Mynym over at Beyond Good and Evil has a nice post about some Indian villagers who killed a local barber because they thought he was practicing black magic (no telling if their religion made them do it). He goes on to discuss witch hunts and Christianity, quoting from 6 Modern Myths About Christianity and Western Civilization (now on my Amazon wishlist).
There is a modern myth that witch hunts presumed to take place in the Dark Ages represent why Christianity is wrong, superstitious or part of the Dark Ages. It is a myth because historical facts demonstrate that witch hunts decreased under the influence of Christianity, even under the deformed Christianity of the Inquisition. So as the Inquisition took control, the amount of witch hunting decreased. The modern mind has been so shaped by propaganda with respect to the Dark Ages and then the great Enlightenment that simple historical facts go against its grain.
When you see a blatant falsehood, who do you call?
No idea- but these guys have a good example of why you are wrong. http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2007/dec/09/tracy…
Interestingly we haven't had witch hunts since the Enlightenment took hold.
Actually, that story is one of the many of the effects, not of Christianity, but the legacy of generations of superstitious animism and spiritism have had on Africa and it's culture.
Even the wonderful freedom that Evangelicalism is bringing to Africa is not immune from being putrefied by such cultic influences. And Pentecostalism, which is growing faster than any type of xianity in Africa, is particularly vulnerable to the importation of such awful stuff from the African culture because it emphasizes spiritual warfare, exorcism, and experience in one's faith, all of which are valid (esp. in Africa where demon possession is much more prevalent due to their deep involvement in demonic spirituality).
I don't think that such witch hunts can be directly attributed to xianity, since the New Testament shows no witch hunts.
However, I do see how OT condemnations and punishments against witches could lead to such atrocities.
However, this book mostly speaks about how such things are spun by anti-Christian historians, with little grounding in significant numbers or Christian doctrine. I'm sure such things do occur, but I would not attribute them to Christianity per se, even though the very liberal Guardian thinks that they are an indictment.