The Silence of Lukewarm Churches in South Africa Today: A Theo-ethical Analysis of the Implications of the Zondo Commission for the Church
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.25159/2412-4265/13218Keywords:
Zondo Commission, state capture, church in South Africa, lukewarmnessAbstract
This article attempts to engage theologically with the implications of the findings of the State Capture Commission (commonly known as the Zondo Commission) for the church in South Africa today. The article is the product of a presentation by the author at the contact session of the Northern Theological Seminary (NTS) of the Uniting Reformed Church in Southern Africa. Initially, the author was in a conundrum because, legally, the church as an institution was not involved in so-called “state capture.” However, after careful consideration, it became clear that the church in South Africa had failed in its task as “the maker of conscience” (Batten 1902) or moral compass. Hence, this article is guided by the notion of “lukewarm” that is found in the Bible to refer to the conduct of the church in relation to so-called state capture in South Africa. The article explores the history of state capture and the politics thereof, as well as the role of the church in relation to state capture.
Metrics
References
Abraham, G. 1984. The Catholic Church and Apartheid: 1948–1957. Unpublished Master’s thesis, University of Natal, Durban.
Adeyemu, T. 2006. Africa Bible Commentary: A One-volume Commentary Written by 70 African Scholars. WorldAlive Publishers, Nairobi, Kenya.
Adler, M. 2019. “The Marxist Conception of the State: A Contribution to the Differentiation of the Sociological and the Juristic Method.” Historical Materialism Book Series, vol 192. https://brill.com/view/title/31911; https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004409972 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004409972
Aristotle. 1962. The Politics, translated by T.A. Sinclair. London: Penguin Books. https://doi.org/10.1093/oseo/instance.00259307 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/oseo/instance.00259307
Batten, S. Z. 1902. “The Church as the Maker of Conscience.” American Journal of Sociology, 7 (5) (March 1902): 611–628). The University of Chicago Press. https://doi.org/10.1086/211086
Boesak, A. 2008. “To Stand Where God Stands: Reflections on the Confession of Belhar after 25 Years.” Studia Historiae Ecclesiasticae 34 (1).
Burg, M. M., D. Edmondson, D. Shimbo, J. Shaffer, I. M. Kronish, W. Whang, C. Alcantara, J. E. Schwartz, P. Munter, and K. W. Davidson. 2013. “The Perfect Storm and Acute Coronary Syndrome Onset: Do Psychosocial Factors Play a Role?” Prog Cardiovasc Dis. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23621970/; https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pcad.2013.03.003 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pcad.2013.03.003
De Gruchy, J. W., and C. Villa-Vicencio. 1983. Apartheid is a Heresy. United Kingdom: Lutterworth Press.
Dyer, P. W. 1972. “The Conception of the State in the Philosophy of Marx and Engels.” Journal of Thought 7 (3) (July 1972): 147–158. https://www.jstor.org/stable/42590054
Fairchild, M. R. 2017. “Laodicea’s ‘Lukewarm’ Legacy: Conflicts of Prosperity in an Ancient Christian City.” Biblical Archaeology Review 43 (2). https://www.jstor.org/stable/43750743
Gevisser, M. 2007. Thabo Mbeki: The Dream Deferred. Johannesburg and Cape Town: Jonathan Ball Publishers.
Hellman, J. S., G. Jones, D. Kaufmann, and M. Schankerman. 2000. “Measuring Governance, Corruption, and State Capture: How Firms and Bureaucrats Shape the Business Environment in Transition Economies.” Policy Research Working Paper No 2312. World Bank, Washington, DC. http://hdl.handle.net/10986/18832; https://doi.org/10.1596/1813-9450-2312 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1596/1813-9450-2312
Hellman, J. S., and D. Kaufmann. 2000. State Capture in Transition. https://resourcegovernance.org/sites/default/files/documents/state-capture-in-transition.pdf
Kakuthas, C. 2014. “A Definition of the State.” University of Queensland Law Journal (332): 357–366. https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/soss_research/2917
Kuperus, T. 2011. “The Political Role and Democratic Contribution of Churches in Post-apartheid South Africa.” Journal of Church and State 53 (2): 278–306. Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/jcs/csr030 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/jcs/csr030
Law, L. 1991. “An Analysis of the Socio-political Role of the Roman Catholic Church in Contemporary South Africa.” Unpublished Master’s dissertation, University of Cape Town, South Africa.
Laymon, C. M. 1971. The Interpreter’s One Volume Commentary on the Bible. Nashville, USA: Abingdon Press.
Lenin, V. 1917. The State and Revolution: The Marxist Theory of the State and the Tasks of the Proletariat in the Revolution. Lenin Internet Archive. marxists.org
Lephakga, T. 2015. “Dealing Lightly with the Wounds of My People: A Theological Ethical Critique of the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission.” PhD thesis, University of South Africa, Pretoria.
Lephakga, T. 2022. “Covid-19, Public Violence, Fake News and Vaccines: A Theological Ethical Reflection.” Studia Historiae Ecclesiasticae. https://unisapressjournals.co.za/index.php/SHE/index; https://doi.org/10.25159/2412-4265/10663 DOI: https://doi.org/10.25159/2412-4265/10663
Mbaku, J. 2018. “Rule of Law, State Capture, and Human Development in Africa.” American University International Law Review 33 (4): Article 4. https://digitalcommons.wcl.american.edu/auilr/vol33/iss4/4
Mdhlela, J. M. 2022. “Church’s Silence on ANC Deafening.” https://sundayworld.co.za/opinion/churchs-silence-on-anc-deafening/
Nthali, M. M. 2019. “The ANC Chaplaincy: A Religio-political Perspective.” Unpublished MTh dissertation, University of Pretoria, South Africa.
Petropoulos, N. 2010. “The Mediatization of Black Nationalist Malcolm X: A Critical Engagement with the Conditions that Enabled his Transformation to an All-American Hero through the Analysis of the ‘Hate That Hate Produced’ and ‘Malcolm X’.” Unpublished MA dissertation, The University of Melbourne, Australia.
Pheko, M. 2012. Apartheid: The Story of the Dispossessed People, 3rd Edition. Johannesburg: Tokoloho Development Association.
Roberts, R. S. 2007. Fit to Govern: The Native Intelligence of Thabo Mbeki. Johannesburg: Thorold’s Africana Books.
Terreblanche, S. 1994. “From White Supremacy and Racial Capitalism Towards a Sustainable System of Democratic Capitalism: A Structural Analysis.” https://www.ekon.sun.ac.za/sampieterreblanche/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/SJT-1994-From-white-supremacy-to-racial-capitalism.pdf
Terreblanche, S. 2002. A History of Inequality in South Africa: 1652–2002. University of KwaZulu-Natal Press, KZN.
Villa-Vicencio, C. 1986. Between Christ and Caesar: Classic and Contemporary Texts on Church and State. Cape Town: David Philip.
Vos, W. 2020. “Personal Cost Orders: Protecting the Public Purse.” Stellenbosch Law Review 31 (1): 138–157. https://hdl.handle.net/10520/EJC-1d8b20ce0c
Wocke, A., M. Mthombeni, and A. Cuervo-Cazurro. 2020. “Reputations and Corruption: Bell Pottinger in South Africa.” Emerald Emerging Markets Case Studies. https://doi.org/10.1108/EEMCS-04-2020-0109 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/EEMCS-04-2020-0109
Womack, J. M., and J. Pillay. 2019. “The SACC since 1994: Ecumenism in Democratic South Africa.” Studia Historiae Ecclesiasticae 45 (2). https://doi.org/10.25159/2412-4265/6183 DOI: https://doi.org/10.25159/2412-4265/6183
Zondi, K. M. 1996. “The Relationship Between the South African Council of Churches and the Inkatha Freedom Party.” Kirchliche Zeitgeschichte 9 (2): 319–333. https://www.jstor.org/stable/43750743
Zulu, A. 2020. “Political Elites, not Foreigners, Are to Blame for South Africa’s Problems.” https://mg.co.za/thought-leader/2020-12-03-political-elites-not-foreigners-are-to-blame-for-south-africas-problems/
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2024 Tshepo Lephakga
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Accepted 2024-06-06
Published 2024-07-29