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17 May 1995
Dear Mr Ramaphosa,
I was perturbed to learn that there
is a move afoot towards making S.Africa a secular state. This is, I believe,
contrary to Biblical
principals, and I must protest against this.
Romans 13:1
"Everyone must submit to the governing authorities,for there is NO AUTHORITY
EXCEPT THAT WHICH GOD HAS ESTABLISHED.
THE AUTHORITIES THAT EXIST HAVE,BEEN
ESTABLISHED BY GOD.11
We need to acknowledge this in our
constitution.
v.4 states that "the government is GODIS SERVANT to do us good
-(also) an agent of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer."
v611This is
why we pay taxes,for the authorities are GODIS SERVANTS." God will not bless
this country if we ignore him in our constitution.
We vitally need to invoke
his blessing,help and protection.
We do not want prayer to be abolished while
traditional praisers laud human leaders in parliamentary proceedings. Neither
should
prayers be omitted in our schools. ( We should also permit different
faiths to offer their own prayers.)
But at least 70% of S.African citizens
are Christian and we object to S.Africa becoming
a secular state.
Deuteronomy 28:1~14 lists blessings God has promised to pour out on nations
that fully obey his laws and commandments. These commands
should be
the
basis of our constitution and our laws. If we keep these principles
enshrined in our constitution and laws,then the Lord our God
will set us high
above other nations, we will receive blessings in the city and in the
country,our crops and livestock will be blessed
and our enemies defeated, and
everything we put our hands to will prosper.
What about the R.D.P ? God says
he will grant us abundant prosperity,he will send
rain in due season;we willl
need to borrow from other country (but be a blessing to theia^and lend to
them),we will rise -to the top.
The rest of Deuteronomy describes what will
happen if we, as a nation,in our constitution, do not acknowledge the
Sovereignty of God-
or keep his laws; he will allow curses to come upon us until
we are utterly ruined because of the evil of forsaking him as our supreme
authority. Diseases, drought, defeat, oppression, poverty and disasters may
come if we do not revere “the glorious and awesome
name of our God." We
need to covenant with God to serve him in our constitution.
In Romans 1:18
"The wrath of God is revealed against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of
men. 11
If we ignore God by having a secular state, then we are ungodly -
without God.
King Nebuchadnezzar proudly claimed to have built his own
rulership by his own power for the glory of his own majesty - ignoring the
fact
that all authority to rule is given by God to men.
Daniel 4:3lff says,
“a voice from heavendeclaredllthat his royal authority was to be
taken
from him and he would become like an animal until his sanity was restored and
hie acknowledged God's overall dominion. And
this came to
pass.
2
v34 "At the end of that time ... my sanity was
restored.Then I praised the Most High; I honoured and glorified him who lives
forever.
HIS DOMINION IS AN ETERNAL DOMINION: his kingdom endures from
generation to generation..... he does as he pleases with the powers
of heaven
and the peoples of the earth."
Last year prophets of doom forecast a
bloodbath in S.Africa, but when the nation turned to God, a miracle of peace
descended on the
day of the elections. GOD IS IN CONTROL, whether we
acknowledge it and seek his help, or if we ignore this fact. Israel desired
a
secular ruler, a king, instead of God's prophet Samuel who led the nation by
consulting God for guidance:
1 Samuel 7:7 The Lord told him:" Listen to all
the people are saying to you; it is
not you they have rejected as their king,
but me.
vg ... warn them solemnly and let them know what the king who
will.-reign over them will do."
v10-18 They will know hardships.
We
have a great president, surely raised up by God to lead our nation into freedom,
but our problems are vast and we cannot hope to
succeed in providing a better
life for all if we introduce a secular order. Recent history in our own times
has shown us that in
other countries.
2 Chronicles 7:14 "If my people, who
are called by my name, will humble themselves
and pray and seek my face and
turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their
sin and will heal their
land."
The majority of the people want their
voice to be heard - that we oppose having a secular state, and we are grateful
for the opportunity
we have in presenting our wishes directly to the
constitutional assembly. We pray for you for wisdom in this grave
responsibility.
(Mrs) M.Bush
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