Resistance to the NGK
The apartheid ideology was not unanimously supported in the Afrikaner churches; it met resistance on many levels, at first from the whites in the NGK, then from the blacks in the NGSK and the NGKA. Reverend Beyers Naudé, a minister at NGK, was one of the early objectors to the apartheid ideology, and in1964, he was stripped of his position due to his involvement with the Christian Institute – a multiracial group – that advocated for causes like the Black Consciousness and Black theology during the 1970s. He was placed under house arrest, shortly after the death of Steve Biko (the Black Consciousness theorist), and he remained so until 1984. Benjamin B. Keet and Barend J. Marais are two other prominent individuals who …show more content…
Due to the fact that English-speaking churches were aware of that race could not continue to divide the church, “certain leaders of the English-speaking churches began to take cautious steps toward the endorsement of a multiracial society, rather than of the segregationist vision emerging in Afrikanerdom and the NGK.” It is in these English-speaking multiracial churches that Blacks and Whites can meet in the land of apartheid; conversely, it is also true that because of residential segregation, Blacks and Whites rarely meet in Parish churches. Nevertheless, from their ministers, from their synods, and from the South African Council of Churches (SACC), Whites can hear official church statements that challenge their personal resistance to change. Slowly but surely, Blacks are taking the initiative, and despite their military might, Whites are being thrust into the defensive position of reacting to Black demands. This is not to say that Blacks are unified in their ideas of how to get from here to there, seeing as how the leading Black Nationalist groups – the African National Congress, the Pan-Africanist Congress, the Black Consciousness Movement, and Inkatha – are plagued by rivalry with each other and by internal quarrels. Some Blacks envision enjoying a piece of the pie, gaining access to the fruits of the capitalist system. Others, including many religious …show more content…
The multiracial churches, some segments of the African independent churches, the Black (formerly ‘mission’) churches of the NGK, as well as some leaders of the Afrikaans churches are already assuming a more prophetic stance, and could play a mediating role in the inevitable conflict. However severely many may criticize the church for not opposing apartheid more vigorously, the truth is that the church has gathered within itself an impressive number of women and men, Blacks, and Whites, who take heroic risks to fight for an end to oppression. Religions working under the influence of new religious ideas served as a force for social change in South Africa, and many Christians joined forces to work against oppression. During the period of colonialism, apartheid, and liberation in South Africa’s history, religion and politics
The apartheid ideology was not unanimously supported in the Afrikaner churches; it met resistance on many levels, at first from the whites in the NGK, then from the blacks in the NGSK and the NGKA. Reverend Beyers Naudé, a minister at NGK, was one of the early objectors to the apartheid ideology, and in1964, he was stripped of his position due to his involvement with the Christian Institute – a multiracial group – that advocated for causes like the Black Consciousness and Black theology during the 1970s. He was placed under house arrest, shortly after the death of Steve Biko (the Black Consciousness theorist), and he remained so until 1984. Benjamin B. Keet and Barend J. Marais are two other prominent individuals who …show more content…
Due to the fact that English-speaking churches were aware of that race could not continue to divide the church, “certain leaders of the English-speaking churches began to take cautious steps toward the endorsement of a multiracial society, rather than of the segregationist vision emerging in Afrikanerdom and the NGK.” It is in these English-speaking multiracial churches that Blacks and Whites can meet in the land of apartheid; conversely, it is also true that because of residential segregation, Blacks and Whites rarely meet in Parish churches. Nevertheless, from their ministers, from their synods, and from the South African Council of Churches (SACC), Whites can hear official church statements that challenge their personal resistance to change. Slowly but surely, Blacks are taking the initiative, and despite their military might, Whites are being thrust into the defensive position of reacting to Black demands. This is not to say that Blacks are unified in their ideas of how to get from here to there, seeing as how the leading Black Nationalist groups – the African National Congress, the Pan-Africanist Congress, the Black Consciousness Movement, and Inkatha – are plagued by rivalry with each other and by internal quarrels. Some Blacks envision enjoying a piece of the pie, gaining access to the fruits of the capitalist system. Others, including many religious …show more content…
The multiracial churches, some segments of the African independent churches, the Black (formerly ‘mission’) churches of the NGK, as well as some leaders of the Afrikaans churches are already assuming a more prophetic stance, and could play a mediating role in the inevitable conflict. However severely many may criticize the church for not opposing apartheid more vigorously, the truth is that the church has gathered within itself an impressive number of women and men, Blacks, and Whites, who take heroic risks to fight for an end to oppression. Religions working under the influence of new religious ideas served as a force for social change in South Africa, and many Christians joined forces to work against oppression. During the period of colonialism, apartheid, and liberation in South Africa’s history, religion and politics