A quote from the Old Testament, Exodus 22:18 (KJV) "Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live."
In this climate of radical fundamentalism and utter disregard for reason and logic, it comes as no surprize that born-again Christians are looking to their history for the direction of their future. Present day Christians are bringing back creationism, the Great Flood, even ol' Scratch himself, brick red skin, pointy tail, horns and all. Humanity has sent its eyes and ears into deep space, cured many of the plagues of old, and fed billions of people who would have starved not a hundred years ago. Yet in the middle of all that progress, together with our cutting edge technology, cell phones, iPods, Xboxes, and Bluetooth; we still have to deal with deadly religious ignorance.
This story strikes a chord with me. I've been a practicing Pagan for nearly 40 years. Yes, it's all mythology and the like, but it fits with the spiritual questions I have. I do not speak for anyone else, my faith is mine and mine alone. I could no more convert another to my faith as I could convert their fingerprints to mine. Each person is endowed by basic human rights to have and hold the religious faith they freely choose. The problem - no, the crime - comes when the powerful tell the weak which faith to have, which religion to follow and, more importantly, the consequences that will happen if they do not comply.
Forced conversion from native beliefs to Christianity has resulted in the single most devestating genocide since humankind emerged from the Olduvai Gorge those 3 million years ago.
Here's a short piece of the tragedy...(from MSNBC)
African churches denounce children as witches.
Pastors accuse thousands of children, leading to torture and death.
Pastors accuse thousands of children, leading to torture and death.
Sunday Alamba / AP
Accused child witches Jane, left, and Mary, right, stand with other children accused of witchcraft at the Children's Rights and Rehabilitation Network in Eket, Nigeria, on Aug. 18, 2009. Jane's mother tried to saw off the top of her skull after a pastor denounced her and Mary, 15, is just beginning to think about boys and how they will look at the scar tissue on her face caused when her mother doused her in caustic soda
Christianity has become an abomination. There are those who defend the rights of Christians to practice their faith but to this extent? This is more than twisted. I don't care how many 'good' Christians there are out there, if this bullshit is allowed to take place then the whole religion is corrupt.
Each of the 'churches' mentioned in the story have sponsors in the US or Europe. Of course, as soon as the glare of TV cameras are lit up, these 'good Christian people' feign ignorance and claim that the African branch is a rogue.
Hmmm, seems to me that I remember a certain governor of Alaska being blessed by an African evangelical minister and proud exorcist of witches some time ago.
Our friend, Max Blumenthal has the goods from Huntington Post...
"On September 20 and 21, I attended services at the church Sarah Palin belonged to since she was an adolescent, the Wasilla Assembly of God. Though Palin officially left the church in 2002, she is listed on its website as "a friend," and spoke there as recently as June 8 of this year."
So Mote It Be,
David A.
8 comments:
///""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."///
Welcome to a lesson in history, except it's going on right now.
From the beginning of the 13th century until the end of the 18th, it is estimated that well over a million people were killed in Europe because of their religious beliefs or as collateral damage in the wars that were fought over religion. You have all of the "heretics" who were burned at the stake, starting during the Albigensian Crusade in what is now southern France, to the Protestants and Catholics burning each other in turn, as one or the other would fall out of favor with the ruling aristocracy. Then you have all of the people burned as "witches" which was different than being burned as a heretic. The Inquisition was started in 1233 because the Catholic church couldn't wipe out the Cathars in the Languedoc by war alone. They had to use gestapo-like tactics turning neighbor against neighbor, and torture of course. And let's not even go into the Crusades against the Arabs or the sack of Constantinople, because I could write an entire other post on that.
It is called the "dark ages" for a reason. The only people with any education were the monks, and then they were usually only taught how to write so they could copy religious texts. In Africa today, few are educated, many are illiterate, and so they might as well be living in a Medieval period. It's much the same.
I always find it ironic that the Christians scream about the barbarity of Islam, when really they should take a good, long, hard look in the mirror. The frightening part is, there are plenty of ignorant people here in the States, and I am surprised that crap like this doesn't happen more often even here.
Ignorance is not bliss.
No, ignorance is a pestilence.
And it does happen a lot more than we realize. In the privacy and security of the home, millions of people are suffering in silent terror because of the mental and physical anguish inflicted upon them by modern day Puritans.
Thanks for your words.
Africans should be eating missionaries like they used to in the "Good Old Days".
It is my fear that as resources become scarce we will descend back into the dark ages.
good....................................................................................................
But I do see Christians doing such things. They have, they do and they will again. Thousands, perhaps millions of people have been put to death by the Mother Church for no other crime than having an opposing belief.
Innocent women and men weren't burned at the stake because they ran short of firewood; they were murdered because the Church didn't want any competition. Midwives, old women with a knowledge of roots and herbs, even cats were regularly put to death by ministers, ignorant of the fact that these people were the closest thing they had to a medical doctor. Cats kept the rat population at bay but that wasn't good enough to save them. This elimination led to a greater outbreak of the Black Plague.
Selective memory is a sacrament these days...
yes, selective memory is interesting....you rant about the christians without giving any concrete evidence except for activities that took place over 200 years ago....the taliban brags about their current brutality & even take pictures of it, since that religion believes all other religious believers must be murdered to get approval from "allah" who sure ain't the same as my God who is Love Incarnate... christian countries allow other believers to worship in peace....they are murdered in countries your religion controls....& for the record, those so-called christians from the middle ages & the witch burners from 200 years ago, were in for a big jolt when they died & found out they were not doing God's business....I believe from what I hear, your allah rewards you for murdering christians....sadly if you read the old testament you did not comprehend it...
There is only one true faith and that is judaism. All Others are variations of the same theme. Any wrong doings are down to the individuals regardless of faith.
Post a Comment