The age of despair : Mail & Guardian Online

In hierdie insiggewende artikel bespreek Molefe Tsele, politieke adviseur van die premier van Noordwes en 'n voormalige predikant wat in sy persoonlike hoedanigheid skryf, die stand van die Christelike geloof in Suid-Afrika.

Far from being ready for the age of hope, therefore, it can be said that Christianity in South Africa has entered an age of despair. The irony is that the churches are fuller, the crowds at rallies are getting bigger, and the flock is growing. But the agenda has become doctrinal rather than action for change. And this is where the source of my concern lies. If the Church is to enter the new age of hope, it must adopt a new mission. Surprisingly, this mission is not entirely foreign to the Church -- indeed it can even be said to be its original mission. The core of that mission is to become a community that promotes the full realisation of the ideal of a humane life characterised by dignity and by respect for others, and within which members live a life of servanthood to others.

Sadly, Christianity in its current state, obsessed as it is with its self-importance and self-righteousness, concerned with its glory and greatness, misses the point of its existence. The source of its greatness, and indeed of its hope, is in returning to the simple message of its teacher.