Rift between faith, practice

The recent report issued by the South African Council of Churches (SACC), “Unburdening, Uncapturing” is deeply sobering. South Africa, we are told, is 80% Christian. We are a nation largely Christian in our outlook, in faith, in worship – as much as we acknowledge the many other faiths and belief systems that are present among us.

Yet there are times when it would seem that we are worshipping an unknown god (Acts 17:23); that the faith so many people profess or claim, bears no resemblance to the Christian gospel; people go to various places of worship, pray, profess belief, yet the actions we see are in sharp contradiction to the gospel, to the values of the Gospel.

There is a serious breakdown between people’s private faith and belief, and their public actions on the street. As noted in the SACC report, there is very deep national pain:

The pains of rampant drug abuse, gangster terror, wanton rape and domestic violence;

The pains of abandoned families, children without care, and the maltreatment of Andrew Hunter

the helpless such as the 100plus Esidimeni victims;

The pains of fearsome crime that renders society unsafe at home and in public places;

The pains of rampant corruption in business deals, especially with the government; State Capture and the growing impunity of those in power, compounding the challenge of poverty and deprivation.

It is in this light that the South African Council of Churches (SACC) issued, on Friday 19 May 2017, its report, 'Unburdening, Uncapturing', on corruption and decay in SA.

The SACC, in April 2016, created the Unburdening Panel process, as a pastoral (rather than a political) response to the State Capture report, to enable those who wished, to tell their stories, not to lawyers, but to pastors.

The revelations have been horrific. What has emerged is that “the problem is far greater than corruption, but organised chaos… What appears to be chaos and instability in government may well be a systemic design… a chaotic design…”

The report identifies “trends of inappropriate control of State systems through a power-elite that... is systematically siphoning the assets of the State…”.

The report concludes that “the government of the day has lost the moral radar that should inform the public service of… ‘people first’… “The present government has lost moral legitimacy.”

The Old Testament prophet Amos is today addressing our nation: “How you hate honest judges! How you despise people who tell the truth! You trample the poor, stealing their grain through taxes and unfair rent.

Therefore, though you build beautiful stone houses, you will never live in them.

Though you plant lush vineyards, you will never drink wine from them. For I know the vast number of your sins and the depth of your rebellions. You oppress good people by taking bribes and de- prive the poor of justice in the courts. So those who are smart keep their mouths shut, for it is an evil time.” (Amos 5:1013)

The voice of the church is speaking in the public square to call people from worship of an unknown god (Acts 17:23) – the “god” of selfishness and corruption and greed and dishonesty, the “god” of cruelty and abuse – to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Many Christians from different churches are using the 50 Days from Easter until Pentecost to soak our land in prayer, “a collective cry for the Holy Spirit to descend to convict us and heal our land”. The SACC report calls us all to prayer, and notes that two more prayer phases are being planned for 2017, possibly closing with a major prayer Rally of Healing and Reconciliation on 16 December.

May we do all we can to turn the tide. • The Very Reverend Andrew

Hunter is the Dean of Grahamstown Cathedral.

Read the full report on the Grahamstown Cathedral's website: bit.ly/CathSACC