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Politics, religion and a hot potato

A few weeks ago thousands of white folk joined their black brothers and sisters for a peaceful protest through the dodgy streets of Joburg. Their aim was to let the President know that they weren’t happy with his recent cabinet reshuffle. They insisted that Zuma must fall. There were hashtags for days and those who …

A few weeks ago thousands of white folk joined their black brothers and sisters for a peaceful protest through the dodgy streets of Joburg.

Their aim was to let the President know that they weren’t happy with his recent cabinet reshuffle.

They insisted that Zuma must fall. There were hashtags for days and those who were able to attend some of these mass demonstrations were left with a feeling of accomplishment.

Many people who voiced their concerns in public for the first time described the experience as euphoric and highlighted that they never felt scared or threatened. The nation united against a common enemy.

They demanded change, yet many of these protesters weren’t so keen to be part of an angry mob a few years ago when the same President was accused of raping a young girl. Perhaps they were too busy at that time or perhaps the financial implications of Zuma’s cabinet reshuffle was the final straw.

Point is, the people united and I can only applaud those individuals who were brave enough to take a stand.

Whether this growing outcry will be enough for the President to vacate his office remains to be seen and then we also have to bear in mind that the devil we know, is still better than the devil we don’t.

Equally I feel that it is important to laud each and every Christian who participated in Angus Buchan’s #itstime prayer event for the nation at the weekend.

On a personal level, the pictures brought back memories of the time I attended a music festival at Donington Park in Leicestershire.

This was more than a decade ago, but to be one of approximately 300 000 people is not an experience you forget.

On social media it is reported that more than a million people made the trip to Bloemfontein. Some sources indicate that there were more than 1.7 million people at Angus Buchan’s event. Most mainstream media outlets use the term “hundreds of thousands”, although for me the exact numbers are not as important as the fact that people decided that they wanted to make a difference in South Africa.

Whether you are religious or not, the simple truth is that something drastic needs to be done to ensure that South Africa does not follow the same route as Africa’s now defunct bread basket Zimbabwe.

We live in an extremely violent society and with poverty levels likely to rise (because of the decisions Zuma has made) this trend is likely to continue. South Africa sure needs a miracle.

If everyone that attended the #itstime national prayer day truly believes that the country’s problems will be solved through prayer, Buchan’s event may very well go down in history as the start of great things to come.

But while saying that we should also remember that many veterans of the struggle against Apartheid prayed day and night for the nightmare they lived in to come to an end.

Religion was also one of the tools the Apartheid government used to indoctrinate the white Afrikaner into believing they are part of a superior race.

I know many boere who to this day have not been able to forgive “die kerk” for blatantly misleading them.

Back to the #itstime event, I’ve noticed that many debates surrounding the attendance figures are taking place on social media.

Another hot topic was the money Buchan supposedly made from the event. My take on this is that money doesn’t matter. Whether the church oom Angus hails from made a R10-billion or R5 is irrelevant.

Whether there were 600 000 or 4 million people doesn’t matter either. What matters is many likeminded people gathered on a farm with the hope of finding a solution to a very obvious and serious problem.

My concern, however, lies with the messenger who inspired many people to spend thousands of rands on petrol and accommodation to be part of a day of prayer.

Mr Buchan, with all due respect, when you wrote “I love homosexuals, and I love lesbians, but I cannot condone their way of living, their lifestyle, because it is contrary to the teaching of God’s Holy Word!” you alienated many Christians.

Had it not been for those words (what I feel is a misinterpretation on your part of the Holy Word) it would have opened the door for more people to form part of this cause.

Instead they feel disillusioned and now look to their friends who attended your prayer day with disbelief in their eyes.

Oom Angus, some of the most religious people I know are homosexual. Two preachers from my childhood are homosexual.

They are kind people who have nothing but love in their hearts. Does that same book you use to preach from not say that God is the only one who will judge us? Did Jesus not take pity on Mary Magdalene who was a prostitute? I’m confused.

One of the reasons I wasn’t too keen to attend your event just so happens to be linked to prostitution.

A week or two before #itstime I sat in a pub minding my own business (by the way, the owner of this institution where people are encouraged to get drunk, was at your event) when the topic of Mighty Men was raised.

One man asked: “I don’t know why all these guys go to these Mighty Men conferences? I have been there and so many of the men end up in brothels. Yes the same men who go there are prominent figures in their churches, but I see them at the brothels every other week. I’m not wasting my money driving to Bloemfontein when there are so many brothels just down the road.”

Oom Angus, this is one guy speaking out. I bet there are many others and then I also know the majority aren’t inclined to partake in such events.

I also know of so many younger guys who returned from those conferences filled with the Holy Spirit, only to watch them take copious amounts of drugs a few weeks later.

That is a tad strange if you ask me.

My conclusion however, oom Angus, is that there are far too many similarities between you and Jacob Zuma for me to get into my car and drive to any of your events – no matter how noble the cause may be.

 

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