Mich. 'Crucible' instructor accused of witchcraft

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Mich. 'Crucible' instructor accused of witchcraft

Surreal is how many churches still teach this garbage, and it's a lot worse in Africa.

Teaching that Arthur Miller play does not constitute an endorsement or promotion of witchcraft. Teaching the play in class is not tantamount to practising witchcraft, either. You've got a strange idea in your head and it's made you irrational.

The student seemed to believe that teaching against the possibility of witchcraft was heresy. He perhaps believed that there are witches out there to be eradicated. The poster referencing church teachings appeared, to me, to be commenting on how the student came to such a belief, ie that there may be churches out there still sounding out alarms about witchcraft.

The Crucible is a chilling play showing how some of the darkest sides of human nature can be cloaked in misguided "good" intentions.

There are "witches" out there, but more as a nature based faith, than as a tool of any devil or demon. They don't hold any power over us, over God, or over the physical universe, and there is no need to fear them. I don't believe in witches of the kind that the people of Plymouth feared - they never existed. Which is the whole point, really. That fears are often unfounded, and it is the fear that causes the damage, not that which was feared.

The student seemed mentally unbalanced. Also, the culture of his native land (assuming it wasn't USA) might have had something to with him almost burning that poor woman alive.

Slowmutant, you misunderstood me if you are talking to me.

By ignorance I was referring to the motive of the man who attacked his teacher.
I was implying that he learned nothing in school NOR in church.

I was responding to "Surreal is how many churches still teach this garbage" meaning to say that he did NOT learn anything about witchcraft or The Crucible IN CHURCH therefore he is IGNORANT, NOT TAUGHT. Ignorant is the opposite of educated.

I emphasized the "church definition of witchcraft" in my list of things I think of as witchcraft, after asking for a definition that I probably should have just looked up in the dictionary.

I've read the Crucible and have no problem with it. I don't even have a problem with most of the things I said the word "witchcraft" reminds me of.

Peace. Sorry for any misunderstanding.

I misunderstood you as well. Sorry about that.

Actually, The Crucible is an allegory against McCarthyism, which was like witchcraft trials, but looking for Reds under the Bed...

How do you burn someone with an unflammable liquid? (unless we're talking acids or alkalines... The Good Lord loved idiots, he made so many of them...

Ferndale is an inner ring suburb of Detroit. This is significant because a lot of the older Detroit suburbs are populated by refugees from the Middle East and Central Asia. Dearborn is almost exclusively Muslim to the point that a local college had to install ritual washing sinks (Muslims wash hands and feet before prayers) to prevent students from washing themselves in regular bathroom sinks. Hamtramck recently elected an all-Arab Muslim city council. There are Arab Christians, too, and holy water is also used by South Asians-it is especially important in Sikh ritual. The area these people came from is rife with conspiracy theories and folk religious beliefs, not necessarily Islam or Christianity or any mainstream belief but such things as belief in witches and the power of evil magic.

In the US, what are called "adult education centers" serve as babysitting places for adults who are unable to function in the greater society. They are often associated with Downs syndrome persons, but any developmentally disabled adult is eligible. Such "students" can sometimes have difficulty distinguishing reality from fantasy, or reality from an internal world, depending on their disorder. Being immersed in the folk beliefs of certain non-American cultures makes it that much harder. Lately, local school districts have been pressured to do more with these people than just having them do simple crafts like in the old days. So they've been "teaching" them, after a fashion.

All that sounds about right.

That's kinda scary... I didn't think anyone still believed in witches (not talking about Wicca if it even counts).

Welcome to Michigan. A few years ago a woman burned her daughter to death in Zeeland Mich. because she thought her child was being overtaken by the Devil.

Z