why is it that christians hate "witches" so much?

Question

is it for the single verse that says,
Exodus 22:18
Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live.

they are so against harry potter and such, and... werent they the ones killing them back then by burning and what not...? in the "witch trials" ?

so why this intense hate...?

why wasnt this changed when jesus came to earth as so many other verses from the OT were?

Answer 1

When you inherit your beliefs rather than form them for yourself, you also inherit your fears.

Answer 2

Where do you see all this intense hate? Who hates witches? Last I checked Harry Potter is the numero uno booko on Amazono and it doesn't ship till July. Lots & lots of those sales are Christian. I'd say Christians love witches -- if you don't believe it consider that more Christians will read Harry Potter books than will ever open a bible.

Yes, it's true that Harry Potter is only pretend but then all witchcraft is pretend. Show me a real life witch that can do cool stuff like Harry Potter. Real life witchcraft is too boring to hate.

Answer 3

Witches are considered powers and principalities. There are good witches and there are bad witches. Good witches are rare and often don't use their powers as much. Bad witches are more prevalent and are considered enemies of the kingdom of light, which means, they are considered enemies of God. That is the main reason why witches were hated, killed and burned in the olden days and even, in our day and age, sadly, they feel that they are doing God a favor.

Let's start with these: (Exodus 23:4,5; Proverbs 19:11;24:17,29;25:21,22; Ecclesiastes 7:21;).

Forgiving ones enemies has always been taught before Jesus came, and Jesus confirmed this in Matthew 5:43-48, "43"You have heard that it was said, 'Love your neighbor[h] and hate your enemy.' 44But I tell you: Love your enemies[i] and pray for those who persecute you, 45that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. 46If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? 47And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? 48Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect."

Answer 4

There is always a verse in the Bible which can be quoted to support whatever fundamentalist Christians condemn or believe. Beyond that, people in general tend to hate that which they do not understand, substituting fear and loathing for education. Those who profess to hate witches no doubt imagine that those who profess to be witches are conjuring spells and performing black magick -- who knows what horrors they are attributing to witches?? It is true that the Inquisition, conducted by the Catholic clergy, tried alleged witches, employing hideous tortures to elicit their confessions, afterward burning them alive; the auto da fe continued for a lengthy time period, too. The Salem witch trials in the United States (Massachusetts) were the work of Protestant ministers and their followers, and "witches" were often no more than the innocent victims of vindictive neighbors...

Answer 5

Believers throughout history have been taught to punish sinners in their own god-believing societies. It is not so much a matter of hatred for people, as it was for sin. Because when sin broke out like in Israel, God would see to it that Israel would be divided and conquored. Therefore in that context, that persons sin threatened your national security and even that of your family!

In this day and age however, theolocracies are a thing of the past for Christians because we can see that it was impossible to maintain one by Israels example. We see the kingdom of God being spiritual more than physical however and are not called to punish sinners in a ny physical way. If anything, the opposite is true in the present. (Christians being killed for their faith)

God has made it known though that witchcraft is evil and will not tolerate it. I would be more worried about what he thinks than what we think.

Let no one be found among you who sacrifices his son or daughter in the fire, who practices divination or sorcery, interprets omens, engages in witchcraft, or casts spells, or who is a medium or spiritist or who consults the dead. Anyone who does these things is detestable to the LORD -Deuteronomy 18:10

Answer 6

And that verse itself is a mistranslation. The original was closer to "Thou shalt not suffer a poisoner to live."

http://paganwiccan.about.com/od/sufferawitch/Thou_Shalt_Not_Suffer_a_Witch_to_Live.htm

Witchcraft is a technique, like prayer, that is practiced in a variety of different religions -- yes, even in Judaism and Christianity:

http://paganwiccan.about.com/od/christianwitches/Christian_Witchcraft_Christian_Wicca.htm

http://www.lilitu.com/jap/

Witchcraft 101 would go something like this, at least as I was taught: All things in the universe are interconnected by energy, which some witches (including Wiccans) perceive as Divine in nature. This is how witchcraft works: by focussing my intent, and using sympathetic correspondances (certain herbs for courage, for example), I can create an amulet using those herbs which will stimulate courage in the person who wears it. Similarly, by using a lock of hair from a person who is ill, I can (with their permission) set energies in motion that will help them to heal.

In this sense, witchcraft is a very mechanistic worldview. The entire universe is seen as a giant interconnected machine, and by applying one's will to exert pressure one area, one creates a cascade effect that causes change in another area.

You'll notice that never once during that description was Satan mentioned. This is because the vast majority of witches do not work with Satan or any being similar to Satan. It simply has no place in their cosmology. Also, if the witch is a Wiccan they are bound by choice by the Wiccan Rede: "If you harm none, do what you will". They are not likely to perform the curses and other "evil" acts that are attributed to "Satanic" witches.

Most Christians are ignorant of any of this, and have a knee-jerk reaction to the word "witch" based on their misconceptions. If they took a moment to learn what witches actually do and believe, perhaps they would be a little less likely to light the torches and gather firewood without any provocation whatsoever. ;-)

EDITED TO ADD: In response to idahomike2... I can only speak as a Wiccan, but Harry Pottter has about as much to do with Wicca as the Tooth Fairy has to do with the practice of dentistry.

Wicca is a religion with its own liturgy, cosmology, theories of magic, and so forth. Nothing in Harry Potter even comes within sniffing distance of anything Wiccans do or believe.

Harry Potter is a fantasy series that raps off its "spells" in bastardized Latin and never addresses the question of Deity or religious worship. Wiccans practice a carefully thought-out system of sympathetic magic in which everything in the universe is considered to be connected in one vast energy web; create their spells in English (or whatever their native language is); operate by a strict code of ethics, the Wiccan Rede, which can be stated as "If it harm none, do what you will"; honor Deity as Goddess and God; cast "circles" to create sacred space before they worship, and perform highly ritualized acts of invitation to the spirits of the cardinal directions and the Deities once they are in sacred space; and celebrate eight holy days a year attuned to the change of seasons and the solstices and equinoxes, as well as twelve or thirteen esbats associated with the full moon. There are other Wiccan practices as well, but those are the basics -- and as anyone who has read Harry Potter can see, they have no similarity whatsoever to what is done in that popular childrens' series.

I hope this clears up any confusion that the uninformed might have about how our practices relate -- or don't relate -- to Harry Potter.

Answer 7

It dates back to the witch trials in england in about 1500, wikka is a 'dark art' which relates to the devil or 'the work of the devil' and as we all know the puritans that held the trials were strict evangilists, many women who were tried were accused of being witches for having a black cat, its just another example of christian insanity and the god delusion

Answer 8

I no be Christian. I be of the Heathen persuasion. But I know your God say suffer not a witch to live in your Holy Bible. Tanka you velly much. Can you say me how cook puppy dog?

Answer 9

Because they are taught to be hateful. Think about the witch hunts, the crusades and so on and so on. Everybody who isn't a part of them is a heretic or a hell bound heathen sinner.

Answer 10

I'd like to know where they were when the Wizard of Oz, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, and all the other movies with "witches" in them. why the hoopla about harry potter. fundies are stupid. they take everything toooooo literally. they should be hit in the head with a very large marmoset

Answer 11

witchcraft is a deception of satan to keep as many as possible from The Truth of God's Word and Will for mankind... it, in all of it's forms, is from the forces of evil...as to the Potter c**p... it is witchcraft 101... witchcraft can and dose cause harm... the potter series is a depiction of one form of evil deception trying to gain dominance over another form of evil. It is from and about evil... period.... all of the spells and demons and evil forces mentioned in the first Potter series are real... by the admission of the author who is a witch by her own admission... delving into this can bring about great harm to the individual and to others.