A London couple were convicted on Friday,March 2,2012,for brutally torturing a 15 year-old boy to death because they thought he was possessed by evil spirits.
To many people witchcraft it is the stuff of superstition and fantasy and therefore not to be taken seriously. So argue that witchcraft lives only in the realm of the imagination with old hags dressed in hooded cloaks who add bats’ wings to a bubbling caldron, who turn people into frogs, and soar through the night sky on broomsticks as they cackle maliciously.
To others as was the case of murdered 15 year-old Eric Bikubi, witchcraft is no laughing matter. London's Project Violet is currently investigating 83 of these witchcraft cases. Some investigators say that more than half the world’s population believe that witches are real and can influence the lives of other people.
Millions believe that witchcraft is evil, dangerous, and therefore should be greatly feared. In African the belief in the function and dangers of bad magic, sorcery and witchcraft are deeply rooted in African life. Witches and sorcerers are the most hated people in their community. Even to this day there are places and occasions when they are beaten to death by the rest of the people.
In Western lands, however, witchcraft had given a new mask of respectability. Books, television, and big screen movies have done much to reduce the fear of witchcraft. Entertainment analyst David Davis observed that: "Suddenly, witches are younger and cuter, definitely cuter. Hollywood is good at picking up on trends. . . . By making the witches cuter and more huggable, they can appeal to a larger audience, including women and younger kids. Hollywood knows how to turn any trend into a paying proposition."
Witchcraft is said to be the fastest growing spiritual movements in the United States. Throughout much of the western developed world, an increasing number of people that are inspired by feminist movements and disenchanted with mainstream religions,had sought spiritual fulfilment in various forms of witchcraft.
There are so many forms of witchcraft these days that people disagree even on the meaning of the word "witch." However, professed witches often identify with Wicca—defined in one dictionary as "a pagan nature religion having its roots in pre-Christian western Europe and undergoing a 20th-century revival."
Witches have been hated, persecuted, tortured and even killed. So it's with this in mind that modern practitioners of witchcraft are very eager to improve their image. Are witches evil? Do they worship the Devil? Do they harm people or are they dangerous to be around with? Are witches just ordinary people like the rest of us? With jobs,families of their own,hopes and dreams for the future, etc.
In the West this message is being accepted that withes ain't evil, but normal people like you and me. The belief that people could be possessed by the Devil is BS some say, and it has given rise to a collective paranoia- the hysterical fear of sorcery and witchcraft.
Both Protestant reformers, Martin Luther and John Calvin, approved of witch-hunts in the 16th century. The World Book Encyclopaedia wrote that: "From 1484 to 1782, according to some historians, the Christian church put to death about 300,000 women for witchcraft."
So black magic,white magic,sorcery,magical powers and witchcraft is it all nature-oriented, polytheistic faith or a case of calling up the Devil and then expect him to behave?
References:
1.The book African Traditional Religion.
2.Skynews,Liz Lane, Sky News reporter.
3.The World Book Encyclopaedia.
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