Mark's Notebook


	I never came upon any of my discoveries through the process of rational thinking. - Albert Einstein

The Lord's Resistance Army

Christianity Today

Friday 30 December 2005, 5:16 pm
Keywords: Christian Topics , News Articles

by J. Carter Johnson in Kitgum, Uganda

Why the children of Uganda are killing one another in the name of the Lord.

The Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) is one of the larger terrorist organizations in the world. It has killed more people than many other violent groups, yet few Westerners have ever heard of it, since nearly all its violence is perpetrated in the border region between Uganda and Sudan in East Africa.

On a continent plagued with endless guerilla warfare, where war crimes are standard fighting fare, the LRA stands apart as an especially odious group. LRA crimes against humanity are so repulsive that its only former ally, the Islamic government of Sudan, jettisoned its relationship with the LRA to improve Sudan's international relations.

What began in 1986 as a rebellion against the Ugandan government has metamorphosed into a military millenarian cult. Its reason for existence is to perpetuate the power of its leader, a ruthless witchcraft practitioner named Joseph Kony, who envisions an Acholiland ruled by a warped interpretation of the Ten Commandments. He uses passages from the Pentateuch to justify mutilation and murder. He promotes a demonic spirituality crafted from an eclectic mix of Christianity, Islam, and African witchcraft.

Any resemblance to these religions is superficial: While the army observes rituals such as praying the rosary and bowing toward Mecca, there is no prescribed theology in the conventional sense. Kony's beliefs are a haphazard mix from the Bible and the Qur'an, tailored around his wishful thinking, personal desires, and practical needs of the moment. Jesus is the Son of God. But instead of saving the world from sin through his sacrificial love on the Cross, he is a source of power employed for killing those who oppose Kony. The Holy Spirit is not the Divine Comforter, but one who directs Kony's tactical military decisions.

Despite dabbling in the Bible and the Qur'an, Kony's real spiritual obsession is witchcraft. He burns toy military vehicles and figurines to predict the course of battles from their burn patterns. He uses reptiles in magic rituals to sicken those who anger him or to detect traitors in his midst. He claims to receive military direction from spirits of dead men from different countries, including Americans.

The rest of the article contains graphic descriptions of brutality, mostly descriptions of children required to kill other children, or be killed themselves.

http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2006/001/18.30.html

How to Help

Here are key Christian and charitable organizations that work with the victims of the lra conflict in northern Uganda.

Far Reaching Ministries
www.farreachingministries.org
951-677-4474

World Vision
www.worldvision.org
www.seekjustice.org
888-511-6548

Save the Children
www.savethechildren.org
800-SAVETHECHILDREN

Oxfam
www.oxfam.org.uk
www.oxfamamerica.org
800-77-OXFAM

Jesuit Refugee Service
www.jesref.org
202-462-0400

Write your congressman: www.house.gov/writerep

Here is another article about what American Christians can do to help resolve the LRA conflict.

http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2006/001/20.36.html