The Kairos Document (Challenge to the Church: A Theological Comment on the Political Crisis in South Africa)
A theological statement on the crisis in South Africa, written by a group of theologians who first met in Soweto in July 1985 and signed, according to an editorial note in the copy cited, by 156 people from over twenty denominations. It is their text, not that of any church.
The preface tells how the document was made: a discussion group met in Soweto at the beginning of July 1985, drafts were criticised in further meetings, and the text went to the printer on 13 September; the preface is dated from Johannesburg on 25 September. The body distinguishes three theologies. “State Theology” is the theological justification of the status quo, which the authors call heretical and blasphemous. “Church Theology”, which they find in the statements of leaders of the English-speaking churches, is criticised for its use of reconciliation, justice and non-violence. The authors then argue for a “Prophetic Theology” and end with a challenge to action.
The authors call it an open-ended “people’s document”. It was contested among the churches; see the Churches and Apartheid.
Cited in
- 1982 to 1986, firm date