frame

Howdy, Stranger!

It looks like you're new here. If you want to get involved, click one of these buttons!

DebateIsland.com is the largest online debate website globally where anyone can anonymously and easily debate online, casually or formally, while connecting with their friends and others. Users, regardless of debating skill level, can civilly debate just about anything online in a text-based online debate website that supports five easy-to-use and fun debating formats ranging from Casual, to Formalish, to Lincoln-Douglas Formal. In addition, people can improve their debating skills with the help of revolutionary artificial intelligence-powered technology on our debate website. DebateIsland is totally free and provides the best online debate experience of any debate website.


Communities




If a person is rendered guilty in a witch hunt, is that proof of witchcraft??

Debate Information

Hello:

Seems to me it IS.  What say you?

excon



Debra AI Prediction

Predicted To Win
Predicted 2nd Place
11%
Margin

Details +




Post Argument Now Debate Details +

    Arguments


  • DreamerDreamer 272 Pts   -  
    Argument Topic: According to Misogyny the world's Oldest prejudice witch hunts are about a crisis of faith and woman collateral damage.

    Malleus Maleficarum was one of the first books used by the printing press. The printing press a symbol of democracy. That witch hunts may not have been about sexism or misogyny but purely about religion and science.

    The idea is that demons had been around since the time of Moses and yet there was not a shred of physical proof. Witch hunters were primeval ghost hunters as we have today. Looking for any tangible evidence that the supernatural exist.

    "and the body was usually mutilated in a manner indicating that the murderer had at least some knowledge of human anatomy. On one occasion, half of a human kidney, which may have been extracted from a murder victim, was mailed to the police."


    Further proof comes from Jack the Ripper in how he dissection his victims. Understand witch hunts often involved torture in order to reveal the presence of the supernatural. In a twisted way witch hunts were kind of a twisted pseudo-scientific movement. If anything witch hunts prove the opposite. That demons do not exist therefore angels and God do not exist.

    This is just one interpretation of witch trials.  This also shows just how dangerous religion can be and perhaps blaming everything on other-ism like patriarchy, sexism and misogyny is incorrect.  People of faith may be even more dangerous when their belief is challenged.
  • DreamerDreamer 272 Pts   -  
    Argument Topic: Printing press, witchhunts, and renaissance era.

    In my last post I didn't really back up many of the claims  from the Jack Holland book. People who don't read the same books as me sometimes make posts like "I doubt that author said x,y, and z you are trolling." Kind of annoying since they didn't actually read the book.

    "The witch-hunting craze itself was sparked by a printed book, Crabb writes.  ("Hammer of the witches")" Malleus Maleficarum
    Kat Eschner October 30, 2017


    "published in the German city of Speyer in 1486. Some describe it as the compendium of literature in demonology of the 15th century."


    Anyways, I at least to cross referenced to make a stronger argument. Yes, you can have 100 fake new websites that all reiterate the same meme and it doesn't make it true. Yet, cross referencing has at least some merit in the age of misinformation.

    Here's the part I find troubling with hammer of the witches and therefore witch trial peaked in the renaissance era. Wait, what I've always heard that witchcraft was a dark ages medieval era event? Witchcraft was forbidden since at least 900 ad, but I don't think there was the moral panic of mass witch trials until the printing press.

    Around the same time as the murderous moron Christopher Columbus landed in America is when witch trials peaked. This is counter-intuitive because religion had already lost its iron grasp in many ways. The Earth was proven to be round and other scientific breakthroughs like the telescope. Intellectuals were favoring deism over Christianity.

    Yet, religion became even more dangerous as more scientific evidence emerged. In fact, a major reason religion became more dangerous was because of mass media technology, the printing press. Another major reason witch trails occurred is because of scientific breakthroughs in food production.

    This meant nations had people to spare. In America there was a lot less witch trials because women were scare and they couldn't afford to waste their women. This is why witch-trials couldn't have occurred at scale in the castle age. With all the death from disease in the iron age, they couldn't justify the act of killing more people. They already were at the brink of extinction. 

     
  • DreamerDreamer 272 Pts   -  
    Argument Topic: Witch trials as crisis of faith theory and the worldview backfire effect.

    I think a crisis of faith theory as the main driver of witch trials or a contributing factor is plausible.  Not all the time frame fits snugly, but I still think this angle needs more exploration. For example the Copernican system was invented in 1543 and Salem witch trials were in 1692.

    "Copernican system, in astronomy, model of the solar system centred on the Sun, with Earth and other planets moving around it, formulated by Nicolaus Copernicus, and published in 1543.:


    Yes, I am saying that Copernican helped caused the Salem witch trial as bizarre as that sounds. Why is this important? A clear comprehension of history can help us prevent mistakes in the future. We wouldn't want to repeat the past mistakes.

    I think this is a case of the worldview backfire effect. That as the geocentric model was dis-proven people actually became more hardcore Christians and turned to witch hunts.

    Let's say tomorrow evidence emerges of alien fossils on Mars. This would be another blow against Christianity. Christians may then believe in Jesus even more and become more extreme. Do you agree?
  • JulesKorngoldJulesKorngold 811 Pts   -  
    Argument Topic: Not Likely

    @Dreamer said:  
    Let's say tomorrow evidence emerges of alien fossils on Mars. This would be another blow against Christianity. Christians may then believe in Jesus even more and become more extreme. Do you agree?

    Finding evidence of alien fossils on Mars is unlikely to be a blow to Christianity, nor would it naturally lead to Christians becoming more extreme in their beliefs. There are a few reasons why this could be the case:

    Firstly, Christianity, like any other major religion, is a belief system that theoretically reconciles scripture with scientific discoveries. Christians believe that God uses science to reveal His divine plan for creation, and so if evidence were found of alien fossils on Mars, this would not necessarily contradict Christian beliefs, but could instead be seen as another aspect of Creation to be explored.

    Secondly, Christianity is a vast and diverse religion, with many different sects and interpretations. While some Christians may take issue with the existence of alien fossils on Mars, many may see it as a fascinating discovery that can be studied and incorporated into their worldview. It is therefore unlikely that the discovery of alien life would have a homogenous impact on the Christian faith.

    Lastly, the idea that discovering alien life would naturally lead Christians to become more extreme in their beliefs is not supported by historical evidence. Throughout history, scientific discoveries and paradigm shifts have often challenged religious beliefs, but instead of becoming more extreme, many people have adapted their beliefs to reconcile with new knowledge.

    Therefore, while the discovery of evidence of alien fossils on Mars might be a significant discovery, it is unlikely that it would inherently be a blow to Christianity or lead Christians to become more extreme in their beliefs. Instead, it could be seen as an opportunity to further explore the mysteries of Creation and incorporate new discoveries into Christian beliefs.
    Dreamer
  • DreamerDreamer 272 Pts   -   edited May 2023
    Argument Topic: Interesting, I will have to think about what you said.


    Thank you for your response. :) Do you have any sources?

    I have sources for the worldview backfire effect.

    "This power of belief over evidence is the result of two factors: cognitive dissonance and the backfire effect. In the classic 1956 book When Prophecy Fails, psychologist Leon Festinger and his co-authors described what happened to a UFO cult when the mother ship failed to arrive at the appointed time. Instead of admitting error, “members of the group sought frantically to convince the world of their beliefs,”"


    " Corrections attacking a person’s worldview can be ineffective123 or backfire25,124."


    With 7th day Adventist when prophecy failed it did decrease followers. Hmmm, I did read a meme that was incorrect implying that it caused and in increase when Jesus didn't show up on Oct 22 1844.

Sign In or Register to comment.

Back To Top

DebateIsland.com

| The Best Online Debate Experience!
© 2023 DebateIsland.com, all rights reserved. DebateIsland.com | The Best Online Debate Experience! Debate topics you care about in a friendly and fun way. Come try us out now. We are totally free!

Contact us

customerservice@debateisland.com
Terms of Service

Get In Touch