During the recent National Constitutional Conference it was evident that a lot of Christians felt vey strongly about the declaration of Zambia as a Christian nation. You might recall that as the conference considered whether Zambia ought to be declared a Christian nation several Christians groups staged several public demonstrations in support of declaration of Zambia as a Christian. The emotional fervour that Characterised these events made it clear that to these people the declaration was more than a matter of political prudence to them, it was an action with deep theological meaning.
During this time I had a number of conversations with various Christians on the matter and became aware that many people believed that the act of declaring the nation a Christian nation would make the nation a Christian nation. In other words the political act of declaring Zambia a Christian nation would have spiritual results; making Jesus the Lord of the Hearts of the people of Zambia.
Why do these people believe this? On the basis of passages like Mark 11:22-23 (‘And Jesus answering them saith unto them, have faith in God. For verily I say unto you, that whsoever saith unto this mountain, be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith’) and Numbers 14:28(‘...saith the Lord, as you have spoken in my ears, so will I do’) they believe that if their faith, symbolised by the declaration, will make Zambia a Christian nation.
It goes without saying that non Christians will hate this and say that it is essentially a group of people using both political and spiritual power to make them what they are not. The question still remains, is there a Christian objection to this? I believe there is.
I believe that the Bible has outlined how we are to make people Christian:
‘Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen’ Mathew 28:19,20.
On this basis I believe that while my fellow Christians are well intentioned they have not chosen a Biblical means of perusing their goal. Instead of making political statements we ought to participate in and support intensified evangelistic effort. It is only when we do this that Zambia w
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