When A Theological Shift Changed a Nation

The volume critically analyzes the crucial paradigm shift in the Dutch Reformed Church of South Africa (DRC) away from both apartheid theology and classic Reformed theology. It provides a hope-filled way forward to restore a sound Trinitarian, covenantal, and sola scriptura theological foundation for a truly renewed Southern Africa.

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The Dutch Reformed Church in South Africa (DRC) played a key role in developing apartheid theology, syncretizing Reformed theology with race-based ideology. This paradigm changed rapidly between 1986 and 1990 with the General Synod decision, Church and Society. The result not only purged racist ideas from General Synod decisions supporting apartheid, but also brought a covert reception of the World Council of Churches’ ideologybased theological syncretism. The DRC thus rejected classic Reformational theology, opening the door to a strong movement away from biblical faith.This volume analyzes this paradigm shift and idenitifies a way forward for a post-New South African social order based on sound covenant theology, to which the DRC once adhered. It proposes an effort to remove the obsolete syncretism with apartheid ideology and to restore a sound Trinitarian, covenantal, and sola scriptura theological foundation for a truly renewed Southern Africa.


Professor Kreitzer brilliantly amplifies the significance of the theological errors which underlie the paradigm shift in the Dutch Reformed Church in South Africa towards the end of the twentieth century. This work is a must-read for anyone seeking to understand that shift’s devastating consequences for Southern African society as a whole. Kreitzer convincingly shows how a return to a biblical understanding of justice and love is absolutely essential for the peoples of Southern Africa moving forward.


—Adi Schlebusch, PhD, Director of the Pactum Institute and Research Associate at the University of Pretoria





This book makes an original and significant contribution to our insight in the way radical change can happen in a challenging environment when the Christian church adopts different views. The example used is the biggest church denomination among the Afrikaners in South Africa, which altered its stance significantly on apartheid but also on other socialethical concepts. This book is a must read for those who are interested in the interplay of church and society, including the role of the Christian church in shaping society grounded on Biblical presuppositions.


—Henk Stoker, PhD, Professor of Apologetics and Ethics, North-West University, Potchefstroom, South Africa