Posted on 2004-12-17

Eritrean Evangelicals have responded in different ways to the persecution. These are some of the responses we have noted:

1. "God is punishing the Eritrean church." Some Evangelicals blame themselves and other believers. They feel that because of disunity and sinfulness of Christians, God is angry with them.
2. "The government is fighting extremism, (not evangelicals). If the government persecuted only Islamic extremists, it wouldn’t be fair and would not serve for the unity of the nation."
3. "It is done without the approval of the Eritrean President. In fact, the president’s enemies are conducting it to spoil The President’s reputation."
4. "It is bad and we know that the government is responsible for the human rights abuse in Eritrea, however, our priority should be our national unity and we should not do anything that weakens our national integrity. Besides, even if we campaign against the government, it will not make any difference. Our President will not listen to any pressure from the international community. Therefore, it is advisable simply to pray and wait for a supernatural intervention."
5. "The government is not responsible for the persecution, demonic forces are to be blamed. The government is simply an instrument of these forces. As Christians, our responsibility is pray for the government and cast out all demonic activity from our nation. A political solution is not an option (including involvement in campaigning against the government.)"
6. "Although demonic forces are behind the evil activities in this world, man is also responsible for his own action. Under any circumstances, whether influenced by demons or not, he should face the consequences. Accordingly the government of Eritrea should be held accountable for all its atrocities and be made to stand before the law of justice."

Recommendations

1. Prayer is the primary solution

• Please pray that the government would change its decree and re-open all churches.
• Pray for the release of all Christians arrested for their faith and for respect for basic human rights, including freedom of religion.
• Pray also for the Eritrean Christians be bold and stand firm in their faith, in spite of all the persecutions.
• Pray for a miraculous visitation of the Holy Spirit to the Eritrean Christians

2. Write to the Eritrean government, asking them to respect basic human rights and, specifically, to allow Christians to conduct their worship services freely within their church buildings.

3. Write to your Member of Parliament to ask your government to place strategic pressure on the Eritrean government to respect the religious rights of Eritrean believers.