The following analytical article was written by Rev. Bernard Spong, the former Head of the South African Council of Churches' Communications Unit. It is posted here as part of the SACC's 40th anniversary celebrations.

I have a picture in my mind that does not leave me. Cecil John Rhodes, that historic figure and symbol of the colonial days, stands on the balcony of heaven wistfully looking down upon South Africa saying "Now, why didn't I think of that?"

He whose likeminded henchmen through the ages used soldiers and missionaries, traders and askaris, to pave the way for and then defend British Imperial colonialism had to withstand so many enemies. Through all the years of colonialism, before and after Rhodes himself, there was no let up in the battle fought by the indigenous people to be free of these usurpers, these invaders, the terrorists of the so called civilised world who would conquer and enslave for their own benefit.

People died fighting for their grazing lands and their homesteads. Heads would literally roll, many would die and millions would suffer the ignominy of enforced subjugation. But there was always the hope, always the struggle, always the vision of freedom and justice. A hope, a struggle and a vision that finally ended the colonialism of white supremacy through the combined freedom forces of political parties, religious organisations and civic society.

With joy in our hearts and a new bounce in our step we shouted it out to the world that colonialism and apartheid were dead. 'We are free!' we cried in 1994, 'we are free!'

And almost immediately, without a whimper or a word, without protest or struggle, we walked into the colonialism of globalisation and consumerism. Yes, Cecil John Rhodes must watch in amazement as the proud warriors of Africa hand over their long fought for freedom to join the forces of greed.

We do not only wear the handcuffs, we put out our arms and ask for them. The Biblical image of Esau giving away his birthright for a pot of stew is come to life among us. We give up our birthright, our souls, to satisfy the possibility of immediate gratification of our desires. Our hunger for that possibility - it is only a possibility, mind you, with lots of maybes and perhaps - of getting to be numbered among the rich, becoming a 'personality' or walking the corridors of power comes at a price.

It is a price we pay in every crime that is committed, every homeless person that cries in hunger at night, every family breakdown and domestic killing, every drunken and speed driving caused road death and in the growing gap between the rich and poor.

Potential

Let me say at once that I love our democratic South Africa. I am thrilled at the possibilities it presents for so many; I rejoice in the achievements of some young people I know; I relish the simple fact of people of different races mixing; I am proud of our constitution. I live close to the vibrant suburb of Melville and am thrilled at the buoyant atmosphere and pulsating throb of life that it displays as people mix, discuss and enjoy the social potential of our developing nation. It is a wonderful place to live, an exciting time in which to live, and I am a dedicated lover of this city we fondly call Jozi and the country in which it is set. Viva South Africa, Viva!

It is this passion for my adopted home that therefore makes me sad when I am aware of the prevailing power of the individualistic and competitive nature of society that is forced upon us. I become even sadder when I see people race to its embrace without realising the high price and the powerlessness that it demands of its adherents.

And to this I have to add my concern over the way that same nature invades that part of life in which I have been active for all my working days - the religious. I cannot speak of other faiths but it would seem to me that the Christian Churches have absorbed this prevailing atmosphere as much as any.

I should not be surprised. The Church has always reflected the society in which it is set. It is, for instance, often portrayed as a powerful instrument in the battle against apartheid. The flimsiest of research soon shows that the Churches were filled with those who supported the system, those who stood against it and the vast majority somewhere in the "we must not be involved in politics" middle.

So I should not be taken aback that the popular Churches in terms of numbers are those that give expression to the idea that the blessing of God is known among the faithful in terms of the accumulation of wealth, the gift of health and a sense of individual wellbeing. This suits consumerism well.

Why in a society where people still attend church in large numbers, proclaim a faith that has our responsibility toward one another at its core, is there such rampant crime and corruption? My answer is simple: because the Church is part and parcel of a society that has embraced individualistic competitiveness as the norm. We appear to have forgotten the real meaning of Christian communion just as our South African society has laid aside that basic principle of African community of ubuntu that reminds us that we not only belong to one another but depend upon one another for our own humanity.

On the streets

In June 1976, soon after that first watershed demonstration in Soweto and when Black young people throughout the land were illustrating through boycotts and burning their painful rejection of apartheid, Lutheran Bishop Manas Buthelezi was asked 'Where is the Church in all this upheaval?" He pointed through the windows of the church building in which he was being interviewed and said that it was there outside on the streets.

The Church and our society forget this at our peril. We belong to one another and that does not only include people of a different hue, a different language and a different way of doing things it includes the misfits of society and those who cannot make it in the competitive market place of our day. It even covers those who commit crime!

The Church (along with Temples, Synagogues and Mosques) has to perform the role of sanctuary, being a place where the weary can find sustenance, the sad receive solace, the stressed out peace and the hungry the bread of life. It is when it stops there and ceases to be a powerhouse for active participation in the whole of society that it also ceases to be the living symbol of its founder Jesus Christ. For then it becomes an in-group of likeminded people separating themselves from the rest of society and often, far too often, with condemnatory aloofness. When a church reaches that level it may feel a heavenly place to be but it is of no earthly use whatsoever.

Low risk and high profits, the promise of consumerism, may look like a good idea. Once that theme gets into the Church, however, it turns it upside down. The task of the Church is high risk without concern for profit or success. We are called to be faithful not successful. And where does this idea get our society at large anyway? We may have good numbers in terms of the markets and profits, but is there anyone ready to say we are a truly successful nation in terms of "a better life for all"?

By its very nature individual competitiveness divides us. It sets us against one another and we see where this takes us in the burning shacks, dead bodies and fleeing immigrants of these past days. We talk of xenophobia, but the basic cause is the lack of a better life for all and the growing frustration of the unemployed and poor. Next time it might be other groups of people to bear the brunt of that frustration and anger.

Dance to which tune?

The colonisation of globalisation is inevitable. I am enough of a pragmatist to realise that. We are forced to dance to its tune if we are to live in this world. The songs and styles of the western ruled world are going to dominate whether we like it or not. Until China nudges America off the top of the pile they decide the tune.

My pleading is for us to dance to that tune if we have to but with an added African beat which displays that incredibly spiritual spirit of our humanity that says we belong to one another and depend on one another. It was this that defeated apartheid in saying "No" to the idea that some are more equal than others. It is this spirit that can help us make the vision of a rainbow nation a reality.

Sydney Carter wrote a well known hymn "The Lord of the Dance" - he got the idea by the way from a statuette of the Goddess Shiva given to him, I believe, by a Jewish friend! Maybe the Lord of the Dance can help us make the right steps in our forward movement to deal with what ails our nation.

My pleading is for a Church that dances in the manner of the Lord of the dance in challenging the state and societal leaders on the way they are failing the people and demonstrating an alternate, rather than conforming, style of social life. We said it often in the face of apartheid and we need to say it again and represent it in our very manner of being: We are one family under God and that God is a God for the poor and the marginalised.

This is a call for investment, not in the market, but in one another.

I have been encouraged by the way religious leaders and local churches have rallied to the needs of the people caught in the direct fire and cross fire of the recent xenophobic attacks. We are good at dealing with emergencies and this was shown once again with compassion and courage. We now need to look for the prophetic word that may arise from that dreadful display of the divisive nature of our present society.

This month the South African Council of Churches celebrates forty years of existence. Maybe this is the time for Churches to recognise that the value of such a Council lies in helping us do together what we cannot do apart. It was vital in the battle against the divisiveness of apartheid. It is vital in the battle against the divisiveness of our present economic and social construct.

When the Council celebrated its 25th birthday we were on the threshold of democracy. We were reminded then by the likes of Beyers Naude and others that the end of apartheid did not mean the end of injustice and that there was need to be vigilant and faithful to the cause of all God's people. This is a challenge that faces our nation. It is a challenge that bangs hard on the doors of our churches, cathedrals, mosques, synagogues and temples. We ignore it at our peril for it is the loud knocking of the Lord of the Dance inviting us to learn new steps in faithfulness and hope.

So be it, God bless Africa!