URCSA BIBLE STUDY: TUESDAY, 20 JULY 2010

THEME:

LIVING BELHAR… LIVING GLOBAL UNITY

CAP 2010 IN BOTSWANA, NAMIBIA, LESOTHO & RSA

INTRODUCTIONIn today’s Bible Study we shall deal with the CAP 2010 Theme: Living Belhar, Living Global Unityas the 2 sub-themes (Confession of Belhar & Restorative Justice) had already been dealt with in different ways by some other speakers. Both these sub-themes will however also be touched in this presentation.

Our aim with this Bible Study would be to look at this theme from a specific South –African and Southern – African perspective in order to contextualize a bit.

The main Scripture passage which I shall try to break open is EPHESIANS 2:11-3:13.

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Living Belhar, Living Global Unity:

a Southern African perspective

WHAT IS THE SPECIFIC CONTEXT IN URCSA

& SOUTHERN AFRICA ?

Please also remember the documents you have received

in Namibia

o Belhar: A Way of Living

o The Litany of Belhar

o Restorative justice).

Who knows this man?

“It has always been the pattern throughout history that

whosoever brings new order knows it best and

therefore is the perpetual teacher of those to whom

the new order is being brought. If the white

missionaries were ‘right’ about their God in the eyes of

the people, then the African people could only accept

whatever these new know-all tutors had to say about

life.

The acceptance of the colonial tainted version of

Christianity marked the turning point in the

resistance of African people.”

Steve Bantu Biko, (in the picture) spoke these words

to conference of black ministers in 1972, as a

youngster and leader of the South African Students

Organization. He died violently at the hands of the

South African police, on 12 September 1977. He was

only 30 years.

His struggle against racism in apartheid South

Africa was intently a struggle against a

conceptualization of church, which

theologically justified and sanctioned

separate-ness, a struggle against, what he called,

„the colonial-tainted version of Christianity‟;

his was a struggle for unity, real unity

DISCUSSION:

What has happened to this youth inspired challenge for the church? Is the church still able to hear God’s Word, through the young people, the youth and student movements for a time such as this, a time where Southern Africa reels under the impact of a dramatic implosion of Zimbabwe, the Great Lakes region, but also growing incidences of Xenophobia, or what some would call Afrophobia, against economic and political refugees?

This question cuts at the root of our post-colonial struggle. The younger generation, once the vanguard of Christian social witness, but more specifically, young leaders in the various youth ministries, seemingly now leave mainline churches for newer ones, or simply leave these churches altogether. We will not look into the phenomenon of younger members migrating between or out of churches, but will rather focus on the ongoing contextual witness of churches and also youth ministries in the wake of the apartheid, and our quest for Global unity.

In aiming at understanding their calling as Christians, the origin of both Christian Youth Movement (CYM) and United Christian

Student‟s Association (UCSA) made explicit reference to their social vocation, as they listened to the Word of God, in their context. The

CYM came about in July 1995, as a result of the merger between the youth ministries of black Dutch Reformed Church in Africa (DRCA), the “ Mokgatlo wa Bodumedi ba Bokreste” (MBB), and the coloured Dutch Reformed Mission Church (DRMC), the “Christelike Jeugvereniging” (CJV);

UCSA came into existence in 1997, as a result of the merger between the predominantly coloured “Vereniging vir Christen Studente” (VCS) and the all white “Afrikaanse Christen Studente Vereniging” (ACSV).

The whole structure and practice of these ministries were steeped in the imagery of the white Dutch Reformed Church‟s official collusion with apartheid and they

were formed during the apartheids period, as racially defined colonial structures.

A JOURNEY OF TWO POST-APARTHEID

YOUTH MOVEMENTS

In this section, we do not simply tell the story, but relate the story of these

movements to the following questions:

what the challenges were that they identified at inception, and

what their challenges are now.

We then relate this, their own contextual analysis, to the way their ministry

unfolds, correlate it with post-colonial thinkers in the Southern African

context.

DECISIONS OF YOUTH CONGRESSES

The decisions as recorded by the youth congresses, in particular of the former CJV and ACS (1985-1993) also indicate that serious attempts were made to understand and contextualize the gospel in terms of black youth resistance and working class cultures and struggles of the day, i.e. a struggle against colonialism, but also the “colonial-tainted version of Christianity”.

It is here already where proponents of South African Black Theology, but later also, the Confession of Belhar strongly influenced the theology of these movements.

The emphasis was indeed on forging a missional self-understanding, where the pursuit of the unity beyond human made and social boundaries, but also the building of reconciliation and justice, especially for the black poor, the oppressed and needy, was central.

NATIONAL CYM CONGRESS

26 JUNE – 2 JULY 1993

Significant about this event were the strategic roles played by leaders and

“heroes”in the struggle against apartheid, like Beyers Naudé and Nico

Botha, who participated, guided and stimulated the deliberations and

worship of young people in the context of church unification and soc

al transformation. This interaction led to the youth congress‟s unanimous

commitment to a 2-phase organic unification process namely,

first the unification of the DRMC and DRCA and

then between the envisioned URCSA and the rest of the Dutch

Reformed Church family.

This congress conceptualized this missional intention by stating, “It is

the conviction of the congress that the unification of the DR

churches will be a mighty witness of reconciliation in a

divided land”

In this respect, Nico Koopman, then student chaplain of University of the

Western Cape reflects in the official newspaper of the then DRMC, “Die

Ligstraal/Ligdraer” on the historical significance of this, by writing,

“For various reasons this conference gave me hope for the future: Our

Youth is blessed with wonderful skills which are demonstrated in

their ability to arrange a national event of this magnitude so

effectively. Their discipline, loyalty to the church and love for Jesus

Christ, struck me.

The theme and contents of the conference reflects the spiritual

growth of our youth, but it also indicates that our youth is grappling

with the most important issues of the day. And very important, they

are not discouraged, they are hopeful about the dawning of a new

unifying church and a unified South Africa.

May the young members of the church encourage all of us.”

THAT WAS THEN, HOW DOES IT LOOK NOW IN SOUTHERN AFRICA?

A different beat: An assessment of these

conversations within the broader quest for

reconciliation and justice within Southern

Africa.

Post-colonial thinker, Achille Mbembe calls for

the changing of discourse in the South African

(this is perhaps also relevant for Namibia,

Botswana and Zimbabwe) race discourse.

Reflecting on the significance of Steve Biko, for

today, he writes…,

“Since Biko‟s death blacks in South Africa have secured equal citizenship rights. The constitution outlaws racial discrimination. Today there are significantly more blacks in the middle and upper classes than there were 30 years ago. In the words of a black female entrepreneur, some have more than one luxury vehicle. They own more than one home and can afford private school education for their children, who own cell phones….

The meaning of race and the nature of racial identity are now far more complex and ambiguous then they have ever been. Who is „black‟, „Afrikaner‟, „white‟, coloured‟, or Asian‟ is no-longer entirely pre-fixed. The discourses in which South Africans represent race relations are changing…..”

TWO DOMINANT IDENTITY CATEGORIES

This reality, within the youth scene is affirmed by

Soudien, who, on the basis of extensive

ethnographical field work, concludes that although

race remained a major factor in shaping the South

African social life, “it has had to change in

response to a number of developments…”

He then propose that at least two dominant

identity categories are emerging in the Southern

African context,

“identities of possibility” and

“identities of challenge”

DISCUSSION:

1. Do you see amongst young people these identities

emerging?

2. Are there some who have all possibilities at there

disposal and others who face only challenges…difficult

and debilitating challenges.

Look at your youth groups, where do the young people

fall in? Look at your community.

If not, what are the kind of identities emerging? We

would like to have your ideas.

REFLECTION ON THE BIBLE

In looking at the Bible and what God is saying to

us we first need to say something about how we

read the Bible. Here, we use a metaphor of

remixing to help you to underdstand

contextualisation.

In reading the Bible for this quest we need firstly

to say something about how we read the Bible,

namely in a contextual manner. In this context

we will use a concept to explain

contextualisation, namely remixing.

REMIXING

The idea of using remixing in this context, however,

came from a colleague, whilst driving to a meeting

as we discussed a publication from Brian J Walsh

and Sylvia C. Keesmaat, “Colossians Remixed”

who used “remixing”, in the context of

hermeneutics and the re-reading of the

biblical text, within a context of globalization

and empire

A remix, in its more popular meaning, is the technique, but also the alternative version, i.e. the musical product, processed differently from the original version, which is

also technically speaking a „mixture‟. In the process of production, the producer selectively appropriate samples from older material, to create something new for a new audience, in many cases to make it possible for them to dance to the song.

The original song is not repackaged, or simply translated into the language of the new audience; it is totally reviewed,

with new beats, a new theme and in many cases, new lyrics.

REGGAE ARTIST

REMIXING AS CONTEXTUALIZATION

This study is however not about remixing as such, but

appropriating it as a metaphor. We hope to use it

simply as a metaphor for contextualization, whilst also

attempting to remain explicitly true to its political, its

subversive connotations.

All readings of the Bible is contextual; it is

simply a matter of questioning in what way they

are contextual.

Contextualiztion is not simply to relate the

social, political, economic and cultural

challenges to the interpretation or application of

a pure, undiluted gospel, but more specifically,

the acknowledgement that the gospel message in

itself is contextual, i.e. mixed, not simply the

package. Indeed, the word is alive.

This has then been the way the churches and their

youth ministries, espousing contextual theology

against apartheid, has understood the gospel and

therefore mission on the Southern African scene.

CONFESSION OF BELHAR

Let‟s also say something about the Confession of Belhar.

This confession was also influenced i.e. it‟s a remix from previous statements like the Barmen Declaration. This Declaration was accepted in Germany in 1934, in response to the challenge a national church which excluded certain people.

Whilst there was individuals who contributed to the writing of these documents, it was also influenced by movements, in Germany by the Confessing Church and in South Africa and Namibia, amongst others by the “Belydende Kring” ( the Confessing Circle).

Hence, it did not fall from the sky, it‟s a remix

of previous documents, previous ideas

becoming relevant in a new situation. In this

new situation the Bible is read anew and

the readers live it out in a new way.

In a sense the faith is first a living reality

and then some within the Body of Christ, write

it out and viola, we have a „confession‟.

In the case of Belhar, we speak of Unity,

Reconciliation and Justice

Let‟s reflect on our quest for Unity,

as we delve into Ephesians 2:11-

3:13, within the context of

Southern Africa, as we have

discussed it.

How is the gospel relevant for a

situation like this, a challenge as

we‟ve described it

DISCUSSION:

In any remix we first need to ask who the song was addressed to in the

first place. In the case of the well-known popular song by Whitney Houston,

Greatest love of all, who know who first sang this song?

Of course, it wasn‟t Whitney, but George Benson. This song was initially

written by Linda Creed, in the midst of her struggle with breast cancer and she

wants describe her feelings about coping with a terminal illness and being a

young mother.

So, let‟s first deal with the critical question: to who is the passage is addressed

to in the first place: Read v 2:11a; 2:12; 2:19; 3:1b; 3:13 and discuss it. Who are

these people and what were they struggling with.

WHAT IS THE BACKGROUND OF THIS LETTER

Rudolph Schnackenburg, dates this letter to around 90 AD, others (Barth,

Wessels) around 56 to 64 AD. The point is that it was written in a time when the

congregations in Asia Minor were in transition. They started as a Jewish

renewal movement, following the Jewish preacher called Jesus, of Nasareth.

Slowly but surely they moved away from their Jewish roots. More and more

members from a non-Jewish ethnic background were also joining the

congregations.

There was tension in the relationships between Jews and the non-Jews-they

struggled with internal unity.

They also struggled with diverse false doctrines, and a situation where the

teachings of the initial leaders were challenged by itinerary preachers and new

leadership structures and patterns were emerging away from the Jewish

temple life and community life.

DISCUSSION

Discuss the following questions on the

basis of Eph 2:11-18

1. What is Paul reminding his readers of?

Look at where they came from?

How were they called (names)?

How did that impact on their self-esteem,

their position in the faith community,

their view of God,

How did they feel when they joined the

new congregations, as a minority ?

2. What has happened since? What are the key event/ happening that made a change? (v14)

What was the dividing wall of hostility? Was it the invisible social walls within the faith community, the physical walls in the temple which separated the priest from the people or was it the wall between the Jewish men and the rest ( the women and children, the Gentiles, the slaves, those suffering from leprosy)

Did this message of peace and unit, fall from the sky (Read Is 57:19; Is 60:1-5)

3. How has things changed for his readers?

What is the impact on their self-esteem, their

sense of identity, their view of God?

Some translators and commentators speaks of a new race (v15)

others speaks of a new humanity, a new kind of human being.

Marcus Barth however contends with a new man. (kainos

anthropos) He states,

„The members of the church are not so equalised, levelled down

and straitjacketed in a uniform as to form a genus terium, that

would be different from both Jews and Gentiles. Rather the church

consists of Jews and Gentiles reconciled to one another by the

Messiah who has come and has died for both.‟ (1974:310)

On the basis of this discussion the author of the text now (2:19-22) draws the conclusions to the readers. Here he uses the words, xenos (foreigners) and sojourners (pariokoi). Its now not the language of enemies, its language of nation and statehood, identity-it becomes political.

The foreigners are those people who lived temporarily in the land, aliens. These expressions marked the non-Jews permanently in a negative way. They remained on the other side of the wall, or fence or borders. These two words are however used simply to describe the „out‟ group, the outsiders, the other….who were separated from the in-group.

But now, because of v14, they have a new status: fellow-citizenship; and members of the Oikos ( the household of God), but the imagery shifts; they become the house/home of God itself. They‟re not simply in the house, they are the house.

Think about this:

What are the implications of this shift for the self-understanding of former strangers, of aliens, in their country, strangers in another country?

What are the implications of this for xenophobia, for inter-national relations ?

M Barth summarizes the message of Eph 2: 12-22 as follows:

„Into this divided world Jesus Christ has come to bring peace so much so that the church came into being and received the task of demonstrating to the world the accomplished

reconciliation‟ For him this brings hope to the world.

.

ACTION

Leader: Who are my mother and my brothers?"

Group: Here are my mother and my brothers!

Whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister

and mother.Leader: May the God of steadfastness and encouragement

grant us to live in harmony with one another, in

accordance with Christ Jesus,

Group: So that together we may with one voice glorify the

God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Leader: Let us welcome one another, therefore,

Group: Just as Christ has welcomed us, for the glory of God.

(from URCSA Belhar Booklet: Confession of Belhar, A way of life)