\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>In addition,
\nthousands of children have suffered torture at the hands of “exorcists” who
\ncharged their impoverished parents vast sums to cleanse their children of
\nwitchery.<\/p>\nIn Eket, Nigeria, local police try to stop the worst
\nabuses.\u00a0 <\/span>But they confess, “We
\ncannot afford to make enemies of all the churches around here” and say that the
\n“vast majority” are involved in the practice.<\/p>\nSince the 2002 publication of historian Philip Jenkins’ fine
\nbook, The Next Christendom, <\/i>it has
\nbecome popular in some Christian circles to romanticize African Christianity as
\nmore orthodox, spiritually vital, and morally pure than western
\nChristianity.\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Although
\nJenkins did not specifically say so (and it is a bit misreading to so claim),
\nhis readers have often depicted western Christianity as a tired and corrupt
\ntradition awaiting the energy, insight, and vibrancy of a new Reformation
\nspringing from Africa that would remake the Jesus-faith for the future.\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Indeed, some critics of western
\nChristianity–as in the case of the Episcopal Church in the U.S.–embraced this
\nanalysis so completely that they have forged ties with various African churches
\nin order to destroy the western forms of their denominations in favor of a new,
\n“more orthodox,” Africanized version.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nThe combination of Jenkins’ argument and its politicization
\nby North American conservatives has sapped the confidence of some western
\ndenominations–thinking that their historical day was somehow over in favor of
\nChristianity in other parts of the world.<\/p>\n
But stories like this witchcraft story prove otherwise.\u00a0 <\/span>African Christianity is as vast and
\ndiverse as American Christianity.\u00a0
\n<\/span>Some of its most vibrant forms are its most progressive types–like the
\ntheologies that fostered justice in South Africa or sponsored the Truth and
\nReconciliation movements.\u00a0 <\/span>And, as
\nthe Associated Press points out, some of its most regressive forms are its most
\nliteral–like small town pastors who kill children they think to be
\nwitches.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nAnd it also shows that western Christianity–especially its
\nliberal and progressive versions–has something important to say in today’s world.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>A few hundred years ago, western
\nChristians killed witches, too.\u00a0 <\/span>In
\nplaces like Massachusetts.\u00a0 <\/span>And
\nthey also interpreted the Bible literally–“You shall not allow a witch to
\nlive.”<\/p>\nOur ancestors figured out that was a stupid interpretation
\nand they embarked on a long theological quest to figure out what the Bible does
\nand does not teach, how to understand it dictums, to explore its context, to
\ndiscover the meaning behind the literal words.\u00a0 <\/span>This quest–the move from pre-critical Bible reading to a
\ncritical approach to the Bible–framed much of Christian history during the
\nmodern period.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nContemporary Christians often take this quest for
\ngranted–because it was so successful.\u00a0
\n<\/span>Very few North Americans actually read the Bible literally.\u00a0 <\/span>Yes, there are those who believe in a
\nsix-day creation, think wives should submit to husbands, or burn books in God’s
\nname.\u00a0 <\/span>But can you remember a time
\nwhen a person was excommunicated for eating pork or failing to cover her head
\nin church?\u00a0 <\/span>Have you ever seen
\nsomeone bring his slaves to church? Have you witnessed a Christian being
\nchastised for “touching the skin of a dead pig” (that’s in Leviticus–think
\nfootball) or walk around maimed because he cut off his hand due to sin?\u00a0 <\/span>Even the most conservative Christians
\nread selectively, metaphorically, and contextually–and they do so because the
\nliberal, critical approach to Bible reading has been so thoroughly accepted in
\nthe west.<\/p>\nCritical reading is not the source of decline; it is the
\nsource of great spiritual vibrancy.\u00a0\u00a0And literal reading is not a source of spiritual wisdom or moral purity; it is the source of serious distortions of faith. \u00a0<\/span>Approaching the Bible with a critical eye restores scripture to its
\nprimary place as a collection of wisdom documents–the record of human experience
\nthat maps our understanding of God.\u00a0
\n<\/span>It isn’t a rulebook or a phone book or a history book or a science text
\nor a political science handbook.\u00a0
\n<\/span>The Bible must be understood in its context, as a series of different
\nliterary genres, as an inspired collection of ancient tales about life, God,
\nand faith.\u00a0 <\/span>In this way, it
\npossesses great insight into the human condition, about how to love, and about
\nwise living.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nWestern Christianity is a great tradition.\u00a0 <\/span>We’ve done things wrong–that goes
\nwithout saying.\u00a0 <\/span>But we also are
\nfull of life, insight, and wisdom from historical experience.\u00a0 <\/span>We’ve been around for a long
\nwhile.\u00a0 <\/span>We’ve learned a thing or
\ntwo.\u00a0 <\/span>Like it isn’t a good idea to read
\nthe Bible literally.\u00a0 <\/span>That killing
\nand torture are wrong.\u00a0 <\/span>Always
\nwrong.\u00a0 <\/span>Especially in the name of
\nGod.\u00a0 <\/span>Most especially when it
\ninvolves the innocent and oppressed.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nOnce upon a time, western Christians tried to inflict our
\nviews on Africans.\u00a0 <\/span>That, too, was
\na bad idea and came from a misreading of the Bible.\u00a0 <\/span>But maybe if we shared what we’ve learned about God, Jesus, scripture,
\nand the Christian faith with humility and respect, we might actually be able to
\nhelp our African brothers and sisters avoid some of our stupidest
\nmistakes.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Some African churches have taken a frightening literal turn:\u00a0accusing children of witchcraft and torturing or killing them to purify their souls.\u00a0 Over the weekend, the Associated Press reported that more than 15,000 Nigerian children have been accused of being witches in the last decade, with around 1,000 of those children murdered because of the accusation.\u00a0…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":66,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32,21,370],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-602","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-christians","category-hate-crimes","category-torture"],"yoast_head":"\n
Witchcraft and Children in Africa: How to Read the Bible Badly - Progressive Revival<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/progressiverevival\/2009\/10\/witchcraft-and-african-children.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Witchcraft and Children in Africa: How to Read the Bible Badly - Progressive Revival\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Some African churches have taken a frightening literal turn:\u00a0accusing children of witchcraft and torturing or killing them to purify their souls.\u00a0 Over the weekend, the Associated Press reported that more than 15,000 Nigerian children have been accused of being witches in the last decade, with around 1,000 of those children murdered because of the accusation.\u00a0…\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/progressiverevival\/2009\/10\/witchcraft-and-african-children.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Progressive Revival\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2009-10-19T12:23:06+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Diana Butler Bass\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Witchcraft and Children in Africa: How to Read the Bible Badly - 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She holds a Ph.D. in religious studies from Duke University and is the author of seven books including A People\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s History of Christianity: the Other Side of the Story (HarperOne, 2009) Her best-selling Christianity for the Rest of Us (2006) was named as one of the best religion books of the year by Publishers Weekly and Christian Century, won the Book of the Year Award from the Academy of Parish Clergy, and was featured in a cover story in USA TODAY. Diana regularly consults with religious organizations, leads conferences for religious leaders, and teaches and preaches in a variety of venues. She regularly comments on religion, politics, and culture in the media including USA TODAY, Time, Newsweek, The Washington Post, CNN, FOX, PBS, and NPR. From 1995-2000, she wrote a weekly column on American religion for the New York Times Syndicate. She has written widely in the religious press, including Sojourners, Christian Century, Clergy Journal, and Congregations. From 2002 to 2006, she was the Project Director of a national Lilly Endowment funded study of mainline Protestant vitality\u00e2\u20ac\u201da project featured in Newsweek, U.S. News and World Report, the Washington Post and the Los Angeles Times. Diana also serves on the board of directors of the Beatitudes Society. Diana has taught at Westmont College, the University of California at Santa Barbara, Macalester College, Rhodes College, and the Virginia Theological Seminary. She has taught church history, American religious history, history of Christian thought, religion and politics, and congregational studies. She lives in Alexandria, Virginia. She is a member of the Episcopal Church of the Epiphany in downtown Washington, D.C.","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/progressiverevival\/author\/dbbass"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/progressiverevival\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/602","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/progressiverevival\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/progressiverevival\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/progressiverevival\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/66"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/progressiverevival\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=602"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/progressiverevival\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/602\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/progressiverevival\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=602"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/progressiverevival\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=602"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/progressiverevival\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=602"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}