The Bible says there are witches. And the good book says they must be killed. Making this Old Testament brutality seem like child’s play, Jesus promises grotesque tortures that never end. And countless millions believe all of this to be The Word of God.
Like Jesus who demonized unbelievers, calling them “evil”, “serpents”, and children of the “devil”, priests in Nigeria have branded thousands of children as “witches”. And intent on creating Jesus’ hell right here on earth, these “children of the devil” are “cut with knives, thrown onto fires, or have acid poured over them as a punishment or in an attempt to make them "confess" to being possessed. In one horrific case, a young girl called Uma had a three-inch nail driven into her skull....Many of those branded "child-witches" are murdered - hacked to death with machetes, poisoned, drowned, or buried alive in an attempt to drive Satan out of their soul.”
“The religious leaders offer help to the families whose children are named as witches, but at a price. The churches run exorcism, or "deliverance", evenings where the pastors attempt to drive out the evil spirits. Only they have the power to cleanse the child of evil spirits, they say. The exorcism costs the families up to a year's income. During the "deliverance" ceremonies, the children are shaken violently, dragged around the room and have potions poured into their eyes. The children look terrified. The parents look on, praying that the child will be cleansed. If the ritual fails, they know their children will have to be sent away, or killed. Many are held in churches, often on chains, and deprived of food until they "confess" to being a witch.”
A Mr. Foxworthy who has just finished a documentary film about the atrocities says "Any Christian would look at the situation that is going on here and just be absolutely outraged that they were using the teachings of Jesus Christ to exploit and abuse innocent children."
Too bad Christians aren’t outraged to the point of seeing the light—of recognizing that their own “holy” scriptures inspired the torture and murder of countless “witches” for two millenia continuing to this day. Too bad Christians aren’t outraged to the point of realizing their own religious leaders’ primitive superstitious beliefs about invisible beings are little different from these Nigerian priests. And too bad Christians aren’t outraged to the point of understanding that their own beliefs in ghosts, gods, and goblins contributes to the social acceptability of such harmful nonsense and therefore also share the responsibility for these horrors.
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