Child Witches in Nigeria
 

Or, "Evangelical Christianity Strikes Again":

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/...n5392572.shtml

"Nwanaokwo Edet was one of an increasing number of children in Africa accused of witchcraft by pastors and then tortured or killed, often by family members. Pastors were involved in half of 200 cases of "witch children" reviewed by the AP, and 13 churches were named in the case files.

Some of the churches involved are renegade local branches of international franchises. Their parishioners take literally the Biblical exhortation, "Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live."

"It is an outrage what they are allowing to take place in the name of Christianity," said Gary Foxcroft, head of nonprofit Stepping Stones Nigeria.

For their part, the families are often extremely poor, and sometimes even relieved to have one less mouth to feed. Poverty, conflict and poor education lay the foundation for accusations, which are then triggered by the death of a relative, the loss of a job or the denunciation of a pastor on the make, said Martin Dawes, a spokesman for the United Nations Children's Fund.

"When communities come under pressure, they look for scapegoats," he said. "It plays into traditional beliefs that someone is responsible for a negative change ... and children are defenseless.""

"The idea of witchcraft is hardly new, but it has taken on new life recently, partly because of a rapid growth in evangelical Christianity. Campaigners against the practice say around 15,000 children have been accused in two of Nigeria's 36 states over the past decade and around 1,000 have been murdered. In the past month alone, three Nigerian children accused of witchcraft were killed and another three were set on fire. "

Why don't they just stick to the Nigerian E-mail Scam?

"So what are your missionary dollars doing to improve the third world?"

"Nigeria will be witch free soon."

"That is a relief. Bad witch problem there. When are we going to start on our witches here?"

"Soon."

Africans (okay not all--it's a big continent) blame everything on witchcraft.

no, that's anthropology.

http://www.iheu.org/node/2856

They've been persecuting people they perceive to be witches, by some name or other, forever. It's a shame the evangelical missionaries haven't been able to stop it, but they are hardly the cause. If we gave them all cars, would the witch burnings be because they're car owners?

Only if GM is encouraging magical thinking under the guise of Western style progress.

Well hells bells, GM's always done that. :haha:

'68 Camaro = magic :)

But for every magical one there were 10 posers. CoughChevetteCough :rolleyes:

We can't give them all cars. We need all that oil for ourselves. How about a few million tons of garlic and some silver daggers made available at every crossroads?

A UN sanctioned, Garlic&SilverDaggers for Oil, program... genius. :thumb:

In Europe, witches were burned on the cross. In Nigeria, witches are burned on oil derricks. Says so much about the local religion.

You can't really blame Christianity for these sorts of things. It's really a matter of traditional religious belief that hangs about in spite of Christianity. And then someone points out that thing in Leviticus and it's all downhill from there, although "witch" doesn't actually mean "witch" in this context ... it's more like "witch" as in "witchdoctor," which is not the same thing, see?

That's witchcraft! Burn! ;)