- .. -- Tim .-. wrote:
>"Steve Hayes" <hayesmstw@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote in message
>news:9clv141dh8p95g8h0km7fi6b2gu1477g4r@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>
>
>>http://tinyurl.com/4ecz5r
>>
>>In September it will be 40 years since the "Message to the people of
South
>>Africa" was published.
>>
>>It was a comprehensive rejection of the apartheid policy of the South
>>African
>>government of the time on theological grounds.
>>
>>While Christian groups had criticised apartheid previously, most of the
>>earlier criticisms had not explicitly rejected the principles of
>>apartheid,
>>but merely criticised the way it was applied.
>>
>>The "Message to the people of South Africa" was a new departure, saying
>>that
>>apartheid was not merely bad in practice, but was wrong in principle. It
>>was
>>not merely heretical, but it was a false gospel.
>>
>>It was intended to be a turning point in Christian responses to
apartheid.
>>Unfortunately, from the point of view of publicity, it was upstaged by
the
>>government's banning of the MCC cricket tour because the England side
>>included
>>Basil d'Oliveira, a South African-born coloured.
>>
>>For this and other reasons, the response to the Message was
disappointing.
>>
>>One result was the formation of "Obedience to God" groups, and in some
>>quarters there was a hope, and even an expectation, that this might lead
>>to
>>the formation of a Confessing Church in South Africa.
>>
>>In the event, the "Confessing Church" never happened.
>>
>>One of the abiding questions is, why not?
>>
>>One answer may be that many people were simply too chicken.
>>
>>Many of those responsible for drafting and publicising the Message were
>>clergy, and they perhaps feared for their position, their stipends and
>>their pensions if they went out on a limb.
>>
>>One of those most committed to "Obedience to God" was Bill Burnett, then
>>General Secretary of the South African Council of Churches.
>>
>>I believe that the failure of the "Obedience to God" movement led to
Bill
>>Burnett's disillusionment with the e***enical scene. Soon after that he
>>was
>>elected as Anglican bishop of Grahamstown, and he began to plug the
>>charismatic renewal movement within the Anglican Church in South Africa.
>>
>>He said afterwards that "The one who does God's work is God", and I got
>>the impression that he attributed the failure of movements like
"Obedience
>>to
>>God" to the impossibility of human beings obeying God without the power
of
>>the
>>Holy Spirit.
>>
>>The challenge of a "Confessing Church", of course, is that one has to
>>"think
>>sect" (in the sociological sense of the term "sect"). It means
abandoning
>>the
>>pretence at respectability and being marginalised, It meant that the
>>church
>>would have to go underground, as many opposition political movements had
>>done
>>earlier.
>>
>>To my knowledge Bill Burnett made one more attempt, when the was
>>Archbishop of
>>Cape Town, and presided at the Anglican provincial synod in 1979. There
>>was a
>>motion to the effect that the church should stop applying for permits
for
>>things like multiracial functions. Bill Burnett said that as Archbishop
he
>>saw
>>his role as guardian of the institutional church, and it was a role he
>>disliked. He asked if synod was asking him to drop that role, because
one
>>consequence of not applying for permits might be that the institutional
>>church
>>would crumble, and he asked if synod was asking him to do this. There
was
>>an
>>embarrassed silence, and synod said nothing.
>>
>>Obedience to God was too difficult, and "thinking sect" was something
that
>>the
>>clergy, black as well as white, were not prepared to do. People could
talk
>>of
>>a "confessing church", but were not prepared to take the
>>consequences.
>>
>>There's a fuller version of this on my blog at:
>>http://tinyurl.com/4ecz5r
>>with links to resources.
>>
>>Comments, anyone?
>>
>>
>>
>
>All too often, churches have followed where they should have led. We see
>this today in some parts of the world (including parts of the African
>continent), in some countries gross human rights abuses not only go
>unchallenged by their churches, but in some cases are condoned or even
>encouraged. More leaders like the Most Reverend Dr Desmond Tutu are
needed.
>
>Tim.
>
>
Perhaps we should all collectively pray for bravery instead of cowardice
by our clergy. That is usually the source of problems.
>
>
>>--
>>Steve Hayes from Tshwane, South Africa
>>Web: http://hayesfam.bravehost.com/stevesig.htm
>>Blog: http://methodius.blogspot.com
>>E-mail - see web page, or parse: shayes at dunelm full stop org full
stop
>>uk
>>
>>
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