Starrfall on 18/10/2009 at 17:40
(
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/wire/sns-ap-af-nigeria-child-witches,0,5276725.story?page=1)
Quote:
Churches involved in torture, murder of thousands of African children denounced as witchesThe nine-year-old boy lay on a bloodstained hospital sheet crawling with ants, staring blindly at the wall.
His family pastor had accused him of being a witch, and his father then tried to force acid down his throat as an exorcism. It spilled as he struggled, burning away his face and eyes.The emaciated boy barely had strength left to whisper the name of the church that had denounced him — Mount Zion Lighthouse.
A month later, he died.
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.
The good news is that after a pastor accuses your child of witchcraft you can pay said pastor weeks of wages to exorcise said child. By torturing him or her, of course. At least someone's making money from all of this. (And it even trickles up, if the local churches involved are paying dues to larger chain churches.) Very frustrating and infuriating article.
BrokenArts on 18/10/2009 at 17:53
Besides that whole thing just being utterly bat shit crazy. He died a *month* later, damn, talk about suffering he endured. Hard to fathom.
Sgt_BFG on 18/10/2009 at 17:59
Nobody expects the African inquisition.
Bulgarian_Taffer on 18/10/2009 at 18:02
Christian fundies... crap!!! What could somebody expect from them?
That's why I no longer attend church. At least for now.
Namdrol on 18/10/2009 at 18:21
It reminds me, but in a far more extreme way, of the satanic abuse witch hunt which kicked off here in the UK in the late 80's and early 90's.
Some fundie christians cops and social workers had come over the pond and started lecturing and teaching social work departments about "Satanic Indicators."
And it spread like a rash with over 50 kids being put into care around the country.
And while some of these kids had been sexually abused, the vast majority hadn't and there was no sign of any satanic abuse.
Some of these families were destroyed by these allegations and while it's not of the same magnitude of the case Starfall's talking about, it's still fundies fucking people over for their own warped agendas.
Beleg Cúthalion on 18/10/2009 at 18:30
Sad to see how Christianity spoils the poor Africans...
Turtle on 18/10/2009 at 18:41
It'll be funny though, when the kid's father gets to hell and notices that his son isn't there.
daniel on 18/10/2009 at 18:41
Don't be so quick to blame Christianity - the old beliefs and superstitions in Africa still have a hold on people. It would probably be the same no matter what religious sect took over. I read a book about a doctor who was working in the Congo, and even though he had repeatedly explained that diseases were caused by viruses and bacteria and everyone acted like they believed what he said, they still went to witch doctors as well as him for cures.
Ostriig on 18/10/2009 at 18:42
Christ on a stick, clergy-ran religion really needs to crawl back into the Middle Ages and die the fuck off already. Not just one religion, all of them, with the three big Abrahamic ones leading the conga line.
AR Master on 18/10/2009 at 18:51
africans accuse each other of witchcraft at the drop of a hat. police investigate goats for being suspected shapeshifting thieves. I dont think christianity is really hurting anything there in any more scandalous ways than they usually are
