I can't be politically correct. I admit it. I am not even going to try.
Don't get me wrong. I'm not a hater, not even of those with whom I passionately disagree.
But I can't pretend that all religions are the same and that they are all good.
I could talk about this from the viewpoint of Scripture, which I do regard as authoritative. But my experience bears out what the Scripture says about religions who turn from the creator to worship the creature. And right now, my heart is burning with my own experience.
I have shed so many tears over the children of Africa. Tears for a preschool girl whose eye teeth were sawed out of her jaw to make powerful medicine to enable someone to get rich. Traditional religion. Tears for a boy who at one day old had his testicles and penis cut off because the father believed the child was bad luck. Traditional religion. A girl who was forced to laugh while she watched their friends kill their parents in order to survive. LRA--Roots in traditional religion.
Another girl who was enslaved at a traditional shrine so young that her mother had to go back every day in order to nurse her. A shy young girl who was enslaved at a shrine at 13, stripped and forcibly raped by the priest. So many beautiful children, so many precious lives, so terribly torn asunder. All in the name of traditional religion.
I am supposed to speak kindly of all religions, as if they were all equal. That's political correctness, you know. Sorry, I can't do that. I have seen too much. I have shed too many tears. I have felt too much of the children's pain.
I am not saying, of course, that all the troubles of Africa's children are due to African Traditional Religion, but ATR surely plays a huge part in their pain. Neither am I saying that we as Christians are perfect and have always done what is right. We are human beings, and I am painfully aware of my own sins and shortcomings and many of those of my brothers and sisters.
Yet I face the evidence of this truth again and again. African traditional religion is a major abuser of Africa's children, causing untold pain and suffering. Think of the little boy who had his private parts removed. He was deprived of marriage and fatherhood. He was opened to ridicule and shame his whole life. To say nothing of the agony of the actual procedure.
In ancient religions, certain gods required the sacrifice of children. It seems to me that those same or similar spirits are at work in African Traditional Religion today, working constantly for the destruction of Africa's children.
At Every Child Ministries where I work we have a motto that I believe with all my heart. We say "Children are Africa's (and any nation's) greatest resource--A precious treasure from God." Oh, how I long to help Africa's families understand the preciousness of the treasures God gives them in their children!
No, I can never be politically correct. Too many tears have washed it completely out of my soul.
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
A New Journey
I've begun another new journey. I've seen so many devastated lives caused by modern-day slavery and I want to be able to help more than I have. After doing some enlightening reading about attachment disorder and similar topics, I have decided to start studying again. I'm closer to 66 than I am to 65, but I have started courses which will lead to my Ph.D. in Christian counseling. I don't remember things like I used to, but I am asking God to help me. I need to be able to offer more to those whose lives have been destroyed. I need to be able to write training materials for our workers who help them day by day, and to have credentials that everyone will recognize to enable me to do so. I also want to be able to evaluate counselors who come to Every Child Ministries with different backgrounds and who use different methods. I want to be sure about what methods we want to follow and which we don't.
It's not that I need another thing to do. My life is full and overflowing already. It's just another of those tasks for which God has tapped me on the shoulder and said, "This one has your name on it." I'm excited, & I'm on my way!
It's not that I need another thing to do. My life is full and overflowing already. It's just another of those tasks for which God has tapped me on the shoulder and said, "This one has your name on it." I'm excited, & I'm on my way!
Saturday, May 7, 2011
Does It Matter Where the Power Comes From?
I just read an article that came out in CHRISTIANITY TODAY about what they call "Fake Pastors" in Ghana. In the article a fetish priest (occult practitioner) claims that over a thousand pastors have come to him seeking spiritural power from the gods he serves. Another woman is quoted as saying she doesn't care where the power comes from as long as it can help her with her problems. From my own experience, these are very common problems in Ghana and in many African countries.
A few years ago a Ghanaian pastor friend asked me to teach in his church. I sought God to know what I could share in only one session that might be a significant help to the people. My basic thesis was that as believers in Jesus Christ, we needed to seek God and His power alone. If we earnestly sought God and He for whatever reason did not see fit to grant our request, it would be better not to get our request. I talked about how God was all-wise, trustworthy, and always had our ultimate good at heart. I showed how Satan gives his gifts only with very serious and very destructive strings attached. I really wanted to make the point, so I told them (truthfully) that if my own precious child was sick and God did not see fit to heal that child, it would be better for the child to die than to seek power from occult sources. (I was not speaking against the use of medical intervention; I was speaking against seeking spiritual power from spirits other than God's Spirit.) I could tell the people were shocked. They had never considered such an idea before. I could tell the pastor was shocked. Apologetic. Embarrassed. In Ghanaian culture, getting what you want is of the ultimate importance. How you get it is not considered important. It's a huge mistake. My messsage did not impress the crowd that day, but I still stand by it. It was the right message.
Working as a modern-day abolitionist, I see occult power tied to death, child sacrifice, ritual abuse and slavery on a regular basis. I have come to understand that the gods worshiped in the shrines of African Traditional Religion do have some power. They can and sometimes do grant healing. It is ALWAYS, however, a conditional healing. It lasts only as long as the subject continues to live as a slave to the fetish. Those gods can and do help infertile women get pregnant. That child is claimed by the gods as their own, is obligated to serve the gods for life, and may be controlled mentally and physically by those spirit owners. For those like me who value freedom, it is definitely not worth it. Heal my child by making him a life slave of Satan? No, thank you.
My only hope is that these chains can be broken by Jesus Christ, the great Liberator, to whom all power in heaven and on earth has been given. I have seen that happen over and over again. When the power comes from Him, it is freeing, because the Scripture says that if Jesus makes us free, we will be free indeed. Oh, yes. It DOES matterr where the power comes from.
A few years ago a Ghanaian pastor friend asked me to teach in his church. I sought God to know what I could share in only one session that might be a significant help to the people. My basic thesis was that as believers in Jesus Christ, we needed to seek God and His power alone. If we earnestly sought God and He for whatever reason did not see fit to grant our request, it would be better not to get our request. I talked about how God was all-wise, trustworthy, and always had our ultimate good at heart. I showed how Satan gives his gifts only with very serious and very destructive strings attached. I really wanted to make the point, so I told them (truthfully) that if my own precious child was sick and God did not see fit to heal that child, it would be better for the child to die than to seek power from occult sources. (I was not speaking against the use of medical intervention; I was speaking against seeking spiritual power from spirits other than God's Spirit.) I could tell the people were shocked. They had never considered such an idea before. I could tell the pastor was shocked. Apologetic. Embarrassed. In Ghanaian culture, getting what you want is of the ultimate importance. How you get it is not considered important. It's a huge mistake. My messsage did not impress the crowd that day, but I still stand by it. It was the right message.
Working as a modern-day abolitionist, I see occult power tied to death, child sacrifice, ritual abuse and slavery on a regular basis. I have come to understand that the gods worshiped in the shrines of African Traditional Religion do have some power. They can and sometimes do grant healing. It is ALWAYS, however, a conditional healing. It lasts only as long as the subject continues to live as a slave to the fetish. Those gods can and do help infertile women get pregnant. That child is claimed by the gods as their own, is obligated to serve the gods for life, and may be controlled mentally and physically by those spirit owners. For those like me who value freedom, it is definitely not worth it. Heal my child by making him a life slave of Satan? No, thank you.
My only hope is that these chains can be broken by Jesus Christ, the great Liberator, to whom all power in heaven and on earth has been given. I have seen that happen over and over again. When the power comes from Him, it is freeing, because the Scripture says that if Jesus makes us free, we will be free indeed. Oh, yes. It DOES matterr where the power comes from.
Thursday, April 28, 2011
Abuse Follows the Same Themes
As I've learned more about human trafficking issues, I've realized that to learn how it works I don't need to limit myself to reading about cases in Africa, although that's my primary calling from God. Human trafficking and human abuse works pretty much the same the world over. That's why I was confident that when I taught my recent workshop of human trafficking, I could help those whose interest was centered on their homeland America or any other place in the world.
Recently I've been studying all I can find about healing and counseling survivors of sexual abuse, preparing to launch ECM's ministry to victims of the sex industry in a bigger way. And as I read about how abusers deliberately use shame to control and manipulate their victims, I thought about how the abusive LRA army that ravaged northern Uganda would force children to kill their parents or siblings, then tell them that they were so bad that even God would never forgive them, no one would ever accept them again, and their only hope for survival was with the LRA. The same old lies. The same deceptions. The same twisted messages. The same diabolic techniques. Satan is not very creative. God is the Creator. His enemy can only take what God has made, twist it, distort it, and misuse it. The more I learn about abuse the more I realize that whether children are forced into killing or prostitution, it's the exact same method of manipulation.
It makes it a lot easier to understand the old devil's techniques, because he repeats the same old tunes over and over in slightly different circumstances. It's heart-rending to see all the damage being done to the next generation. One thing gives me hope. God is Truth and His truth is stronger than all the lies of the enemy.
Please pray that God will continue to give me understanding. If I desire one spiritual gift above all others, it would be spiritual discernment. I need it so much in the work God has given me.
Recently I've been studying all I can find about healing and counseling survivors of sexual abuse, preparing to launch ECM's ministry to victims of the sex industry in a bigger way. And as I read about how abusers deliberately use shame to control and manipulate their victims, I thought about how the abusive LRA army that ravaged northern Uganda would force children to kill their parents or siblings, then tell them that they were so bad that even God would never forgive them, no one would ever accept them again, and their only hope for survival was with the LRA. The same old lies. The same deceptions. The same twisted messages. The same diabolic techniques. Satan is not very creative. God is the Creator. His enemy can only take what God has made, twist it, distort it, and misuse it. The more I learn about abuse the more I realize that whether children are forced into killing or prostitution, it's the exact same method of manipulation.
It makes it a lot easier to understand the old devil's techniques, because he repeats the same old tunes over and over in slightly different circumstances. It's heart-rending to see all the damage being done to the next generation. One thing gives me hope. God is Truth and His truth is stronger than all the lies of the enemy.
Please pray that God will continue to give me understanding. If I desire one spiritual gift above all others, it would be spiritual discernment. I need it so much in the work God has given me.
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Child sacrifice or child murder
I think it was about two years ago that I learned the government of Uganda had created a special task force on child sacrifice which was becoming so prevalent in the country. It is connected with African traditional religion, its beliefs and practices. About the same time, our workers became involved in helping a little girl, about 18 months old, who had been used for ritual purposes, her eye teeth cut out of her jaw for magical purposes, then tied in a burlap sack and discarded. Someone found her while still alive, although almost drowning in her own feces. She survived, but suffers from cerebral palsy as a result of her ordeal.
In talking with our Ugandan leaders again recently, I learned that the government no longer wants to call it child sacrifice. Instead, they want to call it child murder.
Immediately I thought of the victim we are helping. The intention was clearly that she would die in the bag, but she didn't die, so it was not a child murder. It could have been considered attempted murder.
But to describe it as child murder skirts around the whole reason and motive for the crime. The traditional practitioner did not try to kill her for money, directly, at least, or for hate or anger or jealousy. He needed her eye teeth, in his religious practice, for magical purposes. It was a ritual act he carried out in sawing the eye teeth from her jaw.
Every government, of course, has a right to speak of crimes and issues in whatever terms they choose. For us, however, we will speak of child ritual abuse or child ritual murder. We would be doing a disservice to the public by obscuring the fact that child ritual abuse and murder are common and are on the rise. It could scare people, of course, but to ignore a clear and present danger to avoid scaring them would not do them a favor. They need to be aware and to take all precautions possible.
We do not wish to obscure the fact that African Traditional Religion is perpetrating these crimes. Not all practitioners of ATR practice child ritual abuse or sacrifice, of course, just as not all of them practice child slavery. Yet many abuses of children do stem from ATR, and both its adherents and the general public need to realize the dangers.
Changing terminology or relabeling something does not change the realities involved. The reality is that in Uganda, many child murders are carried out for ritual purposes involved with African Traditional Religion.
Pray with us that both our workers and the African governments involved may have wisdom from God in dealing with these issues.
In talking with our Ugandan leaders again recently, I learned that the government no longer wants to call it child sacrifice. Instead, they want to call it child murder.
Immediately I thought of the victim we are helping. The intention was clearly that she would die in the bag, but she didn't die, so it was not a child murder. It could have been considered attempted murder.
But to describe it as child murder skirts around the whole reason and motive for the crime. The traditional practitioner did not try to kill her for money, directly, at least, or for hate or anger or jealousy. He needed her eye teeth, in his religious practice, for magical purposes. It was a ritual act he carried out in sawing the eye teeth from her jaw.
Every government, of course, has a right to speak of crimes and issues in whatever terms they choose. For us, however, we will speak of child ritual abuse or child ritual murder. We would be doing a disservice to the public by obscuring the fact that child ritual abuse and murder are common and are on the rise. It could scare people, of course, but to ignore a clear and present danger to avoid scaring them would not do them a favor. They need to be aware and to take all precautions possible.
We do not wish to obscure the fact that African Traditional Religion is perpetrating these crimes. Not all practitioners of ATR practice child ritual abuse or sacrifice, of course, just as not all of them practice child slavery. Yet many abuses of children do stem from ATR, and both its adherents and the general public need to realize the dangers.
Changing terminology or relabeling something does not change the realities involved. The reality is that in Uganda, many child murders are carried out for ritual purposes involved with African Traditional Religion.
Pray with us that both our workers and the African governments involved may have wisdom from God in dealing with these issues.
Sunday, March 20, 2011
48 Hours
48 hours. The name of a TV detective show.
48 hours. The average length of time a young girl has after she runs away from home before she gets trafficked into prostitution.
48 hours. The average time a trafficked prostitute has (I'm talking about one who is pimped or enslaved, which is the majority of them) after she escapes before she is re-trafficked into the same or a worse situation unless she gets adequate help.
2 days. Think about it.
Keep your daughter out of situations where she may be in danger of being trafficked.
48 hours. The average length of time a young girl has after she runs away from home before she gets trafficked into prostitution.
48 hours. The average time a trafficked prostitute has (I'm talking about one who is pimped or enslaved, which is the majority of them) after she escapes before she is re-trafficked into the same or a worse situation unless she gets adequate help.
2 days. Think about it.
Keep your daughter out of situations where she may be in danger of being trafficked.
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