Returning to Thomas Maule and the Witches
Indianapolis First Friends Quaker Meeting
Pastor Bob Henry
October 29, 2023
Good Morning Friends and welcome to Light Reflections. Our scripture for this morning is from Luke 6:27-28 from The Voice translation.
If you’re listening, here’s My message: Keep loving your enemies no matter what they do. Keep doing good to those who hate you. Keep speaking blessings on those who curse you. Keep praying for those who mistreat you.
A year ago, we planned a unique worship service which started some fun traditions at First Friends like wearing Witch hats and having our kids come in costumes. That Meeting for Worship dealt with the response of Quaker Thomas Maule to witches during the Salem Witch Trial.
If you remember, Thomas Maule was an outspoken Quaker living in Salem, Massachusetts, who went to prison five times, was whipped publicly three times, and fined on numerous occasions for criticizing Puritans and advocating for witches during the Salem Witch Trials.
All because Thomas Maule saw witches as both real people, who had that of God in them, and not much different than everyone else. He also believed God would punish the Salem Witch Trial prosecutors for miscarrying justice. Maule was known to say,
“[F]or it were better that one hundred Witches should live,
than that one person be put to death for a Witch, which is not a Witch.”
After preaching that sermon, I quickly found how the radical nature of early Quakers is still debated today.
Before I even thought about getting out of bed, the Monday after that sermon, I was contacted by our Superintendent Shawn McConaughey about a disturbance on the Friends United Meeting WhatsApp for our ministry leaders in Africa.
Quickly, I found many of our Quaker leaders in Africa had seen some photos of people in our meeting wearing Witch hats during worship and made some quick assumptions of what was going on.
This led to condemning us, saying we were not worthy of being called Quakers, and some even asking us to be removed from Friends United Meeting. Even our Facebook page had leaders writing condemning remarks on our playful photos from that Sunday.
I will have to say, I was not expecting to wake up on Monday to the entire continent of African Quakers upset at our Meeting, as well as, me for my message – which ironically, they had not heard.
With our Superintendent’s help, by the end of the day we had things calmed down. Yet still, it left me thinking a lot about the tensions that being a radical Quaker can create when people do not understand the context or are not part of the community.
Actually, in my further research after giving this message, I learned that a hundred years after the Salem Witch Trials, Quakers were still struggling with the Puritans and their differing views on “witches.” Sue Friday of Berkley Friends Meeting in California points out that Friends during this time,
“…exhibited some diversity, though their distaste for theological speculation and argument allowed for greater unity.”
She goes on to point out that,
“The lay conception of magic and the occult in the 17th century was typically pragmatic. It was concerned with the ends achieved by ritual rather than the source of the power and ignored the potential conflicts with religion. Their conception of witchcraft was ambiguous since they were likely aware of an association with the Devil. But only when it was believed that magic was used to hurt, rather than divine the future or heal, did people demand that the perpetrators be punished for their malevolent actions.”
Since this was the conception of many, and Quakers were more diverse and seeking greater unity, the Puritans began to consider Quakers to also be witches.
I sense if we did not take the time to clarify the context of our worship and my message from last year to the Africans, we too might have been labeled as witches for our advocacy and seeking unity.
Well, during the summer, after all of this was out of my mind and I was not thinking much about Thomas Maule, the Salem Witch Trials, or even the Quaker’s response, we received an email on our First Friends Webpage. We often get inquiries through this page, and Beth and I work hard at responding to each of them.
Many of the contacts are people who happened upon Quakers through our website or social media and simply want to know more. I have met people who have become regular attenders of First Friends, film directors, business people, academic researchers, and a variety of other interesting people.
But on this occasion, Rebecca passed on an email from what seemed a familiar name – James Maule. James wrote,
“I found Pastor Henry’s words when doing some family history research. As you can tell from my surname, I have a particular interest in Thomas Maule, as he is my 7th – great-grandfather. I have written a biography about him, and your summary of his life is well done.”
He then asked me about some of my research and wanted to know what my sources were. This led to an entire day of correspondence with James Maule. We shared several emails where I explained my research only to find that the works that I quoted were actually James’ research which he had done for the New England Historic Society. Soon, James was sending me a bibliography of books and insights to other resources. He said there was a growing interest in Thomas Maule because of a renewed interest among Americans to understand the Salem Witch Trials.
I was in research-nerd heaven.
Then James shared with me that in 1996 he had written a biography of Thomas Maule, which included most of his known writings. He told me that the biography was a response to requests from various relatives for reprints of Thomas Maule’s writing (this was back when the only way to see a copy was to go to one of a handful of libraries).
This project grew and grew into a rather compressive book which James said he would send me when he returned to his home after a trip he was planning in the coming days. In a complete surprise, just before I went to bed that night, I received a message that James had put a copy of his book in the mail for me and I should receive it on Monday.
Here is the copy of the book titled, “Better That 100 Witches Should Live” by James Edward Maule.
I have been slowly digesting this well-researched book and have found it so insightful. James does an amazing job with documenting Thomas Maule’s original words and then summarizing them for a more modern reader.
In this book, James includes a chapter on Thomas Maule’s most controversial book, which happened to be titled (are you ready for this),
Truth Held Forth and Maintained According to the Testimony of the Holy Prophets, Christ, and His Apostles Recorded in the Holy Scriptures.
Now, that is a title, and how ironic since we have just spent several weeks looking at prophets. The book is actually a thorough defense of the Quaker Faith against the Puritan Faith in Thomas Maule’s time. In 260 pages and 38 chapters Maule wrote his controversial treatise. He was clearly aiming his words at the Puritans and showing how his theological assertions as a Quaker contradicted their beliefs. For a Quaker this is a wildly doctrinal and dogmatic book. He went at everything from Sabbath to Baptism.
But in chapter 29, he finally hits a sore spot for the Puritans as he decides to discuss witchcraft. At the time, It was considered “the most interesting chapter of the book” and probably still is today.
In this chapter James says that Thomas
“Maule then questions what would happen if sins other than witchcraft, such as false worship, adultery, and children’s rebellion were punished in the same manner. He concludes that the execution of two-thirds of the people would be required under Spiritual prescriptions, but cautions that none of the accused including those accused of witchcraft, should be executed, relying on Christ’s command to love one’s enemies.”
Yes, you heard that right, Thomas Maule compared witchcraft to children’s rebellion. Think about that one.
James goes on to explain that Thomas
“Maule suggest that perhaps some of those called witches were in trouble from other circumstances, things they might not otherwise believe, even to the extent of deluding themselves that they were witches and permitting themselves to be executed. He even suggests that persons who wanted to die but who faced the prohibitions against suicide would confess to being witches in order to be killed by others…
Maule even relates that some of the accused told him ‘that they were in trouble of mind’ and after being accused by the Specter, or Devil turned Informer, they felt ‘beside themselves’ and ‘out of their natural Understanding.’ After hearing that those who did not confess were executed, these accused were urged to confess themselves as witches and did so.
Finally, Thomas Maule askes the big question,
“…how does one distinguish a witch from someone not a witch. His response is that divine wisdom is the key.”
I find it very interesting, that at this point Thomas Maule turns his treatise on considering the mistreatment of the Native people of the land. Which he labeled the “judgement after judgement” that befell New England.
From what all we have learned in the past couple of months, Thomas Maule was a prophet in his time. He sought kindness, justice, righteousness, and truth in our land and brought a message of warning, guidance, and social justice for all humanity. And reading his book, he was both a radical and devout Quaker.
He also believed and taught that,
“A true church acknowledges its weaknesses and inabilities, but rather than remaining in a constant state of confessing sinfulness, its members accept God’s grace and do what is required of them by God.”
Returning to Thomas Maule with the help of his great-grandson to the 7th generation, I am still hearing his prophetic message for our time.
I think we still have “witches” today and I am not talking about those who may use the term “witch” to express their interest in a Spirit realm or the many facets of a healing eco-spirituality which they acknowledge to be a sacred spring coming from Earth herself. I know Quakers who also consider themselves witches in this sense, but I am not talking about them.
I am talking about the people we make out to be “witches” today. That we torture, that we ridicule, that we make our enemy, that we lack an interest in hearing or knowing their story, and instead want to rid ourselves of their presence. We must ask ourselves, who are those people for us, today?
I think if Thomas Maule was around today, he might say the same thing he said to the Puritans to us about how we treat people from political parties we do not support. Could it be that we are just making a “witch” out of someone who votes different than us? Just ponder our words and actions about our leaders, they too sound familiar. I think I have heard the name Nancy Pelosi or Hilary Clinton given the label “witch” and in the same sentence a hope for them to be burnt at the stake. As well, on January 6th we saw some folks bring a lynching stand to the capitol to hang Mike Pence. So, not only do we do this to each other, but we do this to our leaders as well.
Or maybe we make the disabled, the neuro-diverse, the elderly, the homeless, the foreigner into our “witches” – wishing they would simply be removed from us or at least out of our site to make us more comfortable and even more successful.
I KNOW we have made witches of the LGBTQ community. That is a fact. A couple of weeks ago, my family and I visited the Clinton Presidential Library in Little Rock, Arkansas. There I was reminded of what happened back on Oct. 6, 1998, which I believe began to get our attention in this nation regarding LGBTQ people. That was the night Matthew Wayne Shepherd, a gay American student at the University of Wyoming was beaten, tortured, and left to die. I remember watching the news and being horrified by this act of violence.
Or let’s go a little further back to December of 1984 when 13-year-old Ryan White was diagnosed with Aids here in Indiana. The outcome had many turning Ryan, in our state and around the world, into a “witch” on national television. Some literally wanted him to die because they did not understand what was going on, that Aids was not just a gay disease or God’s judgement. Ryan White was the lightening rod of Puritans who completely missed what was going on.
39 years later Friends Abby and Dr. Jason White here at First Friends are still trying to get our attention so that we don’t make the LGBTQ community into our modern-day “witches” by helping us be more aware, welcoming, knowledgable and ultimately allies instead of destructive in our word and actions.
And like Thomas Maule who was realizing this about the mistreatment of Native Peoples, we must look at our xenophobia, our racism, our misogyny and ask ourselves how we are still making “witches” of people that are no different than us.
I am sure I have missed some grouping in this, but I think you get the point. Thomas Maule is still speaking to our condition on this day, Oct. 29, 2023.
We need to consider our Puritan ways and ask ourselves who we make out to be “witches” in our lives.
So, as we enter waiting worship this morning. I ask you to ponder the following queries:
1. Who are the people I treat like “witches” in my life?
2. How could or does my prophetic voice or action speak up for someone being treated as a “witch” in our society, today?
3. How might I accept God’s grace and do what the Divine requires of me?