In 2012 there was an account about ‘ritual widow-killing’ that angered many Papua New Guinean readers of the blog. The article claimed that this custom, from the distant past and of dubious authenticity was alive and well in the New Guinea islands.

These articles are the tip of a very large iceberg. A perusal of some of the mission blogs, especially the American fundamentalist ones like New Tribes, create the impression that hideous pagan rituals and customs are rife in Papua New Guinea.

One of the other common missionary claims is that its evangelists are venturing into areas where no European has ever been before. These pioneering treks are closely followed by the discovery of some licentious behaviour that is subsequently ameliorated through the power of prayer.

One would be hard pressed to find anywhere in Papua New Guinea where Europeans have not been before and the only conclusion that can be drawn is that these missionaries are extremely gullible or more likely, lying and not telling the truth.

Their motive for this deliberate deception is presumably to encourage recruits and to raise funds, most probably from the insular American bible belts.

Papua New Guinea is largely a Christian country. The mystical nature and colourful rituals inherent in Christian practise has wide appeal to a people traditionally saturated in magic, sorcery and ritual.

It is only among the educated elite that secularism resides.

Any writer who takes on Christianity in Papua New Guinea does so at their own risk. The only other topic that assures virulent reaction is homosexuality.

This risk has not deterred a few writers however. Some of the most popular, innovative and influential writers on the blog, such as Martyn Namorong, Michael Dom and Leonard Fong Roka, are secularists.

They are not overt however and don’t go out of their way to be offensive to Christians, they point out the inconsistencies and hypocrisies in as gentle a way as possible.

It is a wise approach that is informed by the Melanesian spirit of non-confrontation and acknowledgement of the right of people to believe whatever they want.

The other argument in this sense is the value of religion as a crutch in the troubled passage through life.

An atheist might believe that the world would be a better place without religion and the seemingly ongoing and destructive wars that rage in its name.

On the other hand, in a place like Papua New Guinea where the people have been failed so dramatically by all of its governments since independence it must be acknowledged that if anyone deserves a crutch it is them.

The Christian churches are not totally clean when it comes to corruption and greed however. Many church leaders are guilty of the same sort of bad behaviour as the government and its politicians.

That said, it must also be acknowledged that the churches, mostly the large established ones, provide many essential services, such as education and health that the government has consistently not delivered.

There are many dedicated individuals in the church system who work hard and largely unacknowledged.

Until the government comes good and establishes equitable services and opportunities for its people the established churches will fill a crucial void.

One day Papua New Guinea, like many western countries, will be in a position to decide where religion fits into its society.

The time is not right for that to happen but PNG Attitude and other similar blogs fulfil a necessary need to expose the unscrupulous religious carpetbaggers that ply their trade in the country.