what was the main reason why people believed in witches??

Question

what was the main reason why people believed in witches???
i know it is something to do with
fire of london
plague
lack of understandment

please help me!!!!1

Answer 1

Main reason was the chruch at the time wanted to remove the female influence so priests would become the more respected and listened to. The church slaughtered many thousands of so-called witches, most of whom were infuential women.

Answer 2

There were the crafts and there was the Church and the Guilds. The Bible had again been re-translated and the word witch replaced the more accurate translation of the Hebrew--Sorceress.

Physicians were bleeding patients. The Church was praying over patients. Herbalists and healers were curing patients. Since the Church was "perfect" and of "God" they, and the physicians who were under the Churches tutelage, knew that the Curing must be done by the "Dark Arts."

The Healers and the Bone Setters would Dip their cloths into a cauldron of boiling water before cleaning a patient or treating a wound. When they had been chased away by the local priest and physician the patients often died. The local priest and physician knew that the "Dark Arts" must have been involved and the poisons and sins in the mixture of the cauldron killed the patient, because God was on their side and to clean away the good soil of God was also an abomination.

All who did such things as use cauldrons and heal without bleeding away the "bad blood" had to be witches and Chased from the area or killed.

I once started to write a book on this subject, but i was getting so worked up doing research I knew I could never finish it.

Answer 3

A witch can be understood in different cultures differently. Medicine men, witch doctors, shamans etc. These people where an important part of the society, as they where the ones who could heal people and explain the why's and what nots of their gods/spirits. One must remember that in such society an illness was not caused by things called bacteria or virus. When there is no explanation for someone being ill, it was logical to assume that the illness was brought on by a unsatisfied spirit or god. So curing an illness was not only giving the patient the necessary herbs but also evicting or negotiating with the spirits. Placebo is a powerful medicine, as most our doctors would agree. In our modern culture the important role played by such people has been taken over by science and medicine. That combined with the bad reputation brought on by the cultures being converted to Christianity pushed people using folk medicine further underground, as it's spiritual connection was viewed as paganism.

I believe thus that the reason why we have so much trouble letting go of the belief and fascination about witches has to do with the fact that they have been part of our society far longer than any of the organised religions.

Answer 4

Depends on how you interpret this question.

If you are talking about the witch trials of the 15th and 16th Centuries on Europe, then it was due to the socio-economic unheaval of the time. Someone needed to be blamed for the economic problems at that time so fingers were pointed at 'witches'. These started out as land owning widows (the accusors usually got the land as part of a reward for outting them), but as the hysteria took hold men and children were also accused of being witches.

If you are talking about Paganism as a religion, then you will find that witchcraft is still practiced as a religion today.

Answer 5

Witches were originally the wise ones. They were the healers, midwives and more.
When the Christian church was trying to establish itself it persecuted those who did not readily join them. The fact that 'witches' main beliefs lie within nature they were prime targets for the puritons. If someone died under their care it was said to be the work of the devil and so ended in trials and persecution!

Witches, don't worship the devil.
Broomsticks are used to cleanse a space and to protect.
Pointy hats are believed to stem from the vessal of the female deities, or as an 'aerial' to draw energy.

Witches still exist but mainly in the form of wiccans.
There are lost of relevant websites if you do a google search.

Heres one to start you off,
http://www.witchcraft.org/

Happy hunting and Blessings :)

Answer 6

Ignorance.

But people also have the tendency to want to blame others for troubles.
Find an old women who doesn't have many friends, blame all the bad things that have happened on her, call her a witch, and next thing you know everyone else will call her a witch and she'll be killed.
That's basically what happens to most ''witches''.

Answer 7

Because magic is a fact of life which organized religion managed to destroy by severe persecution, lies and burning people at the stake. It is not as much an issue of faith or belief but a way of living in harmony with nature and the cycles of life. Organized religion requires people to be in full ignorance, led here or there under the fear of a burning hell (if disobedient ) or the promise of a paradise when obediently do as they are told without asking many questions or rise objections.

Answer 8

Witches are mentioned in the Bible, where one of the commandments (not one of the famous 10) is: "Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live."

So witches predate the London fire and most plagues. Lack of understanding--that is key. That we continue to have with us.

Some people really do facny themselves to be witches--to have supernatural powers. Many of those accused of witchcraft in the middle ages were simply innocent victims. Superstition, fear, "lack of understandment," these are key ingrediants for suspicion of witchcraft.

To Private--"Bible bashers" attack or bash the Bible. I think you may have meant "Bible thumpers," those who thump their Bibles in emphasis when trying to prove some point.

Answer 9

People STILL believe in witches...still ARE witches. Witches were (and still are) hated because of lack of understanding.

Answer 10

Well, for one thing, you have people right here on Y Answers that claim to be witches.