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An Essay for the Recording of Illustrious Providences
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An Essay for the Recording of Illustrious Providences

work by Mather
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An Essay for the Recording of Illustrious Providences was written by Increase Mather in 1684. This work is a compilation of stories intended to demonstrate the hand of Divine Providence in people's lives, particularly in their rescue from disasters, both natural and supernatural. Some historians suggest this book may have contributed to the atmosphere that led to the Salem witchcraft hysteria in 1692. While Mather believed in witches, he and his son Cotton Mather expressed caution regarding the use of "spectral evidence" in trials, arguing that such evidence could be faulty and lead to miscarriages of justice.1

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  1. increase
  2. Increase Mather
  3. Richard Mather
  4. Cotton Mather

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