Christian persecution and its implications for the church

Abstract

For the early Church, her story is a narrative of great persecution that was aimed to censor or to a larger degree eliminate the Christian religion. Great oppression was experienced during the reigns of emperors of Rome, in particular during the reign of Nero and also when it came to the unpopular Diocletian reign. This kind of persecution was a conspired method of the emperors to force the Christians to worship the idols that they had set and also due to their political intolerance. Today in Kenya there is perceived high level of Christian persecution in North Eastern region of the Country, in particular Garissa County, arguably, due to its proximity to Somalia, a country that has never experienced peace for decades. This has implications for the Church depending on the level of knowledge, preparedness and responses of Christians. This study involved an investigation of the Christian persecution and its implications for the Church among Christians in Garissa County. The researcher used qualitative method and developed an interview guide with open ended questions. The composition of the population was adult Christians from Garissa Township Constituency in Garissa County. The interview questions were administered to a sample of 30 respondents in English language, the language known by both the respondents and researcher and then the data was carefully analyzed. The researcher found out that 90% of the participants had experienced certain forms of persecution ranging from death threats, economic discrimination, violent extremist attacks, social exclusion and opposition. Also several ways of preparedness were identified which includes; reading and memorizing the Word of God, Prayer and fasting, Reading Christian Books and totally trusting in God. In relation to how participants responded to persecution, five responses were identified including; prayer, staying and enduring, aggressive love and fleeing. And finally, several implications of persecution for the Church were revealed which includes; loss of life and properties, physical and psychological torture, unity of the Church and living the cross daily. The researcher has recommended the following: 1. To the Kenyan Church: Put pressure on the Government to beef up security in the region, the persecuted church should, where possible, be a vibrant part of the society, avoid giving unnecessary offense and bringing on “avoidable” persecution. 2. To the Christian Non-Governmental Organization and Global Church community: Offer Christian counseling and care support to the persecuted Church, continue to advocate both for individuals and for persecuted church communities, provide resources for persecuted communities, including Bibles, training for pastors, Christians, humanitarian relief and development assistance, listen to persecuted Christians-who know the challenges firsthand, need to understand their global responsibility for Christians under persecution and achieve unity across Christian communities in supporting persecuted minorities and as well make inter-faith alliances.