PART 3. “Ek slaan my oë op na die hemel. Dis skemer...” – ungodly foundations of sand One of the deepest routed ideological foundations that breeds inequality is religion and the selfish based theologies behind such. I put it to you as verifiable fact to which many have testified that apartheid was based on a religious lie of White supremacy and Black, Coloured and Indian inferiority. I furthermore put it to you that the actual tenets of Christianity on economic and social issues has always been underplayed and ignored as part of the fundamental pillars of that faith. Rather, as even today is the case, Christianity has and is being misused not to teach the real gospel but to simply keep the structural oppression and marginalising measures intact. In this paradigm of an opium type of ‘christianity’ where all are kept zombies, there is no god to answer the farm worker even if he lifts his eyes in desperate plea to the heavens. Darkness has befallen Mzansi. This darkness has no god and knows no god. The true God Christianity had to proclaim in this darkest night of inequality is not revealed by the church and its myriad of institutions as the God that can bring light to the most tangible of things so many hope for. Sampie Terreblanche, an economist, explains where we are materially despite the majority of South Africans being Christian, and some even being so very spiritual: “The ANC government has used the power allotted to it to create a black elite by implementing black empowerment and affirmative action in rather doubtful and myopic ways and plundering the budget recklessly. The perpetuation of white elitism and white corporatism after 1994 and the creation of black elitism over the past 18 years, to the detriment of the poor and unemployed, is the main reason why income has become increasingly unequal since 1994. The richest 10-million South Africans received almost 75% of total income in 2008, whereas the poorest 25-million received less than 8%.” (Mail & Gurdian Online, 03 Aug 2012 02:00). What informs such outlook on life and such selfishness and little care to balance the scales? What is being preached and taught that sees such unbridled perpetuation of greed? Is it not a unchristian ideological basis we proceed from, one that says “Do not love your neighbour as yourself”? Theological Seminars waste so much energy in theoretically defending, bolstering and researching Christianity but yet it all falls flat when their theology and practice does not meet the simple standards of the very God they profess to worship. A case in point is the North West University’s Potchefstroom campus where race seemingly still matters much more than love for the Black and Coloured neighbour. Times Live reports that, “Investigators found that residences were largely white and Afrikaner and the institution appeared to engineer a largely mono-cultural environment for white Afrikaners.” (Times Live Online, Katharine Child | 26 September, 2014 00:20). And you have Black theologians as professors at that very campus. The institution’s rector is a former minister of religion. What does that tell you about their type of ‘Christianity’ if you once again apply the simple tenet of ‘love your neighbour as you love yourself’? The late Russel Botman, through him initiating the ‘Hoop Projek’ at the University of Stellenbosch, understood this song of Dookom even long before Dookoom came to exist and sang the song. He understood that Christianity, or any religion for that matter, needs to at least stay true to that very tenet that one must love your neighbour as yourself. He understood that you cannot eat well, sleep well, dress well, and live well if your neighbour is exponentially not even being afforded the opportunity to also eat well, sleep well and live well. He understood that brazen inequality is sinful and completely unchristian. White elitists and capitalist controllers had been told by their very own that they are building on ungodly foundations of sand in not wanting to fully share Mzansi with others. Essentially for this reason, Johan Heyns’ dogma of equality and larger egalitarianism was rejected and he was killed. Even Johan Heyns had understood that when someone somewhere lifts his eyes to the heaven, the very Christian demeanour of the church and the foundations from which such faith is practiced, should light up the heavens of a living and caring God. Were people so selfish as to rather kill a church’s moderator in order to rather remain selfish and to keep the structural oppression and marginalising measures intact? Lastly, Amos and many other prophets teach us people are not ‘commodities’. Commercial profiteering, unchecked monopolies and the uncaring attitude in capitalistic structures cannot merely be left to chance. The ideologies and religious principles we follow may not be allowed to permeate our minds to such a degree that there remains little care about the life and family of others. That is diametrically opposed to God’s kingdom principles. People are not mere commodities. They have lives, feelings and family. Multinationals cannot treat workers as fodder for the capitalistic machine. Pastors cannot think to use congregations to play people just for the pastor’s material gain. A Black government cannot enrich only a few. White capitalist cannot selfishly control all industry and land. God cannot be pleased by such loveless treatment of others. That is why even Christ shifts the emphasis from profit motives and interrogates sheer capitalism. He gets extreme in showing God’s extreme displeasure of such sins by even going into the temple and chasing people from there with a whip! Father Abraham cannot be tangibly that he’s got White, Black, Indian and Coloured children whom he treats and love unequally. His equal love for all is blurred through the vastness of inequality. Farmer Abrahams and politician Jacob must come to that realisation. If that realisation is met with tangible change, why would there than be any need to burn farms down?! Are we not all in some way brothers and sisters through a common agreement we had committed ourselves to when this new country started? Indeed we are. It is not high time that we change our ungodly ways of perpetuating inequality and start building on better foundations of larger egalitarianism? For the current ways are to crumble, there is no way that lies can stood the test of time.
Posted on: Sun, 26 Oct 2014 10:15:28 +0000
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