ORIGINAL RESEARCH

 

Professor Bennie van der Walt: A bridge between white Afrikaners and black Africans

 

Professor Bennie van der Walt: 'n Brugbouer tussen wit Afrikaners en swart Afrikane

 

 

Y. Turaki

Department of Theology & Social Ethics, Jos ECWA Theological Seminary, NIGERIA. E-mail: byturaki@yahoo.com

 

 

---

ABSTRACT

This article honours Professor Bennie van der Walt as a bridge builder between white Afrikaners and black Africans as well as a renowned Christian scholar. Historical Western colonialism in South Africa divided its citizens against each other by means of white racism and apartheid. The whites in general were pitched against the blacks on the basis of white racism and its doctrine of apartheid. This doctrine of separation of races kept the white Afrikaners from the Bantu Africans. However, apartheid as a form of political, social, cultural and religious racism is now history in South Africa. The role which Professor Van der Walt played in bridging the gap between this racial divide is highly commendable and needs to be acknowledged and appreciated, hence the primary objective of this article in honour of his 71st birthday. Furthermore, the article discusses the immense contributions of Professor Bennie van der Walt to Christian scholarship in Africa.

Key concepts: black Africans, Christian scholarship, philosophy of Christian higher education, reformational worldview white Afrikaners

---

OPSOMMING

Hierdie artikel bring eer aan professor Bennie van der Walt as brugbouer tussen wit Afrikaners en swart Afrikane, en as gerespekteerde Christelike akademikus. Die geskiedenis van Westerse kolonialisme het Suid-Afrika se burgers verdeel en teen mekaar gedraai deur middel van wit rassisme en die leerstelling van apartheid. Hierdie leerstelling van rasseverdeling het wit Afrikaners weggehou van swart Afrikane. Apartheid as vorm van politieke, sosiale, kulturele en religieuse rassisme is egter nou deel van Suid-Afrika se geskiedenis. Die rol wat professor Van der Walt gespeel het om die gaping tussen die rasgebaseerde verdeeldheid te oorbrug, is hoogs prysenswaardig en behoort erken en waardeer te word - vandaar die primêre doelwit van hierdie artikel terere van sy 71e verjaardag. Die artikel bespreek ook professor Bennie van der Walt se ontsaglike bydrae tot Christelike wetenskap in Afrika.

Kernbegrippe: Christelike wetenskapsbeoefening, filosofie van Christelike hoëronderwys, reformatoriese wêreldbeskouing, swart Afrikane, wit Afrikaners

---

 

 

Full text available only in PDF format.

 

 

List of references

BAUM, R.C. 1977. Authority codes: the invariance hypothesis. Zeitschrift für Soziologie, 6(1):5-28.         [ Links ]

COLSON, C. & PEARCEY, N. 1999. How now shall we live? Wheaton: Tyndale.         [ Links ]

MOTLHABI, M. 1972. Essays on black theology. Johannesburg: University Christian Movement.         [ Links ]

MOTLHABI, M. 1980. The theory and practice of black resistance to apartheid: a social-ethical analysis of internal struggle for political and social change in South Africa, 1948-1978. Boston: Boston University Press. (Ph.D. dissertation.         [ Links ])

MOTLHABI, M. 1988. Challenge to apartheid: towards a moral national resistance. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans.         [ Links ]

SON, B.H. 2001. Cultural relativism and the transformation of culture. Philisophia reformats, 66(1):9-22.         [ Links ]

TURAKI, Y. 1992. An African response to the question of apartheid. Potchefstroom: IRS. (Series F1, no. 294.         [ Links ])

TURAKI, Y. 1999. Christianity and African gods. a method in theology. Potchestroom: IRS. (Series F2, no. 75.         [ Links ])

TURAKI, Y. 2006. African Christianity in global religious and cultural conflict. Nairobi: Evangelical Graduate School of Theology.         [ Links ]

VAN DER WALT, B.J. 1988a. The Bible as eye-opener on the position of women. Potchefstroom: IRS. (Series F2, no. 44.         [ Links ])

VAN DER WALT, B.J. 1988b. On being human and being a Christian in Africa: communalism, socialism and communism in a struggle for an African anthropology. Potchefstroom: IRS. (Series F2, no. 42.         [ Links ])

VAN DER WALT, B.J. 1990. Being human: a gift and a duty - on the way to a Christian view of man for Africa. Potchefstroom: IRS. (Series F2, no. 42.         [ Links ])

VAN DER WALT, B.J. 1991a. A Christian worldview and Christian higher education for Africa. Potchefstroom: IRS.         [ Links ]

VAN DER WALT, B.J. 1991b. Anatomy of reformation: flashes and fragments of a reformational worldview. Potchefstroom: IRS.         [ Links ]

VAN DER WALT, B.J. 1991b. Cultural diversity in Africa: embarrassment or opportunity. Potchefstroom: IRS. (Series F3, no. 44.         [ Links ])

VAN DER WALT, B.J. 1993. Human dignity and identity: according to apartheid and according to the Word of God. (In Waijaki, M., Turaki, Y., Van der Walt, B.J. & Kasenene, P. Visions of man and freedom in Africa. Potchefstroom: IRS. p. 29-52.) (Series F1, no. 302.         [ Links ])

VAN DER WALT, B.J. 1994. The liberating message: a Christian worldview for Africa. Potchefstroom: IRS. (Series F3, no. 44.         [ Links ])

VAN DER WALT, B.J. 1996. Responsibility, conversion, confession, forgiveness, restitution and reconciliation: six of God's requirements for a new South Africa. Potchefstroom: IRS. (Series F1, no. 337.         [ Links ])

VAN DER WALT, B.J. 1997. Afrocentric or Eurocentric? Our task in a multicultural South Africa. Potchefstroom: IRS. (Series F3, no. 67.         [ Links ])

VAN DER WALT, B.J. 2001a. Transformed by the renewing of your mind: shaping a Biblical worldview and a Christian perspective on scholarship. Potchefstroom: ICCA.         [ Links ]

VAN DER WALT, B.J. 2001b. Culture, worldview and religion: a perspective from the African continent. Philosophia reformata, 66(1):23-38.         [ Links ]

VAN DER WALT, B.J. 2004. Understanding and rebuilding Africa. Potchefstroom: ICCA.         [ Links ]

VAN DER WALT, B.J. 2006. When African and Western cultures meet: from confrontation to appreciation. Potchefstroom: ICCA.         [ Links ]

VAN DER WALT, B.J. 2007. Transforming power: challenging contemporary secular society. Potchefstroom: ICCA.         [ Links ]