Saturday, November 29, 2008

Nigerian "Christians" torturing their own children

This is sickening. Nigerian “Christians” are torturing and ostracising their own children because someone told them they are witches:
A female child from Oron Council of Akwa Ibom State was tortured and bathed with hot water and thrown into the forest to die by his family for allegedly possessing strange powers. Another was tied to a stake in a goat's house for two weeks by his father because a prophet in his church proclaimed her a witch.

In Nsit Ibom, another was tortured and eventually chased out of home by his uncle, who believed he bewitched and killed his parents.

"Churches have strong influence on people and some church leaders get some parents to sheepishly believe that their kids are witches and wizards. This is the focus of most of these churches, which have departed from preaching righteousness and salvation of souls to stigmatisation of children as witches and wizards.

"In fact, it has gotten to a stage that if you do not spot witches and wizards in your church, you are not seen to be spiritually powerful and you may lose some of your members," Itauma explains.

More:
...we see children who have been horribly mutilated, and in one case left brain damaged after having had a nail driven through her skull; others appear withdrawn and tearful after being rejected by their families and threatened. We also see the hostility of aggressive and angry adults against the charity workers who challenge the witch teaching and offer support to children living rough.

The first pastor we meet is the rolex-wearing Bishop Sunday Ulup-Aya, who makes children drink a strange “poision destroyer” medicine made up of “African mercury”, his own blood, and pure alcohol.

I’m using quotes when describing the Nigerians here as “Christians”. By almost anyone’s standards – except their own – these people are committing atrocities. The only reason I mention it at all is simply to make one point: why aren’t western Christians up in arms about this?

Don’t tell me about persecuted missionaries. Don’t tell me about nasty evil Muslims/atheists/whatevers. Don’t breathe a word to me about what you think about McCain or Obama. Especially, don’t you dare to speak to me about a higher moral ground. These misguided people are committing pure evil, and while the western Christian church does nothing, it has no moral or ethical legitimacy whatsoever.

I have no doubt at all that no western Christian would accept them as part of the worldwide tradition of Christianity. The fact remains that they are calling themselves Christians. They are mutilating their own children and leaving them to die in the name of your Lord Jesus Christ.

There is an urgent moral obligation on all Christians to categorically denounce this, and to take whatever action is possible to stop it.

Don’t send missionaries to the Philippines. Send them to Nigeria to talk to these “Christians” and point out to them the bleeding obvious: there is no such thing as witches and it is wrong to torture your own children.

No comments: