Position:Home>History> Why do you suppose they used to put witches to death?

The Church did not invent the idea of witchcraft as a potentially harmful force whose practitioners should be put to death!. This idea is commonplace in pre-Christian religions and is a logical consequence of belief in magic!. According to the scholar Max Dashu, the concept of medieval witchcraft contained many of its elements even before the emergence of Christianity!. These can be found in Bacchanalias, especially in the time when they were led by priestess Paculla Annia (188-186)!.

However, even at a later date, not all witches were assumed to be harmful practicers of the craft!. In England, the provision of this curative magic was the job of a witch doctor, also known as a cunning man, white witch, or wiseman!. The term "witch doctor" was in use in England before it came to be associated with Africa!. Toad doctors were also credited with the ability to undo evil witchcraft!. (Other folk magicians had their own purviews!. Girdle-measurers specialised in diagnosing ailments caused by fairies, while magical cures for more mundane ailments, such as burns or toothache, could be had from charmers!.)

"In the north of England, the superstition lingers to an almost inconceivable extent!. Lancashire abounds with witch-doctors, a set of quacks, who pretend to cure diseases inflicted by the devil!.!.!. The witch-doctor alluded to is better known by the name of the cunning man, and has a large practice in the counties of Lincoln and Nottingham!."[7]

Francisco Goya's Los Caprichos: ?Linda maestra! ("The Spoils: Beautiful Teacher!") - witches heading to a SabbathSuch "cunning-folk" did not refer to themselves as witches and objected to the accusation that they were such!. Records from the Middle Ages, however, make it appear that it was, quite often, not entirely clear to the populace whether a given practitioner of magic was a witch or one of the cunning-folk!. In addition, it appears that much of the populace was willing to approach either of these groups for healing magic and divination!. When a person was known to be a witch, the populace would still seek to employ their healing skills; however, as was not the case with cunning-folk, members of the general population would also hire witches to curse their enemies!. The important distinction is that there are records of the populace reporting alleged witches to the authorities as such, whereas cunning-folk were not so incriminated; they were more commonly prosecuted for accusing the innocent or defrauding people of money!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

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so who said witches were put to death!? i would like to say you read too much but that's not the problem!. you believe what you read and that's the problem!. you show me a real witch that was put to death and i'll pay you real $$$ for each found (and proved)!. this was a political event from start to finish, both in the usa and europe!. oh yeah, those in power used the church and the bible as crutches but look beyond their flimsy logic and you'll see it for what it was: politics and a really neat way to get rid of pesky opponents and get their property, too!. economics and politics: the evil of most!Www@QuestionHome@Com

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They did that in Christianity-based cultures!. Witchcraft is magic, which is only from Satan, so it's evil!. There are also other places in the Bible that mention this!.

Basically, if you could do magic, you had to have given your soul to the Devil (signed your name in his book)!. Then Satan could work through you!. And, obviously, in a Christian culture, they didn't want anyone pledged to Satan living with them!.

I'm guessing you're talking about Europe and New England hundreds of years ago!. But this also happened in many other places throughout the world!. also, some cultures held witches to be great and endowed!. They honored their witches!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

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