What to Do When the Village Roars

In recent months, I’ve found myself mentally replaying a scene from the cult classic Monty Python and the Holy Grail titled “She’s a Witch!”

As the scene opens, three villagers are excited at the prospect of burning a witch at the stake. They’re seeking the permission of Bedevere to complete their mission.

Here is how the scene unfolds:

VILLAGER #1: We have found a witch. May we burn her?

CROWD: Burn her! Burn! Burn her! Burn her!

BEDEVERE: How do you know she is a witch?

VILLAGER #2: She looks like one.

CROWD: Right! Yeah! Yeah!

BEDEVERE: Bring her forward.

WITCH: I’m not a witch. I’m not a witch.

BEDEVERE: Uh, but you are dressed as one.

WITCH: They dressed me up like this.

CROWD: Augh, we didn’t! We didn’t.

WITCH: And this isn’t my nose. It’s a false one.

BEDEVERE: Well?

VILLAGER #1: Well, we did do the nose.

BEDEVERE: The nose?

VILLAGER #1: And the hat, but she is a witch!

VILLAGER #2: Yeah!

CROWD: We burn her! Right! Yeaaah! Yeaah!

BEDEVERE: Did you dress her up like this?

VILLAGER #1: No!

VILLAGER #2 and 3: No. No.

VILLAGER #2: No.

VILLAGER #1: No.

VILLAGERS #2 and #3: No.

VILLAGER #1: Yes.

VILLAGER #2: Yes.

VILLAGER #1: Yes. Yeah, a bit.

VILLAGER #3: A bit.

VILLAGERS #1 and #2: A bit.

VILLAGER #3: A bit.

VILLAGER #1: She has got a wart.

RANDOM: [cough]

BEDEVERE: What makes you think she is a witch?

VILLAGER #3: Well, she turned me into a newt.

BEDEVERE: A newt?

VILLAGER #3: I got better.

VILLAGER #2: Burn her anyway!

VILLAGER #1: Burn!

CROWD: Burn her! Burn! Burn her!

This scene is just as ridiculous to watch as it is to read. This is why I’ve been disheartened by believers who have used similarly nonsensical arguments to declare fellow Christ followers heretics or “false prophets” in recent months.

In the Monty Python movie, the villagers are so desperate to burn a “witch” that they find a harmless woman minding her own business, and they dress her up in clothes they have previously defined as those belonging to a witch. Next, they attach a fake nose to her face and drag her into the crowd to face public humiliation.

When the woman is allowed to speak for herself and points out the flaws in the villagers’ plans, they immediately lie: “She also has a wart.” And when this lie doesn’t make the cut, one desperate villager goes out on a limb and declares, ”She turned me into a newt!”

It’s ridiculous, yet this kind of thing happens every day, even in 2022. Today’s hunt to root out and burn the “witches” usually starts over a disagreement about interpreting the Bible. Even though Paul wrote in Romans 12:17-18,

Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. (NIV)

Some seek ways to cause conflict and justify themselves by declaring that the Scriptures warn believers about false prophets. Today, the apostles’ warnings about discernment when listening to people are interpreted as permission to platform-build by tearing down other people, declaring them heretics.

This isn’t new. The Pharisees dragged a woman caught in adultery out in front of a crowd and asked Jesus to admit she deserved to be stoned to death. (John 8:1-11). Of course, the man who committed adultery with the woman isn’t mentioned in the story. It seems the Pharisees overlooked his sin.

Herein lies the conflict. We judge ourselves and those we align with by our/their intentions and those we view as competition by their actions. The additional problem is that, because it isn’t our job to discern other people’s callings, we can determine that our preferences are God’s will for someone else.

Sometimes, people are living obediently in partnership with God, and just like the villagers in the Monty Python movie, someone comes along and starts yelling “She’s a witch!” or more likely “She’s a heretic,” or “He’s a dangerous progressive” or “That church is too focused on social justice” (insert sarcastic gasp here).

When these declarative statements don’t raise enough alarms, the assertions escalate:

• “I’m an expert.”
• “This is the truth.”
• “I’m the only one you can believe.”
• “This is the ‘real’ definition.”
• “I alone know what is in the depths of her heart.” 

Statements escalate as far as necessary until a crowd is amassed. Mob mentality is much easier to leverage when attempting to burn someone at the stake. But eventually, even the most loyal crowd will dull to the constant range. This is why villagers will declare the most extreme and ridiculous of lies, declaring complete strangers “dangerous” simply because they are threatened by the fact God loves them.

With every statement, the villagers position themselves in the role of God. When anyone questions their self-proclaimed authority, they simply declare the questioner is also a “witch.”

It’s a perfect system. God always aligns with everything the villagers think, say, and believe! And yet their end goal to burn a witch does not reflect God’s character in the slightest way.

 

So what are we to do when the the village roars? I admit, my instinct is to fight back. But the more I focus on Jesus’s character, the more I realize the best response is to step toward the one declared by the village to be a “witch” and encourage them.

When the Pharisees sought to stone the adulterous woman, Jesus ignored them until they pestered him for an answer. Then he reminded them that they likely had sin worthy of stoning as well.

Let the villagers run around yelling what they will. Just like Bedevere, we don’t have to believe their ridiculous declarations. Instead, we can reflect Christ’s character and love our neighbors.

Since laughter is often the best medicine for a wounded heart, perhaps we might rally around our fellow believers who are being declared unworthy of the kingdom of God by renting a Monty Python movie, or something equally absurd, and spending time laughing together.

Beth Walker is a football coach’s wife and mom of two energetic boys. She strives to encourage those around her to pursue their best lives in Jesus whether she is near the game field, in church, or at the local coffee shop. As a writer, Beth has been striving to find her voice through seeing Jesus in the ordinary and extraordinary of daily life. She blogs at Lessons from the Sidelines.

Photograph © Alex Alvarez, used with permission