Monrovia — The supplications and penitent spirit that characterized the Liberia for Jesus Crusade will have no meaning in the drive for national restoration unless we turn a new page of our national history. This goes to say that Liberian history, particularly from 1979, has been plagued with unprecedented violence and abuses of the human dignity and rights that are guaranteed in both the new and old Constitutions.

The rice riot, the 1980 coup and subsequent armed struggles including the Flanzamington episode, the November 12 invasion of Liberia by forces of General Thomas Quiwonkpa and the upsurge of insurgencies from the 1989 insurrection to the present attacks on Liberia by dissidents, reported to be backed by Guinea, are but events that witnessed the killing of the innocent ones and the tenets of divisiveness. This period of time marked the turning of the history of Liberia from being a peaceful to a violent nation, a nation which has also experienced the problem of good governance.

As a matter of fact, Liberia was being ruled amidst security brutality, interference of a powerful branch of government with the weaker branches of government, the plundering of the nation's resources by a powerful few and the spirit of the general lack of honesty, decency and patriotism. The violent national history is evident by the refusal of the international business community to invest in this country, thus causing economic instability and social unrest.

By the latter, the young people, especially teenagers and school going ladies, who are supposed to be the pride of this country, are no longer valuable assets, instead they are immoral prostitutes who put their nakedness on display and pull down their pants for little or nothing in their quest for survival. Their male colleagues, in whose hands the future of this country should be resting, are but armed robbers, thieves and pickpocket who reign terror in the society.

In the midst of this conglomeration of crises are the indecent traditional cultural practices entering blood covenant with the devil, such as the practice of female genital mutilation practiced by traditional societies and the wanton killing of innocent people by heartmen, agents of some people seeking political offices and witchcraft activities that have the tendency to entrust mother Liberia with the devil.

The total result of all of these is equal to the armed embargo on the country, traveling restriction on officials and ban on the sale of diamonds from Liberia, one of the country's valuable resources. This amounts to severity of problems of the nation's ruined economy, political turmoil and socio-cultural problems, including lesbianism and homosexuality, which Liberians are striving to erase from the surface of the country.

With the nation weeping and looking for a place to turn, the Christian community thought that Jesus, the Son of God, would help only when faithful Liberians intercede through their Redeemer. Accordingly, Christian churches organized a government-backed crusade, which brought hundreds of thousands of Liberia together at various points to pray in humility, seek God's face and turn Liberians from their wicked ways, so that God may hear us, and perhaps forgive the sins of the nation and heal the land.

It is usually said that nations face the wrath of God when their leaders turn from God. Perhaps, it is because of this that the President of Liberia, joined the nearly five percent of the national population which converged at the Samuel Kanyon Doe Sports Stadium for this national intercession exercise.

I certainly do appreciate the humility with which President Taylor attended the crusade, when he prostrated before the throne of grace for the forgiveness of whatever sins Liberia committed in the presence of God. More than prostrating, President Taylor remarked ". . . this period, for me, is a period of thanksgiving, for we can feel it, we can proclaim it, we can claim that the Lord has answered our prayers," and added "Liberia will never be the same again, I can see that we have troubled the Heavenly Father."

From how I see it, the assertions by the President were not empty, they were spirit filled and I think the Holy Spirit led him to saying all that he said, including the assertion that " all strength and all power belong to God," and that there is a higher authority above him which authority he said is Jesus Christ.

With the President saying "Liberia will never be the same again, I can see that we have troubled the Heavenly Father," he saw, by the eyes of faith, that God has answered the prayers of Liberians and promised that Liberia will never be the same.

One problem I have with this aspect of the remarks, not only by the president, but by clerics spearheading this Christian campaign, is the blanket statement that God has answered our prayers. The Bible gives a recipe for the answering of prayers of national restoration in II Chronicle 7:14. In this verse, God said "If my people who are called by my name will humble themselves, and pray and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from Heaven, and will forgive their sins and heal their land."

The condition for God's attention to what transpired on February 22-24 is if God's "people . . . turn from their wicked way . . . " Do we turn from homosexuality, from lesbianism, from prostitution or from worshiping idols whose priest crafts are the zoes and the bodeos? Do we graduate from exploiting youngsters sexually for cell phones and the United States dollars, taking advantage of the impoverished conditions of their parents? Will we desist from arbitrary arrest of the innocent, their public flogging and molestation by some members of the security forces or will we desist from stealing the national wealth, and are we prepared to render the judiciary independent without interference of big names with cases? These attitudes in themselves are gods that we worship in violation of the commandment that "Thou shalt worship no other god before me."

In any case, I continue to insist that the Holy Spirit used the President during the Liberia for Jesus Crusade to set standards for national restoration. Had it not being so, the Dahkpannah leading the traditional zoes would not be quoting from Joshua 2:14 to have said "now fear the Lord and serve Him with all faithfulness; do away with the gods your forefathers worshiped beyond the river, and may I say in Liberia thus said the Lord."

In his theological approach, the President added "that if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourself this day whom you will serve, whether the gods of your forefathers" or the God Almighty? In all fairness, traditional gods in which the zoes trust are not biblically conforming with the principles set forth by the Almighty God. In fact, the Bible is opposed to tradition in certain respect, and so how would God answer us if we still adore the gods of the zoes and the bodeos. This is why I agree with the option by the President, for Liberia and her household to serve the Almighty God, and not gods of our forefathers.

However, it behooves all Liberians, particularly those in positions of national trust who have covenant with God, to break those covenants by changing such names as Tarnues, Dahkpannahs, Bodeos and Zoes from them, for those names do not adore the gods of our forefathers.

If we do this, then we must begin to practice honesty, unity, patriotism and avoid cheating, stealing and

corruption. We must certainly be sincere and get out of those social and political vices which would continue to frustrate our national desire for peace and end to warfare and international isolation. By so doing, God would surely answer us and Liberia will undoubtedly rise to nobility and the Liberia for Jesus Prayer will certainly earn the desired result.