A Historical Survey of the Acceptance and Impact of the Belhar Confession since 1986
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.25159/2412-4265/10994Keywords:
Belhar Confession, Dutch Reformed Mission Church, Uniting Reformed Church of Southern AfricaAbstract
The Belhar Confession was adopted by the Dutch Reformed Mission Church (DRMC) in 1982, and in 1994 it became the theological foundation for the newly emerging Uniting Reformed Church of Southern Africa (URCSA). Focusing on the themes of unity, reconciliation and restorative justice, it challenged apartheid in South Africa. Since then, it has become a “gift” to the world-wide church to challenge all forms of discrimination and oppression in the world. The Belhar Confession has been adopted by ecumenical bodies and other denominations both nationally and internationally. This article attempts to assess the acceptance and impact of the Belhar Confession in South Africa and globally. The methodology employed is that of a historical survey examining the responses of churches to the Belhar Confession and conducting interviews to assess the impact of the Confession in transforming lives and communities today.
Metrics
References
Boesak, A. A. 1984. Black and Reformed. Bellville: Skotaville Publishers.
Boesak, A. A. 2008. “To Stand where God Stands: Reflections on the Confession of Belhar after 25 Years.” Studia Historiae Ecclesiasticae 34 (1): 143–172.
Botha, J. 1991. “The Belhar Confession 1986. Belhar: Yes or no?” Theological Forum XIX (2).
Botha, N. 2013. “The Voice of Protest within the Dutch Reformed Mission Church 1976–1986.” In Reformed Churches in South Africa and the Struggle for Justice, Remembering 1960–1990, 75–91, edited by M. A. Plaatjies-Van Huffel and R. Vosloo. Stellenbosch: SUN Media.
Busch, E. 2004. In Essays on Being Reformed, Collected Essays 3, edited by D. Smit. Stellenbosch: SUN Media.
Cloete, G. D., and D. Smit (Eds). 1984. A Moment of Truth. Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans.
De Gruchy, J. W., and S. De Gruchy. 2004. The Church Struggle in South Africa, 25th Anniversary Edition. London: SCM Press.
Fortein, E. 2013. “Allan Boesak and the Dutch Reformed Mission Church between 1976–1990.” In Reformed Churches in South Africa and the Struggle for Justice, Remembering 1960–1990, 302–315, edited by M. A. Plaatjies-Van Huffel and R. Vosloo. Stellenbosch: SUN Media.
Kritzinger, J. N. J. 2014.” Concrete Spirituality,” HTS Theological Studies 70, (3). https://doi.org/10.4102/hts v70i3.2782. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4102/hts.v70i3.2782
Naude, P. 2004. “Confessing the One Faith: Theological Resonance between the Creed of Nicea (325 AD) and the Confession of Belhar (1982 AD).” Scriptura 85. https://doi.org/10.7833/85-0-935. DOI: https://doi.org/10.7833/85-0-935
Ntai, M. J. 2018. “The Impact of the Belhar Confession in the Uniting Reformed Church in Southern Africa (URCSA) and the wider Church.” Unpublished Master’s dissertation. University of Pretoria.
Plaatjies-Van Huffel, Mary-Anne E. 2013. “Reading the Belhar Confession as a Historical Text.” In Reformed Churches in South Africa and the Struggle for Justice, Remembering 1960–1990, 329–345, edited by M. A. Plaatjies-Van Huffel, and R. Vosloo. Stellenbosch: SUN Media. https://doi.org/10.18820/9781920689117. DOI: https://doi.org/10.18820/9781920689117
Plaatjies-Van Huffel, Mary-Anne E. 2014. “The Belhar Confession in its Historical Context.” NGTT 55 (1). https://doi.org/10.5952/55-1-2-527. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5952/55-1-2-527
Plaatjies-Van Huffel, Mary-Anne E., and R. Vosloo (Eds). 2013. Reformed Churches in South Africa and the Struggle for Justice, Remembering 1960–1990. Stellenbosch: SUN Media. https://doi.org/10.18820/9781920689117. DOI: https://doi.org/10.18820/9781920689117
Plaatjies-Van Huffel, Mary-Anne E., and M. Leepo (Eds). 2017. Belhar Confession. The Embracing Confession of Faith for Church and Society. Stellenbosch: SUN Media. https://doi.org/10.18820/9781928357599. DOI: https://doi.org/10.18820/9781928357599
Schrotenboer, P. G. 1991. “The Belhar Confession 1986.” Theological Forum XIX (2).
Smit, D. 2009. Essays on Being Reformed, Collected Essays 3. Stellenbosch: SUN Media.
World Alliance of Reformed Churches (WARC), 1983. Proceedings of the 21st General Council, WARC, Geneva.
Wilmore, G. S. 2006. Black Religion and Black Radicalism: An Interpretation of the Religious History of African Americans. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis.
Interviews
Beukes, J. 2021. Interview with Dr Jacques Beukes, 20 October 2021.
Boesak, A. A. 2021. Interview with Dr Allan Boesak, 22 October 2021. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctv1x67csn.29
Kritzinger, J. N. J. 2021. Interview with Prof. Klippies Kritzinger, 21 October 2021.
Mpetsheni, L. 2021. Interview with Dr Lungile Mpetsheni, 26 October 2021.
Ungerer, A. 2021. Interview with Dr Andries Ungerer, 26 October 2021.
Van Eck, E. 2021. Inte DOI: https://doi.org/10.47348/TSAR/2021/i2a3
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2022 Jerry Pillay
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Accepted 2022-06-08
Published 2022-09-15
