Dispatches from a Darkening Corner of the Dark Continent
The purpose of these articles is to provide insightful comment on the contemporary South African and southern African scene from a Christian, politically-incorrect perspective, in order to counter the propaganda of the Reds, almost-Reds (liberals and others), religious Reds (liberation theologians), and all their fellow-travellers; and to encourage Christians to pray for the people of this beautiful but desperately needy part of the world, and especially for their Christian brethren living here; and to do what they can to assist them.
In May 2008, Jacob Zuma, the president of the African National Congress (ANC) and the man very likely to be the next president of South Africa after next years election, told an ANC rally in Khayelitsha that even God expected the ANC to rule the country. He said this was because the ANC was the only organisation blessed by pastors when it was formed.
This is nothing less than a claim, by Zuma, that the ANC rules by divine right.
The opposition Democratic Alliance stated correctly that Zumas claim displays the anti-democratic attitude of an absolute monarch; and it implies that to oppose a government backed by God is to oppose God. This is precisely the point: to the ANC leadership, it and it alone deserves to rule forever, because it is the supposed liberation party the organisation that supposedly liberated South Africa from the mythical tyranny of white government. For this great deed, it feels it should rule the country forever. Indeed, this is exactly what this same Jacob Zuma stated just four years ago, in March 2004, when he told a crowd of people, The ANC will rule South Africa until Jesus comes back. In this deeply religious country, consisting of millions of simple, unsophisticated people, Zuma well knew that by asserting that the ANC rules by divine right, he would fool them into believing that the ANC alone should be in power; that in fact, it would be sinful for them to vote for any other party! In their minds, they will indeed believe that to oppose the ANC is to oppose God!
This is the very attitude that Robert Mugabe and his Zanu-PF party have had in Zimbabwe: that they deserve to rule forever because they are the liberators. And look what it has done to Zimbabwe. There are deeply worrying signs that the ANC is following the very same path. With the orchestrated collapse of the Soviet Union and the Communism is dead lie, Communists everywhere changed tactics, all part of their plan to achieve their goals by other, more subtle means. They called themselves social democrats, they spoke continuously of democracy, of freedom to choose, and so on. But all the while they remained in power by manipulated elections and other undemocratic means. And this is how the ANC operates in South Africa. It pays lip service to democracy, but uses decidedly undemocratic means to consolidate power and to hold on to it at all costs. In previous decades, as one African country after another clamoured for one man, one vote, and achieved independence from the colonial powers via elections, we in Africa used to say, One Man, One Vote, One Time.
Meaning, when Marxists take power in Africa, they do away with the need for elections. They believe they should rule forever, and they hold on to power until they are carried out of office feet first. In SA, it is still one man, one vote, one time, because, even though elections continue to be held, the ANC makes certain that it retains power. Elections simply pacify the masses and make them feel they are accomplishing something and are masters of their own destiny, but those in power rig the results, threaten opponents, and make claims such as the one Zuma recently made to convince the people that when they go to vote, they cannot vote for anyone but the ANC.
Whether or not the ANC, at its formation way back in 1912, was blessed by pastors, this is irrelevant: many religious leaders have supported the ANC over the years, just as religious leaders have supported other organisations and parties as well. Merely having a religious leader bless something does not make it approved by God! Besides, the subsequent history of the ANC proves that divine blessing certainly did not rest upon it: it became a terrorist, Marxist-dominated organisation that willingly made use of terror, torture, and murder to advance its revolutionary objectives. The Lord God, the living God of the Bible, the true and only God, does not give His blessing to such wickedness. Furthermore, now that it is in power, the ANC has pushed legislation into being that is utterly contrary to the Word of God, such as abortion, same-sex marriages, the legalised theft of property, the criminalisation of Gospel preaching by labelling it as hate speech, and much more. No, this organisation does not enjoy the blessing of Almighty God. And no true Christian could ever support such an organisation. Certainly, huge numbers of professing Christians have done so, including many so-called pastors; but that is an entirely different matter. Those political pastors, those Red religious leaders, were anything but Bible-believing Christians. For them, the Bible was merely a handbook of Marxist subversion, and the Lord Jesus Christ was a political revolutionary. They were strangers to the true Gospel, and to the true Christ of God.
Back in 2004 when Zuma made his boasted statement that the ANC will rule South Africa until Jesus comes back, Joe Seremane, the chairman of the opposition Democratic Alliance, commented: So what is Zuma saying? That if they cannot win a majority through free and fair elections, they will hold on to power through force? And: It is the language of a one-party state. A government may enjoy a majority of popular support, but unless it is willing to allow the opposition to come to power through the ballot box, then it is a dictatorship, not a democracy. He added that Zumas statement echoed that of Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe, who told his supporters in 1982 that as clear as day follows night, Zanu-PF will rule in Zimbabwe forever.And just as that 2004 statement by Zuma was the language of a one-party state, so is his latest one. Saying that God Himself wants the ANC to rule the country is the language of a one-party state, and one which, moreover, could lead to the same kind of bloodshed that Zimbabwe is experiencing right now, as Mugabe seeks to hold on to power by brutality. When someone believes that no one else has the right to govern, then all talk of democracy and equality and the rule of law and free and fair elections is meaningless, and brutal means could be used to cling to power when the time eventually comes that the masses see through this evil organisation.
Shaun Willcock is a minister of the Gospel and lives in South Africa. He runs Bible Based Ministries. For other articles (which may be downloaded and printed), as well as details about his books, audio messages, pamphlets, etc., please visit the Bible Based Ministries website, or write to the address below. If you would like to be on Bible Based Ministries electronic mailing list, to receive all future articles, please send your details.
This article may be copied for free distribution if it is copied in full