Nepalese woman burned for witchcraft

http://www.cnn.com/2012/02/18/world/asia/nepal-witchcraft-burning/index.html

I find this article disturbing on many levels.

My first thought was, what year is this? How can this still be happening in our world?

Next, I thought about the freedom that we have to practice our religion. But at what point does the practice of our own religion cross the line and demand that someone say, "No. This is wrong."? Unfortunately, the answer isn't always easy.

I was sickened by what this woman suffered while her 9 year child watched.

I was shocked that the 10 attackers that were arrested included 5 women and an 8 year old child.

The whole story is disturbing, but this sentence worried me too:

"Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai appealed to the people not to heed to shamans and faith healers."

This scares me almost as much. In the west, we have become a science-focused society, which in many ways is good, but we are so dualistic that we can't accept that shamans and faith teachers may have something of value to share with us. Connections to nature and the spiritual world do not have to be dangerous, but every time something like this happens, we say ,"See, look how horrible that is." And we forget the atrocities that have been committed in the name of science.

How can we find and use the best of both worlds, while at the same time putting restraints in place so this kind of thing never happens again? Where do we draw the line for what actions are acceptable as part of a religious or spiritual practice?






-- Posted from my iPhone