XPost: soc.culture.south-africa, za.misc, alt.religion.christianity
XPost: soc.history, alt.christian.religion
From: hayesstw@telkomsa.net

I found this question (and answer) on Quora very interesting

Who was the man who coined the word 'apartheid' and how did he define
it?

https://t.co/jPLS65AkjG

Danny Bagg Answered Apr 21, 2017

The man who coined the word “apartheid” was an Afrikaner clergyman of
the Gereformeerde Nederduitse Kerk (Dutch Reformed Church), Jan
Christoffel du Plessis.

It was originally a theological term. Not a political one.

Du Plessis was a missionary who worked closely with black members of
the Dutch Reformed Church in the Orange Free State province. He was disillusioned with the way most white clergymen encouraged Africans to
give up their culture and adopt European lifestyles and habits.

In a 1929 manifesto, du Plessis successfully proposed the church adopt
a new policy, which he called “apartheid”.

You asked how du Plessis defined apartheid. Well, he complained that
blacks were offered “no independent national future” - meaning
cultural independence - if the church pressed them into assimilating
Western cultural norms and giving up their proud tribal identities as
part of their conversion to Christianity. Du Plessis said this was
immoral, and the gospel should be presented to them in a way they
could understand without compromising their identity.

According to du Plessis, “apartheid” meant adopting separate
programmes for the evangelization of whites and black Africans. The
Dutch Reformed Church’s programme for black African converts, he
insisted, should be tailored specifically for them and their unique
backgrounds rather than the same one used for Europeans. This would
necessitate two different programmes “set apart” from each other,
hence the term “apartheid”.

So the original definition of apartheid by the man who coined the term
would be “parallel but separate approaches towards religious
teaching”.

Du Plessis mentioned this term in various speeches and sermons he gave throughout the early 1930s.

“Apartheid” lost all religious connotation when it was hijacked as a political slogan in 1936. Basically, the Afrikaner politicians decided
to take this approach and apply it to an entire country, as in
“parallel but separate political and social systems”.

Du Plessis lived long enough to regret ever coining the term. He got
really defensive whenever people brought up his association with that particular word, and later wrote strongly worded statements in which
he insisted “apartheid” had its roots “in this foundational idea of Mission work, and not in racial prejudice”.

All to little avail.

As someone who has dedicated his or her entire life to the service of
black African Christians, how would you feel if your most enduring
legacy was a word associated with nothing but oppression, hatred, and
tragedy?

https://t.co/jPLS65AkjG
--
Steve Hayes
http://www.khanya.org.za/stevesig.htm
http://khanya.wordpress.com

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: www.darkrealms.ca (1:229/2)