Since practically the beginning of time, as early as 9 C.E. there has been the
belief of God. Along with that belief, there was the belief of the Antichrist,
or the Devil and his minions, commonly known as Witches, warlocks, and
sorcerers. These words have many different meanings attached to them, however each basically mean that they are a group of people who share a common belief system which opposes that of the Roman Catholic Church. Witches were seen as evil people, primarily women, whom devoted their
lives to killing and bringing pain and illness to others through the power of black magic, or sorcery. They sold their soul to the Christian Devil, and worshipped Satan. Once a person was accused of witchcraft, they were brought to trial. The vast majority of people were tried from 1550 - 1650. It was during the trial that the person or persons gave testimonies admitting to witchcraft and ill repute, and were persecuted based on their confessions.
English: St Gregory's Roman Catholic church built ...
The Roman Catholic Church, Târgu Frumos
Romano-catholic church of Aiud, RomaniaHowever, the testimonies given in the aforementioned trials are not accurate, due to the bias of the writer of the trials, the pressure from the Catholic Church, and the methods of torture used to extract information from the accused.
All of the published trial records were written by the judges, and therefore
were members of the Roman Catholic Church. The judges of trials were respected members of the area, whether they be bishops, pastors, priests, or whomever may be high within the Church. Due to the high level of Catholicism during these times, any 'respected' towns person was also high in the Church. In order to become a witch, one must renounce their faith, drink the water of Satan (holy water which has been desecrated), and worship Satan. Roman Catholicism is known for it's...