Social Gospel

There is a vigorous debate in South Africa today surrounding the social gospel. It is as if this had never been discussed before -- it is passionate and fresh and often ill defined. Much of the debate surrounds White guilt and Black suffering. This is what I think of the debate:

• By and large, it is quite right in what it says
• It focuses too much, however, on Black deprivation, rather than the treasures of Black culture and capacity. There needs to be more balance, or one forces a category and a mindset of inferiority onto people
• I think that much of the White guilt is rooted in an overestimation of self, an inherent pride and arrogance to which people are blind.  This is a spiritual problem, while the debate tends to focus too much on behavioural patterns

OBSERVATION: I wrote a theological paper on the subject once: Reconciling the Personal and Social Dimensions of the Gospel. Click on "Download" to see the full text.