Beyers Naudé Centre Series on Public Theology Volume 1 THE LEGACY OF BEYERS NAUDé The Legacy of Beyers Naudé Beyers Naudé Centre Series on Public Theology Published by SUN PReSS, a division of AFRICAN SUN MeDIA, Stellenbosch 7600 www.africansunmedia.co.za www.sun‐e‐shop.co.za All rights reserved. Copyright © 2005 Stellenbosch University, Beyers Naudé Centre Image on cover design used with kind permission of Beeld No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any electronic, photographic or mechanical means, including photocopying and recording on record, tape or laser disk, on microfilm, via the Internet, by e‐mail, or by any other information storage and retrieval system, without prior written permission by the publisher. First edition 2005 ISBN: 978-1-919980-98-0 e-ISBN: 978-1-919980-99-7 DOI: 10.18820/9781919980997 Cover design by Soretha Botha Typesetting by SUN MeDIA Stellenbosch Set in 10/12 Palatino Linotype SUN PReSS is a division of AFRICAN SUN MeDIA, Stellenbosch University’s publishing division. SUN PReSS publishes academic, professional and reference works in print and electronic format. This publication may be ordered directly from www.sun‐e‐shop.co.za TABLE OF CONTENTS Editorial Notes .............................................................................................................. 1 Foreword ....................................................................................................................... 3 The Life and Legacy of Beyers Naudé J C Pauw .................................................................................................................. 7 FROM THE ARCHIVES: Obedience to God Beyers Naudé .......................................................................................................... 25 Beyers Naudé and The Christian Institute Dr M Nash ................................................................................................................ 31 FROM THE ARCHIVES: The Flame of Fire and Sledgehammer Beyers Naudé ........................................................................................................... 41 Beyers Naudé: Unlikely Champion of Justice Archbishop D M Tutu ............................................................................................. 47 FROM THE ARCHIVES: The Afrikaner and Race Relations Beyers Naudé ........................................................................................................... 55 Beyers Naudé: Public Theologian Prof. D M Ackermann ............................................................................................. 63 FROM THE ARCHIVES: Steve Biko: The Man and His Message Beyers Naudé ........................................................................................................... 77 Beyers Naudé and Public Theology Prof. J W De Gruchy................................................................................................. 81 FROM THE ARCHIVES: The Need for Political Reform Beyers Naudé ........................................................................................................... 91 The Political Worship of God ‐ The Example of Beyers Naudé Prof. M Rumscheidt ................................................................................................ 101 FROM THE ARCHIVES: Christian Involvement in the Struggle for Human Rights and Justice Beyers Naudé ........................................................................................................... 111 Dr Beyers Naudé and Church Unification in the Family of Dutch Reformed Churches Prof. J C Adonis ....................................................................................................... 117 FROM THE ARCHIVES: Confessing the Faith in South Africa Today Beyers Naudé ........................................................................................................... 127 Beyers Naudé: Respice Prospice Dr A A Boesak ......................................................................................................... 131 FROM THE ARCHIVES: Reconciliation Beyers Naudé ........................................................................................................... 139 Beyers Naudé’s Relevance for the DRC Today Dr C A Anthonissen ................................................................................................ 143 FROM THE ARCHIVES: The People Beyers Naudé ........................................................................................................... 151 “This is how he is!” Beyers Naudé – Man of Character and Virtue Prof. N N Koopman ................................................................................................ 153 EDITORIAL NOTES The contents of this publication are of a twofold nature: (1) published works of Beyers Naudé, from the archives of the Beyers Naudé Centre for Public Theology at the University of Stellenbosch, and (2) those works of other authors that deal with aspects of the legacy of Beyers Naudé. The latter group of contributions can be further divided into three categories: (1) Some, like those of Nico Koopman and Christoff Pauw, have been written especially for this publication. (2) The majority, however, were originally intended as addresses delivered at the Beyers Naudé Centre. These include the address by Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu at the official opening of the Centre on 21 November 2002, while those by Hannes Adonis, Carel Anthonissen, Allan Boesak, John de Gruchy and Margaret Nash were all delivered as part of the 89th birthday celebrations of Beyers Naudé on 31 May 2004. (3) A third category of contributions, those by Denise Ackermann and Martin Rumscheidt, were given as guest lectures at the Centre in Stellenbosch. Because these addresses were originally delivered on occasions that varied in nature and formality, the addresses themselves differ too, for example, regarding the presence or absence of formal references or the degree of academic or personal reflection. Furthermore, because all contributions deal with one man, his life and legacy, a certain degree of repetition regarding the historical facts was inevitable, yet inextricably linked to the authors’ reflection on and interpretation of (often) the same historical facts, but from different perspectives. Some of the most important articles or published addresses by Beyers Naudé himself will be found interspersed among those of the above authors under the heading “From the Archives”. Because of space restrictions a difficult selection had to be made from the material available for this purpose. This selection was finally made (1) because of their importance as markers of the most significant events in Beyers Naudé’s life (for example, Obedience to God, the sermon he delivered in 1963 to his congregation – Aasvoëlkop, Johannesburg – when he made clear his decision to join the Christian Institute, and The Flame of Fire and Sledgehammer, his farewell sermon to that congregation two months later), or (2) because they shed light on the reflections of one or more of the other authors in the publication (for example, Beyers Naudé’s own reflections on the history and current state of Afrikanerdom and the race issue – The Afrikaner and Race Relations – was chosen as it relates to Margaret Nash’s interpretation of aspects of Afrikaner history and its influence on the formation and career of Beyers Naudé as well as to Archbishop Desmond Tutu’s reflections on Beyers Naudé’s Afrikaner roots; Hannes Adonis’s comments on Beyers Naudé’s influence on the unification process within the Dutch Reformed family of churches and especially on the formation of the URCSA relates, in turn, to the address of Beyers Naudé – Confessing the Faith in South Africa Today – before the Belydendekring, a society within the old Dutch Reformed Mission Church). 1 Editorial notes On behalf of Nico Koopman and Dirkie Smit, respectively the director and chairperson of the board of the Beyers Naudé Centre, as well as everyone at the Centre we express our sincere gratitude towards all contributors for their willingness to share their thoughts on and memories of Beyers Naudé with the readers of this book. Thank you also to everyone who over time donated to the Centre’s archives the valuable material on the life and work of Beyers Naudé that has been republished here; to Wikus van Zyl, publisher at AFRICAN SUN MeDIA, for his indispensable guidance and patience regarding the technical aspects of compiling the publication; and Mrs Felicity Grové for painstaking hours of transcribing some of the lectures and addresses contained in the book. Finally, a special word of gratitude goes to Dr Hans Snoek and Dr Bert Kling of Kerkinactie of the United Protestant Church in the Netherlands, whose generous financial assistance made this publication possible. L D Hansen (editor) 2 FOREWORD TO THE SERIES AND THIS PUBLICATION BY THE MOST REVD NJONGONKULU NDUNGANE, ANGLICAN ARCHBISHOP OF CAPE TOWN Beyers Naudé was a remarkable man, and he has left us a remarkable legacy. This book and those to follow in this series on public theology will help ensure that this legacy is not lost, but instead remains a firm foundation on which we can build. When we celebrated Oom Bey’s 89th birthday with a symposium at the Beyers Naudé Centre, I was particularly struck by four lessons we should learn from him. First, there was the nature of his leadership. He had that critical ability to take people where they had never gone before. My hope is that through this book and this