I've always heard about the Salem witch trials and would like to know the truth. Every thing I've read sounds so bad - maybe there's another side of the story?
Your guess is a good one there is another side to the story.
I would imagine that C.Matthew Mahon owner of puritanmind...may come forth with a link and article for you....Mahon is so up on the Puritans. <grin>
[b:11c484ea93]"The Salem Witch Trials were a travesty of justice, which few historians would deny. But many do not acknowledge, in the face of abundant historical testimony to the fact, that the Puritan clergymen were heroes in Salem's witchcraft crisis of 1692. They ended unjust legal proceedings and its attendent chaos without capsizing the new and fragile colonial government."
"Instead of giving the Puritan clergy their due credit, a very great number of historians hold them responsible for the injustice that transpired at Salem."
"The Mathers and their Puritan colleagues have earned a bad reputation, not because they were witch hunters, but because they acted like Christians during a crisis." [/b:11c484ea93]
In addition, the 1978 [i:11c484ea93]Journal of Christian Reconstruction: Symposium on Puritanism and Law[/i:11c484ea93] has a good article on the Salem Witch Trials too.
Vision Forum has a nice audio series called Puritans v. Witches in the Christian Controversies series that might answer your question. It does acknowledge some wrong-doing, but it isn't anti-Christian, anti-Puritan critique that completely smears the Puritans. http://www.visionforum.com/