Hi Terry, Thanks for asking. I am certainly native to South Africa, although my ancestors are from European descent. My family and I lived in Columbus, Ohio for 2 years (Jan 1999-Dec 2000), and I have to say that those were two of the best years of my life. The freedom I experienced during that time and the vast amount of opportunities for children growing up in the US simply amazed me. The churches haven't been affected much in South Africa apart from all the different laws that changed that pertain to morality. With the new government came pornography, abortion, gambling, etc... They also wrote God out of the constitution completely. Don't get me wrong, I love South Africa, but in my mind this country is still not democratic. Sure, there is a one man one vote system in place, but when the people start speaking to the government, they simply do not listen. A case in point is the legalization of pornography. In 1996, this whole issue went through our parliament. The public and relevant institutions were asked to present the government with briefs as to their viewpoints on it. After this process the government went ahead to legalize pornography, and that while 97% of people and institutions were dead against pornography. The government decided to legalize it based on what 3% of the people wanted! To me, this is not democracy. This not a government FOR the people BY the people. This is simply a government BY the people. The FOR part has been forgotten by the SA government. There is still so much to be done in this country to make it truly non-racial. Currently, South Africa is still a multi-racial country. Here are some articles you can read about SA written by a Reformed Missionary: http://www.frontline.org.za/articles/criminalization%20of%20south%20africa.h tm http://www.christianaction.org.za/magazine_ca/2004-1-The_paganisation.htm http://www.christianaction.org.za/magazine_ca/2004-2-LandReforminAction.htm http://www.christianaction.org.za/magazine_ca/2004-1-Threats_Christian_Radio .htm Our own church's radio station is in a law suit with the government over this! http://www.christianaction.org.za/GDL/index.htm South Africa is a beautiful country, however it is much smaller than the US! You will always be welcome in SA! _________________________________________________ William Dicks "Adjust your doctrine - or just minimize doctrine - to attract the world, and in the very process of attracting them, lose the radical truth that alone can set them free." -- John Piper Teaching the Truth http://teachingtruth.cjb.net Just thinking... (My blog) http://williamdicks.blogspot.com Some recommended ministries: Desiring God Ministries {http://www.desiringgod.org} Also visit Answers in Genesis {http://www.answersingenesis.org/} _________________________________________________ > -----Original Message----- > From: Terry Rayburn [mailto:terryrayburn@...] > Sent: 28 September 2004 16:45 > To: soundofgrace@... > Subject: [soundofgrace] To William Dicks re S. Africa > > Hi William, > > I've wanted to ask you, how has the overthrow of apartheid > and the new governmental arrangements affected the churches > in S. Africa? Would you care to comment on that? Are you > native to S. Africa? > > I know for a fact that most of us in the States know very > little about S. Africa, despite the years of debate over > apartheid, and some vague knowledge that we get our diamonds > from there. The world has shrunk, but S. > Africa still seems far away in another world. That's not a > negative comment, but one that comes from the thrill of > wonder. I would love to visit, if money were no object. > > Thanks, grace and peace, > > Terry Rayburn > Clarksville, Tennessee > > > > > > > William Dicks <william_dicks@...> wrote: > Download this PDF file (http://www.cbmw.org/rbmw/rbmw.pdf) > for excellent reading on the subject. > > _________________________________________________ > William Dicks > > "Adjust your doctrine - or just minimize doctrine - to > attract the world, and in the very process of attracting > them, lose the radical truth that alone can set them free." > -- John Piper > Teaching the Truth > http://teachingtruth.cjb.net > Just thinking... (My blog) http://williamdicks.blogspot.com > > Some recommended ministries: > Desiring God Ministries > {http://www.desiringgod.org} > Also visit Answers in Genesis > {http://www.answersingenesis.org/} > _________________________________________________