"++" <friend@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote in message
news:nsOdnRdrQ-Z75L3VnZ2dnUVZ_rPinZ2d@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>
>
> - .. -- 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
Didn't all of you cried yesterday for separation of church and state?
Didn't you shout that church should not interfere with the government?
And I bet you will start shouting again, if the church start condemning
reverse race discrimination
at present in full speed in SA!
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