Right now, Christianity is the most popular religion in Ethiopia. But forty-one years ago, if anyone were a Christian in Ethiopia, they would have been arrested.
In 1974, Haile Selassie, the last king of Ethiopia, was imprisoned and murdered by the military. Because the military were Marxists (people who do not believe that God exists) and gained power, they created a law stating that if anyone in Ethiopia spread Christianity, prayed to God, went to church, or even walked around carrying the Holy Bible, they would be arrested immediately.
For seventeen years, Christianity had been illegal. Many Ethiopians were arrested, including my father.
In 1979, my father, Afework, was arrested for carrying the Holy Bible out in public. He did not care if he was arrested; he would never deny Jesus. He was not afraid of prison, and he prayed every day, knowing God would rescue him. Being in prison was horrifying! Everybody, including my dad, would get beaten by the policemen for no good reason. After almost four years, God helped my father, and he was released from prison in 1982.
In 1991, the military was forced to resign, and this ended the “No Religion” law which meant that Christianity became legal again and churches were reopened. Now Christianity has been the most popular religion in Ethiopia for almost thirty years. This is why my dad says that America is extremely lucky, because Americans can have the freedom to believe in Christianity.
“Americans have to appreciate God,” my dad says, “because America is the land of freedom.”
5 comments:
That is so interesting Yemima!
This is such an intresting story of how this dad was able to come to America and believe in God without being thrown in jail. It really makes people relize how lucky we are that we can believe in whatever we want and we won't be punished for it.
JM-8
This is an interesting story that I enjoyed reading. AP 8
It was a very interesting and touching story that I enjoyed reading very much.
Our students have read and commented on this interesting story.Thank you for sharing.
Post a Comment