U.S. Evangelicals’ Role Seen in Uganda Anti-Gay Push

[kristus]

For three days, according to participants and audio recordings, thousands of Ugandans, including police officers, teachers and national politicians, listened raptly to the Americans, who were presented as experts on homosexuality. The visitors discussed how to make gay people straight, how gay men often sodomized teenage boys and how “the gay movement is an evil institution” whose goal is “to defeat the marriage-based society and replace it with a culture of sexual promiscuity.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/04/world/africa/04uganda.html

[Gez]

As bad as this is, it isn't the worst these guys are doing in Africa.

Needs some quotes:

Nwanaokwo Edet was one of an increasing number of children in Africa accused of witchcraft by pastors and then tortured or killed, often by family members. Pastors were involved in half of 200 cases of "witch children" reviewed by the AP, and 13 churches were named in the case files.

Some of the churches involved are renegade local branches of international franchises. Their parishioners take literally the Biblical exhortation, "Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live."

The idea of witchcraft is hardly new, but it has taken on new life recently partly because of a rapid growth in evangelical Christianity. Campaigners against the practice say around 15,000 children have been accused in two of Nigeria's 36 states over the past decade and around 1,000 have been murdered. In the past month alone, three Nigerian children accused of witchcraft were killed and another three were set on fire.

"Even churches who didn't use to 'find' child witches are being forced into it by the competition," said Itauma. "They are seen as spiritually powerful because they can detect witchcraft and the parents may even pay them money for an exorcism."

There's a scar above Jane's shy smile: her mother tried to saw off the top of her skull after a pastor denounced her and repeated exorcisms costing a total of $60 didn't cure her of witchcraft. 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. Twelve-year-old Rachel dreamed of being a banker but instead was chained up by her pastor, starved and beaten with sticks repeatedly; her uncle paid him $60 for the exorcism.

Israel's cousin tried to bury him alive, Nwaekwa's father drove a nail through her head, and sweet-tempered Jerry – all knees, elbows and toothy grin – was beaten by his pastor, starved, made to eat cement and then set on fire by his father as his pastor's wife cheered it on.

Evangelism: the act of setting more children on fire than the other churches, so as to seem more magically powerful than your competitors.

[exp(x)]

Or their push for abstinence-only HIV/AIDS prevention.

[Nems]

As a Christian, this is my response to the Uganda Anti-Gay Push as well as the issue of blasphemy being illegal in Ireland:

[Quasar]

And people thought the warnings about rising irrationality in the present day were just atheist FUD. The return of witch hunts and pogroms is at hand.

[Bucket]

Gez said:

Evangelism: the act of setting more children on fire than the other churches, so as to seem more magically powerful than your competitors.

I assume you've seen the video of elderly "witches" being immolated in a pit in Kenya.

[Aliotroph?]

Us non-witch-burning types need a bigger Logic Hammer(tm).

[Belial]

Sadly none of this is news to me, and actually it shouldn't be an unknown fact to anyone who semi-regularly watches CNN or BBC News. Shit like this finally gets at least some coverage in the mainstream media. CNN aired a very long segment about Africa's witch-children quite recently.

Now the question is, when will enough people start caring about it.

[Csonicgo]

SO I guess when the evangelical shitstains couldn't put a dent into american/european life, they decided to go down to africa where the tribal mentality fits in with their religious offering so snugly.

Now the three Americans are finding themselves on the defensive, saying they had no intention of helping stoke the kind of anger that could lead to what came next: a bill to impose a death sentence for homosexual behavior.

I say bullshit. This is Exactly what they wanted. The problem is, it went a little *too* well and they may face consequences for their hateful actions- which they deserve fully.

I've no sympathy for these so-called "Americans". They aren't the kind of citizen I would want in my country.

[Technician]

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHRRRRRRRRRRRRRR.

This really robs me of words...

[david_a]

Fresh Air had an interview with someone who wrote a book on The Family. It sounds like one of those crazy conspiracy theories, but these guys are for real:

The fundamentalist group The Family has operated secretively with the help of influential congressmen and senators who are members of the group to promote their anti-gay, anti-abortion, pro-free-market ideas in America and other parts of the world, but two sex scandals involving people connected with The Family -Nevada Senator John Ensign and South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford - have brought public attention to the group.

There's other Family news. Bart Stupak and Joe Pitts are connected to The Family. They introduced the amendment to the House health care reform bill that would prevent funds appropriated from the act to cover abortion and go to any insurance company that covers abortion. Pitts is a member of The Family; Stupak lives at their residence on C Street.

The Family is also connected to proposed anti-gay legislation in Uganda that could sentence, quote, repeat offenders to the death penalty

[Quasar]

We need to treat these kooks like they treated "communists" in the 50's.

[Bucket]

Unfortunately the fundamentalists' hands-off approach to their fringe group gives them the validation they need to operate.

[lupinx-Kassman]

First I see a thread about Blasphemy being banned in Ireland...then I see this one.

I can't think of any words.

[Darkman 4]

Belial said:

Sadly none of this is news to me, and actually it shouldn't be an unknown fact to anyone who semi-regularly watches CNN or BBC News. Shit like this finally gets at least some coverage in the mainstream media. CNN aired a very long segment about Africa's witch-children quite recently.

Now the question is, when will enough people start caring about it.

This isn't surprising to me as well. A lot of rising Evangelical churches are starting to push into Africa, so expect incidents like the "witch burnings" and what the OP posted to increase. :/