Is it true that George Bush and other Christians are actively seeking to return to the Burning Times?

Question

Is it true? Because I really would like to know... any info on this would be greatly appreciated.

I didn't know whether it was true or not, which is, in fact, why I'm asking. My source is: http://www.teenwitch.com/religiousfreedom/religiousfreedom.html

Happy now that there are more details? I hope so...

The only reason I ask is because I'd rather not be burned at the stake for my beliefs (though I will be if it is a must).

Answer 1

the "burning times" was the time period in Europe when people were so afraid of witchcraft that anyone accused of witchcraft was killed. usually by burning at the stake.

and yes anyone ACCUSED was killed. the tests that they developed meant that a normal person would die durring the test. but a witch would survive the test to be burned.

i,e.

a witch is made of wood thus will float.

person accused. was bound and thrown into still water. usually a lake or pond.

if they had a hige body fat index they would float. or if they kept calm and knew how to dead float, they would survive to
be burned as a witch...

if you did not float. then you sank, and drowned. thus you were dead. but at least you were NOT a witch.

read the Malficorum, for other early (Church Approved)
witch tests.

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no i do not think that anyone is actively trying to bring them back. but they are trying to reduce our rights and privelages to a point where it could come back in the future.

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though not as severe as most would believe the burning did in fact happen. here are some facts from religious tolerance.org.

(snip)

We are not going to win many friends in the Neopagan communities with the following essay. However, we believe it to be accurate. It is a story that needs to be told.

The facts are that almost all of the information that is generally accepted as truth by the Neopagan community about the "burning times" is wrong:

The total number of victims was probably between 50,000 and 100,000 -- not 9 million as many believe.
Although alleged witches were burned alive or hung over a five century interval -- from the 14th to the 18th century -- the vast majority were tried from 1550 to 1650.
Some of the victims worshiped Pagan deities, and thus could be considered to be indirectly linked to today's Neopagans. However most apparently did not.
Some of the victims were midwives and native healers; however most were not.
Most of the victims were tried executed by local, community courts, not by the Church.
A substantial minority of victims -- about 25% -- were male.
Many countries in Europe largely escaped the burning times: Ireland executed only four "Witches;" Russia only ten. The craze affected mostly Switzerland, Germany and France.
Eastern Orthodox countries had few Witch trials. "In parts of the Orthodox East, at least, witch hunts such as those experienced in other parts of Europe were unknown...."The Orthodox Church is strongly critical of sorcerers (among whom it includes palmists, fortune tellers and astrologers), but has not generally seen the remedy in accusations, trials and secular penalties, but rather in confession and repentance, and exorcism if necessary...." 1
Most of the deaths seem to have taken place in Western Europe in the times and areas where Protestant - Roman Catholic conflict -- and thus social turmoil -- was at its maximum.

Answer 2

Well, I think this is a bit of an exageration. Bush and his cronies are in with the Religious Right, which is a group of fundie, radical Christians. Not all Christians are part of the fundie religious right. If we allowed this country to become a theocracy (i.e. let the fundie Christians take over) we could very well be opening ourselves up to the Burning Times because non-fundie Christians would not be tolerated if a state religion were declared. However - I have faith that the bulk of the population, if faced with the threat of another inquisition, would stand against it and we'd have a revolution. I don't think most Christians would stand for others being murdered for non-belief in the Abrahamic deity. Perhaps I'm overly optimistic, but I don't think so.

Answer 3

That depends on what you mean by the "Burning Times".
If you mean the faux-historical "Burning Times" referring to the supposed wholesale slaughter of earth religionists during and after the Inquisition, then no -- you can't return to something that never really happened. The "witch hunts" may have caught an odd earth religionist or two in the mix, but mostly killed a bunch of Christians with whom other Christians had religio-political disagreements, people outside societal norms such as midwives and the mentally ill, and people whose neighbors knew that their property would be forfeit if they were convicted of witchcraft.
If you mean the historical period in which science was devalued, religion had control over secular government, and it was OK to hurt people physically and legally for being different or dissenting, then yes, there are some Christians, including our Dear Leader, who would probably not mind that at all. But not all of them feel that way, either.
The "Burning Times" should remind us that it is our duty to protect all people from oppression and persecution, not stand as a cultural touchstone for the persecution of earth-based religions specifically.

Answer 4

Burning times is a reference to burning witches in Europe.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Witch_hunt#In_Neopaganism_and_feminism

There are some people who would probably want to see something like this, however, I do not think that Bush or any major christians want to see something like this return. First of all, it was completely idiotic and barbaric and second it really gave christianity a black eye.


MEDUSA
Can you give any links to sites that back up anything that you said?

Answer 5

The "Burning Times™" is a Wiccan fable Llewellyn writers use to scare little goth fluff bunnies. Didn't happen . . . but as a result of the torture of *christian* heretics in Rome's push to assert its doctrinal superiority and drive out heterodoxy, fabricated "confessions" provided many details that LATER became standard practices in Wicca.

True story. Look it up.

Bush, however, really is an anti-Wiccan a$$hat. You can look that one up, too, from when he was the Governor of Texas.

Answer 6

No way. America is definitely not going back to medieval burnings of old Europe. There is still a large separation of church and state, and almost all of us are past that kind of evil.

The problem is a decreasing separation of church and state. With this, America will have more of one religion in government (Protestant Evangelical, I suspect) and this may create problems with contraception and Roe v. Wade, funding of non-religious institutions, scientific research of stem cells, tolerance for gays, and equal treatment of other sexual or religious points of view

It's still unsettling for the rest of us.

Answer 7

I'm a Christian and I haven't heard any talk about returning to the "burning times". I thought Jesus died so that we didn't have to suffer that way. As for George W. Bush, who cares? He's an idiot! and it would never happen.

Answer 8

Stating that two pastors want something and that the President is in favor is not the same as providing web addresses to the sources of your information.

Answer 9

You betcha. There are 2 pastors in Tx actively seeking the death penalty for Wiccans. GW Bush has stated that even though Wicca it is a legally recognized religion in the US, he will never call it a religion and wants to have it banned.

Answer 10

I am unaware of any evidence that the President of the United States has advocated for the destruction of individuals practising Earth-based religions.

I'm not exactly a fan of the man, but I think you should be careful about believing what you read. He's not quite that bad!