Category Archives: The Africa Review In Five

Helping the Poor: Wealth Creation or Wealth Redistribution

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— Tim Cantrell

The audio version of this article is available here: YouTube, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify.

What a stark contrast between the two G20s: November 2025’s G20 here in Johannesburg prioritised climate change and redistribution of wealth to reduce inequality, which has never worked.  All this is driven by the socialistic, flawed philosophy of globalism.  

2026’s G20 will focus on “economic prosperity by limiting regulatory burdens, unlocking affordable and secure energy supply chains, and pioneering new technologies and innovations” – prioritising wealth creation instead of redistribution.  Which approach will prove more helpful to the poor?  

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A Religion of Fear

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— Brino Kumwenda

The audio version of this article is available here: YouTube, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify.

There is pervasive fear among Africans, including professing Christians.  It is fear that is based on the African Traditional Religion and the misinterpretation of Scripture.  This is why modern-day prophets run the lucrative business of inflicting or solidifying fear in people and presenting themselves as men and women of God, who have the power to set the people free from their slavery of fear. 

The people run to them and are more than willing to “sow a seed” and buy their anointed objects like water and oil so that they can be set free. The business is thriving because traditional Africans have these fears and believe that mediums such as witchdoctors can set them free from them. 

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The Politics of Blame

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— Lennox Kalifungwa

The audio version of this article is available here: YouTube, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify.

There is a sense in which complaint is the resignation and abdication of responsibility. This unqualified assertion will likely prompt the retort that affliction and pestilence are commonplace, and that people should be free to express their discomfort without fear of moral shaming.

Yet this expected retort ought to earn the response that trouble neither nullifies nor exempts a person from responsibility; in fact, it provides an opportunity for duty to be constructively exercised and applied.

To begin an article with such philosophical dialogue may not be ideal in some books, and yet it is necessary to confront the unfortunate spectacle that has been enshrined in the dogma of this modern world.

We live in a world that not only promotes, normalises, and celebrates irresponsibility but has effectively politicised and institutionalised it.

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Why Don’t Nigerian Black Lives Matter?

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— Paul Schlehlein

The audio version of this article is available here: YouTube, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify.

The organisation known as Black Lives Matter (BLM) is a violent, dangerous, Marxist movement. It is fiction, a sham, and a lie to believe that BLM really cares about black lives. Consider just two examples to support this claim: BLM’s outspoken support of abortion in the US and their deafening silence concerning the murder of black Christians around the world. 

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Gender-Based Violence: A National Disaster?

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— David de Bruyn

The audio version of this article is available here: YouTube, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify.

In the run-up to the G20 conference, various lobbyists in South Africa were calling on President Cyril Ramaphosa to declare Gender-Based Violence a “national disaster”. Eventually, this was conceded, and the Department of Social Development posted the announcement on its website

What is meant by this declaration? What difference will it make? And what does it say about the beliefs of a large number of South Africans?

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Might Your Phone be the Problem?

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— Richard Peskett

The audio version of this article is available here: YouTube, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify.

There is an old spiritual song called, Give me Jesus. Here is the first verse:


In the morning, when I rise,

In the morning, when I rise,

In the morning, when I rise,

Give me Jesus.

When most Christians wake up in the morning, their mantra is not, “Give me Jesus,” but rather, “Give me my mobile phone.”

Did you know that the average mobile ownership in Africa, according to a recent survey of 34 African countries, is 84%? Telcom operators are targeting Africa with affordable phones to increase their use. Furthermore, it has recently been reported that South Africans spend more time on their screens than any other nation in the world. How much time is this? The report states that the average South African spends 58.2% of their day in front of screens, “with 22.5% of their day dedicated to scrolling social media.” Can this really be true? A recent guest in our home averaged over 10 hours a day on their phone.

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South Africa’s Unemployment Crisis

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— Charles Russell

The audio version of this article is available here: YouTube, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify.

According to the recently released quarterly labour force survey, South African unemployment stands at a staggering 33%. Using the expanded definition (i.e., including those who have abandoned their search for employment due to discouragement), the rate is 43%. Nearly 1 in every 2 people looking for a job cannot find one (for the 33% and the 43%).

Not only is this the worst rate in Africa, where the average unemployment is around 9%, but it is also the highest in the world, equal to eSwatini at 34.4% at Dec-24). South Africa is in a crisis.

Before the Christian is tempted to panic, as many of us are, God is still in control – even in this unemployment pandemic.

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Can a Christian Vote for the DA?

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–– Evan Cantrell

The audio version of this article is available here: YouTube, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify.

On 13 October 2025, the Democratic Alliance, also known as the DA, participated in the “Joburg Pride” march, celebrating what the DA’s Rainbow Alliance called “the beauty, resilience, and strength of Africa’s LGBTQIA+ community”. 

The largest party in South Africa is the ANC, whose policies and actions have brought South Africa to its knees. The party most known for resisting the ANC in ways that have achieved practical results for the good of South Africa is the DA. The DA stands for the free market and against the ANC’s hyper-racial and socialist policies. 

However, the DA does not oppose abortion, allowing the murder of innocents to continue unabated. It proudly supports homosexual relationships in every form, contributing to the breakdown of the families which form the bedrock of society. Scripture clearly describes these positions (also endorsed by the ANC) as bringing God’s judgment on a nation. The DA government in Cape Town also distinguished itself in the Covid-19 era by stringently enforcing “lockdown” measures. 

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The Danger of Date-setters

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–– Paul Schlehlein

The audio version of this article is available here: YouTube, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify.

Recently, a man from South Africa named Joshua Mhlakela predicted that the rapture of the church would occur between September 23-24 of this year. He made this claim after supposedly receiving a vision about Christ’s return. In his TV interview, which has since received hundreds of thousands of views, Mhlakela claimed to be a “billion per cent sure” the Lord would return on those dates, though the dates continue to change. South African singer-turned preacher Danie Botha made a similar false claim about the Lord’s return.

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The Evil Extortion Epidemic

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–– Joe Shoko

The audio version of this article is available here: YouTube, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify.

In most African countries, when citizens see the police, they turn the other way or pass them begrudgingly. Instead of feeling safe and secure around their supposed protection unit, people would rather risk driving into the drainage ditches, fleeing from their assailers. This is the reality that every Zimbabwean, believer or non-believer, must live with: the fact that they are likely to be arrested, extorted, and harassed on trumped-up charges.

It is no secret that Zimbabwe is one of the most corrupt countries in Africa. The logic follows that a country with leaders who selectively apply the law is policed by lawless men and women. In 2017, for example, the head of police was arrested for failing to prove how he acquired his seven-million-dollar mansion and other properties, despite being a mere civil servant. 

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Can We Unite With Catholics & Mormons? Gospel Purity & Civic Duty

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–– Tim Cantrell

The audio version of this article is available here: YouTube, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify.

In preparation for November’s G20 Summit to be hosted in South Africa, an Interfaith Forum was recently held in Cape Town to unite religious leaders to “strengthen peace-making efforts” in global conflicts.  The All Africa Council of Churches accounts for some “200 million Christians” across the continent.  In the wake of Charlie Kirk’s murder and a conservative resurgence in the USA, there are new calls for reconciling Protestants, Catholics, Mormons, and others (especially when both the 2nd and 3rd in command are devout Catholics—Vance & Rubio).  Meanwhile, others are calling for believers to come out and be separate from any political alliances with unbelievers.

How do we resist the temptation of ecumenism yet remain engaged in society? We’ll look at legitimate and illegitimate cooperation with unbelievers, all hinging upon the purpose for which we are uniting.

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Why Boys Matter

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–– Paul Schlehlein

The audio version of this article is available here: YouTube, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify.

There are more boys alive today than at any time in human history. Africa, in particular, possesses an army of boys, as it is projected that by 2050, 40% of the world’s children will live in Africa. By 2055, Africa’s child population will reach one billion. By 2050, boys ages 1-18 will account for 1.5 billion of the population, more than the entire world’s population just 200 years ago in 1825. 

Add to this the 21st century’s One-Child policy—which wiped out millions of female births—and it’s clear that boys should be our priority, though not for what they can accomplish at this moment.

Despite most boys being too tender-aged for great exploits, there are outliers. Mozart wrote his first symphony at age eight. Alexander the Great started conquering the world at age eighteen. Both at age nineteen, respectively, the Marquis de Lafayette helped turn the tide of the Revolutionary War and Blaise Pascal invented a calculator.  

But the average boy simply needs steady character training today so that he will be of good use tomorrow. Let’s explore some reasons why boys matter. 

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Should a Husband Take His Wife’s Surname?

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–– Paul Schlehlein

The audio version of this article is available here: YouTube, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify.

Mark it down as another win for feminism after South Africa’s highest courts recently ruled that a husband can legally take the surname of his wife, overturning a law that once barred them from doing so.

What has long been a common practice in Europe has now made its way to Africa, as the South African Constitutional Court decided that the previous law which only allowed male surnames in marriage, was a “colonial import” and did not promote gender equality. This came after both an Afrikaans and an English husband sued for not being allowed to take their respective wives’ surnames.

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Should God Bless Africa?

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–– David de Bruyn

The audio version of this article is available here: YouTube, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify.

The national anthem of South Africa begins with the words Nkosi’ Sikelele Africa – God bless Africa. Not often do people stop to ask, ‘Should God bless Africa?’ ‘Why would God bless Africa?’

The Bible describes the source of blessing for a country, “Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people.” (Prov. 14:34) When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice; But when a wicked man rules, the people groan. (Prov. 29:2) The king establishes the land by justice, but he who receives bribes overthrows it. (Prov. 29:4) Righteous rulers and righteous citizens mean the nation is righteous.

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The Reformation of Balthasar Hubmaier (Ep. 18)

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Watch Hubmaier video here

Here’s a good Latin phrase to know: semper reformanda. It means “always reforming”. Christians should seek continuously to be changed (or, “reformed”)—not by culture or popular opinion—but by the Word of God. 

The most outstanding theologian among the Anabaptists of the sixteenth century was Balthasar Hubmaier, who modelled well the mentality of semper reformanda, though the phrasedid not become popular until hundreds of years after his death. 

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Modesty: A Lost Virtue

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–– Joe Shoko

The audio version of this article is available here: YouTube, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify.

It is summertime, and that means Christian men and women, but mostly men, must work all the harder to pluck their eyes out in the face of public indecency and immodesty. Welcome to the postmodern era – where sanity, virtue, shame and dignity have all been thrown out of the window, but nudity, sensuality, and impurity of all kinds have all been embraced in the name of progressivism and inclusivity. The bible has two glaring passages that address the pertinent issue of modest dressing. 

“Likewise also that women should adorn themselves in respectable apparel, with modesty and self-control, not with braided hair and gold or pearls or costly attire” (1 Timothy 2:9), “but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God’s sight is very precious.” (1 Peter 3:4).

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A Practical Way to Find a Mission Field

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–– Paul Schlehlein

The audio version of this article is available here: YouTube, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify.

In the old days, finding a mission field may have been easier. Too many options make decisions difficult. In the primitive eras of Great Commission work, missionaries didn’t enjoy as many people groups to consider. 

In the 17th century, most Protestant missionaries went to the Native Americans in North America, in the 18th century to Asia, and in the 19th century to Africa. Maps were unsophisticated and incomplete, especially in a nation’s interior regions. Often, prospective missionaries chose the only option available. 

Transportation was rudimentary. For example, in 1829, Anthony Groves arrived in Baghdad with his wife and two boys after trekking 2,000 miles over mountains and deserts. They travelled by foot, by horse, and by a boneshaking German wagon. This was ten years before Livingstone took a three-month voyage to Africa from Scotland. 

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Free Speech and the Murder of Charlie Kirk

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–– Paul Schlehlein

The audio version of this article is available here: YouTube, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify.

Last night, on 10 September 2025, I joined millions worldwide to read in horror about the assassination of American Christian and political activist Charlie Kirk. It pains us to the core to observe the loss of life of such a young, gifted man, just thirty-one years old, with a wife and two young kids who will now grow up only hearing stories about their Dad.

But the hurt only grows when one thinks about how he died—assassinated on live TV by a bullet through his neck from a rifle a hundred yards away. Who can know God’s ways? His works and thoughts are higher than ours (Ps. 92:5). It’s natural to ask why the Almighty would ordain that such an asset to the kingdom would be brought to Heaven so soon.

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What’s True About the Blood Moon: A Christian View of Nature

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–– Tim Cantrell

The audio version of this article is available here: YouTube, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify.

Last Sunday, 7 September, was a rare treat for a few billion people, including us here in Johannesburg, as we witnessed a beautiful blood moon resulting from a total lunar eclipse, painting the night sky with hues of fiery red.  The cause was the moon reflecting the earth’s dusty atmosphere, scattering shorter wavelengths (the usual blue and green light of the moon), while the longer red and orange light reached the moon, making it glow a coppery-red. As NASA stated, it was like seeing “all of the earth’s sunsets and sunrises projected on the moon”.  “The heavens declare the glory of God!” (Ps. 19:1).  “O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is Your name in all the earth!” (Psalm 8).

Worship or Worry?

But wait?!  Should we be worshipping the Creator, or worrying about such a celestial sign and apocalyptic omen?  Hindu temples across India were shut down during the blood moon for fear of the negative energies and ritual impurity imposed by this phenomenon.  African traditional leaders explained how this could signal strong winds and sickness, or indicate the death of a king.  Even Christians panic over a red moon, since Scripture mentions this as one of the signs of God’s judgment upon the world near the end.

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The Sin of African Time

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–– Paul Schlehlein

The audio version of this article is available here: YouTube, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify.

Every culture shares its own set of strengths and weaknesses. The West, for example, is infatuated with the sins of materialism and entertainment, whereas Muslim nations more easily embrace transgressions like polygamy. 

Christian Worldview

As a general principle, a nation that’s been influenced by Christianity will enjoy more strengths in its culture than those countries affected by paganism and false religions. This is because the gospel changes a man’s destiny and his deeds, his future and his feats, his end and his endeavours. Christianity isn’t a mere accessory in one’s life, like a spoiler on the back of a sports car. Rather, Christianity is a worldview that drives a person’s life, like the engine in a pick-up truck. 

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A Husband’s Role in His Wife’s Physical Beauty

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–– Paul Schlehlein

The audio version of this article is available here: YouTube, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify.

Beauty products make big money around the world. The beauty industry generates over $650 billion in revenue worldwide. In 2023, South Africa alone spent $6 billion on beauty products. South Korea leads the world in skin care products, spending $7 billion in 2023. Just the hair industry in South Africa is worth nearly R10 million, as weaves, wigs, and waves make big business in beauty salons and on social media. The cosmetics industry is taking off in countries like Ghana and Kenya, with Nigeria anticipated to be the rising star. 

Lest the reader questions how much men value beauty, in late 2024 King Mswati III (age 56) married the daughter of former South African president Jacob Zuma. She was twenty-one, becoming his sixteenth wife. 

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The Christian and Cryptocurrency

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–– Charles Russell

The audio version of this article is available here: YouTube, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify.

Bitcoin has recently hit new all-time highs, breaching $120,000 per coin last month. R10,000 invested 5 years ago would have been worth R103,000 today. In comparison, an investment in the JSE all-share index and the S&P500 index would have only yielded R18,000 and R19,000, respectively.

As a Christian, what should we be doing with this information? Could a significant investment in Bitcoin have solved many of the problems Africa faces today? Could it have solved your own financial problems?

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The Logic of Anselm (Ep. 13)

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Watch Anselm Video Here

Around the time of the Middle Ages, a group of educated Christian leaders began to emerge called “schoolmen”.They sought to discover how reason (the power of the mind to think) and faith could work together. They wanted to use their minds to think deeply about why God exists and who He is. The “first of the schoolmen”, and perhaps the greatest, was Anselm of Canterbury. 

Anselm entered the world during a time when the church had been in decline spiritually and culturally for hundreds of years. The leaders of the church were sometimes more ignorant than the common people. One of the sparks of hope in an otherwise gloomy world was Anselm, sometimes called the “Second Augustine”. He became a godly saint that not only served Jesus with his heart and hands, but also with his mind.

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Women’s Rugby?

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–– Paul Schlehlein

The audio version of this article is available here: YouTube, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify.

Scroll through the BBC’s Africa home page and you’ll find a cesspool of articles promoting violent women’s sports. A cage fighter from Nigeria poses for the camera, her fists up, growling: “I am the queen of the cage.” A video promotes women’s arm wrestling by displaying two ladies with arms the size of #2 pencils—one shrew-sized participant straining for victory while wearing a burka. 

Another article promotes a woman named Peace for becoming the first Ugandan national to sign for a women’s super league rugby squad. Is this wholesome? Should Christians encourage their daughters to play lock and flanker on a rugby team? The implications of our answer go far beyond this one sport but to the very nature of men and women. 

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The Surprising Scarcity of Self-Supporting Churches

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–– Paul Schlehlein

The audio version of this article is available here: YouTube, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify.

Receiving services and material for free is a serious problem in Africa. For decades, foreign aid has flooded into Africa, though the continent remains the poorest in the world. NGOs grow in Africa like the frogs multiplied in Egypt. Shouldn’t someone shut off the tap and call the annual billions sent to Africa a colossal mistake? Not according to many, where politicians from South Africa still complain about the cutting of USAID, which accounted for 17% of South Africa’s health budget. Other African leaders insist on debt forgiveness. 

What is a church?

Sadly, this mindset has trickled down to the church. Is it healthy that many African congregations are kept afloat through foreign donations? To answer this question, we must first define our terms. The local church is a body of believers that has covenanted together to preach God’s Word and administer baptism and the Lord’s Supper. 

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Cross Purposes About the Cross

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–– Richard Peskett

The audio version of this article is available here: YouTube, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify.

Do you ever, like me, struggle to share the gospel of Jesus Christ with black Africans? I speak often to men and women about Christ—on the streets and in the stores—and even though we are speaking the same language, and they smile, and they agree with me, and they take a tract when offered to them, yet  I usually come away convinced that we were speaking at cross-purposes. I failed again to effectively share the gospel. 

“Speaking at cross purposes” means talking with someone about different things without realising it.

Most Africans are “incurably religious people.” They mention “God” more often than the Europeans with whom I grew up. Africans praise “God” for the rain, and for good health. “God is good,” I might say, and people reply, “All of the time.” But how many of these same people actually know God — the One who reveals Himself in His creation, in the Scriptures, and most clearly in the person of Jesus Christ?

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The “Big Man Syndrome” in Today’s African Churches

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–– Brino Kumwenda

The audio version of this article is available here: YouTube, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify.

The big-man syndrome has dominated the philosophy of leadership in many African churches today. But it doesn’t have to be this way. 

A concerned member of Grace Community Church once asked his pastor, John MacArthur:  “What’s going to happen to Grace Community when you are gone?”

MacArthur answered, “There are people asking me, ‘What’s the replacement plan around here?’ Well, whatever happens to me, this church has many great, gifted, dedicated, highly motivated, and passionate preachers coming behind me that there will be plenty of them to take my place…”

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Should Christians Own Guns? 

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–– Paul Schlehlein

The audio version of this article is available here: YouTube, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify.

Gun-ownership in the United States is the highest in the world, with a rate of 120 guns per 100 people. Yes, that’s more than one gun per person. Gun-ownership rates in Africa, however, are tiny (at least among non-criminals), with almost non-existent rates in countries like Malawi, Benin, Ethiopia, and Niger. 

In South Africa and South Sudan, there are less than ten gun-owners per one-hundred people, even though (as of 2024), South Africa has the fifth-highest crime rate in the world. 

South Africa is a very dangerous place to live. According to recent crime statistics from the South African Police Service, 453 homes are burgled every day in the country. This despite each home being clothed in a robe of steel burglar bars and shiny razor wire. 

This raises the question: are Christians allowed to defend themselves? If Jesus said to turn the other cheek, may His followers use dogs, walls, and fists to protect their lives and property? If so, are weapons like guns and knives valid? Consider the following four principles.

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Execution of Justice: Should Believers Desire the Death Penalty?

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–– Evan Cantrell

The audio version of this article is available here: YouTube, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify.

In 2020, Tafadzwa Shama and Tapiwa Makore (Sr) killed and dismembered Makore’s nephew, 7-year-old Tapiwa Makore (Jr). The killing was part of a pagan ritual intended to ensure the prosperity of their cabbage growing business.

In 2023, the men were sentenced to death for their horrific crime. However, in December 2024, Zimbabwe repealed the death penalty, almost 20 years after its last execution in 2005. As a result, Shama and Makore had their sentences commuted to life imprisonment. 

When faced with brutal crimes like the murder of little Tapiwa Makore, our hearts cry out for justice through the ultimate punishment. However, activists argue that the death penalty only breeds more violence, and is ineffective and unproductive. They hold up Zimbabwe to the rest of Africa as an example of what should be done in abolishing the death penalty. 

What does God’s Word say? Is it right for believers to desire that the death penalty be carried out, or does this stand in conflict with the command to “love our enemy”? 

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Family Overreach in Marriage

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–– Joe Shoko

The audio version of this article is available here: YouTube, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify.

Ubuntuism is a good thing. What makes it unique is the emphasis on communal living. Not too long ago, African communities were distinctly community-oriented. It was as if Acts 2:42-47 was being re-enacted, but without Christ as the focal point. Whenever someone was sick, they didn’t run out of aunties, uncles, brothers and sisters to lend a helping hand. 

In such times, high yard walls were still very much a vague, futuristic half–baked concept and the only thing that separated you and your ‘neighbour’ was the closed doors and windows at night. This was the ideal scenario, until it was time for prospective couples to wed. 

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