Journal of Theology for Southern Africa 69 (December 1989) 95-105

 

The Gospel Defence League

A Critical Analysis of a Right Wing Christian Group in South Africa

Roger A. Arendse

 

Christian theology functions in two significant ways in society in relation to prevailing ideologies and authority structures. It can either legitimate the dominant ideological order, or it can criticise the latter and call for its radical restructuring and transformation.[1] The focus of this paper is on a theology of domination which entrenches the ideological assumptions of the existing apartheid order in South Africa, namely that of Right Wing Christian Groups (RWCGs).

Trying to define the ideology of RWCGs, especially in a context like South Africa, is like looking for the proverbial "ghost in the machine". You know it is there because you hear the agitated rumblings. Often the ghost makes bizarre appearances which alarm one. At other times its antics appear quite ridiculous and even laughable. You reach out to grasp the ghost for more serious laboratory analysis, but it slips away and may take on other forms. Yet you know, often by sheer instinct, but more often by persistent observation and study that this ghost has a mission which is decidedly not that of "Casper the friendly ghost". This mission is hostile and defensive, always eager to control, overpower and dominate.

In many cases the ideology of RWCGs defies simplistic definition. But while broader or finer doctrinal distinctions, methods of organisation and modes of operation separate some groups, they appear to be essentially united in their theology and ideology of domination. In South Africa this means a justification and legitimation of racial capitalism which has proved oppressive and dehumanising to the majority of the people.[2] RWCGs do this in the name and in the defence of "Western" and "Christian" civilisation. All these groups misuse Christian symbols to further the interests of the state, the interests of reactionary Western allies, and of course, their own particular interests. /pp 95-96/

The phenomenon of RWCGs is not unique to South Africa. Their organisational scope, strategy and impact are global. The history of right wing Christianity is a long one, traceable back to the days of (mainly) European colonisation of the "Third World". This story has been succinctly outlined in the recent Road to Damascus, an international version of the South African Kairos Document[3] The persistent activity of the religious right in southern Africa has been documented in Paul Gifford's The Religious Right in Southern Africa.[4]

In this paper I address myself to one RWCG in particular, namely the Gospel Defence League. Four reasons may be given for this focus. Firstly, from a practical point of view, the readily available publications of the Gospel Defence League facilitate an analysis of its thought. Secondly, the militant activism of the Gospel Defence League demonstrates clearly the ideological orientation of all RWCGs in South Africa. It is necessary to add that the emphases of the Gospel Defence League are not always equally characteristic of all the RWCGs, although the League is typical of most of these groups. Thirdly, the Gospel Defence League claims to defend Christianity as "conservative evangelicals". This claim is made by the majority of RWCGs in South Africa at present. It therefore must be critically evaluated from the perspective of those evangelicals who totally reject both the dominant apartheid order in South Africa and the "evangelicalisrn" of RWCGs. Prominent among those who present such a critical evangelical perspective is the group of mainly black "Concerned Evangelicals". In 1986 they formulated their theological position in a document entitled Evangelical Witness in South Africa: A Critique of Evangelical Theology and Practice by Evangelicals Themselves.[5] Fourthly, the social history of the Gospel Defence League points directly to it and other such RWCGs being in the service of oppressive state ideology.

The discussion on the Gospel Defence League which follows must be seen as far more than an academic debate. It is rooted in a context where state hegemony has been further entrenched by using the more sophisticated mechanisms within its "total security strategy"; an essential aspect of Low Intensity Conflict. All effective resistance has been made legally impossible under the current State of Emergency regulations. The movement for liberation by the oppressed continues unabated despite attempts to crush it by the state and its supportive allies both within and without South Africa. An appreciation of context is absolutely vital for really understanding the abuse of theology by a group like the Gospel Defence League in South Africa right now. The constituency to which the Gospel Defence League is accountable, or represents, is far smaller than claimed. One needs to ask who does the Gospel Defence League really represent? Its character as an essentially reactionary force in South Africa must be recognised, especially in view of its potential for enticing members of a beleaguered white community over to its side.

This paper begins by sketching the socio-historical backdrop of the Gospel Defence League. It gives a description of the Gospel Defence League today which points to its ongoing alliance with state strategy. Next it identifies and analyses some dominant ideological trends of the Gospel Defence League and shows how it uses /pp 96-97/ Christian theology to support its ideology. Finally the paper concludes with a few challenges which confront us in the light of right wing Christianity. Throughout, critical comment from a more radical evangelical perspective is provided.

 

HISTORY OF THE GOSPEL DEFENCE LEAGUE

1. MULDERGATE

The single event which focused the spotlight on right wing Christianity in South Africa was the Muldergate Scandal of the 1970s. Muldergate is historically relevant for understanding the Gospel Defence League. Derrick Knight captures the pertinence of Muldergate:

Muldergate was a conspiracy that involved the unauthorised spending of R64 million of public funds, agreed secretly between the Prime Minister, John Vorster, the head of the Bureau of State Security (BOSS), General Van der Berg and the Information minister Connie Mulder. It involved a list of secret projects and operations to be financed. It was drawn up by Mulder's Director of Information, Eschel Rhoodie, and included buying into or buying up publishers, newspapers, magazines, and TV news outlets overseas. The list also included lobbying groups, officials, newspaper staff, politicians, business people, academics and church leaders or theologians. The objective was to influence public opinion by presenting a softer image of apartheid while in reality it became more repressive. The conspiracy also involved attempts to undermine opposition groups and especially the churches within South Africa and abroad by denigrating their leadership, their policies and their integrity.[6]

One example of the notorious alliance between the state and right wing Christianity in South Africa was the secret funding of the Christian League of Southern Africa. This organisation was founded in 1974 by a Methodist minister, Fred Shaw. The Christian League of Southern Africa was paid out R340 000 after a secret contract was signed in June 1979 between Shaw on behalf of the league, and by the then defunct Department of Information.[7] Based on disclosures by Eschel Rhoodie, state funding for the Christian League of Southern Africa from tax-payers' money was estimated at over R1 million.[8]

Here was indisputable evidence that the English-speaking churches (such as the Methodists, Anglicans, Presbyterians and Congregationalists) had been targeted for state propaganda. The Christian League of Southern Africa's agenda was primarily to campaign against the SACC which was influential in these churches. It would seek to undermine and even destroy the credibility and work of the SACC both in South Africa and overseas. Although the Christian League of Southern Africa has been discredited, its ghost still lives on. Some of the ardent campaigners of the Christian League of Southern Africa in the 1970s are now prominent leaders of RWCGs in South Africa.[9]

2. NEW NAME, SAME OLD IDEOLOGY

Dorothy Scarborough was the Cape Town organiser of the Christian League of Southern Africa in the mid-1970s. She now leads its militant successor, the Gospel Defence /pp 97-98/ League, from a small office in a secluded area of Cape Town. A German emigrant, resident in South Africa for at least the last 20 years, Scarborough is the wife of a former missionary and dissident Congregationalist minister. In addition to her activities for the Gospel Defence League she also edits Vox Africana, a journal aimed at West German Christians. In January last year this journal appeared in English for the first time. It was directed at the English-speaking churches and designed to discredit liberation theology.[10] Despite the change in name from the Christian League of Southern Africa to the Gospel Defence League, the persisting involvement of people like Scarborough points directly to an ongoing alliance with the state on the one hand, and business and church people locally and abroad on the other. Like many other RWCGs, the Gospel Defence League appears to have become part of the sophisticatedly orchestrated state security strategy "to win the hearts and minds" of the people over to the State's reformist policy and to eliminate all meaningful opposition.[11]

In a time of socio-political crisis and instability, the Gospel Defence League is also securing its own political stake in South Africa by deliberately exploiting the fears of white Christians, particularly in the English-speaking churches. Gospel Defence League ideology traces the root causes of this fear and insecurity to the crippling impact of liberalism, secular humanism and Marxism which have infiltrated the churches. In this way it directs attention away from the critical problems engendered by racial capitalism.

The Gospel Defence League articulates its mission as conservative-evangelical and solely Bible-based. Its two stated objectives are to proclaim the Gospel and to oppose those who secularise its message.[12] Yet its covert political and ideological agenda is obvious and will be detailed later.

In addition to editing Vox Africana, Scarborough writes a regular newsletter for the Gospel Defence League. Its main content is given to presenting opposing views to any anti-government statements and critiquing comments by more progressive church groups. These newsletters are distributed locally among sympathetic groups. They also come as uninvited mail to many a pastor and church leader! Overseas distribution of the newsletter takes place mainly in West Germany and the UK. Knight has described the notorious connection between the former Christian League of Southern Africa, the Department of Information and Conservative West German Christian and political forces, an alliance which remains as relevant for the Gospel Defence League today.[13] The present relationship between the Gospel Defence League and certain West German Christians cannot be detailed here. Much of it still awaits more thorough investigation. However, one example can suffice. The Gospel Defence League has constantly collaborated with conservative Evangelical-Lutheran Dr Peter Beyerhaus who has written denunciations of the Kairos Document and "Peoples" Theology. He characterises these as presenting a false gospel and their proponents as false prophets.[14] Despite the pretension of being "Christian" and "scholarly", the ideologi/pp 98-99/cal agenda of Beyerhaus is clear. He is an arch-opponent of the WCC and a torchbearer of dominant Christianity which he interprets as "the traditional Christian faith".[15] Knight's exposé on Beyerhaus explicates the latter's ideological commitments which seem to favour the programme of the South African state locally and abroad against the struggles of the poor and the oppressed.[16] Beyerhaus has also become a leading spokesperson for the Gospel Defence League, both in South Africa and West Germany.

Scarborough is known to work with young American missionaries as well. A case in point is her former research and communications manager, Mark Kreitzer.[17] Kreitzer obtained a Master in Divinity in the USA in the field of missiology before coming to South Africa, "to save the blacks", as he puts it. He has married an Afrikaner and readily admits that he feels more at home with Afrikaner nationalist ideology than with the liberal English tradition. This is understandable. Kreitzer's Puritan-Calvinist leanings connect easily with the neo-Calvinism undergirding Afrikaner nationalism. He also has strong sympathies with a movement for "Christian reconstruction". This is a fundamentalist Christian movement which originated in the USA. It claims to have found "biblical blueprints" with which to reconstruct a new order in the USA which will become a model for the whole world.[18] Kreitzer's writings for the Gospel Defence League have been pamphlets entitled What does the Bible say about ... ? covering themes such as reconciliation, justice, peace, capitalism, and human rights. In these studies, the author virtually equates the biblical view with that of "Christian reconstruction". In step with the agenda of this movement, Kreitzer is more willing to admit that Christians ought to be actively involved in politics.[19] However, this political involvement should not concern itself with the liberation of the oppressed from economic exploitation. On the contrary, such involvement supports Western privatisation and effectively rejects any practice which would entail the equitable distribution of wealth. In South Africa as for many parts of the "Third World", this means not a new order for the oppressed poor but one of further domination by the West.

 

THE IDEOLOGICAL CAPTIVITY OF THE GOSPEL DEFENCE LEAGUE

I turn now to an identification and a critical evaluation of some dominant ideological biases in the Gospel Defence League for which it provides theological legitimation. It is here that we begin to glimpse something of "the ghost in the machine", that is, its ideological character. As indicated earlier, the critical perspective of more radical evangelicals in South Africa will be briefly described where appropriate.

1. ANTAGONISTIC DUALISMS

This is how The Road to Damascus captures the character of right wing religion throughout the world: "it takes some of the valid distinctions made by Christianity, e.g., between body and soul, material and spiritual, this world and the next, politics and religion, the profane and the sacred, society and the individual and turns them into /pp 99-100/ antagonistic dualisms."[20] It could be argued that antagonistic dualisms have been characteristic of the dominant church tradition. This legacy is certainly perpetuated by such groups as the Gospel Defence League. The Gospel Defence League manifests this feature everywhere in its literature. For example, it argues that the only answer to conflict in South Africa is personal and spiritual salvation. "Only where Jesus Christ rules the hearts and minds of men (sic), can there be peace on earth, goodwill between men (sic) and freedom without fear".[21] It is assumed that salvation from personal sin will automatically change society. There is no need for direct political and social action. Elsewhere it claims: "The f ight's not yours. It is God's."[22] What the Gospel Defence League does not state here is that submission and passivity are to characterise the oppressed, but never the oppressor who is encouraged to be politically active to secure his/her domination, and to fight to defend his/her rights.[23] Concerned Evangelicals in South Africa state their rejection of this bi-polar thinking and expose the ideological captivity of the Gospel Defence League which contradicts that of the Bible. In their Evangelical Witness In South Africa they rightly object that dualism "is more a Greek philosophical concept than a biblical concept. The Judeo-Christian faith as found in the Bible is different from Greek dualism. It does not differentiate between the spiritual and the social because Jews live their spiritual life in their social life".[24] In Africa this is not difficult to understand at all. But for those whose thinking derives from a dominant Greek and Western understanding of the world and of Christianity, it is a problem.

2. FANATICAL ANTI-COMMUNISM

The Gospel Defence League is fanatical in its opposition to communism, Marxism and socialism which it links together uncritically. "Communism" is understood in a number of different ways. It is not always clear what is really meant. Most often it is a blanket term for all that is evil. "Communism... is not so much a political philosophy as an antireligion. Its basic premise is 'You shall hate the Lord your God with all your heart and soul and mind, and hate your neighbour as you hate your God'".[25] In South Africa this means that anyone critical of the state is also hostile to God and Christianity. Such criticism is symptomatic of the East-West conflict and not the result of apartheid ideology. This echoes the perspective of the state which sees itself as the last civilised white bastion against communism in Africa. Frank Chikane, currently the General Secretary of the SACC, who has strong evangelical roots in the Apostolic Faith Mission Church, presents the alternative view:

For me, it is not Communists who are the problem, but these Christians who oppress us, exploit us, detain us and torture us even unto death. And here I am speaking for countless blacks in South Africa.[26]

Now it does not follow that the failures of communism or socialism are simply to be excused. But these must be seen in their proper perspective. For the Gospel Defence /pp100-101/ League communism is little more than a "red herring" and "a scapegoat" to direct attention away from the evils of Western capitalism and to reinforce Western and white domination in South Africa.[27] Anti-communism becomes the ideological weapon which the Gospel Defence League uses to discredit liberation theology and liberation theologians. It is the platform from which to attack liberation theology as "anti-Church, anti-Bible and pro-violence".[28] Leaders like Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Dr Allan Boesak, Rev. Frank Chikane, Dr Beyers Naude and Archbishop Denis Hurley are dismissed with such scurrilous terms as "treasonable dog-collared men",[29] "wolves" and "killer priests".[30] The incisive challenges of liberation theology and those sympathetic to liberation theology are entirely ignored.

3. SACRALISED CAPITALISM

The Gospel Defence League blesses capitalism unconditionally. This is the flip-side of its categorical rejection of communism and also socialism which is described as "anti-Christian" and incompatible with the Bible.[31] Even a mixed capitalist-socialist system is repudiated. The only right way is "private property oriented, free-market capitalism. There is no other basis for economic growth and political freedom".[32] The Gospel Defence League claims to reject "laissez-faire capitalism" in favour of "biblical capitalism".[33] In practice, however, this distinction is quite arbitrary. The appropriation of biblical texts to support the practice of capitalism more often reflects the ideological commitments of the Gospel Defence League than that of sound exegesis. For example, its favourite use of Matt. 20:15 to justify free enterprise and the rights of private property can be exegetically refuted.[34] In fact, this text can be argued to provide stronger support for the practice of socialism.

The Gospel Defence League further misinterprets the root causes of poverty which the Bible identifies. This misinterpretation follows from its insistence that "property is God's granted privilege and that profits are a reward for obedience" and for "doing what is right".[35] Poverty is subsequently seen as primarily caused by "idolatry ancestor 'reverence', slothfulness, covetousness and general disobedience to God's law".[36] They ignore the greater priority given by the Bible to structural and oppressive causes of poverty. Many evangelicals throughout the world and within South Africa have rediscovered this important biblical emphasis.[37] This false understanding of the major root causes of poverty leads the Gospel Defence League to comfortably reject a "preferential option for the poor".[38] In South Africa this inevitably results in the further domination of the rich and powerful over the poor and the powerless. /pp 101-102/

4. LEGITIMATION OF STATE MILITARISM

The Gospel Defence League claims to defend scriptural values by "conservative-evangelical" and "spiritual" means. However, there is clearly a concealed ideological agenda at work. The League justifies and even encourages the state military machine. Under the banner of the divine right of the State to use "armed force", the Gospel Defence League provides uncritical sanction for ongoing state brutality and violence against those inside and outside South Africa who remain firmly opposed to its apartheid ideology.[39] The South African Defence Force (SADF) must destroy all those inside and outside the country perceived as "revolutionary organisations which unjustly war against the Republic of South Africa".[40] This is a vote of confidence not only for the SADF, but also for its compatriots in destabilisation, Unita (Angola) and Renamo (Mozambique).[41] The militarist view of the Gospel Defence League and other RWCGs is identical with that of the SADF.[42] The Road to Damascus exposes the un-Christian character of this legitimised militarism:

The war against communism is treated as a holy war or crusade. Christian values like loving your enemy, forgiving seventy-times seven times, compassion, solidarity and calling the sinner to conversion are conveniently forgotten once a person or group is labelled "communist" or "subversive".[43]

In its interpretation of Romans 13:1-7, the Gospel Defence League recognises that "all earthly authority is strictly limited" and that "God blesses men (sic) who disobey authority only when they must choose between obeying the clear command of God or the self-made law of sinful man (sic)."[44] Yet the South African state's legitimate authority and right to demand unconditional obedience is also argued for because this state is accepted as implementing the moral and civil law of God.[45] It follows, therefore, that to disobey the South African state's authority is unbiblical and wrong.[46] Clearly the Gospel Defence League wishes to justify a particular kind of resistance and civil disobedience and to completely nullify others. For example, it was legitimate for the American colonists, the Boers, the Huguenots and the Dutch to defend themselves against tyranny.[47] However, it is unthinkable to the Gospel Defence League that even non-violent resistance to the tyranny of the South African state by the oppressed may be legitimate and God-blessed.[48] The Gospel Defence League reserves the right to interpret what constitutes a legitimate state and when any resistance is legitimate or not. The practical effect of all this is that Rom. 13:1-7 becomes the unconditional sacraliser of the South African state authority and the repudiator of all resistance to it. This has always been the dominant interpretation of the text by the state itself. The abuse of this interpretation has been recognised by many Christians /pp 102-103/ in South Africa, including many evangelicals.[49] Concerned Evangelicals go further by questioning the very legitimacy of the state and therefore, by implication, they accept the right of the oppressed to resist it:

We have experienced the South African regime as a terror to the black majority in South Africa. It has silenced those who peacefully voiced their resentment of the brutality of the apartheid system.... To us it is a government that legalises wrongdoing and punishes right doers.[50]

5. LIMITED SOCIAL ETHIC

The Gospel Defence League claims that it is the defender of "biblical" and "Christian" morality which is "the absolute moral law of God" and normative for any society.[51] While initially accepting a privatised morality which many evangelicals would insist on, the Gospel Defence League moves beyond this to demand a "legislated morality".[52] This is to counter what it believes are the absolute evils of communism, liberalism and secular humanism in Western societies. On closer inspection, however, the legislated, social morality of the Gospel Defence League is selective and prescriptive in favour of its own dominant social values rather than the liberative social ethic of the Bible. Its social ethic excludes an unequivocal condemnation of the economic exploitation, social and political injustice and institutionalised violence by the state in which many Christians are directly or indirectly implicated. At a significant point the call for a legislated morality rejects even the South African Law Commission Recommendations of a Bill of Rights in South Africa.[53] One reason given is that this Bill of Rights is based on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights[54] which the Gospel Defence League rejects as "idolatrous" and "humanistic".[55] Divine rights described as God's law are to completely displace any form of "group" and "individual rights".[56]

Without meaning to skirt the complexities of the human rights debate within South Africa, the following critical reflections are necessary. Firstly, the insistence of the Gospel Defence League on exclusive divine rights over "human rights" actually reinforces white domination in the South African context at present. Secondly, there is substance to the criticism that a blanket and ahistorical application of "human rights" can promote the possibility of a human utopia, while ignoring the reality of human sinfulness. However, the Gospel Defence League is even more utopian by suggesting that "divine rights" as it defines them can be imposed on all societies. Thirdly, the Gospel Defence League deliberately ignores the possibility that the application of a Bill of Rights in South Africa might prevent the very abuses of power and control by a dominant minority which human sinfulness and present state structures make inevit/pp103-104/able. Fourthly, the exclusivist emphasis of the Gospel Defence League on "the ethic of the right" ignores "the ethic of the good".[57] The "ethic of the good" is the contextualisation of a biblical ethic which takes critical account of the human situation, especially that of the weak and dominated in society. And so "the notion that what is good may have some bearing on what is right, a standard mainline position, never occurs to such a mentality".[58] Fifthly, this view downplays the free and gracious activity of God in history. It fails to appreciate that in the humanity of Jesus Christ, God affirms the dignity of humanity. In "the poor man from Nazareth" God demonstrates God's love and primary commitment to those for whom both "the right" and "the good" are often remote realities, namely the poor and oppressed in the world.

Therefore it appears that the Gospel Defence League fears far less the humanism of the human rights declaration and far more the possibility that it would lose its own rights should the Declaration be taken seriously and implemented in our society. Among the rights demanded are access to military, political and economic power.[59] In South Africa this means the domination of the capitalist ruling classes (mainly white) and the subservience of the working class, (mainly black). The inevitable vote of this kind of social ethic is a "Yes" for Western Christian imperialism and a "No" for the true liberation of all South Africans, especially the black majority.

In short, the deep-rooted attitude of the Gospel Defence League becomes apparent. The Gospel Defence League believes that it fights secular humanism. However, its theology and ideology have degenerated into a "secularisation of the gospel" which shows a "preferential option for the rich" and tramples on the suffering of those who are sociologically and politically defined as "the people" in South Africa.[60] The Road to Damascus pertinently interprets the biased character of right wing Christianity which exemplifies itself in the Gospel Defence League:

In our countries, the worship of money, power, privilege and pleasure has certainly replaced the worship of God. This form of idolatry has been organised into a system in which consumerist materialism has been enthroned as a god. Idolatry makes things, especially money and property, more important than people. It is anti-people.[61]

And being anti-people, the Gospel Defence League must be authoritarian, dogmatic and aggressively militaristic. It must demand absolute submission and blind obedience to its own material interests.

The above are just some of the dominant manifestations of "the ghost" of right wing Christianity in South Africa as they reveal themselves within the Gospel Defence League. Others can and must be identified and critically evaluated.[62]

 

CONCLUSION: SOME CHALLENGES

The description and critical analysis of the ideology of the Gospel Defence League has given some shape and form to "the ghost in the machine". This ghost has in fact assumed a very concrete body characterised by a variety of related ideological man/pp 104-105/ifestations. While the League may be seen as perpetuating the legacy of the dominant church tradition it clearly does so with unashamed zeal. The tragic and destructive result of this ideological legacy which the Gospel Defence League exemplifies is the fundamental failure "to love the Lord our God" and "to love our neighbour" in a concrete, liberatory way. The meaning of this love within the socio-political and spiritual crisis of South Africa seems clear:

Love means working towards God's plan for the world. It means commitment to eliminating all injustice, oppression and deprivation. Love in this sense is very practical ... (and) cannot be expressed only in "spiritual" concerns.[63]

In particular relation to right wing Christianity those of us who seek a more liberative tradition have little room for complacency. We are engaged in the transformation of our own traditions. We are aware of our own shortcomings where we have often failed to affirm in belief and praxis the liberatory quality of the Christian faith. More immediately, we are confronted with some definite challenges. Three of these can be mentioned. Firstly, we must continue thorough research and critical analysis of RWCGs. The abuse of theology (especially "evangelical" theology) to serve the state and own interests must be fully exposed. Secondly, careful and prayerful reflection on the Bible and a critical analysis of our own situation of oppression and domination must take place. Theological responses should be formulated to inform our own Christian action as well as to address RWCGs themselves. Thirdly, in the power of the Spirit of God at work in our moment of history, we must actively engage ourselves in the struggles of the poor and the oppressed, both for their and our own complete liberation from all forms of sin.

 

Notes

1 . Cf Gunther Wittenberg, "King Solomon and the Theologians", Journal of Theology For Southern Africa (hereafter JTSA), No.63, p 16; Gregory Baum, Religion and Alienation -A Theological Reading of Theology (New York: Paulist Press, 1975) pp 102-103

2. Especially since 1948, race and capitalism have always been inseparable partners which has resulted in ongoing domination and oppression; cf. James R. Cochrane, Servants of Power - The Role of English-speaking Churches in South Africa: 1903-1930, (Johannesburg: Ravan Press, 1987) pp 39,150-163: Lebamang Sebidi, "The Dynamics of the Black Struggle and its fo Black Theology", in I.J. Mosala and B.Tlhagale (eds.), The Unquestionable Right to be Free. (Johannesburg: implications for Black 1986) pp 1-35, esp. pp 31-32

3. The Road to Damascus - Kairos and Conversion, A document signed by Third World Christians from seven nations: South Africa, Namibia, South Korea, Philippines, El Salvador, Nicaragua and Guatemala (Johannesburg: Skotaville Publishers, 1989) pp 1-6

4. Paul Gifford, The Religious Right in Southern Africa, (Harare: Baobab Books and the University of Zimbabwe Publications, 1988) esp. pp 44-82

5. Evangelical Witness in South Africa, pp 9-10

6. Derrick Knight, Wolves in Sheeps' Clothing, Part One. Within South Africa, A Briefing Paper, Feb. 1989, p 2; Also his Beyond the Pale - The Christian Political Fringe, (Lancashire: Caraf Publications Ltd, 1982)

7. Ibid p 98

8. Sunday Express, 5 April 1981

9. For example, Edward Cain, former head of publications of the CLSA and editor of its newspaper, Encounter, is now director of two RWCGs: the United Christian Action and Signposts Publication and Research Centre, cf. Knight (1098) pp 9-11, 18

10. Vox Africana, Vol. 1. No. 1.

11. See Crisis News, No. 24, pp 8-10 for a helpful synopsis of the goals, scope, and structure of the National Security Managemerit System (NSMS).

12. Vox Africana p 7

13. Knight, Beyond the Pale, op cit pp 127-133

14. Peter Beyerhaus, The Kairos Document - Challenge or Danger to the Church? (Cape Town: Gospel Defence League, 1987); and Theology as an Instrument of Liberation, (Cape Town: Pro Fide Defendenda, 1988)

15. Beyerhaus op cit p 34

16. Knight Beyond the Pale, op cit pp 23, 72, 94-95, 130-132, 140.

17. Kreitzer has since left the Gospel Defence League and joined up with the right wing Centre for Reformed and Contemporary Studies (CERCOS). The reasons for this change are worth investigating.

18. For example, Gary North, Inherit the Earth! Biblical Principles for Economics, (Ft. Worth, Texas: Dominion Press, 1987), esp. pp 181-194; cf. Paul Gifford, Theology and Right Wing hristianity, EDICESA paper, pp 6-7

19. "What Does the Bible say about the Legitimate State?" p 4

20. Road to Damascus, p 14

21. Gospel Defence League Newsletter, May 1988

22. Ibid July 1988

23. cf. "Legitimation of state militarism" above.

24. Evangelical Witness in South Africa, pp 9-10

25. Gospel Defence League Newsletter, July 1988

26. Frank Chikane, No Life of My Own - (Braamfontein: Skotaville Publishers, 1988) p 120

27. Road to Damascus, p 15

28. Gospel Defence League Newsletter, February 1988

29. Ibid Sept 1987

30. Ibid June 1988

31. "What does the Bible say about Socialism?" pp 1, 4

32. "What Does the Bible say about Capitalism?" p 3

33. Ibid p 4

34. Ibid p 1

35. Ibid p 2

36. "What Does the Bible say about the Oppressed Poor?" pp 1-2

37. For example, M. Paget-Wilkes, Poverty, Revolution and the church, (Exeter: The Paternoster Press, 1981); W. Scott, Bring Forth Justice (Grand Rapids, Michigan: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1980); RA. Sider, Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger, (London: Hodder and Stoughton Ltd., 1977); Evangelical Witness in South Africa, op cit

38. "An affirmation of biblical truths in the South African situation", distributed at the conference of Christian Action, August 1988.

39. "What Does the Bible say about the Legitmate State?" p 1

40. "What does the Bible say about Peace?" p 2

41. cf. Frontline Fellowship News, Vol.3, 1987, Frontline Fellowship is a notorious partner of the Gospel Defence League and intensely militaristic.

42. "The State's origin, responsibilities and rights", SADF publication.

43. The Road to Damascus p 15

44. "What does the Bible say about Civil Disobedience?" pp 3-4

45. "What does the Bible say about the Legitimate State?" p 2-4

46. "... Civil Disobedience?" pp 2,4

47. "... the Legitimate State? p 4

48. "... Non-Violence?" pp. 3-4

49. cf. J.A. Draper, "Humble Submission to Almighty God and its Biblical Foundation", Contextual Exegesis of Romans 13:1-7 in JTSA, No.63, pp 30-38; D. Walker, "Evangelicals and Apartheid: An Inquiry into some Predispositions", in JTSA, No.67 p 54, Evangelical Witness in South Africa. pp 15-18

50. Evangelical Witness, p. 17;cf . C. Villa Vicencio, "Theology, Law and State Illegitimacy- An Agenda for Theologians and Lawyers", in JTSA, No. 63, pp 3-15

51. A Manifesto for Christians in South Africa, published by The Conference for Christian Action (1989) and supported by the Gospel Defence League.

52. "What does the Bible say about Human Flights?" p 4

53. South African Law Commission, Working Paper 25, Project 58: Group and Human Rights (1989); cf, Gospel Defence League Newsletter, June 1989

54. "... Human Rights?" p 1

55. Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948), Adopted and proclaimed by the General Assembly of the United Nations.

56 . Human Rights?" p 1

57. Samuel S. Hill and Dennis E. Owen, The New Religious Political Right in America, (Nashville, Tennessee: Abington, 1982) pp 39-40

58. Ibid p 39

59. cf. Signposts Vol.7, No.2 p 2; Ibid. Vol.7, No.2., p 2

60. The Road to Damascus p 35

61. Ibid p 11

62. These include its authoritarianism; dogmatism; biblical fundamentalism; anti-ecumenicalism, and its strong patriarchy.

63. Paget-Wilkes, op cit p 75

 

 

Mr. R. A. Arendse is a research student in the Department of Religious Studies, UCT.