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Illustrious Providences
''Remarkable Providences'' is an essay by Increase Mather, first published in 1684 under the title ''An Essay for the Recording of Illustrious Providences''.Keller 1917, p. 722. The work was produced by Harvard College. It is a record of reports on witchcraft, supposed Satanism, sea-deliverances, accidents, apparitions, and unaccountable phenomena in general. The work also contains elements anticipating the Spiritualist movement, with reports of rappings, tippings, trances, and second sight. The work is thought to have influenced Cotton Mather, the writer's son, in his involvement with witch trials in colonial New England. Background In 1681, when the agitation in the Massachusetts Bay Colony over the questions respecting the imperilled colonial charter was rapidly approaching a climax, and the public mind was already feverishly excited, the ministers sent out a paper of proposals for collecting facts concerning witchcraft. Synopsis This resulted three years later (1684) in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Increase Mather
Increase Mather (; June 21, 1639 Old Style – August 23, 1723 Old Style) was a History of New England, New England Puritan clergyman in the Massachusetts Bay Colony and the sixth President of Harvard University, President of Harvard College (later renamed Harvard University) for twenty years (1681–1701). During his tenure, he was influential in the administration of the colony during a time that coincided with the notorious Salem witch trials. Early life and education The New England Mathers originally came from the parish of Winwick, Cheshire, Winwick near Liverpool, in Lancashire, England. Increase Mather was born in Dorchester, Massachusetts, Dorchester, Massachusetts Bay Colony, on June 21, 1639, to the Rev. Richard Mather and Kathrine Holt Mather, following their participation in the Great Migration (Puritan), Great Migration from England due to their Nonconformist (Protestantism), nonconformity to the Church of England. The stated reason for his first name was "…the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Devil
Satan, also known as the Devil, is a devilish entity in Abrahamic religions who seduces humans into sin (or falsehood). In Judaism, Satan is seen as an agent subservient to God, typically regarded as a metaphor for the '' yetzer hara'', or 'evil inclination'. In Christianity and Islam, he is usually seen as a fallen angel or jinn who has rebelled against God, who nevertheless allows him temporary power over the fallen world and a host of demons. In the Quran, Iblis (Shaitan), the leader of the devils (''shayāṭīn''), is made of fire and was cast out of Heaven because he refused to bow before the newly created Adam. He incites humans to sin by infecting their minds with ''waswās'' ('evil suggestions'). A figure known as ''ha-satan'' ("the satan") first appears in the Hebrew Bible as a heavenly prosecutor, subordinate to Yahweh (God); he prosecutes the nation of Judah in the heavenly court and tests the loyalty of Yahweh's followers. During the intertestamental period, po ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Harvard University Publications
Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyman John Harvard (clergyman), John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States. Its influence, wealth, and rankings have made it one of the most prestigious universities in the world. Harvard was founded and authorized by the Massachusetts General Court, the governing legislature of Colonial history of the United States, colonial-era Massachusetts Bay Colony. While never formally affiliated with any Religious denomination, denomination, Harvard trained Congregationalism in the United States, Congregational clergy until its curriculum and student body were gradually secularized in the 18th century. By the 19th century, Harvard emerged as the most prominent academic and cultural institution among the Boston B ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Witchcraft Treatises
Witchcraft is the use of Magic (supernatural), magic by a person called a witch. Traditionally, "witchcraft" means the use of magic to inflict supernatural harm or misfortune on others, and this remains the most common and widespread meaning. According to ''Encyclopedia Britannica'', "Witchcraft thus defined exists more in the imagination", but it "has constituted for many cultures a viable explanation of evil in the world". The belief in witches has been found throughout history in a great number of societies worldwide. Most of these societies have used Apotropaic magic, protective magic or counter-magic against witchcraft, and have shunned, banished, imprisoned, physically punished or killed alleged witches. Anthropologists use the term "witchcraft" for similar beliefs about harmful occult practices in different cultures, and these societies often use the term when speaking in English. Belief in witchcraft as malevolent magic is attested from #Ancient Mesopotamian religion ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1684 In The Massachusetts Bay Colony
Events January–March * January 5 ** King Charles II of England gives the title Duke of St Albans to Charles Beauclerk, his illegitimate son by Nell Gwyn. ** The earliest form of what is now the University of Tokyo (formally chartered in 1877), the Tenmongata, is established in Japan. * January 15 (January 5 O.S.) – To demonstrate that the River Thames, frozen solid during the Great Frost that started in December, is safe to walk upon, "a Coach and six horses drove over the Thames for a wager" and within three days "whole streets of Booths are built on the Thames and thousands of people are continually walking thereon." Sir Richard Newdigate, 2nd Baronet, records the events in his diary. * January 26 – Marcantonio Giustinian is elected Doge of Venice. * January – Edmond Halley, Christopher Wren and Robert Hooke have a conversation in which Hooke later claimed not only to have derived the inverse-square law, but also all the laws of planetary motion attributed to S ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
