Publisher's Synopsis
The Zambian 'Christian nation' declaration has given a new dimension of criticism to Zambia, which declares itself as living according to the righteous standards of God. As the declaration itself is a unique concept for Zambia, it calls for fresh thinking, if there is to be mutual understanding of such a concept. The Zambian Church faces the same daunting challenge that the church of the 4th century did when Emperor Constantine declared that Christians were free to propagate the gospel. The most important conclusion drawn with regard to the Zambian situation is that, despite the fact that 'Christendom is dying in most of the places and dead in many others' (Carter 2006:211), the Constitution of Zambia grants Christians freedom of expression to formulate those laws that will promote morally upright standards. Though members of the Zambian church have the opportunity freely to affirm their faith, being constitutionally protected by the state does not guarantee that Christianity will be successful overall. Christian nationhood can be truly authentic only when faith communities become culturally conditioned, when the gospel affects the way in which people live and becomes part of the values that the Christian nation affirms. I contend that the declaration of such nationhood remains hollow if the Christian ideals that it seeks to entrench do not affect the way in which people live and make decisions.
The sustainability of the concept of Zambian Christian nationhood lies in learning from the historical paradigms of Christian states that have now all reverted to being pagan states. Zambia's situation is based on the awareness that the church has a mission in the world to preach the gospel. If, in order to comply with the requirements of the declaration, the church is caught up in politicising the gospel message, it is bound to lose at least some of its integrity. The church of Jesus Christ will disappear, and evil regimes will take hold of the state and persecute Christians unimaginably.
When the church of the fourth century was tempted by Constantine's offer of respectability, wealth, freedom from persecution and the forced suppression of heretics and unbelievers, it lost touch with the true gospel; the turmoil that followed was devastating. I, therefore, contend that if the church of Jesus Christ in Zambia is to survive untarnished by political will, it must be more effective than the declaration and incarnate itself in the lives and culture of the people on the ground. The gospel should be embodied in the actions of Christ's followers for it to be accepted and appreciated. Such is the challenge presented to believers in the gospel in the 'New Israel' Zambia: the 'Christian nation'
