Is witch burning inspired by christianity?

[SazidRahman]

Was it?

[jennifer_bloom]

The bible says do not suffer a witch to live, which to me means, do not give your time, affection, concern, respect, sacrifice, social invitations, or honour to manipulative people who drain your good intentions with lies about who they are, who their friends and who their enemies are. They have disqualified themselves as your friends by lying to you, and you must eradicate them from your social network.

[SazidRahman]

Did you mean bible influenced witch burning?

[jennifer_bloom]

I mean interpretations of the bible could have caused witch burning.

[CupcakeTheDestroyer]

The infamous witch trials were primarily fueled by christian beliefs that were heavily popularized by the Malleus Maleficarum by Heinrich Kramer, a German Catholic clergyman. The title roughly translates to “The Hammer of Witches” and was used as the primary tool in determining what a witch was and how they could be dealt with in the name of Christ. I imagine he’s very unhappy to know his book is the reason why hundreds of innocent women died.

[OneViewpoint]

Every religion needs a bad guy, a boogeyman. The protagonist needs an antagonist for contrast. Christianity invented a God and a Devil, angels and demons, witches, warlocks, succubi, vampires, gremlins, imps, etc.

It's just more proof that "God" and the entire religion is a fairy tale created by humans in their own image. Primitives fighting their fears and using belief to control the other primitives.

[Stevepro68]

Burning was a particularly Christian form of execution of witches. However there were many pre Christians and pagan groups that excuted in various ways people for what is colloquial know in English as a witch.

[strateguy632]

Nope, christ never said to burn a witch. Neither did christianity in books. In fact jesus said do not kill the sinner, as primitives usualy did.

If jesus would come to a witch trial he would say "you are also with sin so can't ignite the fire".

[SazidRahman]

Why than so many witch burning happened in mediveal period in west?

[NoDecision]

He ignites the fires on Judgement Day. There will be quite a few burning.

[AMS700CX4u2]

So much was cured by fire, Bubonic plague victims burned clothing and homes which killed the fleas and rats. Corpses were burned to reduce the infectivity of what remained. It seemed a cure all. You must remember that people were scared and had no antibiotic or sanitary measures. About this time the saying "Cleanliness is next to Godliness" came into being. Add to that the open lesions of syphilis, which were often cauterized. Burning to cleanse continued into the early 1900's with yellow fever and typhoid. It is a last defense against an unknown enemy.

[RandomGirl42]

Oh, yes. The hypocritical bastards have been killing my ancestors for centuries.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Witch_trials_in_the_early_modern_period

[NoDecision]

No! Just by the skewed rules of the Catholic Church, which also took Indian children away from their families and stuck them in Catholic schools. If the children would not indoctrinate or rebelled, they would be disposed of into nameless graveyards.

[genericname85]

naw that's just how people back then dealt with things. if not for christianity they would have other deluded reasons to get rid of people they dislike.

[jshm2]

No. The Romans burned a lot of people at the stake.

[slatyb]

In Europe it was supported by the churches, both Catholic and Protestant.

[Staximus]

Yeah, the holler than thou Christians who were so tolerant that they burnt innocent women at the stake

[AMS700CX4u2]

Speaking as a descendant of a family of French folks who had a family member or two roasted at the stake. Yep.

[NoDecision]

That is hearsay.

[Staximus]

@NoDecision well the Salem witch trials were not hearsay, the tolerant Christians hanged 19 women accused of witchcraft. Joan of Arc and many other women were burned at the stake and that time and that is not hearsay, either

[NoDecision]

Those were Catholics, not Christians.

[AMS700CX4u2]

@NoDecision My last names if derived from the French ""Ouellette'. The greatest concentration of surviving "Ouellette"s are found on the Northern coast of Normandy. Evidently our group thumbed their noses at Catholicism around 1547 and when open season was declared on non catholics. We ran to the boats and headed across the English Channel into Wales, Long Story , short, we ended up in North Stratfordshire and survived as farm help and preachers. It worked until the Anglican church became just is oppressive. Then we headed to the New World. I am unable to locate our entry point, but I believe it was Long Island. My Paternal grandmother's people did arrive in Long Island. Her name was "Coutant" her folk founded the town of New Rochelle. So I am not repeating "Gossip" this is fairly well substantiated Fact. Now did you actually mean Hearsay or Heresy. because they were in some eyes Heretics

[NoDecision]

@AMS700CX4u2 Nope, hearsay.

[Staximus]

@NoDecision well there was nothing hearsay about the Salem witch trials. Tolerant Christians hanged 19 innocent women.

[jahaims]

Look it up