This chronicle is therefore at the disposal of anyone who is interested in it: members, certainly, but also others who want to know how the Dutch Reformed Church thought about things during the apartheid years and what its part was in the course of events.

However, the coming together of the provincial synods in a General Synod was preceeded - and nearly brought to grief - by the Cottesloe conference of churches in 1960. It is therefore necessary to begin with this conference, and with what led up to and issued from it, in order to understand how the story progressed thereafter. The necessary perspective is provided by references to certain events in the earlier decades of this century.

The record of our journey concludes in 1994 - not just because that year saw the formal, constitutional end of apartheid, but also because the General Synod which took place in 1994 became known as "the Synod of Reconciliation".

However, we did not always understand His Word correctly for the times in which we lived, and often we did not do what He asked of us. We confess that to Him. Where we offended against our neighbours, we also sincerely confess our sins to them. This we do in the grateful knowledge that if we confess our sins, Jesus Christ, who is faithful and just, will forgive us our sins. /pp 2-3/

The fact that colour played such an important role in South Africa is not solely attributable to the policy of the country's government since 1948. It is manifestly true "that much of the least attractive part of the present South African political economy stems directly from its earlier history as part of the British and, before that, Dutch empires" (Francis Wilson, as quoted by Van Rooyen, op. cit., p 27).

The view heard at synodal assemblies of the time was that the policy of "rasse-apartheid" (racial separateness) was consonant with principles laid down in the holy Scriptures. Apart from references to, for example, Acts 17:16, the history of the Tower of Babel, the events at Pentecost and texts about the "purity" of the people of Israel, the Scriptural basis had not yet been spelt out clearly. Hence the urgent need for a direct Biblical justification of "rasse-apartheid".

Groenewaid emphasised that (1) the Scriptures taught the unity of the human race; (2) the dividing up of the human race was a conscious act by God; (3) the Lord wished separate peoples to maintain their separateness ("apartheid"); (4) apartheid extended over every aspect of a people's life - national, social and religious; (5) respect for the principles of apartheid enjoyed God's blessing; (6) in Christ a higher spiritual unity would come about; (7) the stronger had a calling in relation to the weaker (Van Rooyen, op. cit., p 54).

The Council of Churches adopted Groenewald's report without problems, as did the Natal and Free State Synods subsequently, but the Transvaal Synod did not. Dr (later Prof) BJ Marais seriously questioned the Scriptural grounds advanced by the report. It was his view that apartheid could probably be supported for practical reasons, but that the Bible did not present apartheid as a fixed prescription for the regulation of society. After initially not wishing to adopt the report, the Transvaal Synod did, in fact, affirm the Scriptural basis of racial apartheid two days later, after further debate on the matter. /pp 5-6/

"The principle of pluralism in the creation and in the world of nations, and the pluriform ecclesiastical outlook of Calvinism, which allows for the existence of separate national churches, constitutes the ideological basis of the report," [translation] writes Van der Watt (op. cit., p 100).

Dr Ben Marais wrote in Die kleur-krisis en die Weste (1952): "We cannot accept any direct basis from the Scriptures for the policy of apartheid ... we can, at best, make inferences and draw parallels in general terms" [translation]. But in the practice of our Christian social principles, says Marais, we must take account of the nature and state of the real world in which we live. The concrete situation, the real world within which the Christian is called to live as a Christian, will largely determine the application of our Christian principles. "Our own position in South Africa, in my view, offers more than sufficient justification for a policy of separate development ... provided that the further requirements of Christian fraternity are 'not denied and that such a policy is inspired by Christian love and not by racial selfishness or a feeling of racial superiority" [translation] (p 291-297).

Ds David Botha wrote in Die opkoms van ons Derde Stand (1960) that "at this stage apartheid is certainly the obvious practical policy for the whites and the black people, because there are overwhelming centrifugal forces in all spheres of interest. But between the whites and the coloured people [an apartheid classification denoting mixed race] it is the centripetal forces which are overwhelmingly powerful ..." [translation] (p 149).

Prof Bennie Keet wrote in Vertraagde Aksie (1960) that apartheid, in the sense of a division of the country, could have been an option a hundred years ago, but it could only take place now with the greatest injustice to one side or the other (p 6).

After 1948 the Dutch Reformed Church frequently urged the government to implement the policy of apartheid, and many laws were instituted with the approval of the church. Van der Watt mentions the following laws which appeared in the statute book, or were amended, after representations from the Dutch Reformed Church (op. cit., pp 84-86):

*)The Transvaal Dutch Reformed Church was represented by ten people: AM Meiring, UB Naude, FE O'Brien Geldenhuys, CB Brink, AB du Preez, EP Groenewald, JA van Wyk, SS Tema and J Selamolela (both of the Dutch Reformed Mission Church of the Transvaal) and B le Battie (of the coloured congregation in Johannesburg).

The Cape Dutch Reformed Church delegation also consisted of ten people: AJ van der Merwe, WJ van der Merwe, TN Hanekorn, FJM Potgieter, PA Verhoef, CH Badenhorst, AP Smit, PES Smith, AJ van Wijk and WA Landman. /pp 9-10/

• Witness of the church: "At a time of rapid social change, the church has a special responsibility to witness fearlessly within society."
• Mixed marriages: "There are no Scriptural grounds for a prohibition on mixed marriages. The welfare of the community and pastoral responsibility demand, however, that the necessary consideration be given to certain factors which may make such marriages undesirable."
• Job reservation: "The current system of job reservation must give way to a fairer system which protects the interests of all involved."
• Land tenure and co-determination: "It is our conviction that the right to own land wherever he is domiciled and to participate in the government of his country is part of the dignity of the adult person, and for this reason a policy which permanently deprives non-whites of the right to ccdetermination in the government of the country of which they are citizens cannot be justified."
• Political status of coloureds: "(a) It is our conviction that there can be no objection in principle to the direct representation of the coloured population in Parliament. (b) We express the hope that consideration will be given to the implementation of this principle in the foreseeable future." [translation] /pp10-11/

Even the then Prime Minister, Dr HF Verwoerd, entered the debate when, in his New Year's message on 1 January 1961, he said that he regarded Cottesloe as an attempt by foreigners to interfere in South Africa's domestic affairs, that the declaration was no more than the opinion of a few individuals from the Dutch Reformed Church, and that the church had, in actual fact, not yet spoken - that would only happen when the synods made their voices heard.

"With this statement," writes Lu:ckhoff, "Verwoerd drew a red line through Cottesloe. He polarised the government and specifically the National Party against the church's leadership" [translation] (p 116).

Van Rooyen says that the split was purely ideological: in the main it was about the fact that the Dutch Reformed Church supported the "traditional policy" while the English churches rejected it (Van Rooyen, op. cit., p 133). In this regard Prof Ben Engelbrecht remarked: "How political forces could succeed in driving the wedge so deeply between churches and Christians in our country will always remain a baffling mystery" [translation] (BJ Engelbrecht: Ter wille van hierdie we~reld -Politiek en Christelike heilsbelewing in Suid-Afrika, p 25). /pp 12-13/

There was undoubtedly a link between the establishment of the Cl and the Cottesloe conference, where the various churches recognised anew the need for and good sense of a dialogue amongst themselves. Ds CFB Naude was appointed director of the Cl. When it was announced that he had accepted the full-time post of Cl director, Naude preached a sermon to his Aasvoe:lkop congregation based on a text which would later become his refrain: "We ought to obey God rather than men" (Acts 5:29).

The document emphasised that "the commandment that one should love one's neighbour provides the ethical norm for the regulation of relations between peoples" [translation] (point 13.8). Elsewhere it states: "A constitutional system based on differentiated development for different population groups can be justified in principle in terms of the Scriptures. Here, however, the commandment that one should love one's neighbour must always constitute the ethical norm for the regulation of sound relations between peoples" [translation] (point 49.6).

"The fruits of the policy, however, are the quintessence of ambivalence, of good and evil, of opportunities for self -realisation intertwined with circumstances of gross dehumanisation, of large-scale material and technical progress coupled with unbelievable deprivations in human values. For this reason the members of the (black and coloured) churches have experienced the apartheid policy, with all the benefits it has brought, as extremely oppressive." [translation] /pp 16-17/

Therefore, wrote Die Ligdraer, the Dutch Reformed Mission Church asked the Dutch Reformed Church to turn on its tracks and repudiate the policy of apartheid, and to help bring about the repeal of the Mixed Marriages Act, section 16 of the Immorality Act and the Group Areas Act.

Strictly speaking, wrote DJ Smit, the expression status confessionis means "that a Christian, a group of Christians, a church or a group of churches judges that a situation has arisen, a moment of truth has come, in which nothing less than than the gospel itself, their most basic confession concerning the Christian gospel, is at stake, so that they feel obliged to testify and act against that situation" [translation] (cf. GD Cloete, DJ Smit: 'n Oomblik van waarheid, 1984, p 22).

A draft confession was submitted to the Synod. It was adopted as an article of faith four years later by the Synod of the Dutch Reformed Mission Church under the title "The Confession of Belhar" and also in 1994 by the first synod of the Uniting Reformed Church in Southern Africa, at which the Dutch Reformed Mission Church and the larger part of the Dutch Reformed Church in Africa amalgamated.

The WARC is the oldest and largest reformed ecumenical body in the world. On the basis of the view that the Dutch Reformed Church - and the Nederduitsch Hervormde Kerk van Afrika, which was also a member had attempted to justify apartheid by misusing the gospel and the reformed confession, their membership was suspended. This suspension would remain in force until the two churches proved through their utterances and actions that their disposition had changed.

Concerning apartheid, the following was resolved:

• "In South Africa the idea and policy of separate development, with the ideal of territorial separation, evolved in the course of history. This was seen as a component of the whites' guardianship of the other groups, and had as its purpose the optimum development of all groups.
• "Following the reflection that has taken place through the years in church periodicals, conferences, committees and synods concerning the policy which has become known as apartheid, the conviction has gradually grown that a forced separation and division of peoples cannot be considered a Biblical imperative. The attempt to justify such an injunction as derived from the Bible must be recognised as an error and be rejected.
• "The Dutch Reformed Church is convinced that the application of apartheid as a political and social system by which human dignity is adversely affected, and whereby one particular group is detrimentally suppressed by another, cannot be accepted on Christian-ethical grounds because it contravenes the very essence of neighbourly love and righteousness and inevitably the human dignity of all involved.
• "The suffering of people for whom the church has concern must, however, not be attributed solely to the system of apartheid but to a variety of factors such as economic, social and political realities in which persons of different communities have not been accepted by one another. To the extent that the church and its members are involved in this, it confesses its participation with humility and sorrow.
• "The Dutch Reformed Church declares that it is prepared to co-operate in the Spirit of Christ to seek a solution which will enable every sector of the South African society to attain the highest possible level of wellbeing." [translation] (Kerk en Samelewing 1986, par 304-308)

• "The Scriptures do not forbid racially mixed marriages. In its pastoral work, however, the church must give due warning that social circumstances, as well as ideological, philosophical, cultural and socioeconomic differences and other factors, may cause serious tensions. Where such marriages do take place, those involved must receive pastoral guidance in all aspects of marriage." [translation] (Kerk en Samelewing 1986, par 368) /pp19-20/

The Afrikaans Protestant Church (AP Church) was founded, partly as a consequence of the fact that the demand by aggrieved members for the repeal of "all resolutions contained in Kerk en Samelewing 1986" and for an express injunction that "membership of the Dutch Reformed Church be reserved for white Afrikaners, and also for whites who associate themselves with white Afrikaner society" [translation] was rejected (according to a report in Die Kerkbode of 1 July 1987).

• "In the evaluation of apartheid the church is confronted with strong and emotionally-laden differences. While a part of the white population considers it a just way to protect the identity and the best interests of the different polulation groups in the country, others perceive it as a racist and oppressive system which protects and promotes the interests of the white minority to the detriment of the majority of the population. Consequently, numerous churches condemn it as unchristian and sinful. Apartheid is condemned by states and political institutions worldwide as a form of racism and a transgression against humanity.
• "The Dutch Reformed Church realises that the ideal and policy of apartheid took form and shape over a long period in our history. There were also honest and noble intentions by those concerned to achieve the optimal development of all population groups within the framework of their own cultural traditions.
• "It would also be unreasonable to brand as wrong and bad everything which took place within the political structure of apartheid and to deny the positive developments achieved in various fields.
• In principle the right and freedom of peoples to preserve and promote their own cultural and other values are acknowledged as integral to human rights, provided that the rights and freedom of others are not affected thereby, and the biblical demand to love one's neighbour and to accept one's fellow man are not negated. /pp 21-22/
• "The Dutch Reformed Church, however, acknowledges that for too long it has adjudged the policy of apartheid on the abovenamed grounds too' abstractly and theoretically, and therefore too uncritically. The Dutch Reformed Church had not sufficiently perceived that apartheid as a system had inter alia in its struggle against integration also received an ideological and ethnocentric basis. The right and freedom to remain true to one's own cultural heritage was extended to become a political ideology of apartheid as a system for the protection of the white minority's own interests to the detriment of others. Love for one's own often took the shape of racism and was expressed in legal and structural terms.
• "While the Dutch Reformed Church over the years seriously and persistently sought the will of God and His Word for our society, the church made the error of allowing forced separation and division of peoples in its own circle to be considered a Biblical imperative. The Dutch Reformed Church should have distanced itself much earlier from this view and admits and confesses its neglect.
• "Gradually it became clear to the Dutch Reformed Church that the policy of apartheid as a political system in practice went much further than the acknowledgment of the right and freedom of all peoples and cultural groups to stay true to their own values. Apartheid began to function in such a way that the largest part of the population of the country experienced it as an oppressive system which through the forced separation of peoples was in reality favouring one group wrongfully above the others. In this way the human dignity of one's fellow man became adversely affected and was in conflict with the principles of love and righteousness.
• "Any system which in practice functions in this way is unacceptable in the light of Scripture and the Christian conscience and must be rejected as sinful. Any attempt by a church to try to defend such a system biblically and ethically must be seen as a serious fallacy, that is to say it is in conflict with the Bible.
• "The Dutch Reformed Church wants to state clearly that it condemns all forms of discrimination and the suppression of peoples and wholeheartedly desires that all will be free to share in the privileges of the fatherland and will receive reasonable and equal opportunities to acquire prosperity and riches.
• "The church has, above all, compassion for the poverty and suffering of large numbers of people in our country and declares that it is prepared to co-operate in an ecclesiastical way in attempts to relieve the present need and to make it possible for all people in our country to have a better future.
• "The church, however, is convinced that a satisfactory political solution is necessary for the social problems which exist at present, and therefore urges all political leaders to co-operate in a responsible way to find a political dispensation which will ensure freedom, justice and a decent existence for all." /pp 22-23/

At the same time, there was broad concurrence, and also interaction, as thinking on societal issues developed, and it is true that certain convictions were arrived at more or less simultaneously at various levels of the Afrikaans community.

After Jonker's speech, Archbishop Desmond Tutu of the Anglican Church said, of his own accord, that he accepted the confession of guilt and had no doubts about its sincerity.

"The question of restitution after confession has also been raised. The minutes of our Synod show clearly that we have already begun a process of restitution, both in our relationship with our own Family of Dutch Reformed Churches and in our relationship with South African society as a whole." [translation]

After Potgieter's declaration Tutu went to the podium, as he had the previous day, and said that he had been subjected to a great deal of criticism for accepting Jonker's confession of guilt. He had been asked what authority he had to do that.

Some church figures also felt that the guilt of the Dutch Reformed Church could not be forgiven so easily, he said. But he had no doubts: if guilt was confessed, the Lord would forgive - and Christians should forgive one another similarly. Up to seventy times seven, said the Lord Jesus.

"Now everyone who needs to know does know: the official Dutch Reformed Church acknowledges that apartheid is a sin and confesses that its part in enforcing and upholding apartheid was wrong.

"Confessing one's guilt is never easy: not to God, nor to one's husband or wife or child, nor to another people or another church. But, as long as it is done in the name of Christ, one will always receive forgiveness from God and, fortunately, often from other people as well - and even from other churches. This happened last week at Rustenburg in a moving, unforgettable way. The fact that Archbishop Desmond Tutu - often regarded, on account of his highly controversial statements, as an archopponent of the Dutch Reformed Church - played a part made it all the more remarkable.

"The Dutch Reformed Church knows that confession of guilt inevitably leads to restitution - the putting right of the wrong that was done. The church already began to attend to that with some of its resolutions at the General Synod of 1990. This will continue in future. Meanwhile, we shall also continue to thank the Lord for the many good and right things done by the Dutch Reformed Church in the past, things which truly served to honour and glorify His Name." [translation] /pp 25-26/

The purpose was "to obtain first-hand information about the process of unification which has started in the family of Dutch Reformed Churches ... Above all, the papers and discussions addressed themselves to the question of whether or not the Dutch Reformed Church has complied with the requirement of the WARC general council in Ottawa, 1982" (Milan Opocensky: Introduction to Farewell to apartheid?, p 5).

• "The DRC has acknowledged that apartheid, as it was theologically justified and supported by the DRC, has largely contributed to a situation of unequal, unjust distribution of economic resources, which has led to the serious discrepancy in income, standard of living, unequal education and training between White and Black. The DRC has above all, compassion for the poverty and suffering of large numbers of people in our country and declares that it is prepared to co-operate in an ecclesiastical way in attempts to relieve the present need.
• "The per annum expenditure of the DRC for subsidising the ministry of the other members of the DRC family, rose from R17 405 397 (1986) to R22 743 429 (1990) to approximately R26 280 000 (1992).
• "There has been a notable willingness within the Family of Dutch Reformed Churches to work together in addressing especially the enormous poverty and unemployment in SA. An assignment of the 1982 General Synod of the DRC, to strive towards a mutual Diaconate across its own borders, seems to be suddenly viable ...
• "Many congregations of the DRC throughout SA are involved in the creating of informal settlements and they are busy helping the people to escape from their 'poverty culture' by means of food and clothing and even legal assistance. The consulting rooms of the social workers of the DRC are open to all people in need. A lot of effort goes into the training of volunteers in the initiating of community development. /pp 26-27/
• "The DRC is committed to the dismantling of the system of apartheid in both church and politics. In our frequent discussions with political leaders we are candid about it and we have handed our General Synod's 'Declaration of Christian Principles' to, amongst others, Pres FW de Klerk, Mr N Mandela and Dr M Buthelezi.
• "Lastly, we want to assure this consultation that the DRC is committed to the unity of the DIRC family. We agree with the statement that this is the acid test whether the DIRC has finally distanced itself from the racism of apartheid and we are willing to be part of this process."

"it is also the desire of the Dutch Reformed Church that dynamic work will be done to bring about a radical improvement in the living conditions and future opportunities of people in South Africa who have been deprived of so much for many years. The Dutch Reformed Church will therefore study the RDP thoroughly and indicate, in the near future, how it can make a meaningful contribution to reconstruction and development. /pp 28-29/

"The Synod expresses its earnest hope that the Government's policy will make ample allowance for the upholding of those Christian values which are of paramount importance to so many people in this country." [translation] (Handelinge [Proceedings] of the General Synod 1994, p 443)

"1 . It is with great pleasure that the General Synod takes note of the progress made in the most recent discussions aimed at finding a way of giving the process of church unity greater momentum.

2. The General Synod expresses its earnest desire

• to co-operate with the other members of the Family of Dutch Reformed Churches in establishing one denomination on the basis of an approved church ordinance;
• to co-operate in the appointment of a joint commission to begin drawing up a draft church ordinance for this prospective denomination" [translation] (Handelinge [Proceedings] of the General Synod 1994, pp 440-442).

"Not only was the hand of reconciliation extended to people such as Prof Ben Marais and Dr Beyers Naude, but a reconciliatory spirit was also displayed by Prof Evert Kleynhans, a former moderator, who in recent years had frequently expressed strong opinions on some aspects of the Dutch Reformed Church policy document Kerk en Samelewing 1990. Dr Sarel Eloff, known for his conservative convictions, played a mediating role and made an important contribution which helped enable the General Synod to take crucial decisions on unity in the Dutch Reformed Church Family.

"Similarly, the visit of President Nelson Mandela to the General Synod reflected the spirit of reconciliation" [translation] (Die Kerkbode, 28 October 1994). /pp 29-30/

"Because revolution and anarchy with a high level of violence form part of the Communist ideology, the SA Police had to act against this 'onslaught'. 1 associated myself whole-heartedly with this action of the SA Police and 1 do not apologise for that. The Chaplains' Service played a spiritual role during this struggle by spiritually preparing our men and women to perform their task in difficult circumstances. My chaplains and 1 were very close to our people, and by means of border visits, the distribution of literature, spiritual work, visits to the homes of policemen maimed in the struggle, interviews and personal contact we tried to put the 'pain' and 'grief' of the struggle into a spiritual perspective and to communicate to them the comfort as well as the inspiration of the Gospel.

"Personally, I buried too many policemen and dealt with the pain of too many grieving families to have another view of the struggle now." [translation] (From a written answer to an enquiry, 20 July 1997). /pp 31-32/

"The covert activities which have been 'revealed' at the Truth and Reconciliation Commission recently are difficult to evaluate because the accusations have not -thus far, at any rate - been tested and do not actually involve the SADF. Where SADF members have been charged in court, they have been found not guilty." /pp 31-32/

"Sadly, though, it appears that the church too, in its attitude and utterances, has been swept along by the sensational way in which reports of alleged offences by members of the Police are conveyed in the media, when those allegations cannot be tested by cross-examination and the leading of evidence."

(Details from: JJ de Klerk ea: Die Diens van Barmhartigheid en die Ned Geref Kerk, Cape Town, 1990; brochure: Die oes is groot, Cape Town, 1987, and further information supplied by the ministry of compassion and mission offices of the Dutch Reformed Church) /pp 34-35/

26 theses

However, the church commits itself afresh to the service of the Lord, so that in the years ahead, with greater zeal and dedication than ever, it can seek God's will for the members of the church, and for the country and all its people, while maintaining a critical approach to its own interpretation of the Word. /pp 36-37/

In those years the Chaplains' Services did good pastoral work in difficult circumstances.