A letter to some leaders of the Dutch Reformed Church in Africa.
Dear brothers in Christ,
You received my correspondence because it was sent to all the congregations and addresses in the family of Dutch Reformed Churches. You asked me to send you an English version of the correspondence. I am not in a position to translate all the relevant documents, but I found that Google Chrome make a reasonable translation of the documents from Afrikaans to English. Al the documents are available in www.glodiebybel.co.za. If you use Google Chrome to open an article and you use the “translate” facility, you should be able to read and understand the documents.
What is it all about?
It is about the spreading of liberal theology in the Dutch Reformed Church in SA. Actually I am very much ashamed to inform you of the situation in our church because it tells the story of a leadership that has lost their passion for the truth of God. Many people in positions of leadership openly allow new thoughts about God and our beliefs. I think it is necessary for you as part of the family of Dutch Reformed Churches in Africa to be informed about the theological trends in South Africa.
The General Synod of 2011
The discussion here started after a decision of the General Synod in 2011, that there is room in the Church for people who do not believe in the devil.
That is of cause a heresy and against our confessions of faith. I started (along with other members of the Dutch Reformed Church) with actions to reverse the decision.
- I wrote a letter to the moderamen of the General Synod to complain about the decision. See: Brief aan moderamen van AS 2011-11-16
- I handed in a Petition of Protest at the Synod in Gauteng: See: Beswaarskrif: AS besluit oor bediening van bevryding
- I wrote a second letter to the moderamen to bring other heresies of prominent theologians also under their attention. See: Brief aan moderamen van AS 2012-11-23
The General Synod of 2013
The Synod changed some of the words in the previous decision about the devil, but in the end the official standpoint of the Synod and of the Dutch Reformed Church is now that members who do not believe in the devil as ’n person are accommodated, because we all believe in “evil”!
- This decision prompted me to write the letter that you also received. I called it: The DRC called his love for the truth farewell. See: Die NG Kerk het sy liefde vir die waarheid vaarwel geroep
The General Synod in October 2013 was also served with a paper that was called a Contemporary Interpretation of the Apostles Creed. See: Die apostoliese geloofsbelydenis – ’n eietydse interpretasie.
I had great reservations of this document, because it was written from a postmodern viewpoint. The implication is that there are no certainties or absolute truth. You will see that the compilers of the document kept on to ask questions about the elements of our believe as it is explained in the Apostles Creed. In the end our faith are questioned in such a way, as if we have no answers to the world about what we really believe.
- I decided to write a Critique on the Contemporary Interpretation of the Apostles Creed. See: Kritiek op die eietydse uitleg van die apostoliese geloofsbelydenis – Okt 2013
The Synod accepted the Contemporary Interpretation of the Apostles Creed as a basis for discussion in future. The compilers of the document asked for permission to promote the thoughts in their document by compiling Bible study material for the members of the church. You will also be interested to know that the Synod sees the (new) interpretation of the Apostles Creed as a “gift” to the family of Dutch Reformed Churches.
These decisions of the Synod of 2013 are for me a sign of disregard of the precious truths that were entrusted to us by Christ and his apostles. We have arrived at the point that we should not trust any theologian or church leader just because he or she is from the DRC. The great work that has been done by our predecessors in Africa is in danger by deceitful teachings in the church.
I believe and pray that our Lord Jesus Christ who brought us this far will guide us and care for us in the future that lies ahead. We in South Africa see you as part of our family in the frontiers. May He bring us closer together, because we dearly need each other.
Rev Jan Louw