Witchcraft and Mission Studies

Abstract

all these deaths in the village, wrapped up in fishing nets, and beaten up severely." So recounted star Indian javelin thrower Debjani Bora, recent target of a witch hunt in the northeastern Indian state of Assam. The accusation and attack were spearheaded by a woman village elder later arrested for inciting the violence. According to BBC News India, police in Assam report that over the last five years nearly ninety people, mostly women, have been "beheaded, burnt alive or stabbed to death" as a result of witch accusations. 1 Such incidents occur incessantly and in various locations, as articles here indicate. Indeed, challenges presented by witchcraft and witch accusations have long been urgent concerns of countless Christian communities worldwide. Even so, the reality of witchcraft has escaped the notice of most missiologists and mission studies. This issue of the IBMR seeks to help rectify this discrepancy.We human beings notice what is important to us, but we routinely miss other realities that have little impact on our values or the daily cares of our lives. Thus, for example, over the last decade Internet connectivity has become a daily and conscious need for millions of us worldwide. In contrast, people in tropi-