The popular conscience would like to forget Africa. For the past fifteen years, authoritarianism, disease and poverty have lost battle after battle in Latin America, Eastern Europe and even Afganistan. But if anything, Africa has sunk only deeper into corruption and epidemic. South Africa is now the rape, murder and AIDS capital of the universe. Such suffering makes a mockery of bright, humanistic assumptions about man's nature.
It is a humanitarian challenge that Christianity cannot ignore. Yet the causes are so vast and culturally ingrained that any aid we might offer can seem pitiful in comparison. Our friend Gideon Strauss gives this bleak prognosis: "Ever so slowly – as at the outer fringes of the Roman Empire from the fifth century to the twelfth century – Christianity seems to be working itself into the soil of African culture. The Christian transformation of African culture seems likely to be a 500-year project."
Read more about his fight against Apartheid and his work with the Truth and Reconciliation Committee at The New Pantagruel. His recollections are frank and moving.
Posted by Discoshaman at décembre 19, 2004 07:05 PM | TrackBack
"a humanitarian challenge that Christianity cannot ignore"
Unfortunately, I have to ask, what humatitarian challenge has much of Christianity NOT ingored in the past 50 years?
Most damning in my eyes are the murder of millions of Aftrican Christians - without a single mainstream church (that I know of) rising up in loud and energetic protest.
So many are so busy going secular, ordaining gays and marrying them. But, by these actions, they proclaim they are not really Christians after all... they are apostate shams.
Ron C-
When I speak of Christianity, I'm not really talking about the mainliners. There are some really good churches among them, but in large measure they've abandoned the faith in favor of secular novelties. I have in view here mainly Evangelical and Reformed Christianity. . .
That said, I think both mainline and Evangelical have done well on a domestic level -- our voluntarism rates are much higher than those of virtually any other demographic. And Christians were stalwart in the fight against Communism.
It's sad that the mainliners seem to have lost their moral vision now. For example, the fact that we here ten times more out of them about the Palestinians than we do about the millions of suffering and dying Christians in Sudan. . .
Posted by: Discoshaman at décembre 20, 2004 10:44 AMMedvenchu and Surkis, discussing 'liquidation' of Yushchenko - recorded!
Disco...
THIS has got to be about THE HOTTEST piece of news I’ve seen in past weeks.
But, catching Yanukovych obtaining Russian weapons to stage his own coup, and transporting them to Donetsk, has to be a hot second-most expected piece of news. Everyone KNEW he had to go-for-broke somehow... question is, will he make it happen somehow? A lone gunman? This thug will try anything...
Daily I check the WebCam (1plus1 - hit reload for new images every 30 sec.) pointing down at Independence Square - and today tried to find a map of Kyiv that might show the area around this famous spot. A spot, I expect the world will again intensely focus on, beginning in perhaps only two more days...
THIS was the best map I could find - of the Soviet-era Kiev - which has all the Soviet naming. (I put this copy on one of my websites.) Can you point out the spot in town where Independence Square is, Disco? Or, better yet, can you find a more up-to-date city map with Anglicized naming? Google just wasn’t of much help, unfortunately.
God bless you and yours, and have a very Merry Christmas!
Posted by: Ron C at décembre 20, 2004 10:53 AMUkraine Voters Screwed By Bill 4180
Just what was in that 'reform package' the Rada inflicted on the people of Ukraine?
The contents of the 'package' were never made public, prior to the vote. There was no public debate, no democratic 'transparency.' So...
Did the representatives of the people (Rada) move toward a better democracy? Did they eliminate corrupt oligarchic influence pedaling in government? Did they reject for themselves powers the Ukrainian people would not have given them?
Sadly, No, is the answer to all three questions.
The article is lengthy, but mandatory reading for the Ukrainian electorate - after which they should realize that the only member of the Rada that attempted to do the right thing for the people was Yulia Tymoshenko.
It is noteworthy that Socialist Party leader Oleksandr Moroz now derides Tymoshenko’s appeal to the Constitutional Court. (Tymoshenko seeks annulment of the provisions of Bill 4180 through a judgement of unconstitutionality.) Moroz threatens to undermine the election of Yushchenko if Tymoshenko continues to pursue overturning the legislation, now exposed as highly defective.
Posted by: Ron C at décembre 21, 2004 03:15 AMWell...
The good news is, the heads of the Security Service and Internal Affairs say 'no one is coming' to Kyiv the day after elections.
The bad news is, I STILL don't trust Yanukovych, his supporters, a LOT of the members of the current Parliament, the shady cadre of thugs that surround Kuchma, and of course, Kuchma himself. And, I'll bet more than half of Ukrainians don't either.
What was Viktor Medvedchuk doing buzzing off to Russia for 'secret talks' for, anyway? Perhaps it's Plan E... his Eventual Emergency Evacuation on indictment for murder? I predict a lot of Emigrants - coming soon...
Every day that goes by, this drama gets interestinger and interestinger...
Posted by: Ron C at décembre 21, 2004 05:02 PMRon,
Maidan is the same as Plashcha Kalinina.
Posted by: Marty in Oregon at décembre 21, 2004 09:34 PMEtiquette for Ukrainian dinner parties:
http://www.yankeepotroast.org/daily/041215.html
-nikita demosthenes
Disco, You are totally right - "The popular conscience would like to forget Africa." Throughout the 'Orange Revolution', I have felt guilty. World attention has been focused on a people's bid for freedom and democracy, which is a good thing. But I still wish and hope that as much media was centered on the events in Darfur where people are losing their lives and their lands. Or the events in the Ivory Coast? It is frustrating that in the US, so little attention is paid except for a trip of Oprah's or the upcoming movie release "Hotel Rwanda". And I wonder to myself, where is everybody?
Posted by: Hello at décembre 22, 2004 08:48 AMThank you for the links, Mr. Bush. Yes ... Africa.
Posted by: Gideon Strauss at décembre 22, 2004 01:58 PMDisco, Thank you for this post, especially the link to Gideon Strauss. His article was great and very interesting.
Posted by: David All at décembre 23, 2004 01:43 AMGideon Strauss' article is wonderful, a rare New Pantagruel piece without easy fashionable answers. As a pietistic charismatic (O)orthodox, I can only conclude we battle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities and powers. I'd like to see shouting sweating chanting prayer meetings to break whatever the curse is on Africa, to cleanse and till the fields salted it appears by some evil loop of futility. Couldn't hurt. Peace'n'Reconciliation and pious social justice NGOs aren't solving much.
Posted by: AH at février 13, 2005 12:00 AM