Thread: Will Scotland Pardon Thousands of Witches Convicted Centuries Ago?!

There is movement in the Scottish legislature for pardoning thousands of people, mostly women, for practicing witchcraft*. Did not know that some 4,000 were convicted, and 2,500 executed. Scotland was a hotbed in Europe - five times more witches convicted than anywhere else, under the 1563 Witchcraft Act. Bet that act was well considered by the clergy!

Must have been pretty nasty. This is probably another of those denunciation stories where all someone had to do was claim another was a witch. The results were often brutal. One wonders how many were acquitted, since there was likely a blood thirst for this sort of thing. Might have depended on a person's connections. A sad story for Scotland, and all those other places that did, and some still do, persecute people for a fallacy.


"Scotland mulls pardoning thousands convicted of witchcraft"

* https://abcnews.go.com/International...craft-85584492

Originally Posted by Double Helix

There is movement in the Scottish legislature for pardoning thousands of people, mostly women, for practicing witchcraft*. Did not know that some 4,000 were convicted, and 2,500 executed. Scotland was a hotbed in Europe - five times more witches convicted than anywhere else, under the 1563 Witchcraft Act. Bet that act was well considered by the clergy!

Must have been pretty nasty. This is probably another of those denunciation stories where all someone had to do was claim another was a witch. The results were often brutal. One wonders how many were acquitted, since there was likely a blood thirst for this sort of thing. Might have depended on a person's connections. A sad story for Scotland, and all those other places that did, and some still do, persecute people for a fallacy.


"Scotland mulls pardoning thousands convicted of witchcraft"

* https://abcnews.go.com/International...craft-85584492

I’m guessing that the Act itself was linked to religion. Pardon those convicted but I doubt whether a religion responsible for such madness deserves one. Can’t believe they’re only mulling it over so what’s the hold up? Sounds like a no brainer and if anything could be worth a few votes in next election. Descendants would probably be compensated for here in Canada. Are there still families in Scotland stigmatized by an ancestor’s association with witchcraft?

Originally Posted by zinjanthropos

Originally Posted by Double Helix

There is movement in the Scottish legislature for pardoning thousands of people, mostly women, for practicing witchcraft*. Did not know that some 4,000 were convicted, and 2,500 executed. Scotland was a hotbed in Europe - five times more witches convicted than anywhere else, under the 1563 Witchcraft Act. Bet that act was well considered by the clergy!

Must have been pretty nasty. This is probably another of those denunciation stories where all someone had to do was claim another was a witch. The results were often brutal. One wonders how many were acquitted, since there was likely a blood thirst for this sort of thing. Might have depended on a person's connections. A sad story for Scotland, and all those other places that did, and some still do, persecute people for a fallacy.


"Scotland mulls pardoning thousands convicted of witchcraft"

* https://abcnews.go.com/International...craft-85584492

I’m guessing that the Act itself was linked to religion. Pardon those convicted but I doubt whether a religion responsible for such madness deserves one. Can’t believe they’re only mulling it over so what’s the hold up? Sounds like a no brainer and if anything could be worth a few votes in next election. Descendants would probably be compensated for here in Canada. Are there still families in Scotland stigmatized by an ancestor’s association with witchcraft?

What a waste of legislators' time. One could trawl through history and find all manner of punishments we consider quite wrong today, but what purpose does it serve, several hundred years later? It strikes me as idiotic to hold the ancient past accountable against modern standards. History should be treated as such, not as some kind of moral stain on modern governments, centuries later.

From Leviticus 20:27.
‘A man or woman who is a medium or spiritist among you must be put to death. You are to stone them; their blood will be on their own heads.’

This seems to fit the time of John Knox, founder of the Scottish Presbyterians in the 16th Century.

Originally Posted by ox

From Leviticus 20:27.
‘A man or woman who is a medium or spiritist among you must be put to death. You are to stone them; their blood will be on their own heads.’

This seems to fit the time of John Knox, founder of the Scottish Presbyterians in the 16th Century.

Since most were burned at the stake, that would eliminate the concern over those being without sin casting the first stone.

But it would not be following the commands of the bible. Yet another of those endless sins.....

I guess if God isn’t pardoning then Scotland’s government has to. We’re all sinners last time I checked. Sinners pardoning sinners somehow makes sense to some folks.

We are all sinners if you subscribe to one of the biggest bullshit stories of the Bible.
We are all tarnished by the original sin of Adam and only God is perfect!
Since Augustine the Church has promoted the idea that we are all evil.

So what to do?
Get hold of a whip and scourge yourself on a daily basis, just like some popes have been reported to have done.
Pay particular attention to your genitals as they are especially evil.
Practice this self harm on a daily basis and God may eventually forgive you for inheriting original sin.

Originally Posted by ox

Since Augustine the Church has promoted the idea that we are all evil.

Most would agree that evil is as evil does. If you could ask all the creatures on the planet who the most evil species is, humans would win in a landslide.

So the church is in agreement with the natural world.

This could be a first!

Poor women in India not in enviable position as far as witch hunting is concerned.

https://www.indiatimes.com/news/indi...ls-567228.html

Originally Posted by zinjanthropos

Poor women in India not in enviable position as far as witch hunting is concerned.

https://www.indiatimes.com/news/indi...ls-567228.html

Quoting from the article:

"In 2020, NCRB data said that 15 women were murdered on allegations of witchcraft. Jharkhand, Chhatisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Odisha—all states with a sizeable Adivasi population—together recorded 88 murders attributed to witch-hunting."

Looks like things are pretty nasty over there.

There is a certain ex-president in the U.S. under numerous investigations for financial and criminal activities, including sedition and treason. He keeps claiming all these investigations are "witch hunts". Two of these hunts got him impeached with valid evidence of malfeasance while in office, and the other hunts now threaten to send him to jail.

Time will tell whether there will be any more witch trials in the U.S. anytime soon....

Originally Posted by Double Helix

Originally Posted by zinjanthropos

Poor women in India not in enviable position as far as witch hunting is concerned.

https://www.indiatimes.com/news/indi...ls-567228.html

Quoting from the article:

"In 2020, NCRB data said that 15 women were murdered on allegations of witchcraft. Jharkhand, Chhatisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Odisha—all states with a sizeable Adivasi population—together recorded 88 murders attributed to witch-hunting."

Looks like things are pretty nasty over there.

There is a certain ex-president in the U.S. under numerous investigations for financial and criminal activities, including sedition and treason. He keeps claiming all these investigations are "witch hunts". Two of these hunts got him impeached with valid evidence of malfeasance while in office, and the other hunts now threaten to send him to jail.

Time will tell whether there will be any more witch trials in the U.S. anytime soon....

I wonder if Samantha Stevens & Belinda respectively twitching chin and waving wand would attract same attention? I guess a good witch is fiction while bad witch is the real deal, hope they figure it out soon in India. My research dept hasn’t investigated good witches so perhaps there are some, yet I can see them being accused of being bad witches should one make a mistake. Probably best not to call yourself a witch at all.

While the good folks of Scotland have decided to exonerate suspected witches, it appears that a large number of people around the world will not*. A recent survey suggests that up to a billion people still believe in some form of witchcraft. Some of this includes "The Evil Eye", and the ability to cast spells and curses on others. Curiously, Russia is rather high on the list of believers, with an estimated 56% accepting this nonsense.

Quoting from the article :

"Russia is notorious for its broken institutions including corrupt courts, police, and generally dysfunctional central and local governments. It is also a country that offers a very thin social safety net and has a high proportion of people vulnerable to adverse shocks (such as disease and poverty), and thus seeking to explain misfortunes in their lives (which includes attributing them to supernatural powers like witchcraft)."

It seems that many more people than those in Scotland need to become educated in such matters. But in many places, these beliefs may not be easy to dispel since they appear to be firmly entrenched. Little wonder why the world is in such dire straits with so many people having such facetious notions. And this is just in witchcraft........


"One Billion People Believe in Witchcraft, Including 56 Percent of Russia"

* https://www.newsweek.com/one-billion...russia-1761837