Martin Prozesky - Böcker

This book contains contributions from 14 prominent figures in South Africa, including Desmond Tutu, providing information on key issues concerning the Christian faith in that troubled land. South Africa has become synonomous with apartheid, yet three quarters of South Africans regard themselves as Christians. The story of the gospel of love and its complex interplay with politics is a haunting, fertile theme and this is a provocative study of 14 aspects of it. This publication coincides with the 500th anniversary of the first Christian contact with that country. The author has also written "Religion and Ultimate Well-Being: an Explanatory Theory".

Millions of Christians all over the world testify that the greatest gift in their lives is the God they find in and through Jesus Christ, describing him as the source of all goodness, truth, beauty and joy and the world's only hope for others. But there are also millions who think otherwise, sensing here a massive delusion which stands in the way of human maturity and well-being. This book is about the debate between these two great groups. The central questions it discusses are: how sound is belief in God as taught by the historic Christian churches? Can sincere seekers after truth who care for the well-being of our world and those in it still believe in God? Does faith in God continue to thrive because it wins the respect of such people, or is it living off and eroding the inherited capital of the past? These questions are explored by careful, non-technical and lucid presentations of the arguments for and against Christian belief in God, which try to avoid caricature or simplistic appeals. The two cases are then judged in a final chapter by norms accepted by both sides, and a conclusion arrived at. While as Dr. Prozesky admits, the ocean is doubtless too mysterious to yield all its secrets to one person's fathoming, all readers of whatever persuasion will gain much from his fascinating and balanced presentation and findings.

On Pietermaritzburg station in 1893 a young Indian lawyer, newly arrived in South Africa, was ejected from a train to Pretoria for insisting on his right to travel first class. It was to the cold night hours spent in the waiting room that Gandhi himself traced the genesis of his great resolve - to fight injustice by non-violent means. Crucial as this episode was, it was but one of the manifold influences which shaped the Gandhi-to-be during his sojourn in South Africa. This title arose from a conference held a century later, in 1993, at the University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, to reaffirm the South African Gandhi. It traces some of the influences, which effected his transformation from an unsuccessful and insecure young man to a mature political and spiritual leader ready to carve his niche in history after his return to India in 1914. The Mahatma's moral vision, of a way to resolve conflict and right injustice without resorting to violence, remains relevant to post-apartheid South Africa and to the world. It also remains a difficult vision to grasp; but a better understanding of his vital formative years will perhaps help to make it more accessible.