What is in Kelvin's Head?

Free at Last

05/12/2013

Above all, we want equal political rights, because without them our disabilities will be permanent. I know this sounds revolutionary to the whites in this country, because the majority of voters will be Africans. This makes the white man fear democracy. But this fear cannot be allowed to stand in the way of the only solution which will guarantee racial harmony and freedom for all. It is not true that the enfranchisement of all will result in racial domination. Political division, based on colour, is entirely artificial and, when it disappears, so will the domination of one colour group by another. The ANC has spent half a century fighting against racialism. When it triumphs it will not change that policy.

This then is what the ANC is fighting. Their struggle is a truly national one. It is a struggle of the African people, inspired by their own suffering and their own experience. It is a struggle for the right to live. During my lifetime I have dedicated myself to this struggle of the African people. I have fought against white domination, and I have fought against black domination. I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony and with equal opportunities. It is an ideal which I hope to live for and to achieve. But if needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die.

Trevor Huddlestone’s prayer:

God bless Africa,
Guard her children,
Guide her leaders,
And give her peace.

Amen.

Photo is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.

Attribution: South Africa The Good News / www.sagoodnews.co.za

Mandela

7 responses to “The Antisemitism Notice”

Gordon

25/03/2026

Helpful, thank you

What is the concern with the reproaches? I’m not familiar with them

Reply
1. Kelvin
  
  25/03/2026
  
  They can be interpreted as being directed at us the listeners. But they can also be interpreted as speaking to Jewish people as all the imagery is from the Hebrew Scriptures and doesn’t reference the experience of those who actually were around Jesus during his life on earth.
  
  For example:
  “I led you out of Egypt, having drowned Pharaoh in the Red Sea:
  and you have delivered me to the chief priests.”
  
  Who is being addressed here?
  
  Reply
  1. Nick Drew
    
    09/04/2026
    
    That’s interesting, because whenever I have sung the Reproaches I have always felt them as being expressions of personal repentance rather than accusations thrown at the listener.
    
    Reply
Rosemary Hannah

25/03/2026

I must admit I had always read the Reproaches as directed to the listener. That the Egypt from which we are delivered is the Egypt of the modern world, the slavery of ghastly jobs (I’ve had a few, in fact a lot) and the oppression of terrible political systems. But I come from a totally different thought world to that of most people today, and I absolutely see they wouldn’t commonly be read that way.
But I think it would benefit everyone to find a way of expressing BOTH what faith can offer in terms of freedom AND the mess we do make of the world, and sitting with that tension.
And I think the church as a whole urgently needs to find a compelling and deep reaching way of doing both.

Reply
1. Kelvin
  
  25/03/2026
  
  You might be interested that we’re looking at Isaiah 59 as a helpful text for this year, given the current ways of the world.
  
  Reply
2. Christine McIntosh
  
  25/03/2026
  
  I’m of much the same mind. (A mind that is still blown away when I hear them sung)
  
  Reply
Dan Floyd

25/03/2026

Thank you

Reply