Category: State of the Nation

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CHURCH, POLITICS & POWER

The Evangelical Alliance of South Africa asked me to write an overview of Church and Politics:  Christian engagement with power, political parties, and leaders. Here is my summary understanding as a follower of Messiah Jesus.

Old Testament:  Creation Design and The Fall

God rules creation, but delegated authority to his human image bearers to rule on earth. We image God as we use our given authority to govern for good, doing the will of God on earth as in heaven. Genesis 3 shows how Adam & Eve were deceived by spiritual evil into rejecting their vocation to rule under God, with the idea of being like God. Human sin has always been the idolatry of self – pride and power – to be God, ruling without God. The result is exile under the rule of evil. To the degree human government is unaccountable for its God-given authority and power, not using it in service of genuine societal good, they image evil, doing the will of Satan on earth as in hell. 

In Genesis 11, God scattered/exiled the one united people, in prideful rebellion against God, into nations. And assigned angels over the nations to rule via the human governors (Deuteronomy 32:8). These spiritual powers – the gods/idols of the nations – became corrupt in self-worship, seducing earthly rulers with ideas of power. God judged them for not ruling with justice for the oppressed poor (Psalm 72 & 82). Judgement of ‘the powers’ is the rise and fall of nations, empires, kings, governments, political parties. The New Testament calls them “principalities and powers”: spiritual and earthly rulers, the authorities and powers of this dark world, against which Christ-followers do battle (Ephesians 6:10-12). The powers work via ideologies (ideas/beliefs), incarnated in policies and practices, that legitimize and empower the idolatry of corrupt character in leadership and society. 

But God raised up prophets to hold ruling powers (kings, princes, officials) accountable to his rule. They too became corrupt in uncritical support and blessing of governors, prophesying falsely to keep them in power – court prophets. Yet, God always had his true prophets who kept a critical distance from power, to be their prophetic conscience – wilderness prophets. They held rulers accountable to the justice and truth of God’s good governance. So, there was a separation of power – kings and prophets and priests – for accountability in the use of authority. The true prophets and priests who faithfully represented God’s kingdom, standing up to misuse of power, were persecuted and killed. False prophets and priests prospered by the favor of the governing system. Lord Acton said, “power corrupts, absolute power corrupts absolutely”. Only sound moral character can be entrusted with (God-given) power to be used for the genuine good of society and creation. 

New Testament:  New Creation and The Tension

John the baptiser and Jesus of Nazareth continued the true prophetic tradition. John challenged King Herod for his adulterous relationship with his brother’s wife. So, Herod imprisoned and killed John. When Jesus heard King Herod wanted to kill him, he publicly called him “that fox”, saying that Herod was a sly, deceiving, predator of his own people (Luke 13:31-32). More examples can be cited. They both stood for justice for victims of power-politics, speaking truth to power with such moral clarity and authority, that the powers killed them. But they did this within a new reality.

The new dawn of the promised new creation – within broken creation – began in Messiah. God’s rule was/is present in Jesus, confronting human sin, spiritual and national powers (idolatrous ideologies and practices), liberating people into God’s kingdom. It’s the paradox of God’s future kingdom already present but not yet ending all evil by taking over national government. That will happen when King Jesus returns to establish his (political) empire over all the earth (Psalm 2:7-9). We see the ‘already’ and ‘not yet’ tension of God’s rule in Jesus, making his followers dual citizens. First, of God’s kingdom: we live heaven’s rule on earth (Philip 3:20 cf. Matthew 6:33, “seek first God’s kingdom righteousness”). We do that as, second, citizens of our nation. 

Christians are “the salt” and “the light” in tension with political-spiritual powers (Matthew 5:13-16). Salt was a preservative, a flavourant, and a sign of God’s covenant (Numbers 18:19). Our presence restrains the spread of sin/evil, making society and the state palatable to God (salt doesn’t dominate food, nor is it absent from it). The Church is a sign of God’s covenant rule, stinging the conscience of the state when they do wrong, and supporting them in doing good. If we lose our “saltiness”, our prophetic witness, we are “thrown out and trampled”; i.e., God judges us along with the powers and the nation (Isaiah 26:5-6 cf. Luke 14:34-35). “The light” exposes and drives back the darkness of lies, power-politics, corruption, injustice – as we model God’s future society already present in the power of God’s Spirit. We are (called to be) the light of salvation and hope of the nation.

In short, Jesus and his followers were not apolitical: disengaged politically, as if God’s kingdom had not come or was only ‘spiritual’. Nor were they politicised: enmeshed with the powers, as if God’s kingdom was taking over government. They were prophetic: critically engaged in the issues and the power structures, as witness to God’s kingdom come. So, we recognise the state’s given authority and submit to it (John 19:11, Romans 13:1f). We pay taxes (Mark 12:13-17, Romans 13:7). We pray for leaders for good governance for “peaceful” society, as we model the “knowledge of the truth” to dysfunctional governments (1 Timothy 2:1-3). But, also, we resist and disobey at the point of state injustice and corruption (Acts 4:18-19), and/or totalitarian rule (Revelation 13).

Church History:  Enmeshment, Separation, and Engagement

The Church-State relationship from Jesus and his first followers changed when Emperor Constantine became a Christian (311). Christianity became the state religion: enmeshment of Church and Empire. Constantine’s ‘Christendom’ was a form of theocratic nationalism with Church leaders as the court prophets. It is ‘kingdom now’ theology in various forms, policies and practices, through history, to this day. Any attempt to not only influence but take over national government ‘for the kingdom’, is dangerous triumphalism, as in Christian Nationalism, Reconstructionism, Dominion Theology, the ‘Seven Mountains’ teaching, etc. Remove ungodly leaders and policies and replace them with godly ones. The Bible must rule. That’s not theology, but ideological legitimisation of political power. Jesus rejected it as idolatry (Luke 4:5-8). These beliefs produced the evil of Apartheid by a ‘Christian government’ in a ‘Christian Nation’ with ‘Christian Education’. Thus, the Church (its leaders) in a multi-party democracy should not identify itself with any one political party, nor have a Christian political party (like Islamic, Hindu, or Jewish party). Both are theologically and politically wrong – the domination of “the salt” – with bad fruit in history. ‘Christian’ attached to a political party politicises and destroys the Church’s prophetic witness, as it was with Apartheid. 

The Church-State relationship further changed (partly in reaction to the above) in the separation of Church and State with the Anabaptists and Pietists (17th century onwards, also the Enlightenment of the 18th century with the split of religion and politics). They believed, “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s” (Mark 12:17), meant the state had authority in socio-political affairs and the Church in spiritual-religious matters. Thus, they were apolitical, as in “don’t mix religion and politics”. It is forms of ‘kingdom not yet’ theology and praxis that, in effect, says, “Involvement in socio-political issues brings a political spirit into the Church, so stay separate and be holy till Jesus comes to save us. Just pray for leaders and be good Christians and preach the gospel. God will take care of the rest”. This is escapism from civic responsibility, handing the nation on a silver plate to the ruling powers, political and spiritual. Total loss of “saltiness”!

We must recover the kingdom-in-tension theology and praxis of Jesus and his followers. We are in the world but not of the world (John 17:14-17): in critical detachment for prophetic engagement as witness to God’s rule already come in principle and power, and yet to come in fullness and finality when Jesus returns. This does not mean individual Christians cannot become politicians in a calling to serve God in the political arena. And Christians in their own capacity should vote in elections and participate in socio-political processes (mentioned below). Church leaders must guide them in their choice of where and how to serve, for their own integrity and witness in party-power-politics. The Church, as Church, is the community that worships the one God revealed in King Jesus, doing justice and mercy in the world, a sign to all the Caesars/Presidents that Jesus is Lord and they are not. We are a sign to principalities and powers that this is the way to be human, with dignity and value as God’s image. But sadly, the Church is often more a mirror of the powers, made in their image, than a prototype model of God’s future but already present society.

The role, therefore, of the Church in the nation for Christians and The Church:

  • Prayer:  the spiritual battle of the powers behind.
  • Presence:  active participation in society and politics as good citizens in our nation, living out our ‘heavenly citizenship’, doing “good works” (Matthew 5:16).  
  • Proclamation:  preaching the good news of God’s saving truth and justice in Jesus.
  • Prophesy:  boldly speaking truth to power for the good of the nation.
  • Protest:  enacting prophetic truth in various ways like marches, conscientious objection, civil disobedience, and non-violent resistance of all kinds.
  • Peace-making:  intervening in conflict and division to make peace based on justice.      

I recommend a recent publication (2024) by Tom Wright & Michael Bird, Jesus and the Powers: Christian political witness in an age of totalitarian terror and dysfunctional democracies. 

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‘Neutrality’ in the Russian-Ukrainian Conflict?

Utter and complete shame on the South African ANC (African National Congress) government for its so-called ‘neutrality’ in the Russian-Ukraine conflict while recently receiving Putin’s foreign minister Lavrov on an official visit, and planning military exercises with Russia. 

President Ramaphosa and his team have no moral integrity by siding with the dictator-murderer Putin, who said at the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine his goal was to “demilitarize and deNazify Ukriane”. In so doing he has militarised and Nazified Russia. It’s been his plan all along.

But it’s been 11 months of genocide and mindless destruction of the infrastructure. He has murdered over 7000 innocent civilians, as verified by the United Nations High Commissioner of Human Rights (Google it).

As a pastor and spiritual leader in South Africa, I am ashamed of my government and I cannot be silent. As God said to Israel through the psalmist, “You do these things and think I remain silent, taking me as one just like yourself, BUT now I rebuke you and lay the charge before you” (50:21). 

The LORD rebuke you, Ramaphosa and the ANC, and Putin and all who endorse and support him.

Putin’s primary endorser and empower-er is his spiritual patron, the Patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church, Kirill, whom God will hold accountable. 

This is what Lazar Puhalo, retired Archbishop of the Orthodox Church in America,  recently said:

“Heretical Patriarch Kirill of Moscow continues with his Messianic delusions about ’Ruskii Mir’ (Mother Russia) and continues to support the mass murder of Ukrainian civilians and the genocide of the Ukrainian people, the unspeakable war crimes of dictator Putin. This is the true face of theocracy— a Church which thought to manipulate the State but was enslaved by the state in a manner that even the Soviet Union could not accomplish. Russia has been invaded by no one but is committing literal genocide on a peaceful, democratic nation. Theocracy is not ‘rule by God’ but madmen, deluded dictators, presuming to speak for  God. The Moscow Patriarch has taken his place with the leaders of the Taliban and the savage dictators of Iran, to the humiliating shame of Orthodox Christianity. Thank God for the Ecumenical Patriarch, Bartholomew I of Constantinople (who speaks out against Kirill and Putin)”
Though the quote is not taken directly from this article, click here for Lazar Puhalo’s analysis of ‘the Messianic delusions about Mother Russia’ of Kirill.

As Barbara Brown Taylor said, “Human beings never behave more badly toward one another than when they believe they are protecting God”

Lord have mercy!

Christ have mercy!

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Corona Relief and Corruption

Off-loading my heavy heart as lamenting to God before our nation in the Hebrew prophetic tradition:

Responding to this article, I believe Ace Magashule is beyond embarrassment, incapable of shame. He should start with himself and his sons – all accused of gross corruption – before talking about corruption in the ANC (African National Congress, the ruling party in South Africa).

What an utter disaster: The corruption of the ANC knows no end. It is truly endemic. Seemingly beyond cure. Worse than the corona pandemic itself, which officials exploit (the billions set aside for corona relief for the needy) in their own corrupt greed, further bleeding the nation to death.

Not even our President, Cyril Ramaphosa, seems to be able to stem the tide of corruption. He seems lame. We all had hoped and prayed for something decisively different, something better after the seriously corrupt Zuma rule that brought our country to its knees. I still pray for that decisive difference.

After millions spent on the Zondo commission to uncover and account for state capture, for the missing billions, no significant high profile arrests, no convictions, no judgment, no imprisonment. Eskom paid over R38 bn in inflated contracts. ONLY NOW is Eskom and SIU (Special Investigating Unity) seeking to find out how it can possibly recover R3.8 bn from former executives and the Guptas.

ANC and other officials have systemically stolen from the poor & needy, let alone raped the economy. And it continues under corona, when our nation/economy is at its absolute weakest. Utter and total shame on them. God sees it all, every little last deed of corruption. God will judge. On that day, God help the corrupt.

And God help us all, because the not-corrupt will suffer (are already suffering) under the coming judgement: Look at the long darkening road of corruption, human rights violations, bloodshed, dictatorship, that has destroyed our northern neighbour, Zimbabwe. That nation is at its absolute worst right now under Mnangagwa, after he was joyfully welcomed as a liberation hero in November 2017 liberating the nation in a ‘quiet coup’ from the liberation hero, dictator Robert Mugabe.

How can a man, Mugabe’s young general, who presided over the massacre of 20 000 Ndebele a fews years after independence, liberate and lead the nation into a new era of restored justice, peace & prosperity? Those Zimbabweans who naively danced in the streets in November 2017 soon returned to weeping and wailing when Mnangagwa proved true to character – though he claimed a ‘Christian conversion’ – evidently fake by its distinct lack of righteous fruit (no ‘coming clean’ as in publicly confessing his part in the Gukurahundi of the mid 1980s, and offering himself for trial before a court of law – means nothing changed in the man). Zimbabwe is a prophetic warning to us, to South Africa, in our shameless corruption, of what God’s judgement looks like through such corrupt leaders, who reduced the (supposed) bread basket of Africa to the basket case of Africa. The prophetic warning is LOUD & CLEAR, it’s on our doorstep. Let those who have ears to hear, hear and repent, pray and act to eradicate corruption in all its forms.

In your judgements, O Lord, remember mercy! (Habakkuk 3:2)

There’s a video clip doing the rounds of Utata Mandela speaking during the transition in 1993, saying that “the corruption of the Apartheid Nationalist government was endemic”, and the ANC would “stop THAT GRAVY TRAIN”. The ANC government would be very different, would “change the culture to live within the means of their community”, taking salary cuts to help the poor & needy. Utata Mandela is now spinning at high speed in his grave at the ANC gravy train taking our nation to destruction.

All the public promises of Ramaphosa on national TV, of Mboweni and others, are empty and meaningless until we see action, arrests, prosecutions, imprisonments, recovery of (at least some of) the stolen millions & billions of rands. Is there the moral political will and strength of ethical conviction to fearlessly confront and prosecute and defeat this corruption? I pray that there is, or that it comes to those who wield the power. God knows, I pray for our President in this regard. With God all things are possible! BUT we all have to pray up, stand up, speak up, and act up against this evil, to empower the will of the few good leaders that are there, that can make the decisive different we so desperately need in our nation at this kairos moment.

The ANC has deployed, and continues to deploy officials and leaders who have little or no CHARACTER… known bullies, arrogant liars, corrupt cheaters, blatant stealers, record criminals, etc. Management and leadership at any level in society, in business, in government, is about CHARACTER, CHARACTER, CHARACTER.

Leadership is about TRUSTWORTHINESS, HONESTY, TRUTHFULNESS, INTEGRITY, DILIGENCE, DELIVERY, RELIABILITY, etc. Don’t vote for, or support, any leaders who have corrupt character. Pray and vote them out of power. Confront, expose and report their corrupt dealings. Resist them with truth and integrity, with everything in you, with God’s help. It is a life and death battle in our country.

May God give us leaders of moral character who have the ethical conviction to courageously act for the good of the nation.
May God root out leaders and officials of corrupt character at all levels of management and leadership.
May God have mercy on the poor & needy.
Please Lord, we cry out to you, hear our prayer.

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SA Racism & Violence on International Display: What is our Response?

Last week @SteveHofmeyr and @ZindziMandela tweets put our history of unresolved South African pain and prejudice, anger and hatred, rage and violence, on international display – to our national shame. 

Steve Hofmeyr, not all whites are racists who arrogantly threaten death to anyone who might “come to take our land”. 

Zindzi Mandela, not all whites are “rapists… shivering land thieves”, and the other stereotypes you used to describe “them”.

Both of you derail our national journey out of racism to reconciliation. Both work against the vision of Madiba (Nelson Mandela) and most South Africans, of a truly non-racial reconciled nation – which is also the will and purpose of King Jesus for SA (Romans 14:16-18).

How do we respond to this?

As South Africans we are survivors of a history of racism and violence – the generalized violence that touches every expression of our beautiful diverse people. 

As Christians, especially Christian leaders – and more so to my white compatriots – we ought to weep over the blood shed on our soil, that it may be washed with our tears. Each drop cries out to God for justice, for redress, for judgement – unless we intervene before God and the nation, with intercession and action, for mercy and reconciliation.

On average 50 people are murdered every day in SA – an unbelievable horror!

We ought to put on sackcloth and ashes and ‘Cry, The Beloved Country!’ 

We have sown seeds of personal and structural violence of every kind, and we are reaping a whirlwind of judgement.

We mourn the long history of bloodshed in Southern Africa, from the violence of Colonialism that began in the 17th cen., to the Zulu wars and Mfecane (Difaqane), to the Anglo-Boer war and the Native Land Act of 1913, to the racist violence of Apartheid in all its forms and the retaliatory violence it produced.

We mourn the culture of violence endemic in our nation, now accepted as normal.

We mourn all the criminal, political and gang violence.

We mourn all the farm attacks and killings in its senseless brutality.

We mourn the festering wounds, volcanic hatred, hardening racism, and the evil powers behind all the violence.

We mourn the reality of fear that most South Africans live in daily.

We mourn the failure of God’s Church – the followers of Jesus – for not being the catalyst of change and instrument of reconciliation that we are meant to be. We’ve accepted the status quo, succumbing to the demons of vengeance, bitterness and self-interest, and the popular belief that reconciliation is an irrelevant idea that died with Mandela. The Church is meant to hold up the vision and work of reconciliation, through repentance, restitution and mutual forgiveness, for a diverse people who are  victims of a history of conflict.

We cry out to God for mercy, for repentance, for forgiveness, for intervention, for reconciliation and healing. GOD has the power to save us, personally and nationally.

May we all – more so Christians and Christian leaders – speak up and live up as Christ’s Ambassadors entrusted with his message and ministry of reconciliation (2 Corinthians 5:18-21). Let us not be quiet. Rise up and intervene every day in our context and sphere of influence, for reconciliation and healing, even if it costs us our lives, as it did for Jesus. King Jesus modelled and taught, “go and be reconciled with your brother and sister… confess… forgive… make restitution… love your enemy… as God loves us.” (Matthew 5:21-26, 38-48).

May we be ‘atmosphere changers’ wherever we are, wherever we go, making a difference in how we greet and engage each person every day with great dignity and respect as the very image of God. May we be slow to anger, quick to forgive, and even quicker to show compassion and alleviate the pain of the other in love.  

Nkosi sikelel iafrika! God bless (South) Africa!

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South African Crisis: Open Letter to my Church

“When the foundations are being destroyed, what can the righteous do?”
The Lord is in his holy temple; the LORD is on his heavenly throne.”
(Psalm 11:3-4)

“Cry the beloved country” – AGAIN – our nation is in crisis! A serious moral, political and socio-economic crisis. As your pastor it would be sinful if I did not speak out in this hour, speaking truth to power, and giving guidance to our congregation: What must the Church do?

Last night at midnight, under the cloak of darkness, President Jacob Zuma announced a cabinet reshuffle. He fired Minister of Finance, Pravin Gordhan, and his deputy, Mcebisi Jonas, and kept poor performing and corrupt ministers – clearly ‘Zupta Supporters’ in his system of patronage. He has made Malusi Gigaga, a corrupt Zupta supporter, the new Finance Minister. Gigaba is known to frequent the Gupta residence in Saxonwald, infamously called ‘Saxonwald Shabeen’. This is the most shameless blatant ‘state capture’ to control the national treasury and further rape the country’s resources. Pravin Gordhan’s response to this extreme act of state capture is simple: The nation must rise up for truth and justice, and organize and mobilize to resist – get on the streets and stop this evil taking over – else we will suffer the consequences.

Those who support Zuma in the name of “remove Gordhan because he protects ‘white monopoly capital’ and works against the radical transformation of the economy”, are blinded and captivated by the ideological defenses of Zupta corruption. Even Julius Malema, the most radical proponent of decolonization and justice for the poor (rightly so), does NOT buy this ideological deception – he fully supports Gordhan and Jonas’ integrity and competent work.

Our nation right now teeters on the edge. This can snowball into serious destruction, or be a turning point for good. How do we think Biblically, and not ideologically, about this situation? (Ideology means a system of thought and argument that justifies certain group interests over against another group – the ‘lenses’ through which we see, interpret and react to reality)

The Biblical idea of crisis is captured in the word kairos: a moment in time in the history of the nation that is a turning point one way or another, depending on our corporate choice. Kairos is both judgement/disaster, and opportunity of God’s merciful intervention, at the same time. We lived through a kairos in 1994 and chose a miracle of peaceful change in SA, defeating evil powers that threatened civil war. We are at the same place again as a nation. What will you choose? Truth or corruption? Good or evil? Action or passivity?

When the foundations of our nation, of our lives, are being shaken, what can the righteous do? King David’s answer is clear: See Yahweh, the Creator-God of the nations, on his throne, still in charge of his universe. Compare Psalm 11 with Psalm 2 and see what the Church must do:

  1. Not to panic, not be intimidated, not be psycho-emotionally defeated, not get all negative and depressed, and talk ourselves and our nation into a hole, into the hands of the devil.
  2. But this does not mean that we cannot, and must not, call it for what it is: pure evil. Some Christians bury their head in the sands of ‘positive confession’ believing that to say anything negative (to name, describe, unmask and rebuke evil) is wrong – that is Gnostic belief.
  3. It means, while we face reality full on, without denial and ideological blindness, at the same time we continually look up to see God on his throne. God is ultimately in charge, though he has delegated spiritual powers to rule over nations. These ‘powers’ become corrupt, as seen or ‘manifested’ in national leaders and governments. God can judge and discipline them.
  4. It means seeing things from God’s point of view: “Yahweh observes everyone on earth, his eyes examine them, the righteous and the wicked – who love lies, cheating, stealing, violence – which God hates with a passion” (11:4-5) God sees and knows it all. We can pray with his passion, that he exposes and judges and defeats that evil, as David says in 11:6.
  5. But it also means, we not only reactively pray for the downfall of evil, but we proactively love justice (11:7). We must model and do justice in our circles of influence, in our nation. We must show a different way of being the new South Africa that we all want. What this looks like practically must be discussed and implemented and lived. THIS is collaboration with Messiah to advance his rule of righteousness in the face of ‘the powers’, as in Psalm 2 (God laughs at presidents who chuckle while doing evil, thinking they will get away with it, 2:4).
  6. Why the above five points on prayer? Because we have direct access to God, the Ultimate Power over nations! To pray is to trust God and live in peace. If we pray for principled leadership, good godly government, as in 1 Tim 2:1f, God will give it to us.
  1. What more can Christians do? We must live our prayers daily by speaking up and standing up for truth. STOP lying, stop cheating, stop stealing, stop all corruption – expose and challenge it. Confront injustice; shout it out from the roof-tops.
  1. We can pour out into the streets to besiege parliament in the hundreds of thousand, NOT in the name of a political party, but in the name of Jesus, justice, righteousness, truth. The Koreans and Brazilians recently dethroned their corrupt presidents by occupying the streets with a million people. Mass non-violent resistance and public protest has great power for change in national histories, where injustice gained the upper hand.
  1. Vote the ANC out of power. It’s not about Zuma per se, it’s about the ANC that has allowed the Zuptas to capture the state for self-enrichment. The ANC, from Cyril Ramaphosa and Gwede Mantashe and all them, must take responsibility. They have lost the right to rule this country. Their credibility is down the drain. Vote them out of power! Don’t vote ANC!

I trust this gives perspective as to a Christian response.

Here is my FaceBook post:

“I call on all people of truth and integrity in South Africa, who love righteousness and justice, who believe God still controls the destiny of nations – the God who can bring either judgement or blessing through wicked or righteous leaders – to pray up, speak up, stand up, march up, and shout from the rooftops, against the firing of Gordhan and his deputy, against Zuma’s shameless blatant ‘treasuary capture’ to further pillage and rape the nation’s resources for his own ends of security and power. The conspiring of evil to hold onto power has played its card, may righteousness and truth defeat it.

If the leaders and people of principle, of truth, of justice (including the Christians) WITHIN THE ANC, WITHIN THE CABINET, WITHIN THE ANC ELDERS & STALWARTS, WITHIN LUTHULI HOUSE, do not stand up right now and confront and discipline and recall Zuma, they will have lost all credibility. NOW is the time, NOW is the hour for them to be counted, to intervene, to put their bodies on the line for the sake of the nation, to stop this naked shameless corruption of power. Pray for the leaders who now step to the fore over the next few days to confront this madness of Zuma, because they could lead us to a better place over the next few years. Above all PRAY, and speak up, and engage in whatever non-violent resistance that can confront the corrupt powers of Zuma and his cronies, his whole system of patronage that he’s built up… MAY IT FALL FLAT IN THE NAME OF JESUS!”

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Racial Sensitivities & Innocence Regained

As I walked into gym this morning I greeted a man older than me, or at the very least about my age (61).
“Heyta Baba! Ninjani (how are you)?” I said.
He replied, “What did you call me?”
“I called you ‘Baba’, a respectful greeting!”
“Don’t come with your white supremacist attitude calling me ‘Baba’!” he said.
I was taken aback. This has not happened to me before. I tried to explain to him that I have learned in OUR culture (yes, I am an African, albeit of the pale kind) that is the way to respectfully greet older men. No matter how much I tried to explain he would hear nothing of it, angrily walking off denouncing my “white paternalism”, while I ended up apologising, “Sorry to have hurt you sir!”

I reflected on this throughout my exercises, wondering “what did I do wrong? What can I do differently?” I realised he had his own baggage of racial hurt, seeing me through his pain-filled lenses of umlungu, “the white man”. I probably represented his history of victimization from systematic top-down white paternalism.

While running around the circuit, panting quite loudly, my silent thoughts went like this:
“How tragic this is! We live in a context of such hurt, such heightened racial awareness and sensitivity, such projection and over-reaction. How can we recover our innocence, lost long ago in colonialism and apartheid? How can we heal the wounds of the past? Will we always be prisoners of our history? Is there any way to innocently, from the heart, greet people in a friendly manner, giving dignity and respect to all we meet every day? Surely this must be possible? Surely this can make a difference in the atmosphere of our nation, in the attitudes of people, as we undo the stereotypes in the eyes and minds of ‘the opposite other’ by being genuinely different, doing sincere acts of kindness, and being willing to absorb – with understanding patient grace – the pain that might come back at us. That’s what you did, Jesus. I’m simply your follower, Jesus, trying to learn from you how to live a life of love just as you loved us and gave yourself up for us. Please teach me to be like you, Jesus”

I don’t deny our history of racial pain and my complicit responsibility by virtue of the colour of my skin. But I’m NOT a victim of history, I’m a follower of Jesus, the One who heals and teaches us to give our lives in love of the other, no matter what race or gender, culture or creed, history or pain. Surely we can “Stop! Say Hello!” to those we meet every day, as my good friend Justin Foxton motivated some years ago. Any comments? Nkosi Sikelel’ iafrika!

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Racist Polarisation in SA – Four Types of Racists

I want to comment on the recent social media storm generated by a certain Penny Sparrow (who called black people monkeys) and the retaliatory racist comments by journalist Zama Khumalo and a certain Velaphi Khumalo (who said blacks should do to whites what Hitler did to the Jews).

If we don’t break our denial as to our deep racial conditioning and prejudice in this country, we will never address, heal, or be free from the racism in our hearts and minds, in our nation.  We must face what is within us in order to renew our minds and attitudes in the truth of the equality and dignity of every person created as God’s image on earth, no matter what race. Otherwise, given the right situation or incident, our buttons will be pressed and our unresolved racist conditioning will overflow in words and actions. If you were born in SA, no matter if you are white, black, coloured or Indian, you are subconsciously racially conditioned. You need to consciously face it and turn from it daily. If we don’t proactively do this, actually doing reconciliation, we will continually be reactively dealing with racist outbursts – from within us and around us – as mirrored in the white Sparrows and the black Khumalos, who both verbalised what many in both constituencies secretly think.

I worked for justice and reconciliation in SA under apartheid in Soweto from 1984-1996, and wrote a book about that life changing journey. Published in 2004, I speak of  four kinds of racists in post apartheid SA… Which one are you?

What follows is from pp.124-125 in Doing Reconciliation – Racism, Reconciliation and Transformation in Church and World.  https://alexanderventer.com/product/bundle-doing-reconciliation/ Continue reading Racist Polarisation in SA – Four Types of Racists

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AVC SA Statement: Xenophobic Violence in SA, 15 April 2015

The Association of Vineyard Churches South Africa today issues an urgent and emphatic appeal to our nation and its leaders, in the light of the worsening situation regarding violence against foreign nationals in our country.

Scripture, as well as the best traditions in Africa, teach us that nations and peoples are judged, and earn either honour or dishonour, by the way they treat their strangers. We believe this to be true and critical to our national survival and spiritual well-being, and that xenophobia is a denial of and insult to our humanity, our national dignity, our democracy and the struggle against Apartheid. It is a contradiction of the introduction to our national Constitution that says: “South Africa belongs to all who live in it, united in our diversity.” In that sense, we believe, with the Apostle Paul, that there is no longer any divide between people into “insiders” and “outsiders”, that is not erased by the crucifixion of Christ. “But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For he himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility. He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near.”

We therefore make a call to the people of South Africa, and in particular the leaders of our nation, whether local, regional or national, whether of churches, political parties or local communities: Continue reading AVC SA Statement: Xenophobic Violence in SA, 15 April 2015

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State of the Nation (South Africa): A Pastor’s Response

To listen to the audio teaching click on  http://followingjesus.org.za/sermons/state-of-the-nation-a-pastors-response/

Since January 2015 I’ve had a growing number of people expressing serious concern over the state of our nation, asking: how must we respond as Christians? The chaotic Opening of Parliament on 12 February has increased the volume of concern. Some want to emigrate. As a pastor I feel pressed to respond by giving our local church some (biblical) perspective and guidance. This is a big issue to address in one talk; hence this headline overview.

I’m a pale-male middle-class South African, fully aware of the (historical) baggage that it represents. But that doesn’t disqualify me from addressing this issue. Besides, to do a little ‘foolish boasting’ as Paul did (2Cor 12:1f), I spent 12 years involved in Soweto working in the name of Jesus for justice and reconciliation (1983–1995), repenting from my racist conditioning and putting my body on the line, taking a strong stand against Apartheid. My book Doing Reconciliation tells the story, with the biblical theology and praxis, of those years. Since 1994 I’ve continued to take a consistent prophetic stance for reconciliation and righteousness in society, in our body politic, without fear or favour.  Continue reading State of the Nation (South Africa): A Pastor’s Response