Tag Archives: racism

Four Principles for Overcoming Prejudice and Racism

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–– Paul Schlehlein

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

These days, it seems the word “bigotry” could be applied to almost any behaviour. Criticise a Zulu’s English and you’ll be accused of racism. Complement that same Zulu’s English and you’ll be charged with implying that other Zulus can’t speak English well. 

To be sure, Scripture is opposed to every form of prejudice, racism, and bigotry. But it is important to properly define these sinful behaviours. Favouritism is the unfair treatment of certain people. It refers to preferential actions toward one group over another for no good reason. 

But does this mean we treat everyone the same? And isn’t it true that the world seems to call everything racism these days? How do I avoid jealousy of other groups unlike mine, and how do I navigate the idea of prejudice in a way that honours God? 

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‘Whites Only’ in this Town—A Christian Response

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–– Seth Meyers

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

A small town about 250 kilometers from Bloemfontein does not allow black people to live in it. Recently, an articulate black woman named Katlego discussed this phenomenon. Other men are trying to promote the idea of Afrikaner preservation as well. 

Do ethnic groups have a right to self-preservation? Can a people group self-segregate? Do they have a responsibility to integrate with all the people around them? Is it kind, loving, or Christian to block people out? Or is it good to make a special place where your values and heritage can be passed on? 

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How Should South Africa Respond to American Sanctions?

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–– Paul Schlehlein

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

In 1662, Jan van Riebeeck and the first Dutch settlers arrived at South Africa’s Table Mountain. By the 1830s the descendants of their Dutch forebears, called Afrikaners, had tired of British rule and friction with the Xhosa. With pastoral life becoming harder to achieve and the broad hinterland increasingly tempting, Louis Trichardt and the trekboers began the Great Trek inland in 1837. 

Since then, the Afrikaner has waged many battles, played both vanquished and victor, imposed her fair share of prejudiced legislation, borne the loss of power, shifted from oppressor to oppressed, and resettled to Britain, New Zealand, Australia, and every corner of the globe. Yet, South Africa has remained her treasured habitation.

Just under 200 years separated the van Riebeeck landing and the first exodus. Now, another two centuries demarcate today from the first wagon wheels rolling north. The question arises: Is 2025 the year of another massive Afrikaner departure from their beloved South Africa?

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Calvinism: The Cure for Racism, Not the Cause 

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–– Adapted by Tim Cantrell from Dr. Flip Buys

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

Historian Rodney Stark describes how the early church was the first institution in the history of the world that brought people together across ethnic barriers. They were inclusive because they believed that there is one God who gathers His new people from every tribe tongue and nation.  Longtime GK pastor and professor, Dr. Flip Buys, was a white Afrikaans pastor in a black church in the 1980s in Sharpeville township, home of the infamous Sharpeville massacre of 1961 (commemorated every 21 March on Human Rights Day in South Africa).  He often had to drive to church services through burning tyres on the streets and police barricades.   

Yet Dr. Buys powerfully testifies to the gospel’s impact in seeing black and white young people converted and learning to reconcile.  He tells of how, in those tumultuous times, their church truly experienced how Christ has torn down the wall of racial division and created the “one new man” (Eph. 2:14-16).  Nothing is more potent for racial harmony than a biblical vision of God as absolutely free, gracious and sovereign – a God who truly saves sinners!  Whether we wear the Calvinist label or not, every Bible-believing child of God says ‘Amen’ to that testimony. 

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Does Systemic Racism Exist in Africa?

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–– Paul Schlehlein

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

Dis-Chem, the second-largest retail pharmacy chain in South Africa, has faced significant criticism over the past two years over a leaked memo that prohibited any further hiring and promotion of white people. Is this an example of racism or systemic racism and what’s the difference?

Systemic racism refers to laws and policies in a society that discriminate against people based on their race. The Cambridge Dictionary defines systemic racism as “policies and practices that exist throughout a whole society…that result in and support a continued unfair advantage to some people and unfair or harmful treatment of others based on race.”  

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Is Israel Guilty of Apartheid?

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–– Paul Schlehlein

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Apartheid is an Afrikaans word meaning separation. It refers to a system of segregation based on race, popularized by the white South African government from 1948 to 1994. Though South Africa officially abolished apartheid nearly 30 years ago, many outside the country may be surprised to know that the word “apartheid” is still plastered on countless billboards throughout the largest cities in the land. 

But these billboards are not opposing old national grievances. How could they? Today’s blacks dominate South Africa’s population, Parliament, and police. 

These signs refer to the supposed Israeli apartheid against Palestinians. Sample signs in South Africa read: “Do the Right Thing. Boycott Apartheid Israel.” Or, “Churches Against Israeli Annexation of Palestinian Land.” Or, “End Israeli Apartheid Now.” Organizations and political party logos emboss these billboards, including the anti-Israel group Africa4Palestine, as well as the ruling party of the ANC, and the SACP—the South African Communist Party. 

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TARIF: No Satellite Internet For South Africa Because of Racial Quotas

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The Africa Review in Five highlights African current affairs from a Christian perspective. Listen and subscribe through Youtube, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify.

Today is Tuesday, August 8th, A.D. 2023. This is The Africa Review in Five, written by David de Bruyn and presented by Yamikani Katunga.

No Satellite Internet For South Africa Because of Racial Quotas

Elon Musk’s company Starlink, provides high-quality internet service via satellite to most places on earth. Many African countries have signed agreements with Starlink including Kenya, Nigeria, Rwanda, and Mozambique. It is likely that most of the African continent will have issued licenses to Starlink by the end of 2024. But not South Africa.

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TARIF: South Africa’s Systemic Racism

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The Africa Review in Five highlights African current affairs from a Christian perspective. Listen and subscribe through Youtube, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify.

Today is Friday, July 7th, A.D. 2023. This is The Africa Review in Five, written by Paul Schlehlein and presented by Yamikani Katunga

In May of this year, 2023, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa signed into law the Employment Equity Amendment Bill of 2020. This bill amends the EEA, the Employment Equity Acts of 1998, which demands that employers have an equity plan reaching numerical goals for certain designated groups. This came two months before the recent landmark case in the United States, Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard, whereby the US Supreme Court considered race-based college admissions to be unconstitutional.

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