The Witch Hunts Continue: Christian, Police Your Own Ranks!

Christian, God fearer, Bible believer, how long before this ends?
In November Jug Chaudhary, a 30-year-old mother of four children, was beaten up by her family members and paraded naked around a village in Kailali. They dragged her out from her home, beat her mercilessly and then forced her to eat human excreta. Her mother-in-law's brother had just passed away. She had been accused of putting a spell on him that caused his death.

Link.
HT: Harlan Quinn, and Gandolf.

22 comments:

Manifesting Mini Me (MMM) said...

For one thing, I do not see where it says that these ppl are taking on the label of 'Christian' but based on how carefully articles are researched around here, I trust that that is the case even though not documented in the post.

Just wondering here, but how can one claim to have been a former 'believer' and claim to have 'believed' and missed out on the main audience that Jesus was focussed on confronting and intervening upon???

Jesus told the truth about those who corrupt the supernatural and divine for self righteous abuses. He indicated that those who use His name abusively are identified as nonbelievers. So by God's perspective, this type of behavior is a secular problem, not one of faith.

This article also reinforces what Jesus said about how family members and those we share intimate connections with are the main influence in perpetuating abusive relationship habits.

Finally, just a thought, but how would people respond if these Kailalians repented and turned away from this type of inhumane treatment?

Anonymous said...

MMM, We have documented this before. Search for "witch hunt" here and find the posts. It's being done by evagelical Christians. That's right, Bible believers!

And did you notice the sub-title to the article: Medieval barbarity continues to blight the landscape of New Nepal

It was done in history once and is happening again.

What I don't get it that Christians won't own up to what they read in the Bible: "Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live."

These people believe the Bible. YOU do not!

John said...

John,

I think we live in a different time period where Hebrews states that Vengeance belongs to the Lord. It tells us to leave room for God's wrath. We are to love our enemies. As I see it judgement day is reserved for the time at the end of history. I don't think we are to take God's wrath out on others. Neither do I believe governing officials are to do so. I don't think Romans 13:1-7 is for today. Based on a contextual reading of the text I don't believe Paul set out a rigid doctrine of the State, nor of Church-State relations, but rather gave advice to a particular community of faith in a particular historical context. He advised the Jewish Christians in Rome to submit to the governing authorities. Such action would keep them from withholding taxes or from becoming involved in any anti-Roman protests through sympathy with Palestinian Jewish nationalism. I believe that because Paul’s concern was specifically aimed at the Jewish Christians in Rome, Romans 13:1-7 has no direct implications for believers today. As I see it Vengeance belongs to the Lord at the end of time at the Great White Throne Judgement.

Manifesting Mini Me (MMM) said...

Hi John -- you are a somewhat astute observer when you write, "These people believe the Bible. YOU do not"

Because of Jesus' grace, I have the freedom and the right (as does anyone) to develop discernment between divine and corrupt nature, whether it is in reading the bible or in relating to ppl in everyday life.

So to say whether one does or does not believe the bible is not necessarily the issue of faith - the more apt acknowledgement of a sign of faith would be, 'do I know love and the source of it'.

I actually believe Jesus, whom I do see represented in the Bible, but Who also intervened upon the potential for religious scripture to become a form of idol worship and justification to become abusive and inhumane. I know and recognize Him and Him alone to be the source of pure, unadulterated love.

Thx,
3M

Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Unknown said...

The only policing I expect out of xtians is that they put their back to the attrocity, and then say, "Move along. Nothing to see here." I swear, they were positively giddy with the Uganda "kill the gays" thing until people started to put together who it was that was actually behind the whole thing. Now look at them backpedal.

Harlan Quinn said...

Hey John,
thanks for the advertisement!
QuIRP is full of recent news articles about the harm that comes from faith based thinking.

thats one of its goals.
Gandolf does most of the articles for me, I work on the rest of the blog.

here is the link to all the articles we've collected on witch hunts, Christian, Muslim, Hindu, what have you. They all do it because they don't use any normative standards to Judge, they just know it because they think it up. They have faith they must be right, they have a mainline to god, they have access that the rest of don't.

here's a link to all the exorcism news articles. There is a strong correlation between exorcism and witchcraft, and i have a menu of quick links to all the following news articles in addition to real time news feeds in the sidebar:
* * Animal Sacrifice
* * Civil Rights (civil union)
* * Child Bride
* * Church Abuse
* * Exorcism
* * Faith Heal, Based
* * Female Circumcision
* * Genital Mutilation
* * Homosexual OR gay
* * Miracle
* * Prayer
* * Religious Exemption
* * Suicide Bomb
* * Witch

ismellarat said...

MMM, can you point to any organized body calling itself Christian that supports what you're saying? I hope you're right, in that there's something out there that doesn't have any of the "baggage" that caused me to take a step back, but don't see how anyone can draw a clear line between what's Christian and what's not, if you have the freedom to say that you have Jesus in your heart, but that the Bible often lies about him. How do you decide what parts are true and what parts aren't? Not that I believe that positing a god who embodies our highest ideals is a bad thing, if that's where you're coming from.

Tristan Vick said...

@MMM-

I also find it curious that you reject certain claims of scripture but not others.

As an ex-Evangelical Christian of nearly 3 decades I must say it sounds vaguely heretical by Christian standards.

As a liberated atheist though, I won't hold you to such barbaric teachings, since I believe our evolved moral humanism causes us to innately reject such repulsive and putrid nonsense such as burning witches or beating your slaves. I think you depict this higher moral sense in how you act, but you attribute it to the wrong source.

Even so, what intrigues me is how you can cherry-pick some bits of scripture, separate the good from the bad, and say you're filled with the holy spirit and have been saved by Christ, and this makes you Christian enough.

If you reject any bits at all this puts the reliability of the whole into question, Christ dwelling or not. You put your entire faith into doubt since it is predicated on what your sacred holy book contains in its tenets of faith.

Since you would have no concept of Christ but for the Gospels and Bible, it doesn't make sense to just reject it when you don't like it, but rely upon it to inform you about your relationship with Christ when it suits you.

It seems a little double-faced to me. You can either take it or leave it for what it is. But you can't just make it into whatever you desire it to be while blatantly ignoring what it is. That's not being objective.

So I'm curious as to what your justification is (other than the little Jesus inside you says... because as mentioned... that doesn't solve the problem).

ismellarat said...

As long as there's no eternal "bad" to fear for simply having guessed wrong, I guess it doesn't really matter, anyway. I hope to find out that all wrongs will simply be somehow made right in another existence, and that could take many forms that I'd be happy with. I still feel I have much in common with those who still believe the whole package, and I think it's simply a matter of appreciating what's good, no matter through what tradition it's communicated.

paulj said...

I can't find evidence that this Nepal incident involves Christians. Am I missing something? Based on what I know of the country, they are more likely than not Hindu.

Exploring the Unknowable said...

It doesn't matter whether these people are way off the mark in their interpretation of the Scriptures. It doesn't matter that they may not understand Jesus' real intentions or that, according to Paul, a lot of OT mandates no longer need to be followed. That's not the issue here. The issue is, if these people were not indoctrinated by what they have been told to be the "Word of God" (and this includes the bloke who mentioned that they might be Hindus), would they be storming houses and killing people they believed to be witches.

Cole, you need to not preach to John here, but you should be preaching to Christians in the world who obviously don't get what you're saying, like those who feel it is their Christian duty to kill witches, or impose their beliefs upon gays or tell a woman who was raped that she can't have an abortion. If all Christians believed that vengeance is God's and that it's not their duty to go around and enforce His will, the world would be a strikingly better place. There would still be a lot of deluded people who believe in God, but at least there would be a lot less horrific manifestations like the one above.

Liberal Christians like Cole and MMM will readily take up arms against someone like John who points out the atrocious nature of this kind of act and the blatantly apparent source of it (religion) instead of taking up arms against other Christians that they are quite sure are corrupting their faith and miscontruing the words of Jesus. Your battle is not with John but with Christians who use their belief as a foundation for subjugating others and placing their faith above reasonable things like, I don't know, not killing people you think are witches...

It is frustrating that people like Cole and MMM find it easier to criticize John here than to agree with him, that if people are doing this stuff under the label of God, any God, that needs to be spoken out against and stopped. But no, any attack against representation of Christianity is immediately construed as an attack against them and their faith.

ismellarat said...

I jumped the gun, here. I didn't click through to the article, the country's name wasn't mentioned in the summary, and for all I knew Kailali was a village in Kenya.

But it's not the first time this has come up here, and persecutions of "witches" a real problem in supposed "Christian" communities as well:

http://dreadnaught.wordpress.com/2009/04/19/burning-of-witches-in-africa-video-of-accused-witches-being-murdered/

BTW, someone I ran into a few years ago claimed that the KJV originally was dedicated to King James, "burner of witches." I've tried to look this up since, but the dedications I've seen quoted always end in "etc." Is there any truth to what he told me?

Manifesting Mini Me (MMM) said...

Hi Anthony --- you wrote this, "Liberal Christians like Cole and MMM will readily take up arms against someone like John who points out the atrocious nature of this kind of act and the blatantly apparent source of it (religion) instead of taking up arms against other Christians that they are quite sure are corrupting their faith and miscontruing the words of Jesus."

This is quite a perspective you have applied towards what I have written - and now I am a 'liberal' Christian - amazing! Thanks for letting me know!

At any rate, you assign blame to religion for atrocities done in the name of the divine - I invite you to go a little deeper for the root - perhaps it is pride?? Pride infects both the secular and the religious - we have, as human beings, the right to decide if we are enabled to intervene upon such atrocities-- what's stopping you? If you care for these ppl I encourage you to get involved, but can you refrain from perpetuating the cylce of atrocity and not abuse the perpetrators as they have done to those who offend them???

And this, "
It is frustrating that people like Cole and MMM find it easier to criticize John"

Wow - I had no idea - honestly! I find John to be a worthy commentator on the problems of idolotry and I support his work as such.

You continued, " here than to agree with him, that if people are doing this stuff under the label of God, any God, that needs to be spoken out against and stopped."

Please, feel free to intervene as you are enabled -- I agree with you. I try to pick my battles with thoughtfulness and in accordance with my abilities, but on a personal level, I have intervened upon Christians who hold a scornful and hypocritical attitude towards other humans whose sin is more readily observed.


Finally, I don't know if you are aware, but I have written about how Jesus forewarned that there would be ppl who abused religion (even using His name) to justify abusiveness towards others (He called them the 'sons of hell'). I believe Him and the proof is alive and well today, don't you agree???

Take care,
3M

Manifesting Mini Me (MMM) said...

Hi Tristan --- You wrote this, "As an ex-Evangelical Christian of nearly 3 decades I must say it sounds vaguely heretical by Christian standards."

Yes,it does, doesn't it? I might have been burned in the past as a matter of fact. It is scary to go against the established tradition which can be idolotrous. The gospel message offends pridefulness which Jesus fully acknowledged does infect religious expression.

I can only imagine how terrifying it must have been for Jesus to confront the Pharisees, but He did and He was accused of blasphemy. He challenged the Torah and religious tradition, but also showed that He cared deeply for the OT folks - that He had no ill will towards them. He mentioned that they did the hard work.

About 'cherry picking' --- this notion of cherry picking is very real and comes from pridefulness - pride has the effect of reversing everything, so that instead of God defending us, we are tempted to defend God. When the onlookers were grieving Jesus on His walk toward His crucifixion, He told them not to weep for Him - that they were the ones that He understood to be in more suffering.He doesn't ask us to defend Him - not necessary!

In my opinion, those who cherry pick are looking to harmonize that which they have been taught not to challenge and justify scripture as though they need to defend God or make excuses for Him - something Jesus never advised - there is a scriptural recommendation to defend our faith, but God Himself doesn't need our defense.

Instead, Jesus challenged and confronted previous understandings of God. We can learn to "divide" the word which comes with the practice of faith -once we grow to trust Him, then we can recognize that which is of the divine nature and that which is of human nature (without being condemning of human nature).

I can say a lot more here but I'll stop for now.

Anyway, I appreciate the conversations,
3M

Manifesting Mini Me (MMM) said...

To Ismellarat who wrote, "I hope to find out that all wrongs will simply be somehow made right in another existence, and that could take many forms that I'd be happy with."

I can say, with confidence, that your hope will be actualized. Again, I will say this - and this is from my own firsthand experience- God loved me when I was an atheist and held an ulterior contempt towards Him. I believe thoroughly that the terms, "Christian" and "atheist" are misnomers and that there are those here who show more signs of faith as proclaimed atheists than do those who profess belief. (Although Jesus loves even those little religious hypocrites so try and see them the way God does - as suffering apart from Him in nonbelief!).

TTYL,
3M

Manifesting Mini Me (MMM) said...

I just want to add one more thing to what I wrote here, "I have intervened upon Christians who hold a scornful and hypocritical attitude towards other humans whose sin is more readily observed." My motive for intervening was originally (and ironically!) hypocritical - I found hypocrisy offensive but never addressed it within myself. As I am being set free my own hypocrisy, my motive is more in alignment with empathetic care and a desire to see others set free from suffering the pain and deception of moral conceitedness.

Okay, I'm done now,
3

J. Witmer said...

Hi John, I agree there is a lot of gruesome stuff going on within Christian ranks, no argument there...

...that being said, I think its relevant to mention that over the last several months of research/reading I have been doing re: satanism/occulitms it has become abundantly clear that there are many, many satanists who have a Christian "front" (I can think of at least two good reasons why it is to their benefit to do so). These people(satanists/occultists) are absolute masters of deception and they absolutely do not play "fair" - "fair" isn't a part of their moral code.

Also, many of the SRA survivor blogs mention that in their recovery from DID/MPD they have discovered Christian altars/programming. Amazingly a good number of SRA survivors have become Christians in spite of the incredible suffering they have endured (anti-establishment Christians, but who can possibly blame them for that!!!??).

On a final note, re: your comment about not "suffering a witch to live"....after having read numerous cases re: the atrocities performed by committed satanists/occulitst I am beginning to understand why God hates witchcraft with such a vengeance.

Here is one my favorite links: http://www.newsmakingnews.com/karencuriojonesarchive.htm

These people make Christians look like kittens in comparison!

Jessica J Colacuori Witmer

Anonymous said...

Hi Jessica, the problem with violence done by Christian people based on the Bible like the witch hunts is different than other violence. For if God could foreknow how his words would be understood then he should have communicated better. He is at least partially to be blamed for this much like the CEO of a company is blamed if the company doesn't know what to do.

J. Witmer said...

I don't think the problem is with God's lack of communication.

I think the problem with evil (whether committed by Christians or others) is that people rather enjoy acting out their own narcissistic tendencies.

It would be very rare, indeed, to find a person who committed a "witch hunt" murder who was acting from an entirely pure motive (free from anger, pride, self-ishness, revenge, etc.).

We're dealing with human beings here and I've been around long enough and seen enough now to know that it wouldn't matter what God COMMUNICATED to humankind or HOW he did it - there are a few of us who couldn't give a **** and are apt to do whatever we want no matter who it hurts. Wouldn't you agree?

The law you referred to above re: witchcraft was a judicial law. So, yes, according to Judean law witchcraft is a capital offense. I think that's a pretty just law considering the acts of torture, ritual abuse, child sacrifice etc. that have been known to accompany the practice of witchcraft. You might say it's OK to drink blood, as long as its not you lying on the sacrficial altar having your skin peeled while you're heart's still beating so that someone else can get high off of your adrenaline, KWIM?

Sure, that law, like any other judicial law from any nation around the globe can be taken out of context, abused, and manipulated for the sake of someone's evil motives. But, again, let's be sure to point the finger in the right place - people, not God.

Jessica

Anonymous said...

Hi again Jessica! So do you hold a CEO to higher standards than your God? That would be very interesting to me if you do. It would reveal you have a double standard, ya see.

You furthermore have to attribute extreme insincerity, stupidity and gross neglect from the church that systematically tortured witches for three centuries. It's one thing for individual believers to do wrong. It's another thing quite entirely for an institution to do wrong for three centuries (as just one example), but it demands a number of high level people to agree and the willing compliance of the people in the Pew.

And did you also know that eight million Christians killed themselves in the early 17 century over such things as the Eucharist, and the nature of church authority? Check out the eight French Wars of Religion and the Thirty Years War. Protestants killed Catholics and Catholics killed protestants.

One cannot impugn the sincerity of these believers. The problem is the biblical text itself and the lack of a foreknowing God's clear communication about what he wanted his people to believe and do.

J. Witmer said...

You do realize, John, that VERY VERY few Christians actually had access to the Bible during the centuries to which you refer? And...it is entirely possibly, indeed probable, that the leadership heirarchy of the church had at that time been highjacked for various political agendas.