4 ms·

if it matches what happened in my country during the witch hunt era, people were often burned so other people could take their loot. That is, there was a strong

if it matches what happened in my country during the witch hunt era, people were often burned so other people could take their loot. That is, there was a strong alignment between who drove the accusations, and who stood to gain from the victim's untimely death.

gjsman-1000 2y ago
Quite possibly; however, it's very difficult to say due to lack of data and no way to prove it one way or the other. I do know that within Christian theological circles, this would have been considered an abhorrent crime of bearing false witness, just as it has always been. The other reason it's difficult is the sheer prevalence, even in our modern culture, of the Black Legend which injected all sorts of myths regarding the Inquisition and Medieval culture. For example, the Inquisition rarely used torture, Torquemada only had 1% of his heretics executed, and there is only one documented instance of a woman ever being racked (and it wasn't even part of the Inquisition). The effects of the Black Legend were so extreme, that to quote the modern European historian Elvira Roca Barea: "If we deprive Europe of its hispanophobia and anti-Catholicism, its modern history becomes incomprehensible." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_legend https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_legend Or, if that sounds too boring, broad, or controversial, here's History for Atheists admitting the Inquisition and witch hunts is one of the dumbest arguments for atheism, due to heavy involvement of commonly accepted myths: https://historyforatheists.com/2024/02/the-great-myths-14-the-inquisition-myths-and-history/ https://historyforatheists.com/2024/02/the-great-myths-14-th...
jandrese 2y ago
People like to paint the witch burners as ignorant, but they knew exactly what they were doing. Evil people using religion to give cover for their actions goes back forever.
- toasterlovin 2y ago
  Having just lived through a period where witch hunts were popular, my impression is very much that most people involved in them were misguided and perhaps only a select few were truly opportunistically evil.
  - jandrese 2y ago
    I think you underestimate how many people are willing to play dumb if it will get them out of trouble.

gjsman-1000 2y ago

Quite possibly; however, it's very difficult to say due to lack of data and no way to prove it one way or the other. I do know that within Christian theological circles, this would have been considered an abhorrent crime of bearing false witness, just as it has always been. The other reason it's difficult is the sheer prevalence, even in our modern culture, of the Black Legend which injected all sorts of myths regarding the Inquisition and Medieval culture. For example, the Inquisition rarely used torture, Torquemada only had 1% of his heretics executed, and there is only one documented instance of a woman ever being racked (and it wasn't even part of the Inquisition). The effects of the Black Legend were so extreme, that to quote the modern European historian Elvira Roca Barea: "If we deprive Europe of its hispanophobia and anti-Catholicism, its modern history becomes incomprehensible." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_legend https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_legend Or, if that sounds too boring, broad, or controversial, here's History for Atheists admitting the Inquisition and witch hunts is one of the dumbest arguments for atheism, due to heavy involvement of commonly accepted myths: https://historyforatheists.com/2024/02/the-great-myths-14-the-inquisition-myths-and-history/ https://historyforatheists.com/2024/02/the-great-myths-14-th...

jandrese 2y ago

People like to paint the witch burners as ignorant, but they knew exactly what they were doing. Evil people using religion to give cover for their actions goes back forever.

toasterlovin 2y ago
Having just lived through a period where witch hunts were popular, my impression is very much that most people involved in them were misguided and perhaps only a select few were truly opportunistically evil.
- jandrese 2y ago
  I think you underestimate how many people are willing to play dumb if it will get them out of trouble.