2 of 2

That Africans embrace Christianity so widely is astonishing in light of the treatment they endured from those who brought the faith to their continent. South Africa starkly demonstrates both the history of oppression and the modern resiliency. I toured the Apartheid Museum, which visitors must enter through separate entrances labeled "Europeans Only," "Blacks," or "Coloured" and walk through a maze of steel bars on which are mounted actual photo identity cards enlarged, with racial categories designated on each one. That classification determined where you could live and where you could work, not to mention where you could eat or even sit in a park. Kate, our white tour guide, seemed shaken. "They had a right to take us whites out and shoot us in the head for how we treated them," she said. "It's a miracle that they didn't." After that sobering visit, I emerged to see blacks, whites, and coloureds sitting together in tables at the café, drinking coffee, laughing, socializing.

Rwanda, a site of genocide, is now a laboratory case for restorative justice. Uganda is showing how the AIDS plague can be reversed. The challenges of modern times—encounters between Christians and Muslims, rich and poor, sick and well—will continue to play out in Africa, which has a chance to become a light to the world even as the lights of faith grow dim in much of the West.

Copyright © 2006 Christianity Today. Click for reprint information.

See Christianity Today's reporting on Africa in our World Report section.

Previous Yancey columns for Christianity Today include:

The Lure of Theocracy | As we flee decadence, we must watch where we step. (July 10, 2006)

A Long, Warm Glow | A respected evangelical elder on the life of faith. (May 16, 2006)

For God's Sake | What 147 elk taught me about prayer. (March 1, 2006)

The Word on the Street | What the homeless taught me about prayer. (Dec. 29, 2005)

Exploring a Parallel Universe | Why does the word evangelical threaten so many people in our culture? (Nov. 3, 2005)

God Behind Barbed Wire | How a Nazi-soldier-turned-theologian found hope. (Aug. 29, 2005)

The Japanese Joseph | What the North Korean regime meant for evil, God used for good. (June 21, 2005)

A Bow and a Kiss | Authentic worship reveals both the friendship and fear of God. (April 28, 2005)

Global Suspense | The trick of faith is to believe in advance what will only make sense in reverse. (March 01, 2005)

Back from the Brothel | Thanks to brave ministries, prostitutes are still entering the kingdom. (Jan. 05, 2005)

Hope for Abraham's Sons | What will it take for us to overcome this violent world? (Oct. 27, 2004)

Forgetting God | Why decadence drives out discipline. (Aug. 30, 2004)

Discreet and Dynamic | Why, with no apparent resources, Chinese churches thrive. (June 28, 2004)

Doubting the Doomsayers | Thank God not everything they say is true. (April 30, 2004)

Cry, The Beloved Continent | Don't let AIDS steal African children's future. (March 04, 2004)

The Colonizers | The best preachers have challenged earth to become more like heaven. (Jan. 16, 2004)

The Leprosy Doctor | Paul Brand showed how to serve others sacrificially and emerge with joy. (Oct. 23, 2003)

Yancey's Where is God When it Hurts, Special Edition, Soul Survivor: How My Faith Survived the Church, and his latest book, Rumors of Another World, are available on Christianbook.com.

first page |  2 of 2

share this page

September 2006, Vol. 50, No. 9