We Forget

At the Sudanese church today, they were having a ceremony to honor the teachers who are instructing the children in the Dinka language. We recently watched the Sudanese get very enthused about the elections and formation of a new nation of South Sudan. This is church. Sunday services. In America, we forget how much Christian is a description of an identity, with encompassing cultural as well as intellectual drivers. It is as much a strength as a weakness in the long run, I suppose, because it does keep them in the mindset of their religion as seamlessly integrated with the rest of their existence - something we have lost in the West, with our marketplace-of-ideas religious culture. But it keeps those elements of belief I consider paramount on the back burner at times. And I am not there to support their language, customs, or politics, though I do understand that they are not easily separated, and have no objection to what they've got. I saw the same thing in Eastern Europe, and have read about it in the history of just about any place on earth: people's religions are often not particularly concerned with doctrinal understandings, but with what side they were born onto and will die on. From an American perspective, Northern Ireland doesn't look much like a religious war, but a tribal war where the tribes come from different Christian branches, neither of which is much understood by its adherents. For African groups, square that.

Independence For South Sudan

Update: Photos are up



We attended the Manchester celebration of the new Republic of South Sudan. (No, that's not anywhere in New England above.) A few people told us they had been up all night watching the events in Juba, the new capital. A misty-eyed time, and the Sudanese did not shrink from mentioning their suffering, despite their joy. There was a great deal of talk about self-improvement and education for the sake of the community and the nation, not just for oneself. We always wonder how such will hold up after a generation.

There were a few references to being good to enemies, which I found touching, and likely even harder to sustain. The Arab persecution of South Sudan has been unimaginable.

We saw a few people we knew, and a few of the children recognised us. We didn't take pictures, as we knew Sponge and his wife would be there, and he is a much better photographer than I. Whether he will run those pictures at his blogsite or at Life For Sudan, I don't know, but keep an eye out over the next few days.

South Sudan

Pray that it goes well in Sudan from here. 99% turnout, 99% in favor of secession. (Christian Science Monitor photo)

Sudanese Elections

Sponge-Headed Scienceman, cofounder of Life For Sudan, has some thoughts about a Sudanese friend, now back in that country for the elections.