Pastor Andre Olivier reminded me why I no longer go to church. In his sermon last week he said three things that were as perplexing as they were troubling.
First, says the pastor of River Sands Church in Sandton, white people still have money because they work. The insinuation, of course, is that black people lack money because they do not.
I am humbled by the sight of Muslims prostrating themselves in prayer in the Long Street mosque. I am moved by adult baptism in Princess Vlei as a very public confession of faith.
The life of faith refutes the idea that all of our existence is material and meaningless, and without higher purpose or vocation. Such simple expressions of faith transform human lives across the globe.
But there are any number of preachers, from every religion, ready to abuse the faith and trust of ordinary believers for their own political agendas and behind personal bigotry. They get carried away by their own sense of importance in front of thousands of worshippers; snakes are swallowed and hot coals burn the flesh on innocent feet. They rip off poor and gullible people who give away their hard-earned money to sustain the often extravagant lifestyles of these self-important preachers.
Those who think the school curriculum is the most powerful agency for changing hearts and minds need to take a careful look at what happens inside religious institutions where the connection between faith, emotion and trust can so easily override the logic of science, knowledge and common sense.
And in the hands of unscrupulous preachers of any faith, great damage can be done to how young people understand themselves and those different from them by race, religion, language and culture.
Earlier this week a middle-aged, white Afrikaans-speaking woman came to see me. I had never met Una nor had I heard of her place of origin, Schweizer-Reneke.
Una had something on her heart she wanted to share. Then came the unheard of, spoken in Afrikaans: “I came to apologise to you for what we did as white people to hurt you, your family and our black brothers and sisters.”
Her voice choking, Una committed to using her talents and resources to correct what was wrong in our society. At that point she stretched her hands across the table to hold mine and pray for forgiveness and for wise leadership of the university. Because of Una, I might just go to church on Sunday.
Professor Jonathan Jansen is vice-chancellor of the University of the Free State
Many preachers who do more harm than good
First, says the pastor of River Sands Church in Sandton, white people still have money because they work. The insinuation, of course, is that black people lack money because they do not.
I am humbled by the sight of Muslims prostrating themselves in prayer in the Long Street mosque. I am moved by adult baptism in Princess Vlei as a very public confession of faith.
The life of faith refutes the idea that all of our existence is material and meaningless, and without higher purpose or vocation. Such simple expressions of faith transform human lives across the globe.
But there are any number of preachers, from every religion, ready to abuse the faith and trust of ordinary believers for their own political agendas and behind personal bigotry. They get carried away by their own sense of importance in front of thousands of worshippers; snakes are swallowed and hot coals burn the flesh on innocent feet. They rip off poor and gullible people who give away their hard-earned money to sustain the often extravagant lifestyles of these self-important preachers.
Those who think the school curriculum is the most powerful agency for changing hearts and minds need to take a careful look at what happens inside religious institutions where the connection between faith, emotion and trust can so easily override the logic of science, knowledge and common sense.
And in the hands of unscrupulous preachers of any faith, great damage can be done to how young people understand themselves and those different from them by race, religion, language and culture.
Earlier this week a middle-aged, white Afrikaans-speaking woman came to see me. I had never met Una nor had I heard of her place of origin, Schweizer-Reneke.
Una had something on her heart she wanted to share. Then came the unheard of, spoken in Afrikaans: “I came to apologise to you for what we did as white people to hurt you, your family and our black brothers and sisters.”
Her voice choking, Una committed to using her talents and resources to correct what was wrong in our society. At that point she stretched her hands across the table to hold mine and pray for forgiveness and for wise leadership of the university. Because of Una, I might just go to church on Sunday.
Professor Jonathan Jansen is vice-chancellor of the University of the Free State
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