This lovely townhall in Holland is now a happy place. People marry there and when the weather is nice people eat and drink on the terraces of the restaurants there. Long forgotten seem the days of witchhunting in the 16th century. Although witchhunting was never as big in Holland as in other North(Western)-European countries there was witchhunting here too. The attic of this townhall was used to imprison women who were suspects of witchcraft. They were tortured and burned alive in front of the townhall. Fortunately these days are long gone! I always think about these women when i see this townhall and value my own freedom. There is nothing better than freedom!

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The concept of intermediaries/priests/popes/middlemen, came in with Abrahamism.

And although in more recent times, some Christians claim to have a personal relationship with their Christian god, still, the existence of holy books, and the church hierarchy of popes, and priests serves the purpose of intermediaries/middlemen between the Christian/Abrahamic God, and the people.

Some may argue, and say that the old world pagan cultures did in fact have intermediaries, which were the shamans, seers, sages, wizards, witches, cunning folk, druids, volkhvs, etc...

To make it easier I will refer to all of these different names collectively as shamans both males & females. I am not a scholar of this subject. I’m only sharing my current understanding based on all of the information I’ve absorbed, and all I’ve learned over the years.

My personal reply to this comparison between the pagan shamans, and Abrahamic priests would be that they cannot be compared, for they are not the same.

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The pagan shamans were not just attending to matters and problems of a spiritual nature, they’ve also treated physical illnesses much like modern doctors. As well as dealing with fertility department, and other issues that are physical in nature.

The way I understand it, is that to the old-world shamans it all went together, the physical, mental, and the spiritual, for it was all interconnected, and one effects the other.

Whenever the shamans dealt with the person’s physical problem, they understood that they are at the same time dealing with this individual’s mental, and spiritual state.

And we know that unlike the pagan shamans of old who were the local pagan priests, local doctors and local psychologists/psychiatrists, the Abrahamic priests only focus on matters of the soul, and afterlife. So just by acknowledging this, we can already see why we can’t compare the indigenous shamans to Christian priests.