A religious leader has disagreed with the statement of the Special Presidential Advisor – who said the current instability in the country is a curse that was prophesied in the Bible.
On Sunday, General Kuol Manyang Juuk said the conflicts in South Sudan are not the making of the ruling party, but a reality of Prophet Isaiah’s Biblical prediction that God will punish Sudan.
Responding to the allegations, Peter Garang Deng, the Provincial Secretary of the Episcopal Church of South Sudan believes that the Presidential Advisor has misquoted the Holy Book.
While analyzing the Biblical verse, Reverend Garang said the prophesied suffering of the South Sudanese people should have ended immediately upon independence.
“I cannot actually bring it to the current conflict that they are fighting. But I can actually take it to 1972. There have been many wars in the past,” he said.
“We can evaluate the wars we went through which can actually date back to the past (Sudanese civil wars) and all the way to the highest point in time in 2011 when they said they will hoist the flag and these people will be feared all over the world.”
“These things that are happening now could just be a continuation of disobedience to God. Any other nation is going through internal conflict not just South Sudan.”
The cleric urges the country’s leaders not to sit back and attribute administrative challenges to the Bible.
Pastor Garang also appealed to South Sudanese to reconcile with God by embracing one another and to stop hatred, hostilities and division.
“The message of God is very clear. When people go astray. What God wants us to do is to just turn back to him and repent and confess our sin, but unless otherwise turning away from God, behaving wickedly and dehumanizing one another, will only increase the suffering.”
Meanwhile, some members of the public condemned the remarks of the senior SPLM member.
Speaking to Eye Radio’s Sundown Program on Monday, a caller whom we choose to identify only as Moses said the leaders have messed up the situation after the country came out of Africa’s longest war.
“Why is it now that we have attained a country, and we start to mess things around and we claim that it was the prophesies made in the book of Isaiah?” he inquired.
“Now that we have a country, we have started misusing our resources, mistreat our own citizens and we say God has cursed us.”
“If the SPLM of the generation of Dr. John Garang cannot develop the country, then let them come down so that we give chance to the young people to develop the country, if their work is only to liberate the country.”
South Sudanese Christians believe that the Old Testament book of Isaiah chapter 18 refers to South Sudan.
The prophecy which dates to the 8th Century BC talks about the land of Cush in Isaiah in verse 3, describing a land divided by rivers where the people are tall and smooth-skinned.
The prophesy went on that these people, feared by many, will be punished by God for deviating from his ways.
While speaking during a thanksgiving event to welcome newly appointed SPLM member Stephen Dheiu Dau, General Kuol Manyang said the curse will continue until the time that God decides for it to end.
“I tell people we [SPLM] are not responsible and not to be blamed for this insecurity. This is something prophesied by the prophet Isaiah. God punished Sudan and we are the Sudanese,” said Gen. Kuol.
“We knew very well that Sudan has been cursed in the Bible. So, this curse continues to be until the time God will say enough is enough, now then the people of South Sudan become free, I don’t blame us as a punishment of God.”