GOSPEL DEFENCE LEAGUE

P O Box 587, Sea Point 8060, RSA; Tel 021-510-6854; e-mail: dscarborough@mweb.co.za

Apr / May 2010

August 2010

Click here for a pdf version of this newsletter

AFTER THE WORLD CUP

The Soccer World Championships were a great success. Overseas visitors were impressed with the organising ability and charmed by the friendly spirit of the South African people, and they entered into the exuberant mood of Africa. The football fans had come from 32 countries and from every continent of the globe. The eight matches played in Cape Town alone, attracted 1,6 million people who watched at the stadium, the fan fest, fan walk, and fan parties. Christians, too, turned out in great numbers, locals and foreigners, to evangelise the crowds with hundreds of thousands of tracts and Gospel booklets, New Testaments, Bibles, children’s books and DVDs in various languages. They addressed subjects such as “Shattered Hopes” and “Broken Dreams” and asked: “Where will you spend eternity?” pointing readers to “the Greatest Man who ever lived,” who is “Christ risen indeed.” Even the children received special care. Because of the extra-long winter school holidays, a great number of local churches ran holiday clubs, and some sportsmen held football clinics for boys in the townships.

Every South African (indeed every African) was pleased and proud to hospitably welcome the football tourists, if only with a smile, kind word, laughter or helpfulness. Countless visitors were enriched by the Christian spirit of many of the locals. Indeed, one of the ‘German’ footballers, the Brazilian Cacau, declared that he, too, read his Bible both in Portuguese and German, and that it gave him strength, joy and confidence. He said: “In the Western world we have a false concept of contentment and happiness. We think a new cell-phone, a beautiful house with a sauna – that is happiness. But life is very much more than that. As a child (living in poverty) it was a joy for me to make do with what we had.”

Renewed Calls for Nationalisation

For 6 weeks all previous tension, caused by the ongoing farm murders, were forgotten. Even Julius Malema, the leader of the ANC Youth League (ANCYL), stopped singing his revolutionary songs. But as soon as the games were over, the ANCYL again clamoured for the nationalisation of farms and mines. They want to “encourage the ruling party to copy Zimbabwe’s land reform programme.” They said, “Many people are misreading what happened in Zimbabwe. There was nothing fundamentally wrong with their land reform programme.” 1) This thinking, of course, is in line with the Communist Freedom Charter of 1955, which reads: “The mineral wealth beneath the soil… shall be transferred to the ownership of the people… The land shall be re-divided amongst those who work it…” However, the case of Zimbabwe (and other Communist countries) has shown that what is meant by the “people” is not the African ‘peasants,’ but the leaders of the party. In South Africa, too, the leaders of the party are enriching themselves. Many prominent ANC members have become very wealthy. On 14.5.2010 the Cape Times asked about Julius Malema: “How did a young man of 29 with very little education amass a fortune which is reputed to be around R53 million?” 2)

The answer, at least in part, comes from Dr Erich Leistner: “At the expense of the common good, the ANC are exhausting their energies in struggles for influence and positions. There is an unbridled thirst for self-enrichment at all levels – from the top down to the last party functionary - and a lack of ethical values such as a sense of responsibility, of duty, industry, self-examination and modesty…” The party, he says, “deems it more important that officials have black (not even brown) skins, than that they should be able to cope with their tasks. In this spirit, public administration has been totally ruined, except for some bright spots in the money, bank and tax sector… The disastrous conditions at parastatals such as Eskom, SA Airways, Transnet, SABC and Denel and the huge amounts which their mismanagement has cost the tax payer – c. R243 billion in the past four years – are the inevitable results of having allocated jobs according to political and racial considerations.” 2)

“Thou shalt not steal.”

Margaret Thatcher once said: “The trouble with Socialism is, sooner or later you run out of other people’s money.” In other words, one cannot steal for ever. The collapse of Communism and the poverty of Eastern Europe bears witness to that. So does the disastrous situation in Zimbabwe.

The Eighth Commandment, “Thou shalt not steal,” does not only apply to individuals. It also applies to corporations and governments. The commandment forbids all kinds of theft - socialism, communism, inflation, affirmative action, tenderpreneurship, and other stealing, whether of time, money, wages, measures, weights or quality – whether of land, liberty or ideas. For the Lord intends man to exercise dominion in the earth, and men can only do this when they own assets which allow them to work for the extension of His Kingdom. This dominion mandate should be exercised for God’s glory and be fulfilled in the spirit of the Great Commission of our Lord Jesus Christ, who said: “Go and make disciples of all nations…,” teaching them in word and deed “to observe all that I have commanded you.” (Matthew 28:18-20)

Now that the Soccer World Championships are over, many people are again unemployed. The economist Mike Schüssler says, that there are 12,9 million people (out of a total of c. 50 million) who have jobs and 5 million who pay tax in South Africa. But even more people, namely 13,6 million, receive welfare support, in addition to free water, electricity, rent and medical services. Poverty is a real problem, even among large numbers of Whites. According to Die Afrikaner, an estimated 800.000 Whites are living below the breadline. Many, often displaced by ‘affirmative action,’ are even living in squatter camps. In and around Pretoria there are more than 80 such White camps whose existence is almost unknown to the outside world. 4) Though White South Africans pay most of the country’s taxes, state relief for them is meagre. Even Churches and businesses give their good gifts almost exclusively to non-Whites. 5)

The Eighth Commandment

The Shorter Westminster Catechism asks: “What is required in the eighth commandment?” And the answer is: “The eighth commandment requireth the lawful procuring and furthering the wealth and outward estate of ourselves and others.” - Again it asks: “What is forbidden in the eighth commandment?” And the answer is: “The eighth commandment forbiddeth whatsoever doeth or may unjustly hinder our own or our neighbour’s wealth or outward estate.”

“If one of your countrymen becomes poor and is unable to support himself among you,” says Leviticus 25:35, “help him as you would an alien or a temporary resident, so that he can continue to live among you.” And Jesus, our Lord, adds: “I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.” (Matthew 25:40) -

But does it profit a country to impoverish its most productive class of people? It used to be said that every White man, by his enterprise and labour, was creating jobs for 10 Black men. If that is true, then the 800.000 Whites now living in poverty may well be a reason for the loss of millions of Black jobs.

In South Africa the great question after the Soccer World Cup is: “What will be the lasting benefits of the Championships?” Let us hope that it may be a new respect and a real concern for one another. God has graciously answered the prayers which were offered up to Him before and during the world cup. Let us then commit ourselves anew to Him, continue to pray and do good to our fellow man.

May God bless you richly,

D. Scarborough

Gospel Defence League
P. O. Box 587 Sea Point 8060
Cape Town South Africa
Tel/Fax: 021-510-6854
Email: dscarborough@mweb.co.za

Footnotes:

 

OUR WORLD BELONGS TO GOD (continued)

A Contemporary Testimony of the Christian Reformed Church, USA, 1986

Drafted in view of the secularisation of modern life and culture.

THE FALL

To be continued with “REDEMPTION”…

John 3:16 - “God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.”

Gospel Defence League
P. O. Box 587 Sea Point 8060
Cape Town South Africa
Tel/Fax: 021-510-6854
Website: www.christianaction.org.za/GDL