Church should play more active role in society

NAIROBI: The much contested security laws are now in place, the tide has turned, the winds have changed along with many other things.

It seems to me that the Kenyan legislature suffers from two complementary, but apparently inconsistent problems, which render a degree of civil society's legal activism necessary.

The first problem is that of too much ill thought-out legislation. The second is failing to legislate on important and sensitive areas, and brandishing tyranny of numbers even when it is completely illogical to do so.

With all these, therefore the lingering question is where is the church?

There was a time when the church was very powerful, at some point in time, the early Christians rejoiced in their civic duties, which they deemed worthy to suffer for because they believed so.

In those days, the church was not merely a thermometer that recorded the ideas and principles of popular opinion. It was a thermostat that transformed the society.

Whenever the early Christians took a position over an issue, the people in power became disturbed and immediately sought to convict the Christians for being 'disturbers of the peace' and 'outside agitators.'

But the Christians pressed on, with the conviction that they were 'a colony of heaven,' called to obey God on earth rather than man. They were small in number, but big in commitment. They were too God-intoxicated to be intimidated.

By their effort and example they brought an end to such ancient evils as infanticide and gladiatorial contests.

The sublime courage, willingness to suffer and the amazing discipline in the midst of great provocation, saw the likes of the late Bishop Alexander Kipsang Muge.

Others who joined the good fight include the late Henry Okulu, Reverend Timothy Njoya and a host of few others put their lives on the line in defense of their Christian beliefs.

They acted in the faith that right defeated is stronger than triumphant evil. They wrote about our struggle in eloquent and prophetic terms and marched down nameless streets agitating for freedom.

They languished in filthy, roach infested jails, suffering the abuse and brutality of policemen who viewed them as sympathisers of the opposition.

Unlike so many of their moderate brothers and sisters, they recognised the urgency of the moment and sensed the need for powerful action to combat dictatorship.

I take note of one major recent achievement of the church. Some of our brothers have grasped the meaning of this social revolution and committed themselves to it. But they are still few in quantity and big in quality.

The government recently initiated an anti tetanus vaccination campaign that primarily targeted the productive lot of the female gender aged between 14 and 49 years.

The Catholic Church questioned the rationale of the exercise, besides carrying out tests on some components of the dosage which revealed 'suspicious' presence of family planning components.

The government later stpped the exercise. This contribution was remarkable. The church acted in the best interest of the nation and transcended self as should be the norm.

However, things are different now. So often, the contemporary church is a weak, ineffectual voice and is at best, uncertain. So often it has defended the status quo.

Perhaps because some people in the Executive ascribe to their faiths and denominations and pointing fingers maybe counterproductive to the growth and development of their churches.

Instead of being disturbed by the absence of the church's voice in some critical matters, some enjoy the silence, which should not be the case.

This has killed many people's hopes.

Some current church leaders, in response to legislation of some laws that were an affront to some fundamental freedoms, including unwarranted caveats to the media said they were social issues, with which the gospel has no real concern.

The clergy must rise up and fight injustice because it is present and real.

Just as the prophets of the Eighth century left their villages and carried their message far beyond the boundaries of their home towns, and just as the Apostle Paul left his village of Tarsus and carried the gospel of Jesus Christ to the far corners of the Greco Roman world, so should the men of the cloth be compelled to carry the gospel of freedom beyond their own churches.

Like Paul, they must constantly respond to the Macedonian call for aid. Otherwise in deep disappointment the country will, soon start weeping over their laxity.

The writer is a politician based in Nyando Constituency