Witchcraft, anyone?

Correspondent | Monday June 8, 2015 18:00

 

Well, actually, Mr. or Ms. Moswetsi, it does not.  Except in a person’s mind. No-one, no animal and no thing can in fact come to harm by supernatural means, and not one example of such an effect, from any time or place, has ever been proved.

But what does yet exist, to the sad detriment of individuals and society, is BELIEF in witchcraft - sorcery, boloi, satanism, call it what you will. And this degenerate “faith” can no doubt be strong enough to cause dreadful results to a believer’s body, mind and soul. It can in fact, kill.  Serious, yes, but only if a person of mature intellect and without being totally brainwashed (as of course children and youth can be) CHOOSES TO BELIEVE.

Strange, perhaps, that disciples of sorcery always point to the malevolent and bad “effects” of their dark creed: e.g. sickness of man or beast, crop failure, destructive fires, frustrated lust and the like - and never to any benefits which should in theory be just as feasable.

What is for sure is that dwelling on these “effects” (or efforts to obtain them) leads to discontent, jealousy, suspicion, depression/anxiety, and hatred - with such things as xenophobia and murder not far behind. So is there an antidote or counter-measure to these evils which can poison any society? Assuredly - and simply a change in belief. And atleast to us, Christians that merely requires an espousal of those immortal - even if sometimes difficult - teachings of the Man from Galilee. Especially the Two Great Commandments, themselves distilled from Moses’s Ten. A matter of choice again - in this case to embrace concepts of good-cheer and goodwill, which have over the last two millenia served to bring out the best in humane and compassionate societies.

No need to point out that during that time great evils have also been practised, largely by Europeans, IN THE NAME OF Christianity. This is to the everlasting shame to Christendom - but not to its Founder. And is thus comparable to today’s bestial atrocities practised by certain “Jihadis” (frenzied, cowardly, mysogonist) in the name of Islam.

And incidentally, there is no need to set traditional/ endemic/ noble African culture with its intrinsic acceptance of boloi, against European-introduced Christian beliefs. Britain, France, Germany and the rest were once just as pagan as any African nation ever was - or as some might yet like Botswana to be.

The home-base of our benevolent Faith happened to be at the cross-roads of Africa, Asia and Europe, i.e. Judea, so that during the might and aftermath of Rome’s empire Christ’s message naturally spread more easily north and west, than it did over the burning Sahara desert. But, about 18 hundred years later, it got here - and we are grateful for the fact, whoever the messengers were or are.

We are, thanks to Providence and such men as the great Sir Seretse, free people, and we do not need to embrace either the darkness or misery of belief in witchcraft. We have, Koketso Moswetsi and all, The Choice.  Use it well.

Yours faithfully,

M.O. Ditlhare.

Ralph A. Nickerson