trials is unmistakable when comparing beliefs about who witches attack first; the children. The list is growing of Satanic influences reaching for young impressionable minds according to the radical Christian propaganda. In the mail sent to Christian followers, public schools are said to be one of the leading sources of exposure of witchcraft. The label of witchcraft is "...especially applied to guidance counselors who attempt to implement programs that improve student self-esteem or to help students clarify their values" (Wilcox 1996). No further explanation is given as to why guidance counselors are accused of witchcraft, it can be assumed it is because radical Christians believe all values should be found in the Bible, not in secular school programs. The attack has extended to the books students read, such as The Wizard of Oz, because it dares to portray the good witch Glinda. A protest has been launched by parents against the teaching of Native American religion. "Iowa third-graders chant prayers to Mother Earth and practice Medicine Wheel Astrology. Connecticut fourth-graders use guided imagery to ‘experience’ Indian tribal like and meet ‘wise’ spirit helpers. Oregon students celebrate Winter Solstice by acting the roles of the Sun God, Moon Goddess, drummers, and animal spirits" (Christian Research Institute 1994). In California, Christian Right groups attacked a textbook called Impressions, because several of its stories referred to witches. The book has been removed from the school district’s curriculum. At the college level, Satanic influence comes in the form of curriculum for social studies courses at Sacramento State University, which requires students read When God was a Woman. A backlash against Halloween is also promoted, in the name of protecting the children. "We may be opening our children to these [occult] influences if we approve of these things in Halloween fun... little children in particular are the weak ones" (The Christian Broadcasting Network, Inc. 1998). Celebrating Halloween, while fun, imitates evil, and a good Christian should be on guard from dressing their children up as witches and telling ghost stories. It is recommended for parents to hold a Bible study for teenagers, who are almost as impressionable as younger children to Satanic influence. Christians are advised to abstain from Halloween altogether and have a prayer meeting or fall harvest party (in which they dress up like Biblical characters) instead. Tendrils of evil emanate also from the Girl Scouts. "A Girl Scout Camporee director - dressed as a Native American shaman - organized a pagan ‘Initiation into Womanhood.’ Using guided imagery, she led the young teens into an imaginary meadow to meet a beautiful sprit ‘woman’ who would be their ‘helper’ for life" (Christian Research Institute 1994). Indeed, such terrible behavior comes right from the top: Al Gore (at the time a senator) published a book which became a bestseller, Earth in the Balance. He praises Mother Earth religions and includes a prayer for the earth from the Onadanga tribe for wisdom. To the Christian Coalition, this is heresy on more than one level: it promotes a religion other than Christianity, it suggests the existence of a female divine, and therefore is linked to witchcraft. In the Christian Church’s defense for their rejection of witchcraft, they quote the same passage from the Bible to Exodus that was used three hundred years ago, but also include more from both the New Testament and the Old Testament. "Let no one be found among you who sacrifices his son or daughter in the fire, who practices divination or sorcery, interprets omens, engages in witchcraft, or casts spells, or who is a medium or spiritist or who consults the dead. Anyone who does these things is detestable to the Lord, and because of these detestable practices the Lord your God will drive out those nations before you. You must be blameless before the Lord your God" (Deuteronomy 18:10-13). "‘So I will come near to you for judgement. I will be quick to testify against sorcerers, adulterers and perjurers, against those who defraud laborers of their wages, who oppress the widows and the fatherless, and deprive aliens of justice, but do not fear me,’ says the Lord Almighty" (Malachi 3:5). "The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord...drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God" (Galations 5:19-21). "But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars - their place will be in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death" (Revelations 21:8). Though rejection from God after death is the punishment, radical Christians have taken it into their own hands to punish Wiccans while still on earth. Witchcraft is still, by and large, considered a female problem. It is now tied to the feminist movement. As Pat Robertson states, "The feminist agenda is not about equal rights for women. It is about a socialist, anti-family political movement that encourages women to leave their husbands, kill their children, practice witchcraft, destroy capitalism, and become lesbians" (Clarkson 1997). This was printed in a fund-raising letter. The quote from Exodus has been retranslated in the Christian Broadcasting Network teaching materials to be: "Do not allow a sorceress to live." Salem’s witches were predominantly women, as were Europe’s but it was possible for men to be accused of the same crimes and suffer the same punishments. This appears no longer conceivable. Persecution has just barely begun, and Christian leaders are fighting for further means of punishment in the government. Coalition on Revival, another church organization believing the Kingdom of God should be built on earth and await the return of Jesus, campaign against Halloween. The reverend in this church, in his fervent belief that Halloween is a day celebrating Satan, sends "prayer warriors" to New Age organizations to protest their ungodly behavior. Pat Robertson states any person running for public office who is not Christian or Jewish is unsuitable to hold such a position. The following groups would be excluded: "He specifically names Hindus, Moslems, Buddhists, atheists, and ‘new age’ adherants [such as Wicca]" (Clarkson 1997). Robertson, in his book The New World Order, those people who have alternative religious beliefs should be denied their right to own property, as well as their voting privileges. "There is absolutely no way that the government can operate successfully unless led by godly men and women operating under the laws of the God of Jacob." Equality of religion (and sex and race) is no more than a liberal concern brought about by the fall of socialism (Clarkson 1997). Gary North, a leader of Reconstructionism, suggests citizenship be given only to those of the "correct religion." North states, "... those who hold religious or ideological views that would threaten the very foundations of Christian Civilization" should not be allowed voting privileges (Clarkson 1997). The Christian solution to witchcraft has varied, from salvation to death by execution. The Christian Coalition, in its Teaching Sheets, instructs readers they have power over Satanic forces in their lives, "Even as we are besieged with the many forms and avenues of satanic influence, we have the absolute authority through our Lord Jesus Christ, to bind the powers of darkness and dispel them." In a section entitled "How to be Free" are the following directions: "If you have been involved in occultism in any form - even if you have read about it - renounce any specific occult activity and occultism in general.... You need the baptism with the Holy Spirit...replace occult books, magazines, etc. with the Bible and Christian reading matter... God has equipped Christians to minister to you." Witches are under the mighty, overwhelming power of Satan, but with Christian help it can be overcome. While not particularly accepting and open-minded, it is the least hateful response to be found. And when reading the books or listening to the speeches of the Christian Coalition and Reconstructionist leaders, it is not ever duplicated. Not as publicly, they state they are not as forgiving as their mainstream literature would lead their followers to believe. Most concur that the proper response is the death penalty. "Death is also the punishment for apostasy (abandonment of the faith), heresy, blasphemy, witchcraft, astrology, adultery, ‘sodomy or homosexuality’, incest, striking a parent, incorrigible juvenile delinquency, and in the case of women ‘unchastity before marriage.’" This is spoken by R.J. Rushdoony, a Reconstructionist leader (Clarkson 1997). Just as chilling are the words of Pat Robertson, who denounces Buddhism, Hinduism, and the New Age religions which include Wicca. "He claims the Christians built great institutions of the US, but that ‘the termites are in charge now,’ and that ‘the time has come for a godly fumigation’" (Clarkson 1997). "Violence is inevitable..." Robertson says of the fight between Christianity and other religions. The silly so-called intellectuals of academia who are spouting their politically correct foolishness will find themselves considered first irrelevant and then expendable when the real power begins to operate" (Clarkson 1997). Both support stoning as the mens of death as well as hanging, burning at the stake, and stabbing. The sermons of Samuel Parris continually dealt with ultimate fight between good and evil, light and dark; "...those who have transferred their loyalty to Satan are ‘the freeholders of hell, whereas other sinners are but tenants’" (Boyer 1974). In his Sermon Book he wrote: "The Church consists of good and bad: as a garden that has weeds as well as flowers and as a field that has wheat as well as tares... a net that taketh good and bad.... Here are good men to be found - yea, the very best; and here are bad men to be found - yea, the very worst. Such as shall have the highest seat in glory, and such also as shall be cast into the lowest and fiercest flames of misery" (Boyer 1974). Today is no different. In modern Christian literature, the correspondence is undeniable. Reverend McIlhenny, an anti-gay and anti-Wiccan activist, speaks out: "As we see... venomous hatred from gays, lesbians, and witches, it becomes more and more obvious that this is not just a political issue, but a religious war. It is a clash between the forces of light and darkness" (Clarkson 1997). Reconstructionist Gary North states: "This is a war for the hearts and minds of men. It is also inevitably a war for lawful control over all of mankind’s institutions" (Clarkson 1997). Any who oppose this view are Satanists. Indeed, this as well has not changed much. In Salem, usually, those accused were those people who stood against the witch trials. Similarly, those not that oppose the ultimate lawfulness of the Bible are Satanists. Another radical right leader, Dr. Sumrall, agrees with Robertson on several points: "adherants of other religions are demons or demon influenced" and he "urges resistance of evil spirits and satanic manifestations of all kinds...[because] demon power is a driving force behind the assault of Satan on the human family" (Clarkson 1997). The similarities are too obvious to be missed or ignored. Salem may be repeating itself all over again, but on a much larger scale. The lure of drama has seduced many radical Christian leaders into fights between light and dark in which they are to lead the way to salvation. While it appears to be no more than the plot of a bad movie, it is indeed very real, and becoming quite rapidly very threatening. Salem could happen again because the proper political and economic factors have fallen into place. The economy has turned sour for many people; politically only a few had a voice and control. Witches were the cause and execution, the answer. But could witch hunts happen in modern-day America? If the economy worsened and politically, the Christian Coalition were in a powerful position, people would search for a scapegoat the Coalition readily provides, and there are many. The ones attacked first would be the ones with fewest laws protecting them: largely unheard of and grossly misrepresented religions such as Wicca. For the time being, there is hope. Some safety can be found in the disorganization of the numerous Christian Right groups. Not all endorse capital punishment and of those that do, none agree on who should receive it. They have made their list of undesirable people too large, attacking so many millions of people in North America that they may find themselves hopelessly outnumbered by those in target groups and also by their sympathizers. Wiccans are simply one scapegoat among many. Also to the Christian Right’s detriment, they attack themselves. Unable to agree on a set of beliefs, they fail to put forward a consistent, unified front. But the threat is still real. What message do the Teaching Sheets send when they include Biblical passages approving of the execution of witches? An unspoken permission is given when a statement doesn’t follow the quote saying such an action would be wrong. The Christian Right gains its power forth such an innocuous front, and then slowly infiltrating its more radical ideas to its members. Timing is everything, and their is exquisite. Enticed by the call for a "better America", most members perhaps do not realize the extremes of their cause and will find out too late. The "Other" has been created and reduced to termite form, the "Other" is out to destroy if they are not destroyed first, and the fantasy enemy that results permits the overlooking of several very important parts of the Bible: love one another, do not judge others, and do not kill. |