Iraq....whats your take on this???

[Gold Dragon]

I think it is important to learn from the mistakes of past Christians who have abused scripture to justify violent acts. I believe that calling them fiction and pretending they didn't happen will facilitate repeating those errors in the future.

 

[SumTinWong]

First I ever heard that the witch trials were made up.

For another great example of how anyone can turn a love message to hate make sure you visit the deplorable Reverand Phelps and his brood of vipers at Westboro Baptist Church. I find the Matthew Shepard tribute to be utterly disgusting...

Any sot can turn any religion into a cause for hate. There were zealots in the time of Jesus and there are zealots now. Some will say that the true face of Islam is peace and love. I am personally waiting for that example to show up.

 

[ZiSunka]

First I ever heard that the witch trials were made up.

For another great example of how anyone can turn a love message to hate make sure you visit the deplorable Reverand Phelps and his brood of vipers at Westboro Baptist Church. I find the Matthew Shepard tribute to be utterly disgusting...

Any sot can turn any religion into a cause for hate. There were zealots in the time of Jesus and there are zealots now. Some will say that the true face of Islam is peace and love. I am personally waiting for that example to show up.

The witch trials were not made up. The version in which 50 million witches were burned at the stake, including those in Salem, Mass, is made up. New York Times did a big article on it about three years ago. You might look for it on their website.

 

[ZiSunka]

I think it is important to learn from the mistakes of past Christians who have abused scripture to justify violent acts. I believe that calling them fiction and pretending they didn't happen will facilitate repeating those errors in the future.

I think any taking of human life is wrong. All acts of violence in the name of Christ are wrong. But what is fiction is fiction. I'm not trying to justify killing, I hate killing, all forms of killing by anyone. But truth is not advanced by lies. We don't have to rationalize, explain or feel guilty about things that never happened. Why cling to the lie that Chrisitans committed genocide against witches when it never happened?

 

[Gold Dragon]

I think any taking of human life is wrong. All acts of violence in the name of Christ are wrong. But what is fiction is fiction. I'm not trying to justify killing, I hate killing, all forms of killing by anyone. But truth is not advanced by lies. We don't have to rationalize, explain or feel guilty about things that never happened. Why cling to the lie that Chrisitans committed genocide against witches when it never happened?

I don't think anybody here is trying to propogate that millions of "witches" died during the Salem Witch Trials. But as you admit, they did happen, mostly by hangings. Wikipedia list 25 people who died as a result of the Salem Witch Trials.

Earlier witch trials throughout Europe resulted in many more deaths, often by burning. Joan of Arc being the most famous one. Wikipedia lists 12,000 as their estimate of the number of witch executions known to have happened from 1400s-1700s. Most of the inflated numbers seen are guesses at how many unknown or unrecorded executions there may have been. Estimates range from 40,000 to 100,000.

 

[Grimace]

The witch trials were not made up. The version in which 50 million witches were burned at the stake, including those in Salem, Mass, is made up. New York Times did a big article on it about three years ago. You might look for it on their website.

If you had actually READ the article I posted, you would have seen why I had put "burning times" in quotes. I never said 50 million people were killed, either. Really, you should actually read what I posted (and the article I linked to) before attributing such things to me.

Example quote from website I linked to:

The facts are that almost all of the information that is generally accepted as truth by the Neopagan community about the "burning times" is wrong:

See what happens when you don't read things?

And yes, the Salem "Witches" were hung, not burned, but I don't see how that justifies anything. The "burning times" is a general term used to describe the era of persecution from Christians against witches and pagans from the 14th to 18th centuries. Which did happen, sad to say.

 

[Carrye]

Please pray for Iraq. There's a population of Catholics there as well as other Christians. A friend of mine is actually a Chaldean rite Catholic priest, and Chaldeans are from Iraq. His parents were actually born in Iraq, though he was born in the States, and they still have both strong religious and cultural ties there.

 

[Iollain]

Egret and superstition were the cause of the 'witch' trials, imo. I've read they used counter-witchcraft to find out who the 'witches' were.

I was wondering about other killings and torture, did they actually use the bible?

 

[Gold Dragon]

Egret and superstition were the cause of the 'witch' trials, imo. I've read they used counter-witchcraft to find out who the 'witches' were.

I was wondering about other killings and torture, did they actually use the bible?

I tried to address your question in post #18.

Another example of abusing the bible to justify killing, torture, terror and hatred is obviously the KKK.

Imperial Klans of America: Klan Beliefs

Doctrinal Statement Of Beliefs

The following is a brief statement of our major doctrinal beliefs as taught by the Holy Scriptures. This list is not exhaustive, but a basic digest defining the true faith once delivered to the saints. For a further explanation of our beliefs and the implications of these truths, please contact us.

...

WE BELIEVE the White, Anglo-Saxon, Germanic and kindred people to be God's true, literal Children of Israel. Only this race fulfills every detail of Biblical Prophecy and World History concerning Israel and continues in these latter days to be heirs and possessors of the Covenants, Prophecies, Promises and Blessings YHVH God made to Israel. This chosen seedline making up the "Christian Nations" (Gen. 35:11; Isa. 62:2; Acts 11:26) of the earth stands far superior to all other peoples in their call as God's servant race (Isa. 41:8, 44:21; Luke 1:54). Only these descendants of the 12 tribes of Israel scattered abroad (James 1:1; Deut. 4:27; Jer. 31:10; John 11:52) have carried God's Word, the Bible, throughout the world (Gen. 28:14; Isa. 43:10-12, 59:21), have used His Laws in the establishment of their civil governments and are the "Christians" opposed by the Satanic Anti-Christ forces of this world who do not recognize the true and living God (John 5:23, 8:19, 16:2-3).

WE BELIEVE in an existing being known as the Devil or Satan and called the Serpent (Gen. 3:1; Rev. 12:9), who has a literal "seed" or posterity in the earth (Gen. 3:15) commonly called Jews today (Rev. 2:9; 3:9; Isa. 65:15). These children of Satan (John 8:44-47; Matt. 13:38; John 8:23) through Cain (I John 2:22, 4:3) who have throughout history always been a curse to true Israel, the Children of God, because of a natural enmity between the two races (Gen. 3:15), because they do the works of their father the Devil (John 8:38-44), and because they please not God, and are contrary to all men (I Thes. 2:14-15), though they often pose as ministers of righteousness (II Cor. 11:13-15). The ultimate end of this evil race whose hands bear the blood of our Savior (Matt. 27:25) and all the righteous slain upon the earth (Matt. 23:35), is Divine judgment (Matt. 13:38-42, 15:13; Zech. 14:21

...

While the Klan is now considered a fringe element, for a period of American history, many mainstream Christians were either Klan members or sympathetic to the Klan.

 

[Iollain]

Yeah your right about the KKK, they believe that their main enemy is the Jews. Still reading stuff from post #18... thanks for the info.