Editing Satan (section)

===Early modern period===
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| image1    = St. Francis Borgia Helping a Dying Impenitent by Goya.jpg
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| caption1  = Painting from {{circa|1788}} by [[Francisco Goya]] depicting [[Francis Borgia, 4th Duke of Gandía|Saint Francis Borgia]] performing an exorcism. During the [[early modern period]], exorcisms were seen as displays of God's power over Satan.{{sfn|Ferber|2004|page=3}}
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| caption2  = During the early modern period, witches were widely believed to engage in sexually explicit Satanic rituals with demons,{{sfn|Thomsett|2011|page=131}} such as the one shown in this illustration by [[Martin van Maële]] in the 1911 edition of ''[[Satanism and Witchcraft (book)|Satanism and Witchcraft]]'' by [[Jules Michelet]].
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During the [[Early Modern Period]], Christians gradually began to regard Satan as increasingly powerful{{sfn|Poole|2009|pages=8–9}} and the fear of Satan's power became a dominant aspect of the worldview of Christians across Europe.{{sfn|Ferber|2004|page=3}}{{sfn|Poole|2009|page=8}} During the [[Protestant Reformation]], [[Martin Luther]] taught that, rather than trying to argue with Satan, Christians should avoid temptation altogether by seeking out pleasant company;{{sfn|Bainton|1978|page=377}} Luther especially recommended music as a safeguard against temptation, since the Devil "cannot endure [[Happiness|gaiety]]".{{sfn|Bainton|1978|page=377}} [[John Calvin]] repeated a maxim from [[Augustine of Hippo|Saint Augustine]] that "Man is like a horse, with either God or the devil as rider."{{sfn|Parker|1995|page=56}}

In the late fifteenth century, a series of witchcraft panics erupted in France and Germany.{{sfn|Poole|2009|page=9}}{{sfn|Thomsett|2011|page=132}} The German [[Inquisitor]]s [[Heinrich Kramer]] and [[Jacob Sprenger]] argued in their book ''[[Malleus Maleficarum]]'', published in 1487, that all ''[[Maleficium (sorcery)|maleficia]]'' ("sorcery") was rooted in the work of Satan.{{sfn|Kelly|2006|pages=262–263}} In the mid-sixteenth century, the panic spread to England and Switzerland.{{sfn|Poole|2009|page=9}} Both Protestants and Catholics alike firmly believed in witchcraft as a real phenomenon and supported its prosecution.{{sfn|Thomsett|2011|page=130}}{{sfn|Kelly|2006|page=262}} In the late 1500s, the Dutch demonologist [[Johann Weyer]] argued in his treatise ''[[De praestigiis daemonum]]'' that witchcraft did not exist,{{sfn|Levack|2015}} but that Satan promoted belief in it to lead Christians astray.{{sfn|Levack|2015}} The panic over witchcraft intensified in the 1620s and continued until the end of the 1600s.{{sfn|Poole|2009|page=9}} Brian Levack estimates that around 60,000 people were executed for witchcraft during the entire span of the witchcraft hysteria.{{sfn|Poole|2009|page=9}}

The early English settlers of North America, especially the [[Puritans]] of [[New England]], believed that Satan "visibly and palpably" reigned in the [[New World]].{{sfn|Poole|2009|page=16}} [[John Winthrop]] claimed that the Devil made rebellious Puritan women give birth to [[Stillbirth|stillborn]] monsters with claws, sharp horns, and "on each foot three claws, like a young fowl".<ref name=db>{{cite news|url=https://www.thedailybeast.com/why-american-christians-love-satan|title=Why American Christians Love Satan|last=Turner|first=Matthew Paul|website=[[The Daily Beast]]|date=2014-02-16|access-date=2018-01-02|language=en}}</ref> [[Cotton Mather]] wrote that devils swarmed around Puritan settlements "like the [[Plagues of Egypt|frogs of Egypt]]".{{sfn|Poole|2009|page=17}} The Puritans believed that the [[Native Americans in the United States|Native Americans]] were worshippers of Satan{{sfn|Poole|2009|pages=15–16}} and described them as "children of the Devil".{{sfn|Poole|2009|page=16}} Some settlers claimed to have seen Satan himself appear in the flesh at native ceremonies.{{sfn|Poole|2009|page=17}} During the [[First Great Awakening]], the "[[Old and New Light|new light]]" preachers portrayed their "old light" critics as ministers of Satan.{{sfn|Poole|2009|page=37}} By the time of the [[Second Great Awakening]], Satan's primary role in [[American evangelicalism]] was as the opponent of the evangelical movement itself, who spent most of his time trying to hinder the ministries of evangelical preachers,{{sfn|Poole|2009|pages=37–43}} a role he has largely retained among present-day [[Christian fundamentalism#In the United States|American fundamentalists]].{{sfn|Poole|2009|pages=44–45}}

By the early 1600s, skeptics in Europe, including the English author [[Reginald Scot]] and the Anglican bishop [[John Bancroft (bishop)|John Bancroft]], had begun to criticize the belief that demons still had the power to possess people.{{sfn|Almond|2004|page=7}} This skepticism was bolstered by the belief that [[miracle]]s only occurred during the [[Apostolic Age]], which had long since ended.{{sfn|Almond|2004|page=8}} Later, [[Age of Enlightenment|Enlightenment]] thinkers, such as [[David Hume]], [[Denis Diderot]], and [[Voltaire]], attacked the notion of Satan's existence altogether.{{sfn|Poole|2009|page=10}} Voltaire labelled [[John Milton]]'s ''[[Paradise Lost]]'' a "disgusting fantasy"{{sfn|Poole|2009|page=10}} and declared that belief in [[Hell]] and Satan were among the many lies propagated by the Catholic Church to keep humanity enslaved.{{sfn|Poole|2009|page=10}} By the eighteenth century, trials for witchcraft had ceased in most western countries, with the notable exceptions of [[Poland]] and [[Hungary]], where they continued.{{sfn|Kelly|2006|page=264}} Belief in the power of Satan, however, remained strong among traditional Christians.{{sfn|Kelly|2006|page=264}}