Summary
The religious upheaval of traditional gods worshipping to the worshipping of God in the mid-sixteenth century condemned any form of witchcraft in the community because of many reasons. The religion regarded the witches as those who had renounced God, and thus they did not deserve to live (Bodin, 1995). The witches had also committed to worshiping the devil with all their hearts, and people regarded this as one of the greatest abominations.
They bowed down to Satan, offered to pray to him, and invoked his name. Godly religion condemned the occult, as some witches had already sacrificed their infants to the devil before the kids were even born. People also hated the witches as they promised Satan that they would lure more people into the practice. Religion also condemned witchcraft, as these people confessed to killing innocent people in society, especially children. They ate human flesh, especially for little children; the true religion highly condemned this practice.
Lessons Drawn from Witchcraft Prosecutions
The broader lesson that people learn from the persecution of the witches is society highly condemned that witchcraft. The executors stripped the convict, even if she was a woman, as they thought witchcraft could have been sewn into the clothing (Burr, 1897). Opinions on the way the witch was to be tortured varied among the people. Some said that the practice was evil, but the ringleader of the witches may be assured of life if she gave evidence against other witches.
Others maintained imprisonment of the convicts was the right decision, and the people should burn the accused after the end of the conviction tenure. The witches could also be induced to speak the truth by using acceptable torture methods. The convicts would easily confess the light charges more than the heavy ones. The view of women in today’s culture has changed as many cultures no longer view them as witches (Zwissler, 2018). Christianity has helped to redefine and shape how society regards women.
References
George L. Burr, ed., (1897). Translations and reprints from the original sources of European history, vol. 3, part 4 (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press), pp. 11–13.
Zwissler, L. (2018). In the study of the witch: Women, shadows, and the academic study of religions. Religions, 9(4), 105. Web.
Bodin, J. (1995). On the Demon-mania of witches (Vol. 7). Centre for reformation and renaissance studies.