Bridget Bishop, found guilty of being a "witch", was hanged today...June 10th, 1692

 Salem was a relatively small village in Massachusetts in June 1692. An Indian massacre of settlers had occurred earlier approximately 70 miles from Salem. People were a little tense and apprehensive as the summer was about to begin.
 Earlier in the year, in February, something strange seemed to be going on. The 9 year old daughter of a Reverend Samuel Parris, along with his niece, Abigail Williams, age 11, began to have convulsions, going into "fits", and saying all kinds of things that didn't make sense.
 The doctor in the village examined the two young girls and made this diagnosis: both girls are suffering from...the effects of witchcraft.....

 In 1688, an influential elder of the Salem village, a John Putnam, had invited Samuel Parris to come and preach at the Puritan church in Salem. Salem had some social divisions as many other villages do as they grow and become towns...and then towns become cities.
 There were prominent farmers, farm laborers who lived in town, and those who enjoyed the sea faring trade, all seeing a future for Salem...economically anyway.

 Samuel Parris must have done ok with his preaching because he eventually was given a contract that would give him and his family some financial stability..at least for a while. In fact, in 1689 Parris moved to the village of Salem and brought his family with him: his wife Elizabeth, his 6 year old daughter Betty, his niece Abigail Williams, and their family female slave, Tituba.

 The Puritan Faith, a Christian based group, was the religion of Salem. It was a strict type of belief, with punishments given if the "Rules of the Puritan Faith" were violated. During this time period there was an uncanny part of the Puritan mindset that thought evil, particularly the devil himself could influence or control people...if given an opportunity.
 Numerous people within the community were now reporting seeing ghosts and goblins...but the real big issue?...the possibility of witches....living...right in Salem! With the recent Indian uprising, the economic development ongoing for Salem causing social divisions not only within the community but between the members of the church itself....a witch could be anywhere...it could be anybody...why...it could be even...you!

 It is reported by some that by 1692,  many people living in this New England community had been accused of being a...witch...let's get back to Tituba for a minute, the Indian slave belonging to Samuel Parris.

 Tituba was an Indian woman, originally from Arawak village in South America. She had been captured as a child and was sold into slavery.
  Rev. Samuel Parris received Tituba possibly to settle a debt, it is not clear.
 Tituba helped to maintain the Parris household, ended up getting herself in trouble when after the young daughter Betty was starting to have convulsions, decided to participate in the making of a "witchcake", a "cake" designed by using rye and Betty's urine, then baked, and given to the dog to eat who then is given the ability to identify the afflictor to the little girl Betty.
 The 2 young girls that were suffering these "afflictions" and were being questioned after the doctor's diagnosis, now told others Tituba was a witch.
 Rev. Parris went "ballistic" when he heard about "witchcake" story, and is reported to beat Tituba until she confessed. ( Yea, that is the Christian thing to do...I say this with complete sarcasm).

 From there, things escalated and now many names were being "thrown in the hat" as possible witches, in fact, there are many good articles on the "net" that involve good research as to the complexity of these atrocities.

Ok, now to Bridget Bishop. She was the first accused witch brought to trial. She was definitely not the most esteemed girl in the village, and her reputation didn't help her .
 Bridget had been married 3 times, and was disliked not because of her witchcraft but for her flamboyant lifestyle and "exotic" manner of dress. This was a Puritan community, where Bridget herself was a member, and the women wore basically black and /or white....no "colors".
 Not Bridget...she was known for "throwing in" the reds, the yellows, or the blues to her clothing selection...which was frowned upon by others. In fact, some in the Puritan community held this thought" "Wearing fashionable apparel is a snare, even a clear sign to others a person adorned like that belongs to the devil."

 Bridget was known to "keep the gossip fresh" you might say, and shared stories like her public fights with her ex-husbands, and her entertaining "guests" until the early morning hours.
 She was known to drink and play the forbidden game "shovel board" at the local taverns. Speaking of taverns, she owned 2 in the village and they were thriving. Basically, it seems apparent Bridget had a blatant disregard for "Puritan Society".

 So, it becomes obvious she would be a "prime candidate" for a witch hunt...and that is exactly what happened. With many of the people within the community worked up into a "crazy rage", much birthed out of fear, Bridget Bishop was brought to trial for witchcraft. She was in the court's final verdict, sentenced to be hung. Bridget claimed her innocence...all the way to the end.

 Later, a number of her "accusers" during the trial, confessed when they were on their own deathbeds, many of their accusations toward Bridget was "influenced by the devil".
 In September of 1692, the Governor of Massachusetts stepped in to put an end to these horrific "witch trials", which sadly were conducted by a group of ministers.

Here are a few interesting notes concerning the " Salem Witch Trials":

1. Between 140 and possibly as many as 165 people were accused of witchcraft in the "summer of 1692".
2. 19 people end up being hung, with 78 % being women...14 women total and 5 men.
3. Although practiced in Europe, no one was "burned at the stake", they were all hung.
4. During the trials, here was an oddity...all the women who confessed to witchcraft...lived. All the women who denied the witchcraft charges...end up being hung from the gallows.
5. On October 31st, 1992, the Governor of Massachusetts, Jane Swift, issued a proclamation that "all the accused in the 1692 witch trials...have been found innocent of any wrongdoing.

 One interesting story goes like this: When a Sarah Good was accused of being a witch by Rev. Noyes, replied to Noyes during the trial itself saying: " I am no more a witch than you are a wizard, and, if you take my life, God will give you blood to drink...for your wrongdoing."
 Later, when Rev. Noyes is on his deathbed, passed away with these final notes: "he died choking in his own blood".

 And the reason the convulsions, "fits", and general disoriented speech from the 2 young girls of Samuel Parris?
 Modern day scientists have concluded these "afflictions" were most likely due to Ergot Fungus. This fungus grows on rye and is unaffected by cold weather. It attacks a person's nervous system, can cause one to hallucinate, and utter disoriented thought.

Final thoughts: You wonder to yourself, how could a community end up doing things like this?....and using God as a justifiable reason for their terrible atrocities....

 In Ephesians 4:18, it states: "They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the very life God has for them...because of their own ignorance on what life in God really means....and all this comes from this very root: the hardness of their own heart."

 We must always "guard our hearts"...study to examine and live in the love and the truth of God's Word......