The Institutes Of Christian Religion
Religion and witchcraft by Jerry Como
It is the purpose of this chapter to trace the origin of witches, wizards, and devils, the widespread belief in them at the time of pagan Rome, and the manner in which these were incorporated into Christian theology.
With the rise of Christianity and the gain of political power by its adherents, the perverted pagan idea of witchcraft became the source of the most terrible persecutions in the bloody history of religion. The numerous references to witches and devils in both the Old and New Testaments established the authority for the organized religious mania that scourged both Roman Catholic and Protestant Europe, and extended its tentacles into the New England colonies.
Instigated by ecclesiastics, and carried into effect by the intellectual serfs, their adherents, hundreds of thousands of “witches” were tortured and burned during the164 sway of the Witchcraft Delusion. With the Bible as an inspiration, the clergy inflamed the superstitious minds of the masses of that time with the conception of a ceaseless strife between the Kingdom of God and the Kingdom of Satan for possession of their souls and their bodies.
We of the present age may readily wonder how such a belief could have had so firm a grasp on the minds of our ancestors. Perhaps we will be tempted to attribute it to the ignorance of that time, particularly to the ignorance of the untutored masses. On the contrary, this does not approximate the actual situation. History reveals that the greatest minds of that age, men eminent in law, letters, and philosophy, not only defended this conception strenuously, but even engaged in the extermination of “witches.”
That men of such superior intellect could defend such a barbaric institution, which today is revolting to our senses, necessitates the conclusion formulated at the end of this chapter.
The ancient Greeks and Romans believed that it was possible by supernatural means to inflict evil on their fellowmen, and all the sects of philosophers admitted this, with the exception of the Epicureans, who denied the existence of evil spirits. The magicians, in Greece and Rome, were at times punished because they injured men and not because they offended the gods. During the latter period of pagan Rome, some of the emperors passed laws against the magicians, if it was proven that by casting the horoscope the magicians had ascertained what was, according to their belief, the most auspicious time to start a rebellion against their rule. The emperors, however, notably Marcus Aurelius and Julian, were the patrons of magicians who foretold coming events to165 them. The public methods of foretelling the future, such as the oracle of the gods, formed part of their religion.
When the first Christians came into Rome and spread Christianity throughout the empire, they were inspired by an intense religious enthusiasm. They thought much less of the civil than of the religious consequence of magic, and sacrilege seemed much more terrible in their eyes than anarchy.
The Christians found in Rome a vast polytheistic religion in contrast to their own in which the entire world was divided into the Kingdom of God and the Kingdom of Satan. For them the world seemed to be teeming with malignant demons, who had in all ages persecuted and deluded mankind. “According to these Christians, the immediate objects of the devotions of the pagan world were subsidiary spirits of finite power and imperfect morality; angels, or, as they were then called, demons, who acted the part of mediators, and who, by permission of the Supreme and Inaccessible Deity, regulated the religious government of mankind. The Christians had adopted this conception of subsidiary spirits, but they maintained them to be not the willing agents, but the adversaries of the Deity; and the word demon, which among the pagans, signified only a spirit below the level of a Divinity, among the Christians signified a devil.”
“This notion seems to have existed in the very earliest period of Christianity; and in the second century, we find it elaborated with the most minute and detailed care. Tertullian, who wrote in that century, assures us that the world was full of these evil spirits, whose influence might be descried in every portion of the pagan creed. If a Christian in any respect deviated from the path of duty, a visible manifestation of the devil sometimes appeared to terrify him. The terror which such a doctrine must have spread among the early Christians166 may be easily conceived. They seemed to breathe an atmosphere of miracles. Wherever they turned they were surrounded and beleaguered by malicious spirits, who were perpetually manifesting their presence by supernatural arts. Watchful fiends stood beside every altar, they mingled with every avocation of life, and the Christians were the special objects of their hatred. All this was universally believed, and was realized with an intensity which, in this secular age, we can scarcely conceive. The bearing of this view upon the conception of magic is very obvious. Among the more civilized pagans, magic was mainly a civil, and in the last days of the empire, a political crime. In the early church, on the other hand, it was esteemed the most horrible form of sacrilege effected by the direct agency of evil spirits. It included the whole system of paganism, explained all its prodigies, and gave a fearful significance to all its legends. When the Church obtained the direction of the civil power, she soon modified or abandoned the tolerant maxims she had formerly inculcated; and in the course of a few years, restrictive laws were enacted, both against Jews and heretics.”
Constantine, after his conversion to Christianity, enacted laws against the magicians. These were made more rigid under Constantius, his son, but suspended under Julian. These persecutions were renewed by Valentinian, spasmodically carried on to a slight extent, and then lapsed. During the period that elapsed between the sixth and thirteenth centuries the executions for sorcery were comparatively rare.
It is to be borne in mind, then, that magic as existing in pagan Rome was part of the religious conceptions of the Romans. The oracle as well as the various demons, which to them signified what the word “angel” signifies to us now, formed an elaborate system of mythology and167 idolatry. The early Christians coming into contact with these conceptions, at first found an insurmountable difficulty in spreading their beliefs among the rural inhabitants of the Roman empire. Polytheism was dominant while their monotheism was as yet a persecuted belief. The road of least resistance was compromise, and so this vast system of polytheism was perverted, while seemingly accepted into their beliefs, by making these “angels,” “demons,” as we now understand the word. Since the early Christians were dominated by a belief in constant Satanic presence, these demons were said to be the “Hosts of Satan.” It was firmly believed that the arch-fiend (Satan) was forever hovering about the Christians, but it was also believed that the sign of the cross, or a few drops of holy water, or the name of Mary, could put him to an immediate and ignominious flight.
“In the twelfth century, however, the subject passed into an entirely new phase. The conception of a witch, as we now conceive it, that is to say of a woman who had entered into a deliberate compact with Satan, who was endowed with the power of working miracles whenever she pleased, and who was continually transported through the air to the Sabbath, where she paid her homage to the Evil One–first appeared. The panic created by the belief at first advanced slowly, but after a time with a fearfully accelerated rapidity. Thousands of victims were sometimes burnt alive in a few years. Every country in Europe was stricken with the wildest fever. Hundreds of the ablest judges were selected for the extirpation of this crime. A vast literature was created on the subject, and it was not until a considerable portion of the eighteenth century had passed away that the executions finally ceased. The vast majority of those accused of witchcraft were women, and again the Bible furnished the authority for the belief that women were168 inherently wicked. That the Fathers of the Church believed this is exemplified by the statement of Chrysostom in which he said that women were a ‘necessary evil, a natural temptation, a desirable calamity, a domestic peril, a deadly fascination, and a painted ill.’
About the Author
Jerry Como also loves to cook. Click to check out his Benro-M8 review.
John Calvin – Of Meditating on the Future Life (Institutes of the Christian Religion) 1 of 2
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Calvin’s Institutes Of The Christian Religion $4.89 Shepherd's Notes- Christian Classics Series is designed to give readers a quick, step by step overview of some of the enduring treasures of the Christian faith. They are designed to be used along side the classic itself- either in individual study or in a study group. The faithful of all generations have found spiritual nourishment in the Scriptures and in the works of Christians of earlier generations. Martin Luther and John Calvin would not have become who they were apart from their reading Augustine. God used the writings of Martin Luther to move John Wesley from a religion of dead works to an experience at Aldersgate in which his "heart was strangely warmed." Shepherd's Notes will give pastors, laypersons, and students access to some of the treasures of Christian faith. |
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A Calvin Treasury: With a New Study Guide $9.14 New – A handy tool for pastors, students, and laity seeking a better understanding of the teachings of Calvin, this book includes a new study guide and a comprehensive, easy-to-use introduction to the most influential book of the Protestant Reformation, Calvin’s Institutes of the Christian Religion. |
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A Calvin Treasury: With a New Study Guide $4.93 Used – A handy tool for pastors, students, and laity seeking a better understanding of the teachings of Calvin, this book includes a new study guide and a comprehensive, easy-to-use introduction to the most influential book of the Protestant Reformation, Calvin’s Institutes of the Christian Religion. |
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A Calvin Treasury: With a New Study Guide $1.08 Used – A handy tool for pastors, students, and laity seeking a better understanding of the teachings of Calvin, this book includes a new study guide and a comprehensive, easy-to-use introduction to the most influential book of the Protestant Reformation, Calvin’s Institutes of the Christian Religion. |
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A Calvin Treasury: With a New Study Guide $8.47 New – A handy tool for pastors, students, and laity seeking a better understanding of the teachings of Calvin, this book includes a new study guide and a comprehensive, easy-to-use introduction to the most influential book of the Protestant Reformation, Calvin’s Institutes of the Christian Religion. |
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Analysis of the Institutes of the Christian Religion of John Calvin $20 Calvin’s Institutes is one of the most important theological works of the last millennium, but even seminarians and pastors have difficulty finishing it. The author guided students through Calvin’s classic for more than forty-five years. His detailed outline and summary of it have been made available posthumously to all. |
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Analysis of the Institutes of the Christian Religion of John Calvin $13.75 New – Calvin’s Institutes is one of the most important theological works of the last millennium, but even seminarians and pastors have difficulty finishing it. The author guided students through Calvin’s classic for more than forty-five years. His detailed outline and summary of it have been made available posthumously to all. |
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Analysis of the Institutes of the Christian Religion of John Calvin $10.48 New – Calvin’s Institutes is one of the most important theological works of the last millennium, but even seminarians and pastors have difficulty finishing it. The author guided students through Calvin’s classic for more than forty-five years. His detailed outline and summary of it have been made available posthumously to all. |
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Analysis of the Institutes of the Christian Religion of John Calvin $7 Used – Calvin’s Institutes is one of the most important theological works of the last millennium, but even seminarians and pastors have difficulty finishing it. The author guided students through Calvin’s classic for more than forty-five years. His detailed outline and summary of it have been made available posthumously to all. |
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Analysis of the Institutes of the Christian Religion of John Calvin $8.65 Used – Calvin’s Institutes is one of the most important theological works of the last millennium, but even seminarians and pastors have difficulty finishing it. The author guided students through Calvin’s classic for more than forty-five years. His detailed outline and summary of it have been made available posthumously to all. |
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Calvin’s Institutes $15.9 New – This abridgement of Ford Lewis Battles’ “Calvin: Institutes of the Christian Religion” can better acquaint readers with the seminal statement in Reformed theology. It is an easy-to-read book that follows the main development of Calvin’s thought, accentuating his positive convictions without lingering over matters of only dated importance. |
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Calvin’s Institutes $12.65 Used – This abridgement of Ford Lewis Battles’ “Calvin: Institutes of the Christian Religion” can better acquaint readers with the seminal statement in Reformed theology. It is an easy-to-read book that follows the main development of Calvin’s thought, accentuating his positive convictions without lingering over matters of only dated importance. |
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Calvin’s Institutes $25 This abridgement of Ford Lewis Battles’ Calvin: Institutes of the Christian Religion will better acquaint readers with the seminal statement in Reformed theology. It is an easy-to-read book that follows the main development of Calvin’s thought, accentuating Calvin’s positive convictions without lingering over matters of only dated importance. The sheer massive bulk of the Institutes — well over 1500 pages — can be overpowering and intimidating. This condensed edition, consisting of thoughtfully chosen selections, helps fulfill the demand of students and clergy who desire authentic texts of a religious and cultural tradition. |
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Calvin’s Institutes $17.8 New – This abridgement of Ford Lewis Battles’ “Calvin: Institutes of the Christian Religion” can better acquaint readers with the seminal statement in Reformed theology. It is an easy-to-read book that follows the main development of Calvin’s thought, accentuating his positive convictions without lingering over matters of only dated importance. |
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Calvin’s Institutes $13.5 Used – This abridgement of Ford Lewis Battles’ “Calvin: Institutes of the Christian Religion” can better acquaint readers with the seminal statement in Reformed theology. It is an easy-to-read book that follows the main development of Calvin’s thought, accentuating his positive convictions without lingering over matters of only dated importance. |
