He that has a Gospel
To loose upon Mankind,
Though he serve it utterly-
Body, soul and mind-
Though he go to Calvary
Daily for its gain-
It is his Disciple
Shall make his labour vain.
Rudyard Kipling
In 1911 Pixley ka Isaka Seme pronounced, "Forget all the past differences among Africans and unite in one national organisation." The end result was the African National Congress, which, all current shenanigans aside, generally and successfully opposed political oppression in South Africa and served (and still does) as the source of political freedom for millions of South Africans. The nature of revolutions, however, is such that freedom fighters invariably end up as bureaucratic oppressors. Even Karl Marx dissociated himself from much of the 'Marxism' that sprang up in his lifetime. In terms of Kipling's verse above, how does Mandela feel today about the activities and public outpourings of modern ANC 'disciples' such as Julius Malema, Jimmy Manyi and Jacob Zuma? How would Oliver Tambo, Walter Sisulu or Chief Albert Luthuli react to the state of their 'gospel' today? And yes, ok, is modern Christianity really what Jesus was talking about? Would Frank Sinatra approve of the modern music industry? Would George Washington want to live in modern America? Do the disciples end up destroying the gospel of the saviour?
I think that there is a huge need for people to choose to take a stand for what they believe. We seem to be a generation of apathetic people who don't really care about the direction anything goes. I read an article today about Julius Malema asking the Jewish (something I can't remember) to join in politically. He was calling for white youth to rise up and be counted.
ReplyDeleteMy personal sentiment is that believers should join the discussion, the debate, the protest. We should be changing the face of poverty, family issues, crime. We should be influencing our government to change.
Thanks for the post
While the state and religion should be seperate, it's valid for believers to be active as agents of change - in politics or anywhere else. Agree with Philippa.
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