A Spirituality of Mercy in a Time of War
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Religion &Theology Religion & Theology 18 (2011) 147–172 brill.nl/rt A Spirituality of Mercy in a Time of War Pieter G. R. de Villiers Department of Old and New Testament, University of the Free State, P.O. Box 339, Bloemfontein 9300, Republic of South Africa [email protected] Abstract This article discusses the diary of the Rev. A. D. Luckhoff, written during the South African War in the infamous Bethulie concentration camp from the perspective of his Spirituality of mercy. It analyses the diary in terms of mercy as giving love, as charitableness and as respect for human dignity. It then investigates mercy in the diary as compassion and vulnerability, before it con- cludes by discussing how Lukchoff ’s faith in providence, his awareness of a divine call, his inner space of homeliness and love empower mercy. Keywords mercy, vulnerability, compassion, spirituality, A. D. Luckhoff 1. Introduction One of the best-known personalities in the Dutch Reformed church of the early twentieth century was the Rev. Abraham D. Luckhoff. Born in 1874 from a colourful family of pastors from Rhenish, Wesleyan and Dutch Reformed contexts,1 he is first and foremost remembered for his lifelong work in the Dutch Reformed Church’s welfare department for a period of 27 years (1916–1943). His upliftment of communities made a lasting impression on the church, his community and even the country to the extent that his advice on matters of upliftment was often asked by state departments, whilst he was 1 Cf. F. Pretorius’ introduction to A. D. Luckhoff, Woman’s Endurance (Pretoria: Protea, 2006 [1904]), iii–ix. R. M. Britz, “ ‘Now, What Has Become of Our Prayers and Supplications?’ Faith in an South African War Concentration Camp of 1901,” Acta Academica 39 (2007): 21–44, for more information about Luckhoff. Luckhoff mentions in his diary (4) that his father was a min- ister for many years in Colesberg, where he was born, whilst his uncle ministered to the congre- gation in Fauresmith. © Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, 2011 DOI: 10.1163/157430110X613700 148 P. G. R. de Villiers / Religion & Theology 18 (2011) 147–172 also awarded an honorary degree (by the University of Stellenbosch in 1946).2 Whilst he became well-known as the compassionate face of the Dutch Reformed Church in the time after the South African War (1899–1902) with its devastating consequences and in the following decades with the Influenza Epidemic, the First World War and the Great Depression, almost nothing, in contrast, was known of the thin diary of 67 pages that he wrote as a youthful, licensed minister during his chaplaincy in the infamous concentration camp in Bethulie in the Free State during the South African War. The diary with “Woman’s Endurance” as the carefully chosen title, was never intended for publication. It was, fortunately, published on request three years after the war.3 And even then it did not attract much attention until it was rediscovered and republished more than a century later in a facsimile edition. Since then some historical and theological research has been done on the diary, but its relevance for the understanding of spirituality has yet to be pointed out.4 The diary of Luckhoff is of special importance for the study of his spirituality,5 of Reformed Christianity and of Spirituality in general.6 Written during a time 2 It was due to his influence, for example, that legislation on upliftment work was on occasion passed in parliament. He also advised government departments on certain issues. His influence and dedication can be detected by the fact that he could raise the (then) enormous amount of £52 000 to support orphans during the Influenza Epidemic in 1918. Cf. Pretorius, “Introduc- tion,” iv, for more examples of his upliftment work. 3 Cf. L. A. Botha, “Die Rol en Ervaringe van die Afrikanervrou buite die Konsentrasiekampe tydens die Anglo-Boereoorlog,” in Vroueleed: Die Lotgevalle van die Vroue en Kinders buite die Konsentrasiekampe: 1899–1902 (sgst. deur A. W. G. Raath en R. M. Louw; Welkom: Prisca, 1993), 1–53; P. G. R. de Villiers, “Peace in the Pauline Letters: A Perspective on Biblical Spiri- tuality,” Neot 43 (2009): 1–26; Herman Giliomee, Die Afrikaners: ‘n Biografie (Kaapstad: Tafel- berg, 2004), 190–1 for the role of women in the South African War. 4 Cf. the informative articles by Pretorius, “Introduction” and Britz, “Prayers.” 5 For the important role of diaries for the study of Spirituality, cf. K. Waaijman, Sprituality: Forms, Foundations, Methods (Leuven: Peeters, 2002), 929. For some other diaries from the South African War, cf. K. Hamman, Dagboek van ’n Bethulie-Kampdogter (Bloemfontein: N. G. Sendingpers, 1965) on the diary of Rensche van der Walt. Also E. Hobhouse, Tant Alie of Trans- vaal: Her Diary 1880–1902 (London: Allen & Unwin, 1923). For a discussion of Rensche van der Walt’s diary as an example of Calvinist Spirituality, cf. P. G. R. de Villiers, “Tranquility in the Face of Death: Calvinist Spirituality in a Time of War,” Studia Historiae Ecclesiasticae 35 (2009): 119–39. 6 The term “Spirituality” can be understood in different ways, as is clear from C. M. N. Eire, “Major Problems in the Definition of Spirituality as an Academic Discipline,” in Modern Chris- tian Spirituality: Methodological and Historical Essays (ed. B. C. Hanson; Atlanta: Scholars Press, 1990), 53. J. G. Roten, The Marian Counterpoint of Postmodern Spirituality, in Divine Representa- tions: Postmodernism and Spirituality (ed. A. W. Astell; New York: Paulist Press, 1994), 102 and S. M. Schneiders, “Approaches to the Study of Christian Spirituality,” in The Blackwell Compan- ion to Christian Spirituality (ed. A. Holder; Malden, Mass.: Blackwell, 2005), 15–31 and S. M. Schneiders, “The Discipline of Christian Theology and Catholic Theology,” “Exploringin Chris-.