Ashley Green-Thompson
For most South Africans, faith is an important part of life. Many take the teachings of their religions seriously as guides in how to live good lives. These teachings would ask of adherents to foster a better coexistence with others, and that they live out the values of justice, compassion, and kindness. This is not to deny the many contradictions that come with institutionalised religion. Too often there is judgement, moralistic superiority, and marginalisation of vulnerable people. Patriarchy, misogyny and homophobia are the most visible of these contradictions – the harm they cause is so starkly at odds with the command to love each other. I am in awe of how faithful poor people can be to their churches when so much of formal religion relegates them to the margins of society.
The church too often uses charity to avoid standing in active solidarity with poor communities in their fight against systems that impoverish them. And then there’s the literal, uncritical, and blind interpretation of sacred texts as if they have the miraculous ability to morph into ‘how to’ manuals for every human situation and context.
This week I spent two days with 30 Christians from South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia. They were an eclectic group of community organisers and agitators, pastors and priests, theologians and academics. The Joburg chill was made bearable by the beautiful surroundings of the Jesuit Institute in Auckland Park.
