Posts Tagged ‘South Africa’

5 Oct

Baptists Assemble 2011!!!

Posted by tyrellh in Christianity, Reflections. Tagged: , , , , , , , .

The Baptist Union of South Africa held its 2011 assembly in Port Elizabeth over this past weekend. It was my second assembly, and my last as a probationer. This assembly had many highlights and BU quirks that I hope to share in this article.

Registration happened at a Presbyterian Church, we met at an Anglican School and many of the delegates were accommodated at a Roman Catholic lodging- it may sound ecumenical but it was more a baptism of the baptised for these groups.

One thing I learned about South African Baptists is that we can make the most unmusical song possible somehow sound musical. We had a theme song for the conference and the first line went like this, “We need effective Bible leaders”- oh the musical pain! However it gets the point across, this is what the BU was driving for as we met this assembly- Next year’s theme, “We Need Better Rhyming Theme Songs”

A welcome change to the assembly program was the addition of a time of Bible study and prayer which took up most of the mornings.

Bible study

The executive decided that since Baptists have historically been known as ‘people of the Book’, it would be good to place that Book in prominence in our meetings; so every morning God’s Word was studied and applied followed by a time of prayer. What a wonderful way to start the assembly! I feel that this was a wonderful move by the executive, it sets the tone for the kind of Baptists we want to be, what a great thing to put God’s Word and prayer as the most important part of our meetings together. We were fed with the Word and sought God’s Face before we went about seeking to do Assembly business- that’s the way to go. My group’s able facilitator was Peter Holness (Trinity Baptist’s Pastor in P.E.), I enjoyed being with this seasoned pastor, he has a real pastor’s heart and I learned from that even in the short time I was with him in the groups.

The Lord’s Day saw particularly interesting business being discussed, which also demonstrated something of how the Union has succumbed to secular pressures. During a discussion on amending the Union’s constitution with regards to a particular issue, the word ‘his’ was used when referring to a pastor, two delegates took exception to this, arguing that it should read ‘his/her’ (as you can well imagine Ephesians, 1 Corinthians, 1 Timothy and Genesis were not the passages being discussed in the morning studies). The response from the pastor chairing that meeting was basically to say that the constitution also says that whenever ‘he’ is mentioned’ both the masculine and feminine is implied; this was not good enough for the two individuals and a motion was passed to change the line to ‘his/her’. So with sadness I witnessed the Union’s bowing down to secular culture and the feministic attitude so prevalent in it, in this case directly disregarding Scripture.

One encouraging move on the other hand, was the tightening up of other aspects of our constitution. While pastors who are going through a divorce immediately have their name suspended from the ministerial list pending an investigation, till now nothing happened to pastors who were merely separated from their wives. This was tightened up and a clause was added which basically states that if a pastor has been separated from his wife for over a year, and there appears no way of reconciling them, the name will be dropped from the ministerial list. I was glad to see the step taken as it shows a desire to hold firm the integrity of the office of a pastor in the Union. Taking a strong stance like this, especially at leadership level bodes well for the growth and nurturing of biblical leaders.

Much of my time was well spent in fellowshipping with like-minded brothers; the four reformers (Mark Penrith, Rocky Stevenson, Malcom Cunningham and me) and one whose persuasion shall not be labelled (Ian Stuart) had good chats over issues ranging from Eschatology to Liturgy to the meaning of ‘perfect’ in 1 Corinthians 13. On the Sunday Malcom, Rocky and I took Ian to celebrate his birthday with an ice-cream and a walk on the peer; it was a very special time of Christian fellowship. Our little reformed group affectingly dubbed itself BATS- I can’t remember what it stood for, but it reminded me of Batman so I am cool with it.

The Baptist Women’s Division marked their 100th year with a wonderful banquet (from what I hear). This year we have the second none white BWD president over the last century. There were wonderful reports of the chaplain’s work; ministry in the defence force, prisons and police is very tough, but the fruit that those who labour there are seeing is extremely encouraging, to even the dreariest pre-mil…. I mean pessimist.

Another thing I found encouraging about our Union was the racial diversity, we had many people from different races; it truly was something of an anticipation of that day when there will be people from every tribe, tongue and nation worshipping the Lamb.

Even after I left the assembly the good times where not over, at the airport I bumped into Marcus and Sandra Elaya from the Ebenezer Community Church in Pietermaritzburg; we identified each other by the nifty BU blue bags we were given. This lovely couple have been working at a church plant for 10 years in an extremely poor area. It was so wonderful to fellowship with them and hear about their sacrificial work for the Lord. I praise God for bring us across each other’s paths; we enjoyed a good coffee and chat while we waited at the matchbox of an airport for our flights.

15 Sep

Giveaway: 2 DVDs of ‘Before Jerusalem Fell’

Posted by tyrellh in Giveaway. Tagged: , , , , , .

This week I am happy to be giving away 2 DVD’s. The DVD is called ‘Before Jerusalem Fell’. It is a DVD lecture based on the doctoral dissertation of Dr. Kenneth Gentry. Now a few comments, if you are thinking DVD so visuals, so exciting, explosions and car chases, then stop thinking that, think doctoral dissertation put in a better way than just reading the boring document.

Another thing to note is that this DVD presents a very specific eschatological view, namely ‘partial preterism’ (not ‘full preterism’ which is a heresy and outside of the realm of orthodox Christianity). I am not an advocate of the view of ‘partial preterism’ when it comes to the book of Revelation, I am not fully convinced by this DVD, or some of the other things I have read, however, for those who are serious about thinking through their eschatology and opening their mind to other perspectives regarding the book of Revelation this is a must see. I read the book and it helped me think through many issues and come to a better thought through position regarding the ‘end times’. It is definitely good for the serious student of the Bible. N.B:If you are not very familiar with the ‘end times’ view of your church I would recommend you first get some good reading on your church’s position and feel comfortable that you understand it well before you watch this.

On the DVD back it says, “In this in-depth lecture, Dr. Gentry presents a helpful summary of his doctoral dissertation on Revelation’s date. He not only highlights fascinating evidence from ancient writers, but from Revelation’s text itself. He presents a concise, clear, and compelling case for a pre-AD 70 composition. Once he points out the clues in the text, a flood of light illuminates the story: John was writing Revelation as a prophetic warning of Jerusalem’s coming destruction, which ended the old covenant economy and secured the new covenant church a place in history. Once we hear the evidence, Revelation will become for us truly a revelation. We will experience as never before Revelation’s blessing : “Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of the prophecy” (Rev 1:3).”

So what are you waiting for enter now!

This giveaway runs from today till the 22 September at 12pm, only South African residents are eligible to enter (sorry to my overseas brothers and sisters) and you can only enter once. To enter, simply fill in the form below, and answer the question. To increase your chances of winning click like on this post (bottom left corner) or mention this giveaway on your facebook status or on a tweet, if you have not yet subscribed to this blog, subscribing by adding your email address on the right will also give you an extra entry.

Thanks to Augustine Bookroom for sponsoring this giveway

1 Aug

SA Cricketer Converts to Islam… Really?

Posted by tyrellh in Christianity, Current events, Religion. Tagged: , , , , , .

Fast bowler for the South African cricket team, Wayne Parnell converted from ’Christianity’ to Islam in January this year, although he has only gone public with this information on the 28th of July[i]. He claims this happened “…after a period of personal study and reflection and it is a faith that I have always been interested in[ii]”.

What is surprising to me is the media’s (and apparently Parnell’s) idea of what Christianity is. While I do not doubt that Parnell has had some experience, it is probably better described as a transferral than a conversion. Let me explain what I mean:

In one report it was written, “In October 2009 Parnell was dropped from the Warriors’ side after he partied until the early hours of the morning in a Port Elizabeth nightclub before a SuperSport series match against the Dolphins.[iii]” Is this the kind of report that can be made of a Christian? This seems to not have been a once off bad judgment, but a regular problem with the young man[iv]. However the Bible is replete with Scriptures that forbid drunkenness (Luke 12:45, Romans 13:13, 1 Cor 5:11; 6:10 to name a few), furthermore regarding partying anyone with a simple view of the Scripture would know that Christians do not behave like the world (Romans 12:2).

Now I do not know the man, however from the reports about him I find it hard to believe he was a Christian; a secularist perhaps, a cultural ‘Christian’, a nominal ‘Christian’ even, but a Bible-believing follower of Christ? I think not. Theologically we know it is impossible for a Christian to lose their faith, since God makes a Christian, and God keeps a Christian, but Parnell is merely another victim of watered down, weak Christianity.

A helpful question to ask is what can we learn from Parnell’s transference from serving the idol of self as  a secular South African to serving the idol of religious rigour as a Muslim?

1. Christians should learn not to put their evangelist faith in sportsmen and other celebrates. This is  a common scene in churches across our land, if we can get a ‘Christian’ celebrate in to speak, we think that perhaps more people will be saved, but that shows no faith in the message, it is the gospel that saves people (Romans 1:16). John Bunyan was a pauper with very little education, yet many were saved through his ministry, not because of the man, but because of the treasure of the gospel he proclaimed.

2. Churches should not be satisfied with mere professions of Christianity, the God given process of Church discipline should be practised, so that people are not left thinking they are Christians when they are not. It is high time for evangelical churches to think through the role of pastoring and what is meant by church discipline in Scripture (for more information on how to do church discipline properly, and related topics to church life, check out 9 Marks).

3. Muslims who celebrate this event as some kind of sign of the growth of Islam, and Christians who despair that another professor of Christianity has revealed his true colours should bear in mind the following. According to Islam, more people depart from Islam than will ever join Islam, thus making Islam actually the fastest shrinking religion in the world; consider this quote, “The Prophet Muhammad said, ‘No babe is born but upon Fitra (as a Muslim). It is his parents who make him a Jew or a Christian or a Polytheist.[v]’” Thus the majority of people in the world who ‘convert’ do so away from Islam. Secondly Christians must remember that the validity of our faith does not rest on the profile or number of people who are converted (Matthew 22:14; 1 Cor 1:26).

4. Another lesson that may be observed is how Islam (along with most other religions) destroys culture, whilst Christianity redeems it. If you have been following the story of Parnell you will know that he is considering changing his name to Waleed. Islam as it creates adherents to its religions forces them back to 16th century Arabic culture, be it in dress or even economics. Christianity on the other hand saves cultures, so that not every Christians is a westerner, or a Arab, but rather every tribe, tongue and nation will worship the Lamb Who was slain (if you would like to read an article on Christianity and how it is to influence culture click here).

5. The last lesson we learn from Parnell’s transference is that a heart without Christ will never be at rest until it finds Christ. The great king Solomon depicts that for us, like Parnell he to tried parties, drinking and pleasure but did not find meaning in it (Eccles2:1-3), Solomon also tried learning and searching through the philosophies of the world (Ecclesiastes 1:16-18; 2:12-16) but found it also to be empty. It is my prayer that Parnell would hear the gospel and see the hope that there is in Jesus Christ, the forgiveness of sins and peace with God that is available not through his own effort, but through the finished work of Jesus on the cross.

If you would like further good resources on Islam consider this site over here

27 Jun

Culture and Christianity

Posted by tyrellh in Christianity, Religion, Social Issues. Tagged: , , , , , , .

The while issue of culture is a volatile one. In this age of tolerance one has to be careful what they say. Add to that the extreme sensitivity caused by years of ethnic oppression in South Africa and you have a place where few dare to tread, the perilous cliffs of culture.

To even begin thinking about the subject, one would have to define it. One author Marinov, said the following about culture, “A culture is, first, a system of religious loyalty to a god, or gods, or a system of ideas that is perceived as self-attesting and ultimate. There must be a faith, and that faith must result in a system of doctrines and knowledge. Second, a culture is the set of social structures and hierarchies that are the logical application of that religious loyalty or system of ideas. A society is a set of social institutions and relationships between individuals. Third, there must be an ethical standard that discriminates between good and evil actions and behavior, individually and collectively. A culture’s law is the most conspicuous and important part of its definition. Fourth, a culture must have a system for imputing value to people and their actions, and rewarding or punishing them on the basis of that value system. Some people will be valued higher than others, not ethically but economically, relationally, etc. While we are forbidden to give a well-dressed person the honor place in the church only for the reason of his clothes (imputing ethical value), the society will still reward people differently because of their economic value. Fifth, a culture will always have a way to transfer its wealth (or poverty) – material, intellectual, and spiritual – to the next generations.”

Culture has a start point and a manifestation point. It starts with some kind of belief, it always starts with faith, and this is an inescapable reality (even for the atheist). That part of culture which is most noticeable is when that belief which is so basic to it, eventually leads to certain ethical standards, how a culture decides what is the right or wrong, how the culture measures worth or value. What is now known as western culture is very different from how westerners like me behaved before the gospel came to the Germanic lands. The economic success of Europe and the growth and development of agriculture all were consequences of the culture being filtered through God’s Word. Before that time, there was a scarcity of food and clothing (which naturally lent itself to the barbarians wearing very little clothes).

Part of the current sensitivity to culture and Christianity meeting may be due to wrong view of missionary work typified by some British missions operations. The British saw how their culture was changed by the gospel, subsequently they thought that British Christian culture, was the highest expression of Christian culture universally, thus missionaries did not only take the gospel to pagan nations, but also British culture. This however was never the intention of Christianity in Scripture. Tea drinking, scone eating, English speaking, none clapping, are not Biblically demanded precepts of Scripture. In the New Testament many of the problems encountered by the Church were related to maintaining cultural respect within a diverse church. The Jews and the Greeks had very different cultures, both had to be sifted through the Gospel, and what was left was to be used for God’s glory. This is why in Revelation the picture is of people of every tribe, tongue and nation being saved by a gracious God (Rev 5:9). In fact it is not by resisting the Gospel influence that cultures are preserved, but by submitting to the Lordship of Jesus Christ, all our wonderful and colourful cultures can been seen long after this world has ended.

The only question is, will we stubbornly defend every aspect of our culture, without acknowledging that some of it is the result of fallen people, worshipping false gods, in a wicked world, or will we take what we have and setting it aside God’s Word, allow it to be redefined, reforming it and reconciling those unique parts of our cultures to Christ. The Church will never be homogeneous, but we will be unified in Christ.

Northern Europeans will greet with a warm handshake and a smile of joy in Christ; the far East Asians will bow with respect when they greet, regarding others with respect and honour (Romans 12:10); the Africans will come and shake hands rejoicing loudly at seeing a fellow relative in Christ, how can we be quiet when we have seen another brought with the same blood of Christ as we are; the Mediterraneans will greet with a holy kiss, one on each cheek. Here we see the diversity as well all obey the command to ‘greet one another’.

Some helpful questions as we seek to evaluate our cultures:

1)      Is there any part of my culture that contradicts a command in Scripture, think of values and treatment of different people?

2)      Is there any part of my culture (values/actions/omissions) that undermines a Biblical principle?

3)      Is there a part of my culture that, though I am free to enjoy, would be a stumbling block to other believers (Romans 14:13)?

4)      What aspects of my culture should I infuse a Biblical motivation into, rather than just doing it because its culture? (Like the greeting issue above)

5)      What weaknesses or pitfalls does my culture make me more susceptible to?

6)      Is there something that should be a normal part of a Christian life that my culture doesn’t really address?

7)      What are things from other cultures that really grab at biblical principles that I would do well to adopt?

8)      Is there a part of my culture that is ostentatious, and that may easily lead me to pride and to look down on my fellow brother and sister in Christ?

15 Jun

Book Give Away!

Posted by tyrellh in Christianity, Giveaway. Tagged: , , , , .

In light of the recent discussionon ‘the Sabbath’/ The Lord’s Day I would like to send a little book to one of the readers of the blog. It is a really helpful book for Christians who are wrestling with how to rejoice and partake in the ‘Lord’s Day’ in a meaningful and helpful way, especially if you come from a background where it was either a legalistic miss-understanding of it, or it was not recognised as a special day at all.

‘Bruce Ray’s book is a wise, balanced, helpful, biblical, and encouragingly fresh look at what the Lord’s Day should be for every Christian. His work is meant to instruct, but also to stimulate sound thinking and encourage practical application. Each of these eight readable chapters is followed by questions to deepen the perceptions of the reader and promote a God-pleasing response. I do not know what more could reasonably be asked of a book on this subject.’ James M. Boice
‘A tidal wave of anti-Sabbath influences is crashing against the modern church. . . . Pastor Bruce Ray has made a major effort to shore up our understanding and practice of Sabbath keeping. Celebrating the Sabbath is delightful reading about a recurring day of delight. How we need these principles and wise directions!’ Walter J. Chantry
 
 
Sadly due to postage costs you will need to be a resident of South Africa to be eligible to receive the book. To enter answer the question that follows via the form below,” What do you prefer to call Sunday, ‘The Christian Sabbath’ or ‘the Lord’s Day’?
 
The Giveaway closes Wednesday the 22nd of June in the morning.
 
 

 
 
 
Book Giveaway sponsored by: Augustine Book Room
Take up and read

29 May

The Uniqueness of South Africa and the Role of Christianity

Posted by tyrellh in Christianity, Religion, Social Issues. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , .

South Africa finds itself in a very unique situation, to put it bluntly, South Africa is a pre-Christian country enjoying many Christian benefits, and yet is thinking like a post-Christian country.

The reason I say South Africa is pre-Christian is because we have never had Biblical Christianity as a major force in the country. The type of Christianity that we do see is very much meshed with traditional religions and locked in forms of superstition. These days ‘pastors’ are promising to do the same thing that a sangoma (witch doctor) do. Furthermore, many people don’t find any contradiction between being a church member and going to a sangoma.

The other part of Christianity in this country seems to be tied to nationalism; it has been used in the past to try to condone organised racism- while anyone with even a cursory knowledge of the Bible knows this to be impossible.

Another interesting aspect of South Africa is that the ruling party is aligned with two ‘communist parties’, the party itself being a somewhat communist party in its policies, however, the ANC does not mind naming Christ. Often the president will use the name of Jesus to further his cause (while in another breath he threatens people with ancestors). The president even spoke at one of the major so-called churches in the country not long ago. Yet, at the same time, he continues (as does his party), to promote totally unchristian and unloving policies, i.e.: Abortion, homosexual marriages, closed market, state control of schools etc.

In a nutshell, biblical, conservative Christianity has not impacted South Africa, and in fact has not had the presence it has had at one stage in other nations.

Manifestations

What are some of the results of this weak Christianity in a still somewhat pagan land? Well for one thing, unlike other places where culture was often sifted through the grid of Scripture and what was left became the predominant culture, in South Africa often things work the other way, culture seems to trump faith. Culture is often the ongoing reason for disobeying Scripture. Issues like punctuality, theft, lying, hatred, racism and adultery often go unhindered despite the presence of some Christian ethic.

Furthermore, democracy is very slow to mature. People’s minds still run along racial and traditional lines. Since the Reformation was in a major way the driving force and foundation of Democracy it is to be expected that without that same reformation impetus by the Christian Church, democracy and the values it espouses and promulgates will be slow to come as well.

Another manifestation of this is the high unemployment rate in South Africa, 25% of the labour force is without jobs, which makes SA’s unemployment rate among the highest[i]. While studies have shown that Protestant countries have lower unemployment rates than none-protestant countries[ii].

One last observation, it is widely accepted that the majority of South Africans are not pro-homosexual marriages, and quite possibly are pro-life (against abortion), however that same majority does not vote in government that reflects its moral views. Thus there is a government that does not reflect the majority of South Africans on some important moral issues.

What does it all mean?

It’s hard to pin point what this means for the future of South Africa. Some countries like Japan seem to have succeeded in imitating protestant countries (namely America in this case) in a cultural way, and thus adopted much by way of work ethic and so forth. There is a good chance however, that since South African’s are striving to make things work on their own, instead of building on the foundation of Scripture, that collapse may be inevitable, no matter which of the liberal parties are voted in.

In the end, the hope for South Africa is the same hope that any other country has; the gospel of Jesus Christ. When Christian men and women stand up for the renown and fame of Christ, preach and live the gospel, and are unashamed, real change is possible. Our hope cannot be in political pragmatism, nor in moral regeneration (who says what’s moral without God?). The only hope is that God would show mercy and save many for His Name sake. And Christian, you must be a part of that. “The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. (Romans 13:12)”

21 Sep

Lead SA, but which way?

Posted by tyrellh in Christianity, Religion, Social Issues. Tagged: , , , , , , , , .

By now many South African’s have heard of the Lead SA initiative. It seems to be a movement birthed out of the euphoria of the World Cup and the resultant national calm. For those of you who do not know about Lead SA, it “is a [certain media house's] initiative, supported by Independent Newspapers, that aims to highlight the achievements of the nation and celebrate the efforts of ordinary South Africans who continually seek to do the right thing for themselves, for their families and for their country”1.

Under the crucial question of “How can one lead SA” the answer comes, “As a South African, you have the resilience and passion needed to change the nation. It may seem like a huge responsibility and an impossible task, but it’s certainly achievable if you choose to simply do the right thing. Together we can achieve immeasurable success.2”

As a christian, I rejoice in the ideas of justice, equity, charity and the like. In short morality, which is what the website for ‘Lead SA’ says it is all about (albeit, some radio presenters prefer to called it the ethical thing rather than the moral thing, since they know the baggage morality has for secular worldviews).

While I agree with the sentiment of Lead SA, I can not go along with it. That may sound strange, but see why…

Under the question, “Why Lead SA”, the answer we get is, “The ability to change lives and the country is in everyones hands. Rather than feeling helpless, Lead SA encourages all to feel hopeful about the future and play an active part in unlocking the potential of the country. South Africa is filled with passionate people and the nation’s achievements are endless.3”

Notice, the question is, ‘why should I be moral/ethical’, and the response is ‘Well you have the ability to change lives. You should not feel helpless about the way things are, but rather hope that things can be great in this country if we use the potential in ever person. South Africa’s have a lot of passion and a lot of national achievements’.

This is no reason why. You have told me I have abilities, that I don’t have to have bad feelings, and that I can hope everything will be okay, and make it okay by taking part. But the question remains, ‘Why should I take part? Why should I care? Why should I not feel helpless but hopeful? Who says?

This underpins the futility of secularism. Secularism has absolutely no reason for anything. In fact, it can not even tell me why I should be reasonable, without begging the question. But since our leaders have decided, along with a liberal agenda to remove God from the nation, to have a secular worldview instead of a biblical one, they have no basis on which to demand or expect morality. The ironic thing is, all the other religious systems in the country (and the world for that matter) also trust in their own abilities to create morality, and so unlike Biblical Christianity which is grace based, other religions (and yes even ‘spirituality’) is works based – Yes you can, just try hard and do the right thing.

Jesus said, “The wise man build his house upon the rock… So is everyone who hears these words of mine, and obeys them”(Matt 7:24). I do hope that South Africa would be a place of hope, and joy, and justice and equality, but seeking these things in ourselves (as if we had the ability), is as futile as a first grader seeking knowledge within himself and declaring that he needs no schooling.

The history of humanity shows that whatever we have achieved has been in spight of ourselves, not because of ourselves, in reality it has all been the common grace of God. But as the parable in Matthew 7 says, when the storms come, when the opportunity to get rich quickly comes in the midst of your financial struggle, when you are late for your appointment but the emergency lane is open, when you have just had a terrible day at work and a taxi stops in front of you etc, then what internal impulse does anyone have to be good? None, because “the heart of man is exceedingly wicked and deceitful above all things” (Jeremiah 17:9).

Rather, we should pray that God would grant revival and repentance to this land, that the gospel of Jesus Christ would permeate it, that He would give us new hearts so that we can turn from sin and serving self. That the gospel would go, as far as the curse has spread. We don’t need good rules and ideals, we need good hearts, and only Christ can give us that.

29 Jul

Racism, Soccer and South Africa

Posted by tyrellh in Social Issues. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , .

I have delayed in writing this so as to be able to communicate to a less emotionally involved crowd. I love soccer, those who know me will know this. I went to some of the games and enjoyed them thoroughly However for our country there seems to have been something far deeper than just economic contributions that made this so significant.

Recently South Africa has experienced what is perhaps the greatest day in its history, or at least up there with the greatest. I guess this also depends on what you value as great, nonetheless it was excellent for the country.

South Africa historically has been beset by racial issues. Under the surface there always appears to be this tension that vacillates from high to low. On the 9th of June 2010, this was all forgotten, as an estimated 185 000 South Africans flooded the streets of Sandton to show support for our national soccer team. News reports came in the whole day as people forgot all racial differences and came out to celebrate being South African.

It was marvelous, I heard people being interviewed, crying as they witnessed the beauty of racial harmony. I remember one call in particular where a man who was a member of the Apartheid police cried as it was so lovely and thrilling for him to be brothers with people of other races in this country.

I look at this entire event, a benchmark in South African history and have two comments to make. One positive, and one negative.

Firstly, I see in this, the common grace of God, which falls on believers and unbelievers alike (Matthew 5:45). God for the good of the remaining Christian Church in South Africa has allowed this event to occur, thus restraining man in his radical depravity. What I mean is, though man is radically depraved, it seems that it pleases God at time to use events to restrain the corruptions that would flow from man’s heart, if it were left to itself. And so as one theologian put it, “The natural light that shines in the hearts of men…results in the forming of a public opinion that is in external conformity with the law of God; and this has a tremendous influence on the conduct of men who are very sensitive to the judgment of public opinion.”

So I praise God for the calm, and restraining of racial tensions that occurred as a result of the World Cup, and particularly the events of the 22nd of June.

Secondly, I see a danger. Though there is a benefit for the Church, since conflict free countries allow the gospel to spread easily (supposedly), this event was not good for the hearts of many South Africans. As the Baptist Confession of 1689 says in chapter 5.6,” God gives them over to their own lusts, the temptations of the world, and the power of Satan, so that eventually they harden themselves under the same influences which God uses for the softening of others.”

How do I see this in the event of the 22nd of June. Well let me ask, what was the basis for the racial unity? Football? Patriotism? National pride? Brotherhood? Why these things are not evil in themselves you may say, but remember the words of Jesus Christ, “And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand.” (Matthew 7:26 NASB). The foundation for anything in life, be it marriages, racial unity, and most especially Salvation is only the truth of the Lord Jesus Christ. Anything else is destined to fail for, “the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and it fell– and great was its fall. (Matthew 7:27).

This kind of racial unity has happened before, during the 1995 Rugby world cup, and even to an extent in the last rugby world cup, but it soon crumbles and dissipates (even as recently attacks began again on African foreigners). All the while one of the major points of the gospel is racial unity, as Paul says, “For He Himself is our peace, who made both groups into one and broke down the barrier of the dividing wall” (Ephesians 2:14).

However, instead of the Bible, the Word of the living God, South Africa prides itself on having the most liberal constitution in the world, one that is secular in every sense of the word. And to the issue of race, what does the grandfather of secularism have to say? Well here in the so-called cradle of humankind, the father of evolution, and its resultant secularism say this relating to race:

“At some future period, not very distant as measured by centuries, the     civilized races of man will almost certainly exterminate and replace the savage races throughout the world. At the same time the anthropomorphous apes [that is, the ones which look like the savages in structure] . . . will no doubt be exterminated. The break between man and his nearest allies will then be wider, for it will intervene between man in a more civilized state, as we may hope, even than the Caucasian, and some ape as low as a baboon, instead of as now between the negro or Australian and the gorilla[i]“

Christians, stay focused on the gospel. The only hope for people who bear the image of God, is the glorious gospel of Jesus Christ, and through Him the remission of sin and repentance to eternal life.

[i] Charles Darwin, The Descent of Man, 2nd ed., (New York: A. L. Burt Co., 1874), 178

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