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A teacher told the students they were going to play a game. Walking around the room, the teacher whispered to each child whether they were a “witch” or just a regular person. Then came the instructions: “Form the biggest group you can without a witch. If your group has even one, you all fail.”
The room instantly lit up with suspicion. Everyone started asking the same frantic questions: Are you a witch? How do we know you’re not lying?
Almost immediately, the students fractured. A few clung to one big group, but most broke off into smaller, exclusive cliques. They turned away anyone who seemed nervous, uncertain, or who gave off even the slightest hint of being guilty. The atmosphere shifted fast. Trust dissolved in minutes. Whispers, finger-pointing, and side-eyes became the currency of the room.
Finally, when all the groups were formed, the teacher asked the key question: “Alright, time to find out who fails. Witches, raise your hands.”
Not a single hand went up.
The class exploded. “Wait! You messed up the game!” Then the teacher dropped the bomb: “Did I? Were there any actual witches in Salem, or did everyone just believe what they were told?”
The room went dead silent. And that’s when it hit them. No actual witch was ever needed for the damage to happen. Fear had already done its work. Suspicion alone divided the entire class, turning a community into chaos.
Isn’t this exactly what we’re seeing today? Different words, same playbook.
Instead of “witch,” the labels shift. We are divided over our jobs, our neighbourhoods, our beliefs about the future, or whether we prefer “old ways” or “new ways.”, tradition or new visions. The specific issue is almost irrelevant. The tactic is the same: Get people scared. Get them suspicious. Get them divided. Then sit back while the foundational trust that holds us together crumbles.
The truth is, the danger was never the witch. The danger is the rumour. The suspicion. The fear.
As Christians, we believe that the true source of truth is not a hidden agenda or a fearful whisper, but a person who brings clarity. This light cuts through the noise of manufactured division and compels us to ask a critical question of ourselves: Am I allowing planted lies and suspicion to define my relationships, or am I seeking the truth that sets us free?
We have the ability to stop playing this game. We can refuse the whisper. We can choose to be the group that decides to trust, rather than the one that succumbs to fear.
The only way to win is to walk away from our modern ‘witch hunts’. We have the power to step out of the chaos, lay down the labels, and rebuild the connection with our neighbours. Choose faith over suspicion. Choose community over division. That change begins with us."
Rev’d Fr Ben Edwards
St Peter’s Church Thurston and Holy Innocents Church Great Barton
