Pastor accused of witchcraft (in Ohio)

[bobbieinok]

http://www.tribune-chronicle.com/news/articles.asp?articleID=4293

Pastor accused of witchcraft

By AMANDA SMITH-TEUTSCH Tribune Chronicle

AUSTINTOWN — It may not be focused on the horrors that befall college students in some creepy woods, but Mahoning County now has its own ‘‘Blair Witch Project,’’ complete with elements of witchcraft and intrigue.

The Rev. Mark Musser of Austintown is suing Emmanuel Lutheran Church from which he was fired on claims that he was involved in witchcraft.

‘‘For an ordained minister, these are very serious accusations,’’ said attorney Matt Blair, who is representing the pastor in the witchcraft lawsuit project.

‘‘Webster’s Dictionary defines witchcraft as practicing the dark arts, and the dark arts are defined as being in league with the devil,’’ Blair said.

According to a lawsuit filed by Musser in Mahoning County Court, Elder Dominic Monroe of Boardman came into a Bible study group and announced that Musser was being fired for practicing witchcraft.

‘‘Apparently, Monroe accused (Musser) of manipulating the congregation, of casting a spell on them,’’ Blair said.

more....

[BrklynLiberal]

1. WE really are going back to the Dark Ages...

[IndianaGreen]

38. What's next, burning witches at the stake, stoning gays?

Goose stepping into the Dark Ages is right, BrklynLiberal, and it is frightening what these people would do if they had the power to do it.

[BrklynLiberal]

52. Scary as hell....

:scared:

[tocqueville]

2. Throw him tied down into a river...

if he floats he is guilty and should be tortured to confession and then burned at stake...

if he drowns he is innocent...

[BlueJazz]

3. I agree...He cast a "Stupid Spell" on his Ohio Congregation...

...and, sure enough..It worked!

[saigon68]

79. Casting a Spell

Hmmm

[Qutzupalotl]

80. A sleep spell, maybe?

:shrug:

[uppityperson]

4. well, oh this would be too easy to joke about.

[rpannier]

5. This is sooooooo Monty Pythonish I can't help myself

I can see Elder Monroe and the "faithful"

Monroe: How can you tell he is a witch.

Accuser: Why he turned me into a newt.

Monroe: A newt???

Accuser: Well...I got better.

It all ends with a giant scale, a duck and the pastor.

[Nay]

34. I JUST watched that part of Monty Python tonight. We laughed like

hell, but little did we know the scene was playing out in Ohio. LOL! I hope that pastor sues the shit out of the accuser. And religious people wonder why they are looked upon as complete morons!

[htuttle]

6. This looks like a job for the Witchsmeller Pursuivant...

Who's on call this week?

Get him over there, get the dunking machine ready, and get a fire going -- we're gonna have a trial!

[alfredo]

7. Want to bet it is political?

[Imagine My Surprise]

19. Political? Shocked! Do you hear me?! Shocked!

}(

[alfredo]

24. I'd love to keep an eye out on this case.

The Christian right is getting very aggressive in Ohio.

[mtnester]

75. Tell me about it...I went to school with Rappin Rodney

and my grandmother is under the spell of the Rev. Johnson.

Sigh...help me, I live in Fairfield County.

[alfredo]

76. My parents were under the spell of Pat Robertson.

When dad came down with cancer he called the 700 club and asked them to pray for him. First they asked for money to show his commitment (willingness to sacrifice) to Christ. When he wasn't cured he called back and they said he hadn't sacrificed enough. They then asked for more. Finally my sister had to take away his credit card. they got 5 to $7,000 out of him.

Jim and Tammy got $3,000 out of him and mom. Mom had Alzheimer's and would forget she had already given. They played her like a violin.

Falwell came into our state to research laws concerning estates. His goal was to be able to seize estates from people who signed on to give a set sum every month or week to his "ministry." They wanted that "contract" to live on beyond the death of the victim.

[Matariki]

99. what rotten, horrid, suck-puke excuse for human beings

that just makes me want to vomit. sorry to hear that happened to your parents.

[alfredo]

101. If any of them came to our city, I will be out there letting them

know what I feel about them.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

50. You mean some people would combine politics and religion?

;-)

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

8. Lutheran witchcraft?

What did he do, turn water into hotdish?

[struggle4progress]

95. Church is misidentified in original article: wrong name &c

It's not a Lutheran church. No link to it from ELCA or Missouri Synod.

[Critters2]

102. Thanks

Crazy though the LCMS is, this is even too wacky for them. I smelled something off.

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

9. Well heck, most people

who do public speaking of any sort have learned how to gain a group's interest and sway their opinions. It has to do with psychology, not witchcraft. This makes as much sense as the preachers of Salem and North Andover MA saying that people were witches because they were disagreeable or missed church.

[Demeter]

10. I Declare This Silly Season Open!

We're starting early this year, because we did such an excellent job last election....

[iconoclastic cat]

11. Tell me. What do you do with witches?

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

15. See if they float.

:hide:

[CatholicEdHead]

12. Just when you think you have seen it all

:wtf: :wtf:

[depakid]

14. When it somes to Ohio- I don't think we'll ever see it all

5 or 6 times a month (sometime several times a week) there's some bizarre story or another coming out of Ohio- it's uncanny.

Maybe a lot of people in the state really are under a spell....;-)

[ladym55]

44. It comes from lack of education

I live in Ohio, and we are WAY behind in education on all levels. We have a very low percentage of college educated people in the state and a state government that has happily starved public education at all levels, making it very difficult to turn things around. So needless to say, we are susceptible to really DUMB and WEIRD stuff. The religious right has a firm hold on a good-sized chunk of the population. Fundies appeal to people who are both uneducated and afraid.

So, yeah, it makes sense that somebody would accuse someone else of witchcraft ...

:eyes:

[area51]

49. Welcome to DU, ladym55. (n/t)

[Eurobabe]

68. Duh-hi-O?

There's something in the water out there.

Count me as a Duh-Hi-O survivor, I left last week, never to return. Yea!!!

[VegasWolf]

13. Red Ohio seeing witches that place spells over people, religion has gone

overboard. Wonder if these fundies are more afraid of terra or the devil?

:evilgrin:

[1620rock]

16. I see bats in the belfries in Ohio.

[rpannier]

18. This is the place that shill o'lielly called

"Good middle America. The place where you can see American values at work."

[AndyTiedye]

41. Even the Voting Machinez are Bewitched

[Coyote_Bandit]

17. Among the fundies rebellion is considered witchcraft

Just another church power struggle.

[Imagine My Surprise]

22. As a rule, Lutherans aren't considered fundies

[Coyote_Bandit]

47. Ever hear of John Eidsmoe?

Here is a link to his biography:

http://www.cafeamerica.org/eidsmoe.htm

He is rather active in political and legal circles. In addition to teaching his perverted view of constitutional law you will find that he has authored several books with a fundamentalist orientation. You will also find that he has represented his fundametalist first amendment views in a variety of cases including some involving the role of Christianity in public schools - and the Judge Roy Moore ten commandments case.

There are indeed fundie Lutherans.

[struggle4progress]

96. Being Lutheran myself, I have no doubt there are some Lutheran wackos.

But as far as I can tell from the website you link, the fellow (to whom you refer) and I do not share political views and may not have much in common theologically.

The Lutherans, like most Protestant denominations, are subject to schisms. The largest, and most liberal, current grouping is the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), representing about 5 million parishioners in about 10 thousand congregations. Slightly smaller, and rather more conservative, is the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod (LCMS) with about 2.5 million parishioners and 5000 congregations. These groups have failed to reconcile over doctrinal differences, the LCMS insisting, for example, that the bible is "free from error" and objecting to ELCA's ordination of women.

The fellow you cite belongs to the Association of Free Lutheran Congregations (AFLC) which splintered from the Lutheran Free Church when the Lutheran Free Church prepared to join the American Lutheran Church -- which subsequently became one of the members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). The AFLC numbers about 250 congregations; their views include the "inerrancy" of the bible, and their theological seminary appears to graduate about five men a year.

http://www.thelutheran.org/article/article_buy.cfm?article_id=1418
http://www.lcms.org/pages/internal.asp?NavID=6359
http://www.lifeoftheworld.com/believe/waelca.php
http://www.aflc.org/AFLTS/AFLTS_Profile/aflts_profile.html

[Critters2]

103. Oh, THOSE Lutherans!

We've got one of those congregations here. The pastor won't come to Ministerial Association, because too many of us aren't real Christians, and because the current president (me) is a woman. I never heard of 'em before moving here, but I do know that the other Lutherans (including Lutheran Brethren and LCMS) think they're fundies.

[semillama]

58. I imagine you've never met Apostolic Lutherans.

as fundamental as they come. I grew up with tons of them in school. One family, and I am not making this up, had about four boys and five girls, and I was in school with the eldest daughter. Each of her younger sisters looked EXACTLY like she did when she was their age. It was like Attack of the Clones.

My history teacher, a cynical old bastard and one of my favorites, once mentioned that the Aztecs had the legend of Quetzlcoatl returning as a bearded man and a couple of the Apostolic Lutherans in the class whispered "it's JESUS!"

Scary folks.

[struggle4progress]

97. The similarities between some accounts of Aztec mythology and ..

Christian beliefs have been the subject of regular commentary for some time now; the Apostolic Lutherans in your history class were certainly not the first to note it.

But the Christian-sounding themes in Aztec mythology as recorded during the era of conquest, may be neither amazing coincidences nor mystical reflections of transcendent spiritual forces: they may simply result from the historical forces in play at the time the records were made. I think the currently accepted view is that, whatever the Aztecs actually believed, the Spaniards were inclined to record with a Christian flavor, and since the conquerers were busily destroying what they regarded as a demonic civilization (becoming rich, of course, in the process), natives who wanted to survive had some incentive to answer questions about their beliefs in terms that were acceptable to the new arrivals.

[MaraJade]

89. When the Salem Paranoia occurred, there was an alterior motive. . .

Many people were accused of being witches simply so their property or position in the
community could be confiscated.

Perhaps this is a case of the same.

[tanyev]

20. Emmanuel COMMUNITY Church (Non-denominational)

Being a Lutheran, I found this very hard to believe, so I did some googling. I don't know why this article says it was a Lutheran church, because it does not appear to be.

Here's a cached article, with a photo of the church sign clearly reading Emmanuel Community Church.
http://66.102.7.104/search?q=cache:JOSoJ2h9nZAJ:www.wkbn.com/news/local/2867911.html+rev+mark+musser+ohio&hl=en&gl=us&ct=clnk&cd=2

MSNBC:
Reverend Mark Musser and his wife have filed a lawsuit in Mahoning County Court against Emmanuel Community Church on Kirk Road and the church controversy reads like a page out of the Salem Witch Trials.

Emmanuel Community Church in Austintown is a non-denominational house of God, but is it a house divided by good and evil?

"I believe I'm suing something that was done un-Christ like and evil in and of itself," says Reverend Musser.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12959565/

[54anickel]

39. Thanks Tanyev. I was googling trying to find the church as I couldn't

believe it was Lutheran either. Phew! Had me worried for a second, I thought Lutheranism was being invaded by the sanity snatchers.

[IndianaGreen]

42. Missouri Synod is most definitely fundie, and then some!

Back in the 1970s, the fundies began their assault on their fellow Lutherans. They first began by purging the Concordia Seminary of faculty they deemed too liberal. Only a strict interpretation of the Bible and belief in it's inerrancy was allowed. It went downhill from there.

A similar process took place with the Southern Baptist Convention, the denomination that gave us Truman and Carter, and that used to stand for the separation of church and state. Well, you know how they are now!

[tanyev]

54. I am Missouri Synod and I do not consider this synod fundie in

the same way that I consider ultra right-wing non-denominational churches fundie. Yes, it is a very conservative synod, much to my increasing dismay and I may at some point in the future switch to ELCA. But the LCMS is still a confessional church very much in line with mainline Protestantism and for the most part keeps its nose out of politicking.

[Jeff In Milwaukee]

100. Meet the Wisconsin Synod...

Make the LCMS looks like a pack of raving liberals...

[Critters2]

104. Then there's the Hauge Lutherans

They're fun, too!

[Jeff In Milwaukee]

113. Never Heard of Them...

They must be the anti-Christ. Having been raised WELS, you're pretty much trained to believe that any Lutheran what isn't WELS is in league with Satan.

[bobbieinok]

112. Clinton and Gore were raised in the SoBapt church

[rucky]

109. thanks! it's seemed very un-Lutheranlike to me. n/t

[Igel]

21. OK; if you need humor, try this one on for size.

http://www.arabnews.com/?page=1§ion=0&article=82941&d=30&m=5&y=2006

Don't just read it; try to imagine how it went, sort of like a mind's eye video. It borders on the burlesque.

[meow2u3]

23. What have they been smoking?

or popping?

[LeftyMom]

25. I've found a transcript of the church trial

http://www.mwscomp.com/movies/grail/grail-05.htm

"BEDEVERE:
Tell me. What do you do with witches?
VILLAGER #2:
Burn!
VILLAGER #1:
Burn!
CROWD:
Burn! Burn them up! Burn!...
BEDEVERE:
And what do you burn apart from witches?
VILLAGER #1:
More witches!
VILLAGER #3:
Shh!
VILLAGER #2:
Wood!
BEDEVERE:
So, why do witches burn?

VILLAGER #3:
B--... 'cause they're made of... wood?
BEDEVERE:
Good! Heh heh.
CROWD:
Oh, yeah. Oh.
BEDEVERE:
So, how do we tell whether she is made of wood?
VILLAGER #1:
Build a bridge out of her.
BEDEVERE:
Ah, but can you not also make bridges out of stone?
VILLAGER #1:
Oh, yeah.
RANDOM:
Oh, yeah. True. Uhh...
BEDEVERE:
Does wood sink in water?
VILLAGER #1:
No. No.
VILLAGER #2:
No, it floats! It floats!
VILLAGER #1:
Throw her into the pond!
CROWD:
The pond! Throw her into the pond!
BEDEVERE:
What also floats in water?
VILLAGER #1:
Bread!
VILLAGER #2:
Apples!
VILLAGER #3:
Uh, very small rocks!
VILLAGER #1:
Cider!
VILLAGER #2:
Uh, gra-- gravy!
VILLAGER #1:
Cherries!
VILLAGER #2:
Mud!
VILLAGER #3:
Uh, churches! Churches!
VILLAGER #2:
Lead! Lead!
ARTHUR:
A duck!
CROWD:
Oooh.
BEDEVERE:
Exactly. So, logically...
VILLAGER #1:
If... she... weighs... the same as a duck,... she's made of wood.
BEDEVERE:
And therefore?
VILLAGER #2:
A witch!
VILLAGER #1:
A witch!
CROWD:
A witch! A witch!...
VILLAGER #4:
Here is a duck. Use this duck.

BEDEVERE:
Very good. We shall use my largest scales.
CROWD:
Ohh! Ohh! Burn the witch! Burn the witch! Burn her! Burn her! Burn her! Burn her! Burn her! Burn her! Burn her! Ahh! Ahh...
BEDEVERE:
Right. Remove the supports!



CROWD:
A witch! A witch! A witch!
WITCH:
It's a fair cop.
VILLAGER #3:
Burn her!
CROWD:
Burn her! Burn her! Burn her! Burn! Burn!..."

[Rufus T. Firefly]

28. Awesome.

Thanks for that. :yourock:

[Imagine My Surprise]

26. As a Wiccan, I would be more upset at being called a Lutheran

}(

[nolabels]

51. I find it humorous that some still need religion

Like the odd paradox of the more we learn the more we find out how little we really know

[MorningGlow]

65. Hear, hear!

:rofl:

And *sigh* would SOMEBODY tell these yahoos once and for all that witches do NOT believe in the debbil? (‘‘Webster’s Dictionary defines witchcraft as practicing the dark arts, and the dark arts are defined as being in league with the devil,’’ Blair said.)

Not to mention we don't cast spells on people if we're mindful of The Threefold Law (whatever you do comes back to you three times over). Sheesh.

[Dervill Crow]

67. LOL - I've been Lutheran and I've been Wiccan.

I wish people would just educate themselves and get over their fears.

Dark arts, phooey. Wicca is more proactive, but it's certainly not evil.

[jazzjunkysue]

82. As a Nazi, I'd be more upset at being called a Luteran. At least they're

admitting that they want to control your life.

[struggle4progress]

98. I'm a Lutheran of German extraction, don't want to control your life, and

do not believe my political, social, cultural, religious, or historical idea have much in common with Nazi theory or practice.

[Rufus T. Firefly]

27. Guess televangelists are "casting a spell" on their viewers.

And getting them to send in all their money. So I'm not against burning all of them at the stake.

[Imagine My Surprise]

29. Funny you should mention that...

When I lived in NYC, a Jewish friend of mine told me how horrified he was one Sunday to see his equally Jewish grandmother mesmerized by some televangelist, as she got up and wrote him a check.

[iconoclastic cat]

40. Republicans to Fundies: "I put a spell on you!"

"Because you're mine!"

[AnnieBW]

46. Link To My Harry Potter Vid

For this song:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1dPc4qYXz0A

[Tiggeroshii]

30. He's a witch!

Burn em at the stake!!!!

[Imagine My Surprise]

31. Please tell me I DON'T see an ad for psychic readings at the page bottom

[arikara]

74. These ads are killing me!

Live Psychic Readings!

Witchcraft Spells!

Free Ordination!

:rofl:

I usually don't pay any attention to them but this is hilarious. BTW... your post number fits this thread too.

[Ian David]

32. If he weighs the same as a duck, he's made of wood and therefore a witch

[VegasWolf]

59. Was that a picture of the Ohio Church meeting? nt

[myrna minx]

61. Let's build a bridge out of him! n/t

[knight_of_the_star]

77. Ah, but can you not also build bridges out of stone? (nt)

[Critters2]

105. Ooh, yeah....burn him!! n/t

[Benhurst]

33. Don't tell me that old-time religion isn't popular in Ohio. NT

[shadowknows69]

35. Thank God there isn't any of those supernatural goings on

in christianity.

[Mountainman]

36. Screw Websters dictionary. Witchcraft has nothing to do with the devil.

Hell witches don't even believe there is a devil. There is no devil in pagonism, only in the lives of those who have to be scared into submission.

[damntexdem]

37. Hey, lots of people in my congregation practice 'witchcraft.'

Well, Wicca.

But the rightwing idiots think that Wiccans practice "the dark arts."

[CHICKEN CAPITOL USA]

43. I know some devout Christian Fundamentalists who practice BITCHCRAFT

n/t

[MountainLaurel]

56. Don't they all?

As my grandmother once explained why she refused to go to the fundie Baptist church she had attended while my mother and her brothers were at home: "Why should I go over there and sit with those hypocrites who care more about what a person is wearing than they do about the word of God when I can talk to Jesus in my living room?"

[sui generis]

71. that's because they define the dork orts

as being in league with the devil.

Whatever that means.

I'll vote for the first deity to show up in my grilled cheese sandwich. So far this is all I got:

[AnnieBW]

45. What did he do?

Read a Harry Potter book? :D

[Kablooie]

48. I think it's time we let the fundamentalists form their own country.

[DoYouEverWonder]

53. Nah

just up their dosages of xanax and viagra. That's keep them busy and out of everyone elses lives.

[jazzjunkysue]

83. On the far side of the moon. No witches there. I'm sure of it.

[raccoon]

55. Thank goodness this didn't happen in a Southern state.

Not yet, anyway.

It isn't just the South that is backward, fundie, bigoted, etc.

[RedStateShame]

60. No, but they're just REALLLLLLLLY good at it.

[Sgent]

57. What's the problem here?

I don't get this reaction.

Why should firing a person who is practicing a religion in conflict with his job as a minister of a different religion be a problem?

Essentially the congregation said he's practicing something which violates church teaching, therefore is not eligible to be a minister to thier Church.

Someone tell me why this is wrong? I don't see the Catholic Church going on a hiring spree for Rabbi's in the near future, and fail to see why this is an issue.

[Kablooie]

62. The firing is not the issue. Attributing it to witchcraft is.

[Sgent]

63. Is it the word "witchcraft"?

I'm not trying to be culturally insensative -- and have no experience with Wicca, but it was my understanding that devotees of that religion refer to themselves as witches.

I still don't see the difference between firing him for "witchcraft" and firing him for converting to a different religion. It seems like the same thing.

[LibertyLover]

66. Except that the pastor isn't a witch or Wiccan

According to the pastor, he is not now, nor ever has been, a practicing Wiccan or Witch. He was, is, and remains a practicing Christian. So - no, he didn't convert to a different religion.

[Kablooie]

106. "witchcraft" as used by christians has connotations

That go beyond accepted beliefs of most modern religions.

If he declared himself Wiccan it's understandable but "witchcraft" implies a belief that the universe is run, literally, by magic, not scientific principles. It's the uncritical acceptance of magic, particularly black magic, as a major universal force that can be controlled by certain evil humans which is disturbing. Most of us thought it was an archaic, obsolete way of viewing the world and it's strange to see that the leadership of a current modern christian church would seriously hold these primitive views.

[infogirl]

64. The Franklin Cover Up

Start googling!

Franklin Cover UP
Paul Bonacce
Johnny Gosch
Senator John DeCamp
Col. Michael Aquino

MKULTRA (Project Monarch)

:Buy John DeCamps book...the Franklin Cover Up

but do just google
franklin cover up

[The Sushi Bandit]

69. To Hell with a 2/3 vote, this is "The War on Satan!"

Isnt it nice that Elder Monroe can unilaterally decides what is best for his flock? Kinda sound like George Bush! To Hell with a 2/3 vote, this is "The War on Satan!"

[TankLV]

70. BURN THE WITCH! Burn 'em! Burn 'em GOOD!

The above message by the Kompasionate Konservative Koalition and the Family Urban Christian Koalition.

[BiggJawn]

72. What Century is this again?

DESIRING with the most heartfelt anxiety, even as Our Apostleship requires, that the Catholic faith should especially in this Our day increase and flourish everywhere, and that all heretical depravity should be driven far from the frontiers and bournes of the Faithful, We very gladly proclaim and even restate those particular means and methods whereby Our pious desire may obtain its wished effect, since when all errors are uprooted by Our diligent avocation as by the hoe of a provident husbandman, a zeal for, and the regular observance of, Our holy Faith will be all the more strongly impressed upon the hearts of the faithful.

It has indeed lately come to Our ears, not without afflicting Us with bitter sorrow, that in some parts of Northern Germany, as well as in the provinces, townships, territories, districts, and dioceses of Mainz, Cologne, Tréves, Salzburg, and Bremen, many persons of both sexes, unmindful of their own salvation and straying from the Catholic Faith, have abandoned themselves to devils, incubi and succubi, and by their incantations, spells, conjurations, and other accursed charms and crafts, enormities and horrid offences, have slain infants yet in the mother's womb, as also the offspring of cattle, have blasted the produce of the earth, the grapes of the vine, the fruits of the trees, nay, men and women, beasts of burthen, herd-beasts, as well as animals of other kinds, vineyards, orchards, meadows, pasture-land, corn, wheat, and all other cereals; these wretches furthermore afflict and torment men and women, beasts of burthen, herd-beasts, as well as animals of other kinds, with terrible and piteous pains and sore diseases, both internal and external; they hinder men from performing the sexual act and women from conceiving, whence husbands cannot know their wives nor wives receive their husbands; over and above this, they blasphemously renounce that Faith which is theirs by the Sacrament of Baptism, and at the instigation of the Enemy of Mankind they do not shrink from committing and perpetrating the foulest abominations and filthiest excesses to the deadly peril of their own souls, whereby they outrage the Divine Majesty and are a cause of scandal and danger to very many. And although Our dear sons Henry Kramer and James Sprenger, Professors of Theology, of the Order of Friars Preachers, have been by Letters Apostolic delegated as Inquisitors of these heretical pravities, and still are Inquisitors, the first in the aforesaid parts of Northern Germany, wherein are included those aforesaid townships, districts, dioceses, and other specified localities, and the second in certain territories which lie along the borders of the Rhine, nevertheless not a few clerics and lay folk of those countries, seeking too curiously to know more than concerns them, since in the aforesaid delegatory letters there is no express and specific mention by name of these provinces, townships, dioceses, and districts, and further since the two delegates themselves and the abominations they are to encounter are not designated in detailed and particular fashion, these persons are not ashamed to contend with the most unblushing effrontery that these enormities are not practised in these provinces, and consequently the aforesaid Inquisitors have no legal right to exercise their powers of inquisition in the provinces, townships, dioceses, districts, and territories, which have been rehearsed, and that the Inquisitors may not proceed to punish, imprison, and penalize criminals convicted of the heinous offences and many wickednesses which have been set forth. Accordingly in the aforesaid provinces, townships, dioceses, and districts, the abominations and enormities in question remain unpunished not without open danger to the souls of many and peril of eternal damnation.

Wherefore We, as is Our duty, being wholly desirous of removing all hindrances and obstacles by which the good work of the Inquisitors may be let and tarded, as also of applying potent remedies to prevent the disease of heresy and other turpitudes diffusing their poison to the destruction of many innocent souls, since Our zeal for the Faith especially incites us, lest that the provinces, townships, dioceses, districts, and territories of Germany, which We had specified, be deprived of the benefits of the Holy Office thereto assigned, by the tenor of these presents in virtue of Our Apostolic authority We decree and enjoin that the aforesaid Inquisitors be empowered to proceed to the just correction, imprisonment, and punishment of any persons, without let or hindrance, in every way as if the provinces, townships, dioceses, districts, territories, yea, even the persons and their crimes in this kind were named and particularly designated in Our letters. Moreover, for greater surety We extend these letters deputing this authority to cover all the aforesaid provinces, townships, dioceses, districts, territories, persons, and crimes newly rehearsed, and We grant permission to the aforesaid Inquisitors, to one separately or to both, as also to Our dear son John Gremper, priest of the diocese of Constance, Master of Arts, their notary, or to any other public notary, who shall be by them, or by one of them, temporarily delegated to those provinces, townships, dioceses, districts, and aforesaid territories, to proceed, according to the regulations of the Inquisition, against any persons of whatsoever rank and high estate, correcting, mulcting, imprisoning, punishing, as their crimes merit, those whom they have found guilty, the penalty being adapted to the offence. Moreover, they shall enjoy a full and perfect faculty of expounding and preaching the word of God to the faithful, so often as opportunity may offer and it may seem good to them, in each and every parish church of the said provinces, and they shall freely and lawfully perform any rites or execute any business which may appear advisable in the aforesaid cases. By Our supreme authority We grant them anew full and complete faculties.

At the same time by Letters Apostolic We require Our venerable Brother, the Bishop of Strasburg (Albrecht von Bayern, 1478-1506 - ed.), that he himself shall announce, or by some other or others cause to be announced, the burthen if Our Bull, which he shall solemnly publish when and so often as he deems it necessary, or when he shall be requested so to do by the Inquisitors or by one of them. Nor shall he suffer them in disobedience to the tenor of these presents to be molested or hindered by any authority whatsoever, but he shall threaten all who endeavour to hinder or harass the Inquisitors, all who oppose them, all rebels, of whatsoever rank, estate, position, pre-eminence, dignity, or any condition they may be, or whatsoever privilege or exemption they may claim, with excommunication, suspension, interdict, and yet more terrible penalties, censures, and punishment, as may seem good to him, and that without any right of appeal, and if he will he may by Our authority aggravate and renew these penalties as often as he list, calling in, if so please him, the help of the secular arm.

Non obstantibus . . . Let no man therefore . . . But if any dare to do so, which God forbid, let him know that upon him will fall the wrath of Almighty God, and of the Blessed Apostles Peter and Paul.

Given at Rome, at S. Peter's, on the 9 December of the Year of the Incarnation of Our Lord one thousand four hundred and eighty-four, in the first year of Our Pontificate.


522 years ago. We haven't learned SHIT in half a Millenium....

[hedgehog]

73. Just adding my own two cents

Some people think witchcraft is exclusively paired with Satan worship. Back about 20 years ago, upstate New York and Pennsylvania were caught up in a real witch scare. Police departments spread the news by fax that cultists were kidnapping children and infants to sacrifice them in Satanic rites. There were even experts who went from town to town addressing civic groups about the danger. Of course, every teenage vandal who spray painted a Pentagram really fanned the flames (even if they painted it upside down!) Of course, the coincident panic about pedophile gangs running nursery schools and day care centers fed right into this. I didn't realize what was going on at the time and was fascinated to come across a careful study put together by a sociologist. I had no idea that anyone took this "threat" seriously.

With all the things wrong in the world, I guess a belief in witches (as Satan worshipers) is easier than working for real change.

[Canuckistanian]

78. What an embarassment

"practicing witchcraft"? "Casting spells"?

It's no wonder the US is considered to be collectively going bonkers by the rest of the world.

Do these idiots EVER ponder for a moment what they're going to blurt out and think of the possible negative consequences?

[stepnw1f]

81. Fucking OMG!!!!! You Have Got to be Kidding Me!

These people should right comedy material... hell, they live it. Oh the irony....

[madmark]

84. what kind of spell was it?

[madmark]

85. on a more serious note; at least they caught this witch before Ohio

decides the next presidential election again.

[pro_blue_guy]

86. Oy!

I am not at all surprised something like this would happen here! I live in an interesting state....to say the least :)

[Bush_MUST_Go]

87. Everyday America becomes more & more like Saudi Arabia

Ohio & Saudi Arabia sure have a lot in common. :crazy: :crazy:

Saudi Arbia is on a Witch Hunt of their own:


Morality police turn witch hunters

Mon Jun 5, 2006 8:29 AM ET

RIYADH (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia's powerful morality police is launching a witch hunt in the birthplace of Islam.

The Authority for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice is setting up special centers in all cities to "register complaints on sorcerers and charlatans, track them and terminate them," the authority's chief Sheikh Ibrahim bin Abdallah al-Ghaith told al-Madinah newspaper.

Islam forbids magic and practicing it is considered blasphemy.


http://today.reuters.com/News/newsArticle.aspx?type=oddlyEnoughNews&storyID=2006-06-05T122930Z_01_L05786395_RTRUKOC_0_US-SAUDI-WITCHCRAFT.xml

[genieroze]

88. Burn him at the steakhouse. lol

[genieroze]

90. Why the f**k do these imbeciles get witchcraft and satanism confused?

I'm not a Wiccan but I don't think they believe in the devil. The devil is a made up Christian thing.

[On the Road]

108. It Goes Right Back to the Beginning

Most early converts to Christianity believed in the reality of the pagan Gods -- they just started calling calling them demons. It certainly happened under Constantine, Theodosius, etc, but you can even find references in Paul's letters.

[genieroze]

91. So I guess he got BURNED!

:wtf::crazy::silly::freak:

[Miss Chybil]

92. What the hell?

What country do we live in again and what century is this? I think Elder Monroe needs to make an appointment with a psychiatrist.

[orleans]

93. What's wrong with fucking ohio?

i think that whole state is under a spell!!

[rucky]

110. Mullets make your brain shrink. n/t

[Triana]

94. Webster's Dictionary is WRONG...

...to begin with...I won't bother addressing the rest of this bullshit.

[On the Road]

107. What a Sneaky-Looking Dude

He must be guilty. :smoke:

Now, I can understand this happening in Pentecostal circles, but a Lutheran? A Lutheran?

They must have some bizarre definition of witchcraft. Maybe he used a Ouija board or something.

[truth2power]

111. That's the pastor's attorney...

:rofl: :rofl:

edit> He does look kinda sneaky, tho'.