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The English Speaking Churches
Beyers Naudé mentions in his autobiography (1995:49) on Joost de Blank that everybody at the Cottesloe Consultations had problems with him, even the representatives of the World Council of Churches. Joost de Blank apologised at the Consultation for his prejudices against the Afrikaner brethren at the Consultation, stating that his prejudices were based in part on misconceptions (Naudé 1995:50).
Archbishop Joost de Blank had complained to the World Council of Churches, placing before them an ultimatum, that either the Afrikaans churches with their adherence to Apartheid could be members of the World Council of Churches, or the Presbyterian Church, but not both.118 Some of the clergy of his church had participated in the protests against the pass books at Sharpville and Langa, events that evoked the reactions that led to the holding of the Cottesloe Consultations under the auspices of the World Council of Churches. Thus, the attitude between the NG Kerk and the English speaking churches was pessimistic and filled with contempt. This contempt could be drawn along nationalistic lines, as experienced in Graaff Reinett with the Anglo-orientated NG Kerk members (Naudé 1995:20). Further contempt can be seen in Article 256 of the constitution of the Ned. Herv. or Geref. Kerk which determines (Wette en Bepalinge 1948): “Parents who send their children to Roman Schools are censurable.” Censorship was a serious indictment, indicating how serious an offence this was, as well as the very negative attitude towards the Roman Catholic Church. In file 5 of the Cottesloe Consultation, 13 April 1960, compiled by Leslie Hewson, the Methodist Church requested the NG Kerk to declare that B.B. Keet, B.J. Marais, P.V. Pistorius and H.A. Fagan, “marked out the true road of South Africa which would lead the all South Africans of every race group to a broad foundation of national unity”. (Brown 1992b:490). Thus there were exceptions, Ben Marais being one. Petersen (2001:120) substantiates the popular perception and “received theological wisdom” that regards the topic of Apartheid and the English speaking churches an oxymoron. He points at the “noble history” of opposition to the theories and practices of Apartheid. Thus, he considers the actions of the missionary of the London Missionary Society, Johannes van der Kemp, who refused to preach in the church in Graaff-Reinet because it excluded Khoi Khoi worshipers (Petersen 2001:120). Petersen (2001:121) also considers the involvement of the English speaking churches in the history of the political history of the 20th century by comparing the “liberal historiography” of the English speakers, who wished to emphasise 1948 as a turning point in the history of the country, and the historiography of Jim Cochrane, as contained in his doctoral thesis: Servants of Power: The Role of the English-speaking Churches 1903-1930 (1987). This thesis was a sustained critique of the “heroic” model of the English speaking churches, in which Cochrane (1987) relates these churches to the development of Apartheid. It must also be remembered that the Anglicans generally supported Chamberlain’s aggressive policy towards the Boers (Hofmeyr & Pillay 1994:152). Only a few voices from the English speaking churches raised their voices against the methods used during the Anglo-Boer War.
This study by Cochrane (1987) forced a re-evaluation of the English speaking churches, beginning with a systematic investigation of the role of the missions and the missionaries in colonialism and the shaping of the racial and economic landscapes of the country. Many of these missionaries had become icons in liberal historiography. As early exponents of dissent against “Boer racism”, the missionaries of the London Missionary Society, especially van der Kemp, John Philip, James Read and Robert Moffat, were seen as examples of a continuous liberal and anti-racist agitation on the part of the English speaking churches. This perception was further enhanced by the way in which these figures became cast as symbolic of “die Engelse gevaar” in the mythology of Afrikaner Christian-nationalism (Petersen 2001:121). Every South African school child grew up being taught that van der Kemp, Philip and Read were the embodiment of villainy and evil and that their “meddling” in frontier racial politics was one of the chief factors leading to the Great Trek (Petersen 2001:122).
Petersen (2001:123) indicates that Villa-Vicencio (1988) considers the actual sentiments within the English speaking churches during the Apartheid heydays, indicating that the concentration on and celebration of the few who actively resisted the government policies, and around whom a heroic narrative could be constructed, presents a generally false picture of the actual state of affairs. Petersen (2001:123) emphasises the fact that such a heroic narrative generally fails to note the opposition such activists had even within their own denominations – “how they had to struggle against their own structures and congregates, and how, very often, they were forced to compromise their positions. Concentrating on these (often) lone voices fails to take account of how much of a minority position they actually occupied, and just how few of them there actually were!” (Petersen 2001:123). This is quite typical of Ben Marais, though the history reporting on him tends to emphasise the opposition he experienced!
Applying the Ideas of Abraham Kuyper
The neo-Calvinistic ideas of Kuyper were popularised in South Africa by students who studied, especially at the Free University of Amsterdam during the 1930s. Rossouw (2001:100) indicates that Kuyper based his theology on the conviction that there were a fixed number of creational ordinances. These could be determined by a study of nature and history. These ordinances were applied by the South African students, where it was determined by Kuyper (Rossouw 2001:100) that each ordinance was governed by its own set of laws. The young South African students were particularly attracted to this reasoning, because they identified the nation as one of the creational ordinances. Humans had to respect these ordinances in order to serve the well-being of the whole creation and the honour of God (Praamsma 1981:25). Rossouw (2001:100) points out that the state was seen as a mere instrument serving the nation’s interests, and that nationalism thus became an expression of one’s obedience to the will of God. Furthermore, the South African students interpreted the concept of nation along racist lines, and therefore concluded that Afrikaners had a divinely ordained right and obligation to protect their racial purity (Rossouw 2001:100). This, along with Kuyper’s thoughts on diversity – variety of nations – as also applied to the church, had tremendous impact on the NG Kerk’s ecumenical relations. Rossouw (2001:100) shows how Kuyper regarded the visible unity of the church in history as unimportant, “and even as undesirable”. The unity of the church was then an eschatological concept which would be realised in the hereafter. The theological grounds for the withdrawal from ecumenical ties and self isolation of the NG Kerk are thus quite apparent. Finally, Rossouw (2001:100) points out that even as late as 1973, this reasoning on diversity was used as an argument for the justification of separate sister churches within the NG Kerk family – each church for a separate race group, and that unity was to be “realised on a higher spiritual level in Christ” (Rossouw 2001:100).
CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION
1. INTRODUCTION
2. SYNOPSIS OF BEN MARAIS’ LIFE
3. CHURCH HISTORIOGRAPHY
4. PREMISES
5. FORMULATION OF THE PROBLEM
7. TITLE OF THE THESIS
8. METHODOLOGY AND PROCEDURE
9. CHAPTER OVERVIEW
10. CONCLUSION
CHAPTER 2 THE LIFE OF BEN MARAIS
1. INTRODUCTION
2. A KEY TO BEN MARAIS
3. THE LIFE OF BEN MARAIS
4. CONCLUSION
CHAPTER 3 THE TIMES OF BEN MARAIS
1. INTRODUCTION
2. SOUTHERN AFRICA IN THE 20TH CENTURY
3. HOW BEN MARAIS WEATHERED THE CLIMATES
4. CONCLUSION
CHAPTER 4 NATIONALISM: TWO PERIODS OF TRANSFORMATION
1. INTRODUCTION
2. THE FIRST PERIOD OF TRANSFORMATION
3. THE SECOND PERIOD OF TRANSFORMATION
4. OVERLAP IN THE PERIODS OF TRANSFORMATION
5. THE VARIOUS FORMS OF NATIONALISM
6. THE TERM “NATIONALISM”
7. THE DIFFERENT FORMS OF NATIONALISM
8. EFFECT OF POLITICAL, CULTURAL AND NATIONALISTIC CLIMATES ON CHURCH AND THEOLOGY
9. CONCLUSION
CHAPTER 5 UNDERLYING PRINCIPLES AND INFLUENTIAL PRESENCE
1. INTRODUCTION
2. PERSONAL CONSIDERATIONS
3. TRAVELS
4. FRIENDS AND ACQUAINTANCES: INFLUENTIAL PEOPLE
5. THEOLOGICAL CONSIDERATIONS
6. STUDIES
7. PRINCIPLES
8. THE WORLD AT WAR
9. THE STUDENT ENVIRONMENT
10 CONCLUSION
CHAPTER 6 A PROPHET FOR HIS TIMES, BUT FOR OTHERS TOO
1. INTRODUCTION
2. THE LEGACY OF BEN MARAIS
3. DURING THE FIRST PERIOD OF TRANSFORMATION
4. IN THE SHADOW OF THE SECOND PERIOD OF TRANSFORMATION
5. APPRECIATION FOR BEN MARAIS
6. HERALDING THE RAINBOW AFTER THE STORMS: DESMOND TUTU
7. CONCLUSION: BEN MARAIS THE PROPHET
CHAPTER 7 CONCLUSION
1. ANSWERING THE POSED PROBLEM
2. PROVING THE HYPOTHESIS
3. METHODOLOGY AND PROCEDURE
4. CHAPTER OVERVIEW
5. REFLECTION
6. WHAT DID WE DO WITH OUR TROAS?
7. FINAL REMARK
BIBLIOGRAPHY
1. ANCIENT AND CLASSIC AUTHORS
2. WORKS BY BEN MARAIS
3. GENERAL AUTHORS
4. INTERVIEWS
5. SYNOD AGENDAS, REPORTS AND MINUTES
6. ARCHIVES
