{"id":13977,"date":"2017-09-13T15:14:54","date_gmt":"2017-09-13T22:14:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dminlgp\/?p=13977"},"modified":"2017-09-13T15:14:54","modified_gmt":"2017-09-13T22:14:54","slug":"theological-underpinnings-of-apartheid","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/theological-underpinnings-of-apartheid\/","title":{"rendered":"Theological underpinnings of apartheid"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>With <em>The Rise and Fall of Apartheid, <\/em>David Welsh promises a sweeping historical overview of ground-breaking world events in southern Africa of the 20<sup>th<\/sup> century.\u00a0 What cultural and sociological realities coalesced with key agents to create and sustain this oppressive system of separateness?\u00a0 What movements and influences dismantled these structures in a relatively short time with a relatively peaceful shift of power?<\/p>\n<p>Welsh offers careful analysis that rightly reviews multiple factors. \u00a0Among them are:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Political realities, such as De Klerk and Mandela\u2019s unlikely but timely political partnership, the emergence of the ANC as an unconventional agent of change, and the hardening and then softening, over time, of the National Party;<\/li>\n<li>Economic forces, such as African migration away from unsustainable Bantustans to the peripheries of urban centres, international pressure through boycotts and trade restrictions, and the growing and empowered African middle class; and<\/li>\n<li>Sociological reasons, such as cultural struggles between whites \u2013 the conservative Afrikaner nation and liberal English-speaking immigrants from Britain, and natural tribal divides between Africans of Zulu or Xhosa origin.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Welsh pays some attention as well to the role of churches and ecclesiastical leaders in both constructing and dismantling the system: from pro-apartheid decisions by synods of the three Afrikaans-speaking Reformed denominations<a href=\"#_ftn1\" name=\"_ftnref1\">[1]<\/a>, to Allan Boesak\u2019s surprising elevation as head of the World Alliance of Reformed Churches<a href=\"#_ftn2\" name=\"_ftnref2\">[2]<\/a> and Archbishop Desmond Tutu\u2019s catalytic role in the Anglican communion<a href=\"#_ftn3\" name=\"_ftnref3\">[3]<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Lacking in the book, however, is a comprehensive review of the theological underpinnings of the apartheid system.\u00a0 Revealing these helps to explain how the Biblically-informed Boer worldview could embrace a racist ideology most Christians find so repugnant, and indeed, what most Christians believe counters all\u00a0that Christ stands for.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13979 alignright\" src=\"http:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dminlgp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/Adobe-anti-apartheid.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"240\" height=\"240\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/Adobe-anti-apartheid.jpg 240w, https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/Adobe-anti-apartheid-150x150.jpg 150w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 240px) 100vw, 240px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>This confusing consideration propelled me back in time to 1989.\u00a0 I was taking a course on Third World Theologies while studying at seminary in Toronto, and part of the course focused on liberation movements in South Africa. \u00a0With missionary zeal from newfound knowledge, we decided to become advocates.\u00a0 Our small and young group of seminarians trekked downtown for an appointment with the Consul General of South Africa to push theological buttons and protest a hijacking of our faith for apartheid purposes.\u00a0 We steeled ourselves before entering; we anticipated meeting a monster.\u00a0 Instead, a kindly, older man received us, listened carefully, and offered his reasoned perspective. We left deflated, bruised, and disillusioned \u2013 every solid theological argument we presented was met with a counter argument based on a competing Biblical worldview by someone who was clearly well-versed in Scripture.\u00a0 In the mind of the Consul, separation of the races was seen as God\u2019s design, and was rooted in interpretations of the meaning of the curse of Noah\u2019s son, Ham, in Genesis, the elevation and separation of Israel as a chosen race, and a belief in God-ordained hierarchical orders in society (Acts 17:26).\u00a0 His arguments weren\u2019t convincing to us, but we were astonished that sincere people of faith \u2013 dare\u00a0we say, our brother in the faith \u2013 had arrived at faulty conclusions we would describe as heretical.<\/p>\n<p>This simple encounter and other examples from South African history raised by Welsh bring to light three reminders for people in ministry today. I believe the Gospel breaks down walls of hostility and fear, reuniting humanity with God and each other. \u00a0In contrast, where we find division and strife, we find places where the good news has feeble roots.<\/p>\n<p>As people who lead others toward integration, we remember:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>When we disagree with others, it\u2019s an easy tendency to label the other as a monster. Pasting labels on others, stereotyping them with broad brushes, is both unfair and dehumanizing.\u00a0 This oversimplification does all parties a disservice.\u00a0 In doing so, we fail to appreciate the nuances in the human condition, and we neglect to listen to an often-complex story of how individuals arrived at their dearly-held conclusions. Instead, we acknowledge we are all part of the same human family.\u00a0 It was a mark of genius that the Nobel Prize committee selected both Nelson Mandela and Willem de Klerk as the Peace Prize recipients, tacit recognition that both leaders were responsible for the abandonment of an evil system and embrace of a new pathway forward for the country.<\/li>\n<li>Just as there are few real monsters, there are few real saints. Painting the other in a negative light frequently means airbrushing our own reality, and positioning ourselves as faultless. Welsh highlights both the exceptional skill and leadership of Nelson Mandela in his tireless advocacy against the system, but at the same time, he reveals the petty grievances and inconsiderate put-downs of his counterpart that occasionally surfaced<a href=\"#_ftn4\" name=\"_ftnref4\">[4]<\/a>. Mandela, like all of us, had flaws.\u00a0 It\u2019s good to acknowledge this, and remind ourselves of this fact frequently.<\/li>\n<li>It is easy to justify separateness and division to reduce friction and establish order in our world. We tend to not address difference and therefore avoid conflict, rather than work out issues and pursue peace while celebrating diversity. Within our comfortable bubbles of sameness, we can convince one another of anything just as pro-apartheid theologians did. Instead, truth can bear the weight of being critiqued. We need and must pursue outside, contrasting perspectives to mold, refine and shape a more robust theology and humanity.\u00a0 As we embark on our African experience and our research projects, we look forward to discovering other viewpoints to sharpen our own faith, and to soften its sometimes-brittle edges.\u00a0 It is a challenging and uncomfortable journey, but let this be one way we carry the cross forward.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The experience of South Africa, informed fundamentally by theological and biblical convictions, reveals this humbling truth: we who are so certain about matters of faith, can soften our grip and surrender.\u00a0 It takes more faith to let go than it does to grasp tightly.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"#_ftnref1\" name=\"_ftn1\">[1]<\/a> Welsh, David.\u00a0 <em>The Rise and Fall of Apartheid<\/em>. \u00a0Johannesburg: Jonathan Hall, 2009. Kindle Loc. 4422.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"#_ftnref2\" name=\"_ftn2\">[2]<\/a> <em>Ibid.,<\/em> Kindle Loc. 4512.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"#_ftnref3\" name=\"_ftn3\">[3]<\/a> <em>Ibid.,<\/em> Kindle Loc. 6010.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"#_ftnref4\" name=\"_ftn4\">[4]<\/a> <em>Ibid.,<\/em> Kindle Loc. 13147.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>With The Rise and Fall of Apartheid, David Welsh promises a sweeping historical overview of ground-breaking world events in southern Africa of the 20th century.\u00a0 What cultural and sociological realities coalesced with key agents to create and sustain this oppressive system of separateness?\u00a0 What movements and influences dismantled these structures in a relatively short time [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":100,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[975,993,128,974],"class_list":["post-13977","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-apartheid","tag-south-africa","tag-theology","tag-welsh","cohort-lgp8"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13977","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/100"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13977"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13977\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13981,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13977\/revisions\/13981"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13977"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13977"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13977"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}