‘Witches and the Problem of Evil’

The subject of witchcraft, real, alleged, and fictional, has been a big part of the discussion for serious readers of Harry Potter since the explosion of the magic controversy soon after the first books were in print. In America post-Salem, even with the advent of Wiccans and openly professed Witches in recent years, the concept of a real world “witch-hunt” by those concerned about occult influence, a hunt in which folks thought to be witches are shunned or killed, is hard to take seriously.

In today’s Christianity

Today online, Robert Priest reviews Witchcraft, Violence, and Democracy in South Africa by Adam Ashforth (Univ. of Chicago Press, 2005) in an composition called ‘Witches and the Problem of Evil.‘ It isn’t an easy read but it is an vital one. I came away from it with a much better understanding of the pervasiveness of witchcraft concerns in the world (and astonished at the violence involved) and with ideas about the psychology of Harry Hating I wouldn’t have had without that introduction. Highly Recommended.