BY DAK BUOTH RIEK GAAK
I am offering advice pro-bono to all South Sudanese Churches at home and in the diaspora to work in conformity or in line with the biblical commandments of ‘‘love for self and the neighbors only, (Mark 12:31). People should go to church to seek wise counsel and repentance and not vice-versa.
The daily preaching of pastors in South Sudan must sincerely reflect the practices of renowned clergies such as Jesus Christ, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr, Rev. Desmond Tutu, and Dr. Timothy Njoya among other well-known teachers of peace, forgiveness, justice, healing, and reconciliation.
Pastors are supposed to be justice-oriented, fearless, and selfless and not be too economical with the truth as witnessed today in South Sudan. They must decide and dedicate their calling or respected profession to sensitize us on the vitality of togetherness, and integrity and to instill desired moral values at this time of need.
The Church is always there to speak for the weak such as the displaced persons, detainees voiceless, and not the wicked. They must educate the churchgoers to cherish and uphold Christian virtues and values without distinction.
All men and women of the ‘cloth’ must be torch bearers who speak the truth in times of crisis and condemn all immoral vices bedeviling South Sudan. They should be the ones persuading the embattled politicians to embrace change and diversity because political maturity is the acceptance of political diversity and makes politicians believe that there is life after abandoning state power, just like religious men are made to believe that there is life after death. The Bible in the book of John 8:23-24 advises us to tell the truth and the truth shall set us free. The questions we are bringing forth are: Did the church go to war or it has been compromised? Where is the Church and what role is it doing at this time when South Sudan is on its knees? Can’t someone see or feel the grave silence of the church today and what does that gesture amount to?
In our view, the answer is the former. It is undoubtedly and undeniable that the Church is frontally at war in South Sudan. What we hear and see in church during Sabbath days is different and unexpected.
The Church in South Sudan has now become a breeding ground for warmongers, and ethnic chauvinists. People go to church every Sunday to boost the morale of the armed combatants instead of providing counseling sessions and teaching the ring leaders how to seek change in none non-violent way. Most churches have now become extensions of armed movements that are killing innocent people in South Sudan.
More often than seldom, you will find pastors deviating from the main verse read in the Bible and begin preaching ethnic politics that only inflame worshippers’ emotions, and when they talk, you can tell who they are working for.
It is crystal clear; Pastors in South Sudan are hiding behind their tribesmen on the battlefields, and this must come to an end unless we admit to perish together.
The churches have scored poorly in the ongoing quest for peace and justice in South Sudan. They have gotten a clean nil and history will judge them harshly. The church has shown ‘unprecedented indifference’ in all solution-seeking processes since war erupted in December 2013 and in addition, they are sabotaging and jeopardizing the process of peace.
They are using their deafening silence as a pretext for exercising neutrality, but they don’t know neutrality does not mean silence or inaction. Neutrality means getting involved in the resolution of problems by telling the truth as it is, and therefore providing objective solutions to end the existing discord permanently.
The adage tells us that “it is not the activity of the rascals that destroy society but the inactivity of the good people.” I now challenge the Churches in South Sudan to take their rightful place and be counted.
I urge the Churches to use their influence and numerical strength to end fighting rather than beating the drum of war. They should preach forgiveness and help create a unitary leadership that is people-centered, respects the Constitution, and upholds the rule of law. Let the churchmen come out and wipe the tears of the weeping South Sudanese by telling the truth to those who are frying our innocent citizenry in the scorching sun in internally displaced camps. I now call on the church to take the lead in phase three of peace, reconciliation, and healing as soon as the High-Level Mediation/Tumaini Initiative for South Sudan is established in a few months to come.
Let the Church in South Sudan grab the available opportunity to sensitize the impoverished and divided populace about the peace agreement and to be at the forefront of its implementation process.
Through the Church, the citizens of South Sudan can realize their commonality in terms of history and their destiny. It is said that “all human beings are created equal before God that is Religion. All human beings are equal before the law and that is Jurisprudence. The Genome Project of 1998 established that we are 99.9 percent the same regardless of tribe, race, or sex and that is science. So divisions however are socially produced, magnified, and commodified, and that is politics. Whether we want to be together or divided is a choice we make. It is not preordained.”
The church can provide light in times of this extreme darkness facing our country and this is the opportune time than ever before to demonstrate that high responsibility, failure to which, the Church as an institution risks losing its relevance. As such, we may either shun it or demand its closure pending its internal reform and revitalization. The church was traditionally immune or exempted from being regulated or subjected to checks and balances because we assumed they were holy places under the careful watch of men with integrity.
However, suppose there is empirical evidence showing that they are perpetuating and inciting violence and division among our communities. In that case, we shall devise a mechanism to curtail such unprofessional behaviors, and those church officers will be in for a rude shock. Historically, Jesus Christ was the first man to chase away rogue pastors who converted the Church into a marketplace. We believe the church will listen to us, promptly make a U-turn, and do the right thing first. We shall retreat but not surrender, for we shall overcome.
The writer is the National Chairperson of Legal and Constitutional Affairs at the South Sudan People’s Movement/Army (SSPM/A) and can be reached via eligodakb@yahoo.com.
The views expressed in ‘opinion’ articles published by Radio Tamazuj are solely those of the writer. The veracity of any claims made is the responsibility of the author, not Radio Tamazuj.