Lutheran Church resists Ellen
As the debate calling for Liberia to be a Christian state continues, the Bishop of the Lutheran Church in Liberia or LCL has insisted that Liberia must be a Christian nation.
Bishop Dr. D. Jensen Seyekule, during th e observance of the church’s anniversary referred to as the reformation day, on Sunday at the St. Peter’s Lutheran Church in Sinkor, noted that for Liberia to be Christian nation, it would require followers of Christ to show their deals and efforts toward the up-lifting the name of God.
The Liberia Council of Churches had already rejected calls by some members of the Christian Community for Liberia to be a Christian state. The Muslim community here also protested against the request for the country to be a Christian nation – which many believed was founded on Christian principles. Early this year, they converged on the grounds of the Capitol Building – the seat of the Legislature, to demand that the constitution remains unchanged. “Liberia is not for Christians. Liberia is not for Muslims. Liberia is for everybody. We don’t want Liberia to be for only one group of people,” they told the Legislature.
Christians account for nearly 85 percent of Liberia’s population, compared to 12 percent of Muslims, according to the 2008 census figures. A 2012 Liberia International Freedom Report however, disputed that data, stating that bthe proportion of Liberian followers of Islam falls somewhere between 10 and 20 percent.
The reformation day celebration at the St. Peter’s Lutheran Church was under the theme: “the just shall live by faith” from the text Romans 1:17. It brought together worshippers from across Monrovia and its environs.
In his message, Bishop Sayekule pointed out admonished Christian to be examples because no sin goes unpunished in the sight God, and that it was a decent thing to understand the words of the Lord Jesus Christ by following his good deals and life style.
Nearly five centuries ago in Central Europe, an unknown Augustinian monk decided to nail 95 thesis to a church door, sparking a religious revolution. Reformation Day is when Martin Luther began the Protestant Reformation; it is a day remembered by hundreds of American churches of modern days. While the date of Luther’s call to theological debate was Oct. 31, or the Eve of All Saints’ Day, many Protestant congregations choose to observe the occasion on the last Sunday in the month.
By E. J. Nathaniel Daygbor-Edited by George Barpeen
