Christianity is bringing harmony and tolerance to Africa. Just kidding they are burning children and babies as witches.

Evangelical pastors are helping to create a terrible new campaign of violence against young Nigerians. Children and babies branded as evil are being abused, abandoned and even murdered while the preachers make money out of the fear of their parents and their communities.

Almost everyone goes to church here. Driving through the town of Esit Eket, the rust-streaked signs, tarpaulins hung between trees and posters on boulders, advertise a church for every third or fourth house along the road. Such names as New Testament Assembly, Church of God Mission, Mount Zion Gospel, Glory of God, Brotherhood of the Cross, Redeemed, Apostalistic. Behind the smartly painted doors pastors make a living by 'deliverances' - exorcisms - for people beset by witchcraft, something seen to cause anything from divorce, disease, accidents or job losses. With so many churches it's a competitive market, but by local standards a lucrative one.

But an exploitative situation has now grown into something much more sinister as preachers are turning their attentions to children - naming them as witches. In a maddened state of terror, parents and whole villages turn on the child. They are burnt, poisoned, slashed, chained to trees, buried alive or simply beaten and chased off into the bush.

Some parents scrape together sums needed to pay for a deliverance - sometimes as much as three or four months' salary for the average working man - although the pastor will explain that the witch might return and a second deliverance will be needed. Even if the parent wants to keep the child, their neighbours may attack it in the street.

This is what happens when you introduce a difficult religion filled with contradictions to a simple and superstitious people.

The really sad thing is that the only reason that Christians vilify "witches" so much is that during Christianities formative years it found itself competing with established healers and other religious beliefs for the money and attention of the population. Calling everybody who practiced pagan home healing methods or alternative religious beliefs "satanic" was a quick and dirty method for getting rid of the competition.

And due to that kind of labeling, which we still see the Christian church using today, millions have been put to death with the last thing their ears heard being "Kill the witch"! In my opinion this particular religion has much to apologize for, especially since it is still allowing it to happen today.

This is unforgivable.

(I need to give a hat tip to AMERICAblog for this story)