22 September 1692 A.D. Final executions on Witch Hill, Salem, Massachusetts--compare/contrast with America's great Holocaust, 1973-2015? 19 hanged versus millions of boys and girls slaughtered?
22 September 1692 A.D. Final executions on Witch Hill, Salem,
Massachusetts--compare/contrast with America's great Holocaust, 1973-2015? 19 hanged versus millions of boys and girls slaughtered?
Dr. Rusten tells the story.
Rusten, E.
Michael and Rusten, Sharon. The One Year
Christian History. Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, 2003. Available at: http://www.amazon.com/The-Year-Christian-History-Books/dp/0842355073/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1393302630&sr=8-1&keywords=rusten+church+history
The witch hunts began in 1692
with the daughter of Mr. (Rev.) Samuel Parris, the Pastor of the church in
Salem, MA.
Rev. Parris’ daughter began
acting strange, exhibiting psychotic symptoms, violent convulsions,
hallucinations, and trance-like states.
A cousin of the daughter also was acting out. The hysteria spread. Blame
came to be associated with Tituba, a slave from the West Indies, who offered
the children stories of the occult from her homeland.
150 suspects were involved. Some were imprisoned. 19 were hanged. Most were women and most were
social outcasts.
The final public executions
happened on 22 September 1692 – 8
middle-aged women and 1 man. At the gallows was the judge at the trials,
William Stoughton.
Cotton Mather, a young and
allegedly brilliant cleric, had been one involved in the interrogation of
witches.
After the executions, neighboring
ministers made an effort to stop the witch hunts.
1 year later, Rev. Parris would
lament and regret his involvement. He
preached such in a sermon, saying, “…the wounds of the victims accuseth us as
the vile actors.”
Questions:
1.
What of
the confessions of foul and dark deeds?
2.
What of
David, adultery and premeditated murder?
3.
What of
Paul, a murderer? Paul was conscious of
this into his later Christian life.
4.
What of
the words of Confession at Holy Communion in the Book of Common Prayer?
5.
1 John
1.9? 1599 Geneva Bible (GNV): 9 [a]If we
acknowledge our sins, he is [b]faithful
and just, to [c]forgive
us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Footnotes:
1 John 1:9 Therefore the beginning
of salvation is to acknowledge our wickedness, and to require pardon from him
who freely forgiveth all sins, because he hath promised so to do, and he is
faithful and just.
1 John 1:9 So then our salvation
hangeth upon the free promise of God, who because he is faithful and just, will
perform that which he hath promised.
1 John 1:9 Where are then our
merits? for this is our true felicity.
6.
What
deep and grievous sins do you confess?
7.
What
of the massive and individual sins of abortion?
And America’s great Holocaustalism dwarfing Hitler’s oven-camps?
8.
Divorce? Single-parented homes where fathers
disappear? Can it compare to Salem Witch
Trials? Perhaps a stretch, but God
describes adultery and divorce as “violence” to the wife of one’s youth. If so, how so? That is, emotional violence?
9.
How
does the 6th commandment play here?
The 9th commandment?
Sources:
Douglas, William O. An Almanac of Liberty. Garden City:
Doubleday, 1954. 85.
Queen, Edward L., II. “Salem
Witchcraft Trials.” EARH. 2: 581-2.
Stout, H.S. “Salem Witch Trial.”
DCA. 1041.
Strauss and Howe. Generations. 116-20.
Weinstein, Allen and Frank Otto
Gatell. Freedom and Crisis: An American
History. 3rd ed. New York: Random, 1981. 80-104.
Comments
Post a Comment