Part 2 Laws And Geography - Witchcraft In History - 1) The Genesis Of WITCHCRAFT

Question 1

What is main idea witchcraft and it’s historical significance in the text

Answer 1

The main idea is that the belief in and persecution of witchcraft is not a thing of the past and still exist in some countries it also discusses the widespread belief in witchcraft and its variation across different cultures and time periods

Question 2

In which country does official legislation against witchcraft still exists today

Answer 2

Saudi Arabia

Question 3

What historical event in the United States is mentioned in connection with the term witch hunt

Answer 3

The witch hunt against communist in the US in the 1950s led by senator Joseph McCarthy

Question 4

What common characteristics do the belief in and practice of Magic asuel as well as witch-hunt across different societies and time periods?

Answer 4

These beliefs and practices are human universals with manifestations that can vary from one place and time to another however their roots are deeply entrenched in the human psyche

Question 5

Wendy most of the witchcraft executions in England take place and why is this significant

Answer 5

Most of the witchcraft executions in England took place during the second half of the sixteen century and the first three-quarter of the seventeen century. This is significant because it raises the question of why legal action against witchcraft became particularly widespread during that specific period

Question 6

What is the historical origin of the concept of witches and the need of for punishment

Answer 6

The concept of witches and the need for punishment for witchcraft predates Christianity (ancient legal codes and texts)

Question 7

In the law of Hammurabi what is the prescribed punishment for someone who falsely accuses another person of witchcraft and cannot justify the accusation?

Answer 7

The accuser shall lose his house

Question 8

In the context of ancient Greece what term did the Greeks use to refer to curses or spells that were believed to bind tightly

Answer 8

As katares which means curses that bind tight

Question 9

What was the penalty for people suspected of witchcraft in the twelve tables the earliest know law of ancient ROME

Answer 9

Death

Question 10

What biblical passage from the Hebrew Bible condemns witches and prescribes their punishment

Answer 10

Exodus 22:18 “Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live” death penalty

Question 11

In the new testament what are some of the sins and practises that are associated with eternal damnation

Answer 11

Various including sorcery idolatry hatred

Question 12

What crime and spiritual transgression is associated with being in league with the devil

Answer 12

Crime and an alienation from god’s word as it violates the first commandments from Exodus 20 “thou shalt have no other gods before me”

Question 13

During the early middle ages how did the church initially deal with the concept of witchcraft and witches

Answer 13

Rather midly. From the 4th to the 7th Church Councils imposed penance or fasting as a form of punishment

Question 14

What were the key developments that led to a shift in the church’s stance on witchcraft in the high middle ages

Answer 14

Several factors contribued to a shift in the church’s stance on witchcraft in the high middle ages including the millennial fear in the year 1000 the increasing presence of Satan a series of catastrophes creating fear and anxiety and the multiplication of heretical movements

Question 15

What significant event marked the beginning of persecution related to witchcraft in the late middle ages

Answer 15

Création of the Dominican order at the end of the 1250s

Question 16

What was the new element added to the European concept of witchcraft during the late middle ages that distinguished it from witch beliefs in other cultures

Answer 16

The notion that witches owed their powers to a deliberate pact with the devil. In return for this allegiance they were believed to have supernatural powers to harm their enemies

Question 17

How did the roman catholic church react to the global attack on its supremacy in the late middles ages and what did it accuse non compliant of

Answer 17

Of heresy and witchcraft, tried to impose it’s authority by force on people who no longer assimilated it’s creeds creating scapegoats to maintain control

Question 18

What wer the key differences in the methodsof execution for witches in England compared to other countries

Answer 18

In England witches where hanged and the nption of treason to the body politic and to the kings divine power was emphasized in other countries witchcraft was considered as a heinous crime in the face of God leading to different methods of execution such as burning or the use of stakes