Elections in South Africa
A clash of world views
by William Dicks

After the latest elections in South Africa on April 14, 2004 the score is:
Humanistic world view 3
Christian world view 0

Christians in South Africa are largely apathetic when it comes to politics. Before the so-called “first” democratic elections of 1994, few Christians were willing to stand up to the injustices of the reigning government of the time ruled by the National Party (NP). In those days most Christians voted for the NP and thought that it was right to do so. In light of the alternatives of the time, I suppose that there was not much else to do.

However, since the 1994 elections, the rule of the nation has been in the hands of the African National Congress (ANC). To many the ANC is the party of liberation. On April 14, 2004, the third democratic elections were held, and this time the ANC got the two-thirds majority they so desperately needed to change the constitution of South Africa.

According to some polls, Christians make up about 75% of the people of South Africa. My contention has always been that that figure is too high, due to the fact that many that call themselves “Christian” are so in tradition only. This is very much so among white South Africans. On the other hand several million belong to a certain Christian group among the black population that has amalgamated ancestor worship with Christianity. In my mind this is no Christianity at all! If we want to be realistic on all counts, then probably only about 20-25% of South Africans can call themselves Christians.

The results of these third democratic elections will definitely be an indicator of who and what South Africans are and have become.

So, whom did South Africans vote for in these elections? The ANC got a two-thirds majority of the vote. They voted to eliminate the phrase “in humble submission to Almighty God” from the new constitution and opted to declare South Africa a “secular” nation. The Democratic Alliance (DA)—the official opposition in parliament—also voted for the constitution that excluded this phrase. The Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) and the United Democratic Movement (UDM) also support the new constitution. The Christian party that received the most votes of all the Christian parties, the African Christian Democratic Party (ACDP) only received 1.61% of the national vote!

This same ANC is the party that will not submit itself to God, believes that abortion is the right of every women to have control over her body, believes that the educational ideologies of Karl Marx should be looked at for the South African context, holds to the notion that homosexuality is a valid sexual “orientation,” and also believes in apartheid under the smoke-screen of affirmative action.

When one looks at what the ANC stands for it becomes clear that the world view of the ANC is in complete antithesis to that of Christianity.

Francis Schaeffer wrote in his highly acclaimed book, A Christian Manifesto, concerning changes in the American world view (which we can clearly see in South Africa too) that Christians “have very gradually become disturbed over permissiveness, pornography, the public schools, the breakdown of the family, and finally abortion. But they have not seen this as a totality—each thing being a part, a symptom, of a much larger problem. They have failed to see that all of this has come about due to a shift in world view—that is, through a fundamental change in the overall way people think and view the world and life as a whole. This shift has been away from a world view that was at least vaguely Christian in people’s memory (even if they were not individually Christian) toward something completely different—toward a world view based upon the idea that the final reality is impersonal matter or energy shaped into its present form by impersonal chance. They have not seen that this world view has taken the place of the one that had previously dominated Northern European culture, including the Unites States, which was at least Christian in memory, even if the individuals were not individually Christian." [1]

In the minds of Christians it should become a reality that the battle is not against abortion, or homosexuality, or any other single issue, but against an opposing world view that excludes God completely from its thinking and has replaced God with man at the pinnacle of the universe.

The following table is from Norman Geisler’s book Christian Ethics: Options and Issues:[2]

Table 1
The Secular Humanist and
Judeo-Christian World Views

Table 1 shows us just how different this humanistic world view of the ANC is to ours, because the Secular Humanist world view is exactly what the ANC holds to. 

If as many as 25% of South Africans are Christian, then the facts show that they are either ignorant of the world views of the other parties in South Africa, or their own world views do not match up with that of the Bible. It certainly cannot be that Christians are ignorant as to what the other parties stand for, since their ideas are open to public scrutiny and are being broadcast on television and printed in newspapers. So, the fact is that these must be people claiming to be Christians without a Christian world view. What else can account for the fact that the strongest Christian party in a so-called Christian country could get so few votes?

Greg Koukl writes concerning our vote in an election in his online article Prostituting the Vote , that "if we're Christians, it seems to me that we ought to have our votes informed by our Christian view of the world. We ought to elect people for government that will be good representatives for us to fulfill the godly purposes of government. I'm not saying necessarily that they must have all the same moral views that I have or have all the moral views of the Bible. That's not my point. I don't actually think that's necessary. But I think we have to find people who will fulfill a very specific job description, defined by the biblical view of government-- What is government meant to do by God?-- then elect people who will do that. That will fulfill God's purposes for government. How do we know what those purposes are? Well, we look in the Bible and we see where God talks about government and explains what the purpose of government is. If we're Christians, then we believe that the purpose of government is what God believes the purpose of government is. And, therefore, we should elect people who will fulfill that particular purpose. What is that purpose? I'll tell you one thing it is not. The purpose of government is not to make us wealthier. The purpose of government is not even to help the poor, quite frankly, though I don't think this is the big issue here. I think it's the purpose of the church to help the poor. I think it's a moral obligation for human beings individually to voluntarily help the poor. The purpose of government is very, very narrow, scripturally. It isn't to help the poor. It isn't to redistribute wealth. And the biblical purpose of government is not-- listen carefully-- is not to build the economy. It may be valuable for the government to do that, but that is not the biblical purpose." [3] Koukl continues to write that those who vote for a party based on how that party can make it better economically as opposed to voting on moral lines are involved in political "prostitution."

Do Christians in this country expect everything in South Africa to go their way simply because they are Christians? If we as Christians do not stand together to vote for parties that believe in Biblical principles, then we cannot expect to see a change in government either.

What is left for us to do now that the ANC has won with their two-thirds majority? I believe with all my heart that now is the time to stand up against the evil propagated in this country! We need to let our collective voices be heard in parliament and in the media. As Christians we must start standing openly against abortion, homosexuality, pornography, apartheid, abuse and many more issues. We can do this by writing to our political representatives in parliament and to the media. We must become a force to be reckoned with. Political representatives must feel their support base eroding if they do not stand with the people that voted them in.

If you do not think that anything is wrong in this country, then think of the possibilities with a godless party, such as the ANC, with a two-thirds majority in parliament! They will now be able to make changes to the South African constitution. This can only spell danger for Christians in this country!

I pray that it will not happen, but I do foresee a very difficult future for Christians in South Africa if they do not rise to the occasion! The words of Phil 1:29 may well become true for South African Christians:

“because to you it has been granted in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on him, but also to suffer in his behalf.” (UPDV)

The time may well arrive for South Africans to suffer for the kingdom of God (2 Thes 1:5; 2 Tim 1:8). The fact is that in South Africa it has become common for good to be called evil and for evil to be called good and because of this “all that would live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.” (2 Tim 3:12 UPDV) Do not be surprised if you suffer for the sake of the gospel. There is no guarantee in the gospel of Jesus Christ that those who adhere to the gospel will live lives free of suffering. Quite the opposite!

So, as a Christian, what are you going to do about the state of South Africa and its vile laws? Are you willing to make a difference for truth and for moral values? Are you willing to make this a better country for the sake of your children?

Stand up and be counted!

[1] Schaeffer, Francis, A Christian Manifesto, Crossway Books, Wheaton, Illinois, revised edition 1982, pp17-18.
[2] Geisler, Norman L., Christian Ethics: Options and Issues, Baker Books, Grand Rapids, MI, Thirteenth Printing, June 2001, p164.
[3] Koukl, Gregory, Prostituting the Vote, {http://www.str.org/free/commentaries/social_issues/prostitu.htm}, 1996

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Revised: January 19, 2007 .