In school, I've been reading the Crucible by Arthur Miller, and learning about the Salem witch trials in History. The Crucible is a play based upon the Salem witch trials and is also an allegory for McCarthy and the accusations he made on "communists". If you don't have a single clue about the Salem Witch trials, i'll paint a little background for you. Basically in the late 1600's, Salem, Massachusetts was taken a storm by numerous trials and hearings on witchcraft. This town which was originally planned for freedom from religious prosecution became a prison and town full of paranoia. 19 people were killed as a result of false accusations claiming that they were witches. 19 innocent people...killed. Sure, 19 doesn't seem like that much, but in a small town like Salem, 19 is a lot, and 150 were accused and put in trial. People were being accused for witchcraft even when they were innocent. Here's somethings that are very ironic in these trials...
1. If you were telling the truth and denied being a witch you were hanged
If you confessed to being a witch you were spared
Isn't that just awful, these people had to lie, and say that they were practicing witchcraft just to live...
2. Salem was a theocracy (ruled by church) and the town was filled with Christians, more specifically, Puritans. Puritans lived a strict life, with many rules and if you didn't go to church or you didn't do good works, you were considered to be a witch or not a "good Christian". Note: They also believed in Predestination (where God has already decided whether you will be saved or not) and to show that you were saved you needed to do good works to make sure everyone knows that God has saved you.
That is one of the things that really anger me about some of the sects of Christianity. They instill upon their members that you have to do this and that to prove your salvation and be accepted by god. That is absolutely, 100% FALSE. To gain salvation, all you have to do is believe and accept that Jesus was you're savior and that he died for your sins, that's pretty much it. You don't have to do confirmation, or go to church every Sunday. In our English class we read some sermons and poems by the Puritans about God. Many of the poems were very dark and sinister; describing God as this awful man who hates humanity and thinks we're all doomed, who's holding you by a thread and ready to throw you into the pits of fiery hell. (Isn't that lovely!) Once again.... that is so not true... Our God is loving and ready with wide arms to welcome us into the kingdom of Heaven, waiting for us and ready to embrace us. He always forgives you and loves you so much. I can now understand why people lived such miserable lives if they believed in this...
3. In Salem, people were accusing each other left and right of witchcraft. Abigail Williams, the main antagonist, is evil I tell you, PURE EVIL! (No spoilers, don't worry) She performs witchcraft to kill the wife of a man she had an affair with (who happens to be in his 40's and she's 17 in the story, gross right?) and to cover up what she has done she blames others of witchcraft. She fakes being attacked by spirits and does these awful things to make sure people get executed.
Shouldn't we as Christians refrain from doing those things? Abigail Williams wasn't the only person in town who falsely accused people but as believers we should never retaliate and be vengeful. We need to be forgiving and loving. Most of the accusations were attacks of revenge and eventually leads to the victim's death.
To wrap things up, I just wanted to share a piece of History and literature to you guys, because this has been on my mind a lot lately and it angers me a lot to see of this happening. I just encourage all of you to show love and forgive one another, no matter how hard it is. (I could write an entire post about forgiving... I might one day) And remember that God loves you and you can't buy or work your way to heaven.
-Teenager of God
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