Allan Boesak

Eugene Fortein

doi:10.17570/stj.2020.v6n2.a11

Abstract

This article attempts to exhibit the theology of prophetic resistance presented by Allan Boesak during the church struggle against apartheid and how it influenced the theological landscape. Firstly, the methodology applied in this article is to place Boesak against the backdrop of the significant historical events of the 1960s and 1970s. The purpose of this is to illustrate both the growing resistance of the oppressed black people and the unjust rule of apartheid against which Boesak will assert himself. The article goes on to focus on the theological contribution of Boesak between 1976 and 1990. The author will investigate specific events during the 1980s to showcase Boesak’s involvement within the Dutch Reformed Mission Church and beyond.

Highlights

Allan Boesak became synonymous with the struggle against apartheid over the years
When he spoke of Afrikaner Christian theology compared to Black theology, Boesak did not refer to the plurality of different interpretations of the one message; instead, he spoke of the one as true and the other as false
Beyers Naudé and the Christian Institute (CI) was a decisive force in the development of Allan Boesak’s critique of apartheid by contesting the Reformed tradition’s ownership in South Africa as presented in Black and Reformed, which was published in 1984.40 The relationship between Boesak and Naudé developed in a close partnership

Summary

Introduction

Allan Boesak became synonymous with the struggle (both church & political) against apartheid over the years. Boesak’s theology of prophetic resistance drinks from diverse wells combines it in a potent and creative mix These wells are Black Theology, which emerged from Black Consciousness (Biko), South American Liberation Theology (in particular Gustavo Gutiérrez), and Reformed Theology (John Calvin, Abraham Kuyper, Dietrich Bonhoeffer (who was Lutheran), among others) With the theology of prophetic resistance, Boesak expressed his dissatisfaction with apartheid, but it . It is striking and ironic that the apartheid-theology and the theology of prophetic resistance both have the Reformed tradition as their reference frame This aspect will be dealt with later in the article. The recognizance done in this article attempts to corroborate the hypothesis that Allan Boesak, with his theology of prophetic resistance, had a tremendous influence in the former Dutch Reformed Mission Church (hereafter DRMC) and the broader theological landscape in South Africa. The focus shifts to Boesak’s involvement within the DRMC and broader ecumenical circles and how his theology of prophetic resistance influenced both the theological and political landscape

Winds of change lead to a farewell to innocence

The black church as site of struggle

The search for authentic unity through reformed prophetic witness

Conclusion