"The message to the people of South Africa" in contemporary context

The question of Palestine and the challenge to the church

Authors

  • Mark Braverman Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch, South Africa

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.17570/stj.2019.v5n3.a01

Abstract

In September 2018 John de Gruchy presented a paper at the Volmoed Colloquium titled "Revisiting the Message to the people of South Africa," in which he asks, "what is the significance of the document for our time?" In this expanded version of the author's response to de Gruchy, two further questions are pursued: First: how can the churches today meet the challenge of today's global system of economically and politically-driven inequality driven by a constellation of individuals, corporations, and governments? Second: in his review of church history, de Gruchy focused on the issue of church theology described in the 1985 Kairos South Africa document, in which churches use words that purport to support justice but actually serve to shore up the status quo of discrimination, inequality and racism. How does church theology manifest in the contemporary global context, and what is the remedy? The author proposes that ecumenism can serve as a mobilizing and organizing model for church action, and that active engagement in the issue of Palestine is an entry point for church renewal and for a necessary and fruitful exploration of critical issues in theology and ecclesiology.

Author Biography

Mark Braverman, Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch, South Africa

In September 2018 John de Gruchy presented a paper at the Volmoed Colloquium entitled “Revisiting the Message to the people of South Africa,†in which he asks, “what is the significance of the document for our time?†In this expanded version of the author’s response to de Gruchy, two further questions are pursued: First: how can the churches today meet the challenge of today’s global system of economically and politically-driven inequality driven by a constellation of individuals, corporations, and governments? Second: in his review of church history, de Gruchy focused on the issue of church theology described in the 1985 Kairos South Africa document, in which churches use words that purport to support justice but actually serve to shore up the status quo of discrimination, inequality and racism. How does church theology manifest in the contemporary global context, and what is the remedy? The author proposes that ecumenism can serve as a mobilizing and organizing model for church action, and that active engagement in the issue of Palestine is an entry point for church renewal and for a necessary and fruitful exploration of critical issues in theology and ecclesiology.

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Published

2020-01-20

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Copyright (c) 2020 Mark Braverman

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