My thoughts on Mather's On Witchcraft

When I began reading Cotton Mather's On Witchcraft, I already had some preconceptions about the text. I am familiar with the Witch trials of our nation's early history, as well as the how the puritan people were viewed. Having read Arthur Miller's The Crucible along with the history books, I had an image of the Puritan people as the one's at fault for the whole ordeal. They had always been presented as crazy extremists whose fixation with judgment led them to make pariahs out of any person who made the slightest step out of the lines of their strict guidelines as the chosen people of God. So, needless to say, I was expecting the same out of Cotton Mather's On Witchcraft, but so far I have been surprised. Initially, I was laughing through his over italicized and outlandish descriptions of their purpose and existence within New England. I was prepared to find his "outdated" ideology quite ridiculous, but the more I read I found myself believing him. Once I sensed the genuinness in his thought, I began to take him seriously. After I'd freed myself of premeditated prejudice, everything he was saying began to make sense. I started to believe it. Maybe other people read this and still find the words of a crazy Puritan minister. I know someone mentioned in class that they were amazed at Mather's ability to manipulate. Perhaps that's what it is. If that is, indeed, the case, I applaud Mather for his mastery of language and human thought, which enabled him to write such a succesfully manipulative piece of literature. Nevertheless, this is why is what made sense to me. On the bottom of page 16, Mathers writes, "...the Wretches have proceeded so far, as to Concert and Consult the Methods of Rooting out the Christian Religion from this Country, and setting up instead of it, perhaps a more gross Diabolism, than ever the World saw before." That quote popped of the page to me. I stopped and asked myself the question: where is Christianity in America today? I see the Christian religion being rooted out of our country! People have attempted to pass legislation that would remove the ten commandments and other Christian fixtures from our courthouses and such. We are far from the puritan days in our nation! I just kept thinking, "Man, if only Ole' Cotton were alive today. I'd like to see what he'd write about the Devil's work in our society." Suzanne mentioned the quotation in class today something along the lines of: "The greatest trick the Devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn't exist." If that's the case, I'm pretty sure the Devil has nearly won. Hardly anyone believes the devil exists and hardly anyone even believes in evil. That's pretty shocking compared to the views of Mather's society. One other point I'd liketo make is how Mather's projects New England in comparison to the other nations that had fallen to witchcraft. He writes, "The Kingdoms of Sweden, Denmark, Scotland, yea and England it self, as well as the Province of New England, have had their Storms of Witchcrafts breaking upon them, which have made most Lamentable Devastations: which also I wish, may be The Last." This passage makes me wonder what gives Mather the hope that New England won't succumb to the evils as the other nations had. Or does he have that hope at all? Partly, I believe that Mather shows his self-seeking motive when he admits that he wants the notice of being a part of an end to these evil distractions. He writes, "It is wonderfully necessary, that some healing Attempts be made: And I must confess (If I may speak so much) like a Nazianzen, I am so desirous of a share in them, that if geing thrown overboard, were needful to allay the Storm, I should think Dying a Trifle to be undergone, for so great a Blessedness." Maybe his motives for this blessedness are purely for the glory of God, but I really believe he wanted the credit, especially after learning about his life of living in his father's shadow. What better way to one up daddy's job as the President of Harvard, than to defeat Satan?
Favorite Quote from the reading: "The best man that has ever lived has been called a Witch."