On the subject of Christians influencing government, when the founders of the United States added the 8th amendment to the Constitution prohibiting excessive bail, extensive fines, and cruel and unusual punishment they did not have the prick of a needle (our lethal injection) in mind. They were used to punishments such as "flaying alive" and being "drawn and quartered."
Do you know what being "flayed alive" means? The prisoner was tied to a stake hands above his head and his feet secured. Skin was removed from head to toe; the prisoner was disemboweled while still alive. There were other procedures but the prisoner customarily died before the punishment was completed.
How about "drawn and quartered; the convicted was hanged, by the neck, until almost dead; strapped down and their abdominal area sliced open, their bowels and genitals would be removed and burn before their eyes; beheaded by an axe; their body divided into four sections (quartered) and, along with their head, put on public display in an attempt to deter people from similar crimes. For reasons of public decency, women convicted of similar crimes were instead burnt at the stake. With modifications the punishment was on the books in England until 1870. The most famous case was Guy Faux who was convicted of trying to blow up parliament. His mistake was thinking he could beat the system. When the rope was around his neck he jumped thinking he would break his neck but he broke the rope. He then went through the final steps fully conscious. England has holiday, Guy Faux Day.
Witchcraft was a capital crime. The legal precedent cited by the devoutly Puritan colonists was the bible; biblical passages such as Exodus 22:18 ("Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live") and Leviticus 20:27 ("A man also or woman that hath a familiar spirit, or that is a wizard, shall surely be put to death"). Problem was there were no witches but that did not stop Christians from thinking there were some.
