Where did the belief in evil witches originate?

Answer 1

Some witches were always bad and so they gave all witches a bad name. Nobody likes entities who use their powers for evil. Plus, when Christianity came up heavy, any use of any power that did not derive from and was not used for Christian purposes was condemned. You could heal sickness and defuse violence and produce peacefulness with witchcraft and since it was not through Christian methods, it was bad, bad, bad.

Answer 2

No one really knows when the belief in evil witches originated. I mean they weren't called witches by other cultures of course. All cultures and countries have some legends that predate the church and other religions. The truth is that their aren't a breed of evil witches, the people that practiced "magic" were just that people. The thing that made them evil is what they did with that "power." The Old Testament speaks out against using magic and that is one of the places where the idea that all witches are evil came from. As I said before no one knows where the belief in evil witches originated, everywhere is my guess.

Answer 3

It started in the Bible. There is the commandment (not part of the ten) Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live. Of course this was done after Saul took David to see a witch to divine the outcome of a battle. If he wouldv'e listened to her he wouldv'e won and not be killed. When Christianity took hold then anyone with healing abilities was labeled a witch, although they were simple herbalists and had knowledge of healing herbs. It then spread farther during the plague the looked to the evil that people had done and to the "familiars" or cats that were everywhere. They associated these feral cats with witches and spurned on the fear. It all came to a head during the Spanish Inquisition. There heretics and those who were accused of witchcraft were burned, tortured or otherwise killed in the name of Christianity. It also came to a second head during the Salem Witch trials. There a handful of people were hung or crushed to death (no one was burned at the stake). The only one to confess to being a witch was set free after her inprisonment, that was Titchiba (spelling?) the servant of the man who's daughter started the whole mess.

Answer 4

salem in 1692
the witchcraft out break originated in Salem Village with Betty Parris being the first afflicted girl
started with an out break of small pox
holloween was started in the 1840 "s by Irish Immigrants.
even before Salem IN England witch hunts were around
this was to contoll follower of christianity. any thing that ?"s christianity has been looked on as evil. there for many people were put to death for not taking christianity as there own.
European anti witch paranoia of the time was found to a much lesser degree in England about a thousand exutions betwee 1542-1684
the first major English trail took place in Essex: near Chelmsford in 1566

Answer 5

Actually it was the early christian church. In which of course wrote it in their bible. They also took the pagan holidays and traditions, the ones they could not kill off they made their own. Example ever wondered why old churches have gargoyles, what does the Xmas tree have to do with the birth of Christ or why is their chocolate eggs and bunnies on Easter. The summer solstice was turned into saint johns day etc etc. Not to mention that well most people confuses satanic worshipers with witches that ironically comes from the christian churches also since there isn't a devil in Wicca.

Answer 6

This is a slightly different spin, wise women or healers during the middle ages were a threat to the established recognized medical establishment. Doctors often recognized and connected varying Christian orders through the middle ages and reformation were at the source of naming "witches" . Healers were often branded as witches and their thousands of years healing knowledge was lost. These were the burning times it is estimated that 50,000 were lost to the "witch trials"of these times. Another possibility is that many of the healers were also of the Jewish faith. As holding land was forbidden to most Jews by law, money lending and healing were not unknown professions in the ghettos of the middle ages. One way to wipe out debt to a money lender was to name he and his family evil witches. Many healers were also lost to the annual Good Friday inspired sermons. Unfortunately this century and last does not have a patten on economic and chauvinistic inspired intolerance.

Considering that 80% of all medications are derived from plant sources how much did this intolerance cost us in medical knowledge?

Answer 7

The belief came from ancient times, when men would fight wars over the love of a woman, for such a "feeble being" to have such an influence over men (allegedly stronger beings) they must have been enslaved using some witchcraft of trickery....

Basically Men created witches because they feared intelligent and powerful women thus branding them evil.

Answer 8

Wicthes have been around since the begining, The original text of the bible the three wise men where magi's the male version of a witch. this was later change when the chruch wanted to make sure that they where not teaching true tollerance and wanted anything that made folks question the reallity of thier world.

Answer 9

The early Christian church believe it or not. In the days of the Inquisition and the Burning Times....people just got it into their heads to get the Pagans into the Church because they wanted control and power over the common people.

The Church began this huge champaign to torture and kills thousands of men women and children to get the Pagans into their clutches. They destroyed centuries old Goddess worshipping tribes, icons and holy scripts. This old knowledge is now lost to us.

One thing is, you cannot edradicate an entire way of living simply because it doesnt agree with you and your beliefs.

Evil Witches dont exist, but the evil exists in the hearts and mind of the people who fear witches.

Please bare in mind that this is strictly my opinion and does not reflect the views of others.

Answer 10

Evil witches were a way, a loophole, of sorts to persecute Witches and Medicine men and women of earlier and if Christians could demonize this Earth-based practice they would not have to tolerate it.

Answer 11

There is no such thing as an "evil" witch.To correct you they are White witches,of which i am one of.The term "Evil" was used during the English witch hunt.It became a way to have them cast out of there homes,villages ect."Evil" spread fear,it caused the death of many innocent woman.
As a witche'ssaying goes "Harm ye none".