In the history of human migration and
conquest certain patterns repeat themselves endlessly. One of these is the practice of invaders to
demonize the gods of those whom they have subdued and displaced. There are numerous stories of this kind of
struggle in the Jewish and Christian scriptures, told both from the viewpoint
of the triumphant conquerors and of the resistant conquered.
In the Old Testament books of Joshua
and Judges the military eradication of the indigenous tribes of the Jordan
valley by the Israelites is firmly linked with destruction of their places of
worship. The indigenous gods, called
Baals, are mocked and denounced. The
Israelite understanding of what their god requires of them is exemplified by
Judges 2:1-5, in which an angel of The Lord calls them disobedient and calls
punishment on them for failing to tear down all the altars to local gods.
Later, as recounted in the 18th chapter of I
Kings, the prophet Elijah sets up a contest between himself and the prophets of
the Baals. Elijah taunts the other
prophets, then kills 450 of them after he wins the contest. This tension remains through the remainder of
the Old Testament. In the understanding
of the Israelites, the first two commandments that they received through Moses
– 1. I am the Lord your God …; you
shall have no other gods before me. And 2. You shall not make for yourself an
idol…. (Exodus 20:2-4, excerpted) – required both total obedience on their part
and elimination of neighboring peoples who worshiped other gods.
In contrast the familiar stories of Shadrach, Meshach, and
Abednego in the fiery furnace (Daniel 3) and Daniel in the lion’s den (Daniel
6) tell of resistance by followers of The Lord who are themselves now the
conquered in captivity. Their refusal to
bow down to the gods of their captors leads to death sentences and then to
miraculous reprieve.
What got me thinking about this dynamic was hearing recently
a young Christian person state that witchcraft is sinful because those who
practice it worship the devil. The
statement betrays a lack of understanding both of the history of how
accusations of witchcraft have been used for millennia to persecute followers
of the older European religions, or those suspected, with or without cause, of
being such followers, and of the beliefs and practices of modern-day Wiccans
and other neo-Pagans.
After the Roman Empire officially adopted Christianity as its
state religion, imposition of Christian practice on conquered peoples became
standard. How that was accomplished
varied tremendously from one area to another.
Some indigenous peoples were assimilated, some were decimated, some were
baptized and then more or less left alone.
By the twelfth century powerful church and state authorities were using
accusations of witchcraft and Satan-worship to suppress rebellious communities
for purely political reasons. The
extermination of the Stedinger (Frieslander peasants of northern Europe) in 1234,
in which an estimated 10 thousand to 33 thousand were killed, is one early
example.
The devastation wrought by the Black Death (bubonic plague)
in the mid-14th century added to other pressures to destabilize
European society in the early modern period.
Mass witch trials coincided with other “panics” that swept through the
populace. Conspiracy theories abounded,
targeting Jews and Muslims as well as “witches.” The height of the crazes occurred between
1550 and 1650, an era known as “The Burning Times.” The most conservative estimates state that
tens of thousands died; others assert that the figure is more likely in the
hundreds of thousands. Evidence suggests
that many were targeted to settle political or personal antagonisms, frequently
allowing their accusers to confiscate the land and property of the victims. More than three-quarters of those executed
were women.
By the end of the 17th century the number of witch
trials had dropped significantly. The
Salem, Massachusetts, witch craze of 1692 came near the end of the era and was
repudiated by authorities within a few years. The last person executed for
witchcraft in Europe was Anna Göldi, who was beheaded in 1782. Historic documents indicate that her “crime”
was most likely threatening to reveal an affair with her wealthy former
employer, who retaliated by demanding her execution.
The mid-twentieth century brought to Europe and the U.S. an
explosion of interest in non-Christian religions, among them the pre-Christian
beliefs of northern European and British Isles peoples. Wiccan, or neo-Pagan, spirituality held great
appeal for those who, often alienated from traditional Christianity, sought a
religious home which emphasized equality between the sexes, care for creation,
and freedom from rigid doctrine.
This revival of what is also referred to as witchcraft was
met by opposition drawing on the treatises and anathemas developed during the centuries
of trials and executions. Thus we again hear the accusation that those
practicing the ancient craft “worship Satan.”
This is problematic on two fronts.
First, it is untrue. Satan, or
the Devil, as the personification of evil in opposition to the good God is a
Christian construct. It has no parallel
in the Wiccan pantheon. Claiming that
witches “worship the devil” is a modern-day example of the age-old practice of
demonizing the gods of others.
And second, it is dangerous.
The neo-Pagan community, especially here in conservative Lancaster
County, generally keeps a low profile.
But its members are not completely unknown, which makes them and their
children potential targets of harassment, bullying, and worse. In today’s trigger-happy and conspiracy-theory-obsessed
climate, the threat of violence is real.
We who are Christians have a responsibility to be sure of our facts and
mindful of the implications of our words before we speak, especially when our
accusations could lead to harm of others.
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