Why do evangelicals in Africa torture and execute children for being witches?

Question

http://www.guardian.co.uk/observer/gallery/2007/dec/09/witches?picture=331488389

"A large nail was driven into this girl’s head. Nwaeka is about 16, and now badly brain damaged"

@ rickster: Christians. And the children aren't witches, either. The preachers are making that part up.

Answer 1

The so called "preachers" that are doing this are not Christians. They are evil men who are using people's faith as a means to exploit them for personal gain.

This has nothing to do with genuine Christianity.

Answer 2

I find it strange to hear people claiming that these aren't "real" Christians.. What is "real"? These people have the same bibles, the same doctrine and dogma as do Christians in the Western world.. and just like Christians in the west these Christians are interpreting it however they want to suit their own needs... How are they any different than the Christians bombing Abortion clinics? or the Christian KKK persecuting blacks, or the Christians doing horrible things in the name of their God and religion all over the world. Sure there are Christians who never hurt anyone, or do anything bad.. but the fact remains that the Christian religion has spawned some of humanities most heinous crimes and acts of cruelty. Those children are just more victims in a long line of victims left in the wake of Religious conversion.. The inquisitions, the witch trials, all the philosophers who were persecuted, wars, terrorism, bigotry, all come with religion wherever it goes, and the bad far outweighs the good. How many more victims will it take for people to realize that it's better not to be part of ANY group or organization or religion that is responsible for that sort of thing? Sure there are Christians who do good, but why are they lending thier efforts to an institution that has caused more damage than good? One of the reasons I am not religious is because I refuse to be a part of something that has caused so much grief to my fellow man. Those children are suffering at the hands of their parents because of the ignorance Christianity has perpetrated upon them. The churches of the world have always spurrned education because as all the world knows knowledge will set you free.. even from the clutches of religion. That is why the church has always opposed intellectual progress keeping people in the dark ages keeps them ignorant and easy to manipulate. From that video alone I can see that we should focus on educating the people in Africa so they can break free from the yoke of religion...

Answer 3

Witches? How do we know that these girls aren't bogeymen in disguise?

Aren't missionaries supposed to help people?
Oh, wait. How can you help people when all you do is teach them lies and hate?

Is there any aspect of Christianity that isn't a lie?
It isn't the root of evil, it is evil incarnate. This thing in Africa is just more pain caused by the greatest evil this world has ever seen. It is the one and only cause of things like the Holocaust and Stalin's regime. (Hitler was Catholic. Stalin was an atheist, but who do you think did the killing? Could it be, Christians? Why, yes, it was!)

And let's also think of the countless millions who have died and been tortured due to the ignorance the church has forced upon us. 2000 years of suffering and misery, all because the church decided to repress learning and science if favor of magic. The ancient Greeks and Romans had scientists on par with those that created the industrial revolution, and the church destroyed their advances. The only ancient philosophers whose teachings were allowed were those of Aristotle and Galen, both of which were utter idiots. The legacy of both of these morons is still with us, just look at "Holistic medicine."

Thanks, Christianity!

Answer 4

Missionaries are putting Africa back into the Dark Ages (or keeping them there) by giving them religion but never teaching about contemporary improvements to morality (such as treating other faiths equally or not harming children). The missionaries and their converted flocks believe they are saving souls, but nothing has been done to improve the application of reason, the importance of education in science and other real world matters.

By giving them a fundamentalist religion, the Africans here are probably incorporating it with equally insane indigenous beliefs. In some tribes in Benin, for instance, the parents ritually cut up their kid's faces to mark them with the pattern of the tribe. Until these folks have an education in philosophy, politics, and real subjects, nothing will change but the religious label.

Damaging a child's brain is perhaps one of the most despicable practices imaginable. It destroys their ability to think or imagine, and kids are the future of Africa.

Answer 5

That is the saddest video I have seen in a long time.
Sometimes, I think the world is starting to become a good place, and then I see crap like this.
With all the knowledge at our disposal today, why is there still ignorance and fear like this in any part of the world?

Answer 6

Poor children.They are the latest victims of the Draconian belief of religion.How many innocent people were killed on the banner of witches in the middle age?
Still it is continuing.There is no God for saving the
poor victims.Religion is a great human tragedy for mankind.

Answer 7

I think this is sick my Yahoo name says it all
I am a witch my self and it is hard to believe we are still being tortured and executed in this day and Abe
I just proves that if christians had their way any one who believed differently then them would either half to convert or be tortured and killed (even if they converted they would probably executed just out of plain spite)its sick sick sick

But hey despite their best effort us witches are still here


Blessed be/Merry meet

Answer 8

This question is a shame and a provocation brought on by political agitators, who stop at nothing to disgrace the mainstream of America. Obviously they have no conscience but think that by simply accusing the mainstream they gain the adherence of the lower-lower level of society.

Answer 9

Just because they say they are Christians , that does not make them Christians- True Christians would never do something this cruel and evil. This is what gives Christians a bad name- how about looking up stories about missionaries that actually help these countries- by bringing in medicine, to help cure diseases. There are many- again these "pastors" are doing evil in the name of Jesus

Answer 10

Same reason people used to do it in the Middle Ages. Fear and superstition. Ignorance, hate etc.