Sept - Oct 2003
Inde x:
ABANDONED CHILDREN
A little girl who was found wandering in tears near Cape
Town's Inyanga taxi rank, has still not been claimed, after five months (reported in Cape
Argus, 1 August 2003). The girl, Asavela Gom, is only 4 years old. She told Welfare
Services that her mother's name is Ntombifuthi. According to Asavela, they used to live
under a bridge. When she was first picked up she "used very strong language and
didn't want to eat vegetables. She only ate bread. She would refuse to eat, but used to go
to the rubbish bin outside and eat there."
Asavela is just one of many thousands of abandoned children in South Africa. Many
hospitals report the increasing practice of sick children being brought (or born) and then
deserted. Often, there is no way to contact parents or relatives and the children have to
be handed over to the Welfare Services.
This is just one way in which children are robbed of the security of growing up in a happy
family. Far worse are the statistics of orphaned children because of parents dying through
HIV/AIDS. The awful tragedy of Aids orphans is just beginning to unfold and statistics are
so overwhelming that some "faint for fear" (Matt. 24). Just in the province of
KwaZulu-Natal it is conservatively estimated that there are over 120,000 Aids orphaned
children. The repercussions of this calamity are being felt by precious children every
day: the loss of loving parents to protect and care for them; their fear of the very real
threat of sexual abuse by local predators; the suffering of hunger and cold; the pressure
for girls to prostitute themselves to buy bread for their siblings.
For an increasing number of children the fact that their parents are still alive is not
much better than being orphaned. Their parents don't care for them. Sometimes both parents
are not at home, desperately seeking work. An increasing number of fathers simply abandon
their wives and children for other women, and send no money to support their families.
They disappear off the scene and are never heard of again. The exception to this is the
case of men who return home because they're dying of Aids and their lovers have left them.
Again, it is the children who suffer.
What must be done? Christians have to face this crisis as an opportunity for ministry.
These children need care, food, security and education. Above all, they need to know that
they are loved by our Heavenly Father. That He truly does care and has given His only Son
to save and bless them.
Christians need to consider reaching out directly to these children in their
neighbourhoods, perhaps establish Day Centres and look to other ways of showing them God's
love.
This unfolding tragedy is also an indictment on the church. Have we abandoned God and His
truth in our living and preaching?
"For I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you
gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; I was naked and you clothed Me; I was
sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me." Matt 25:35-36
(to index)
--o0o--
BODY MODIFICATION
(Part II)
In part one we briefly looked at the pagan origins of
tattooing. In this second part we examine various types of body modification and in
further parts we will give a Biblical response to this practice. This article is an
abbreviation of an Powerpoint slide show on the topic, which is available for downloading
on the CFT website.
Pagan tribes have various forms of body modification. An example is the Ngubane clan in
KwaZulu Natal which has the custom of amputating the last joint on the little finger of
their baby boys. If the joint, which is chopped off over cow dung, disappears, it's a sign
that the ancestral spirits are satisfied. If the joint is found again, it spells trouble.
Different tribes have distinctive tattoo designs; the man, on the right, from Burkina Faso
(West Africa) has facial markings indicating his village and his clan and include black
magic symbols to keep away evil spirits.
Piercing, for centuries, has been a way to define social status among many cultures. The
Eskimo, for example, established social standing among groups by lip piercing up until the
beginning of the 19th Century.
Men and women alike used to adorn themselves with labrets, also referred to as lip-plugs.
Symbolizing manhood for young men and used as an ornament for young women, the Eskimos
gradually stretched the hole in their lip to accommodate a larger labret.
Stretching one's earlobes is developing into a craze in cities spanning the United States.
The plugs and spools inserted in these holes bear a resemblance to those worn by the Maya
and people of ancient Mexico.
The religious, occultic connection to tattooing, piercing etc, cannot be overemphasized.
There is even a `Church of Body Modification' which shows the strong religious/idolatrous
flavour of this perversion. The following are the introductory comments on their website:
"We are a nondenominational congregation that teaches ownership over our own bodies.
The Church's purpose is for our modified society to harmoniously return to its spiritual
roots that have been forgotten. We are not here to offer spirituality to you so much as we
are here because of the spirituality that is already in all of us; often expressed through
what we do to our bodies. The church is a place for all of us to stand together and create
a stronger foundation for the future. What is already inside and outside of all of us does
not deserve to be shut down or ignored. The Church of Body Modification is an interfaith
church whose members practice an assortment of ancient body modification rites which we
believe are essential to our spirituality. We believe that especially in these uncertain
modern times, it is doubly important that we never forget these activities, and that to do
so would smother a part of us that we consider to be so important: our freedom of
expression. Our desire to express our spirituality on our bodies. It is our belief that by
practicing body modification and by engaging in rituals of body manipulation we strengthen
the bond between mind, body, and soul and ensure that we live as spiritually complete and
healthy individuals."
(to index)
--o0o--
FROM
THE CFT PRESIDENT
My dear friends
Something a mother shared in an e-mail got me thinking.
Her daughter took part in a race and much to her joy came first. When the mother asked who
had taken the second position her response was, "I didn't see. If I had looked back,
I wouldn't have been number 1!"
There's a deep lesson there.
As Christians we are taught to love our neighbour as ourselves, to care about others and
to carry each other's burdens. The importance our Lord Himself placed on this can't be
emphasised enough. In fact, He told His followers that it was through their love for one
another that the world would know they were His disciples.
What a challenge!
No wonder the devil makes unity, love and harmony his constant target wherever God's
people are together. On the other hand, there is a place for forgetting about others as we
aim for the finishing line.
This reminds me of Peter just after Christ's death and resurrection, as the Lord was about
to ascend to heaven. After asking him thrice if he loved Him, the Lord had commanded Peter
to feed His lambs and sheep. He then pointed Peter to his 'finishing line' which, humanly
speaking, was going to come with a lot of suffering.
What must have gone on in Peter's mind?
At least part of the answer comes with Peter's question. "Lord, if You say I am going
to have such a tough time, will you tell us what will happen to John?" I hear Peter
saying.
Listen to the Lord's answer: "Jesus saith unto him, If I will that he tarry till I
come, what is that to thee? follow thou me." (John 21:22)
Yes friends, there are times when we need to forget about God's dealing with others and
concentrate on what He has in store for us.
This is one of my experiences as my illness has 'removed' me from dear people I have been
in daily fellowship with. How I long to be in their midst as before. This isn't made easy
by their beckoning, 'O that the Lord would bring you back to us.'
I find myself saying, "Lord, what about them?" Isn't the Lord telling me,
"It's not your business what I do with them. Focus on Me and where I want you to
go."
Is this already part of the death process?
In all this I am learning to press on towards the finishing line. This sometimes includes
forgetting about my beloved wife and family; realising that as much as I love them, there
is a sense in which I have to accept that, "Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and
naked shall I return thither: the LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the
name of the LORD." (Job 1:21)
As I dash for the finishing line in my life, am I not to keep in mind the closing words in
Daniel's book?
"As for you, go your way till the end. You will rest, and then at the end of the days
you will rise to receive your allotted inheritance." (Daniel 12:13)
Pressing on!
In His love
Fano
(to index)
--o0o--
ABSTINENCE
WALK
True Love Waits Report
True Love Waits joined hands with the Durban Christian Centre youth for
their 2003 Abstinence Walk Challenge, 8 - 13 June, from Durban to Empangeni. Each day, a
different group of TLW'ers walked the 30 - 50km with the Durban Christian Centre youth.
Although the abstinence walk is only two years old - last year was the first such walk
from Port Shepstone to Pietermaritzburg via Durban - it has been a huge success and
received much publicity from the press. Each day was sponsored by a different
organisation, like ABSA, aQuelle, etc.
The Abstinence Walk began with a march from Berea to the Durban City Hall, where special
representatives from the KZN Health Department, Thekwini (Durban) Council and MTN voiced
their support for the abstinence movement. The Thekwini mayor pledged to walk a distance
with this year's walkers. TLW was also given an opportunity to speak to the 300+ crowd
that braved the scorching sun to support the walk.
"For the rest of the week, we also received an overwhelmingly positive response from
those next to the road, or driving past. Others asked questions and wanted to know more.
We could hand them tracts, TLW cards, and share with them the Biblical basis for
chastity."
At the end of each day's walk they had a meeting with a number of events, including
traditional dancers, well-known sport stars promoting chastity, and other speakers who
encouraged the youth to remain sexually abstinent. TLW also got an opportunity to speak at
each of these meetings, and to make our case for purity before marriage.
"We are thankful that we could join hands with other young people, who also share the
passion and urgency regarding purity for the youth of South Africa."
(to index) |
