Howard Pyle illustration from the 1903 edition of The Story of King Arthur and His Knights
Of Miracles and Magic: Christianity’s Uneasy Relationship to the Magical World
By Mark Storer
In 2019, a schoolteacher in Andover, Massachusetts named Carrie LaPierre set about creating a project for her 8th grade Civics class that dealt with one of early America’s most troubling periods: The Salem Witch Trials of 1692.
LaPierre’s students spent the better part of a year researching and writing about Elizabeth Johnson, Jr., a woman who was sentenced to death in 1693 for the practice of witchcraft. In a unique act of student research and public advocacy, the students and their teacher addressed state representatives and officials, and finally succeeded in exonerating the last of the so-called ‘Salem Witches’ of her crimes. In July 2022, Governor Charlie Baker signed a budget for the state that included a pardon for Johnson, Jr.
The Puritans who settled in the Northeastern seaboard of what would later become the United States considered witchcraft to be heretical and associated it with the devil’s influence. They believed witches were capable of ‘sending out their spirits,’ influencing people to make poor decisions, and even inflicting pain or harm on others. Indeed, there are admonitions throughout the Bible—in both Old and New Testaments—about witchcraft and its inherent dangers to those who would seek to use it. While it’s clear that the Bible does condemn the use of magic on several fronts, not all magic was synonymous with witchcraft. Christianity also exists in concert with magic, and not always to the detriment of the user.
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LaPierre’s students spent the better part of a year researching and writing about Elizabeth Johnson, Jr., a woman who was sentenced to death in 1693 for the practice of witchcraft. In a unique act of student research and public advocacy, the students and their teacher addressed state representatives and officials, and finally succeeded in exonerating the last of the so-called ‘Salem Witches’ of her crimes. In July 2022, Governor Charlie Baker signed a budget for the state that included a pardon for Johnson, Jr.
The Puritans who settled in the Northeastern seaboard of what would later become the United States considered witchcraft to be heretical and associated it with the devil’s influence. They believed witches were capable of ‘sending out their spirits,’ influencing people to make poor decisions, and even inflicting pain or harm on others. Indeed, there are admonitions throughout the Bible—in both Old and New Testaments—about witchcraft and its inherent dangers to those who would seek to use it. While it’s clear that the Bible does condemn the use of magic on several fronts, not all magic was synonymous with witchcraft. Christianity also exists in concert with magic, and not always to the detriment of the user.
...
Subscribe to the New PRS Journal to read on...
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