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<\/a>s talking to a White South African man last week and told him of the book I was reading. He commented that the original intention for Apartheid wasn’t bad, but how it was lived out, how it was enforced turned it into something no South African was proud of. Apartheid seems to be a system that was thought to have been started with good intentions has come to define systemic evil.<\/p>\nSystematic evil is talked about in terms of participating in systems of business, of government, of education etc…designed to oppress some to benefit others. It is easy to see Apartheid under the rule of the National Party as an evil system with its laws of segregation; in land, voting, schools, and rights. What about the other systems that were involved? Could the system under the ANC, the violence and response to violence be considered evil? \u201cMandela said…ANC was forced to adopt violent methods of resistance after decades of having diligently sought peaceful solutions.\u201d (3)<\/p>\n
I pose these questions to allow us to think beyond Apartheid, beyond easily demonizing the oppression that took place. If systemic evil is a real thing and participating in a system that benefits us at the expense of others is evil, then how are we to change that system? Did Mandela’s leadership move this country toward a greater system or just a different one? \u201cANC laid down some fundamental prerequisites….first, that Mandela be released…second, that it would decline to renounce violence prior to its being satisfied that the government was ready to negotiate transition to a non-racial system.\u201d(4) Mandela fought against a system many considered evil and chose to not respond with another system of violence as so many wanted. Like us, he had no control of what would come after him, rather he faced a system and moved to change it. How is the system post Mandela? What evil is it producing, and what good? As an outsider, do I have the right to even comment or question the political systems of another country?<\/p>\n
As I think of my own country and my own faith, I do ask myself what system am I participating in out of convenience, out of a desire to do something, or maybe even to go represent Christ? It is easy to say, \u201cat least we are not as bad as…\u201d and name a place or situation that justifies our system. I think of mission trips that bring thousands of dollars into a country to build a church and create dependency of foreign Christians. I also think of mission agencies that pay local leaders’ trips and salaries rather than helping them be self supportive. Both systems were created with positive motives and have a limited place in working cross culturally, but have too often been the norm and seen as the rich westerners coming to bring the \u201clight\u201d and money. We as church love to help the poor and needy. It is easy to buy things and give them away, harder to love and develop people and create value in their lives. Many churches, this time of year, buy backpacks for school children not thinking that they are robbing local businesses in poor areas of much needed income. Many times churches purchases these supplies online or at a big Walmart-type store. The intention is good, but the system has long lasting, potentially negative, effects on a poor community. This can also be seen in free food programs. Giving a way food helps the poor, but damages the local grocer who now has no ability to compete with the hundreds of pounds of free food blanketing the neighborhood. How is our generosity and mission effecting those we are working with?<\/p>\n
The systemic evil found in governments, Apartheid, can also be found in our lives as well. We easily wash our hands of any participation in this type of evil without truly examining the question of what system we are currently supporting. I am on the journey, like many of you, to find ways that our time here in this world glorifies our Lord and not ourselves. When Jesus challenges those accusing the adulteress woman in John 8, that if you without sin cast the first stone..he knew we’d all struggle and we all like to point out the plank in someone elses eye. Let us not be like those who are comfortable, rather let us look around with open eyes and ask, what system of evil do we participate in? Whether you participate in a system created by tradition, culture or political law, we need to be aware of the ramifications that our actions.<\/p>\n
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1. Welsh, David; The Rise and Fall of Apartheid.(Charlottesville, VA: University of Virginia Press, 2009), 47<\/p>\n
2.Ibid., 56<\/p>\n
3. Ibid., 375<\/p>\n
4. Ibid., 365<\/p>\n