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Transcript of World Council of Churches Nairobi and Africa
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THE WORLD COUNCIL OF CHURCHES NAIROBI ASSEMBLY AND AFRICA
PERCEPTION VOLUME 3 No. 1 March 1976
Published by the Association of Ev angelicals of Africa and M adagascar (A E.A.M.), Ralph
Bunche Road, P.O. Box 49332, Nairobi, Kenya. Printed by Kesho Press, P.O. Box 40, Kijabe,
Kenya.
The morning that he died, Dr. Byang Kato, General Secretary of the A.E.A.M., began writing the
first draft of this report. He finished only the first two pages. Dr. Kato had not left us entirely
without his overall evaluation of the WCC Assembly, however. The day before departing to the
sea coast for a one week working holiday with his family, he had spoken at the annual
conference of the Africa Inland Mission in Kenya. He gave them a summary of his impressions of
the 5th Assembly of the World Council of Churches, which he had attended as an observer for
the A.E.A.M. This message was recorded and has been transcribed.
In addition Dr. Kato had written a guest editorial at the close of the Assembly for the
THEOLOGICAL NEWS bulletin of the World Evangelical Fellowship. And on the final day of
the Assembly he had written an article dealing especially with the problem of syncretism versus
evangelism at the 5th Assembly. From these materials we have compiled and edited this
composite report.
Many people, not only in Africa but elsewhere, were looking forward to Dr. Kato's reaction to
this first meeting of the WCC on African soil. His perception and leadership among evangelicals
in Africa made his views significant. For that reason we have taken care to compile this report
in Dr. Kato's own words, although that means that the style at times is more informal (where it is
taken from an oral presentation) and lacks some of the documentary illustrations that would
have characterised his written report.
In his verbal report Dr. Kato used the device of direct quotation to paraphrase remarks made at
the Assembly. Please note that we have retained this oratorical style and have used quotation
marks for statements that are probably summaries of what was said rather than exact quotes. A
separate section at the back of this PERCEPTION contains additional observations and notes on
the Assembly.
The Editor
THE SCENE AT THE NAIROBI 5th ASSEMBLY
The Fifth Assembly of the World Council of Churches brought into Nairobi over 600 journalists
as compared to 676 delegates and 318 other participants. Obviously there will be a wide coverage
of this first historic ecumenical gathering on African soil. This is not intended, therefore, to be a
thorough reporting of the 18 days' events. Rather, it is a statement of my impressions of the
Assembly and how much influence it is likely to have or not to have on Africa. It is a challenge
to ecumenically minded people to think more biblically, and a warning to the non-ecumenical
readers against the unscriptural trends of the World Council of Churches. Any good lessons of
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the Assembly would be beneficial to all with an open mind. I do not claim an absolute objectivity
as this is impossible. But as an official observer to the Assembly, I will try to be fair in reporting
and interpreting what took place.
The organisation of Nairobi 75 was no match for the Lausanne Congress on World
Evangelisation in 1974. It was extremely difficult to find fellow participants unless oneknew their hotel or where they sat. A number of changes were made in the programme and there
was not enough information given to the participants. For example, a session was set up on
'Moratorium' to be addressed by a key WCC leader. Participants waited in vain for the supposed
session. A Nairobi resident just saw his name as a speaker on a given subject at the WCC lecture
series held separately during the Assembly, but had not been informed, let alone asked for his
willingness to do so.
On the other hand, we should realize that the Assembly was scheduled to be held
in Jakarta, Indonesia. It was reportedly due to Muslim pressure, and possibly the potential
political involvement of the WCC, that it was shifted to Nairobi. It took less than a year for
Nairobi to plan for the Assembly. Many delegates were highly impressed with the ultra-modernKenyatta Conference Centre where the Assembly was held. The arrangements for meals at the
Assembly and the transportation of delegates to their hotels was good.
THE STRENGTH OF THE WCC IN AFRICA
The impression is given sometimes that the WCC is a monolithic giant Organisation
representing Christendom. That is far from being the case. Roman Catholics, of course,
are not in the WCC. It has been reported that only about 20% of Protestant Christians in Latin
America are in any way related to the WCC. In the case of Africa the following facts speak for
themselves.
Out of 45 countries in Africa, churches in only 18 of them have WCC membership.
Only 39 denominations in these countries are related to the WCC in any way. According to the
WCC official document (WORK BOOK for the Fifth Assembly), only three churches of Kenya
are in the WCC. the Anglican, the Methodist, and the Presbyterian Church of East Africa.
(In Kenya, the Salvation Army and the Orthodox Patriarchate of Alexandria have also identified
themselves as WCC members, apparently by headquarters action. IDOC No.14, 1975 says that
Kenya has 49 historical denominations present. Nine are listed as the major churches, of which
only one is a WCC member.)
Four more churches in Africa joined the ranks of the WCC at this Assembly. Full members are
the secessionist African Christian Church and Schools in Kenya, the African Israel Church
Ninevah (with its emphasis on symbolism and rituals) -also in Kenya, and the Church of the
Aladura in Nigeria. The African Church of the Holy Spirit in Kenya became an associate
member. It has been indicated that these independent movements were attracted by the material
benefits received from the WCC. The indigenous Church of the Aladura claims a membership of
over a million and is well known for its emphasis on dreams, visions and prophecies. Syncretism
does not seem to be a theological problem with them. Their dubious theological stance poses no
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problem with the WCC whose trends are bending in that direction in any case.
Although member bodies of the WCC are few in Africa, the All Africa Conference of Churches
is closely associated with the WCC. The AACC has 114 member churches and councils of
churches in 31 countries. They claim to represent about 40 million African Christians. The total
figure of African Christianity is put at about 150 million. Even including the AACC, ecumenismstill cannot speak for half of the Christians in Africa. This needs to be noted by our readers
overseas. A secular journalist was surprised when I told him that well over 70% of Christians in
Africa are opposed to moratorium which calls for the withdrawal of personnel and money from
Africa.
SPIRITUAL IMPACT
Several delegates indicated that evangelical Christianity was more vocal at Nairobi than it was at
the WCC Assembly at Uppsala in 1968. The evangelical flavour was, however, more notable in
the documents produced by some group sections than in the programme of the Assembly. After
experiencing Lausanne, Nairobi was a descent to a lower level spiritually. To go to Lausanne lastyear from the AACC Conference at Lusaka was like a breath of fresh air. The spiritual
atmosphere at Lausanne was certainly the opposite of what I experienced at Lusaka. (See the
AEAM PERCEPTION of July 1974.) From Lusaka we went up to the peak, and to Nairobi we
descended, although the WCC at Nairobi was not as low as the AACC at Lusaka.
The WCC 5th Assembly at Nairobi was more like a meeting of the Organisation of African Unity
(OAU) or some other economic or political meeting, than a Christian meeting. One participant
said to me, "Coming from an evangelical background where the atmosphere is usually spiritual, it
has been good to have a taste of this kind of secular emphasis. But I have found it too political
for me." This is not to say that there was no Christian touch to it, nor no mention of the name of
Jesus Christ or that there were no Christians there. There were many outstanding evangelicalChristians. But the meeting had very little spiritual expression. To illustrate the point, I don't
remember any time when the sessions were either opened with prayer or closed with prayer. The
only form of prayer offered was as a written document.
Although it was said at the outset that worship was to be an integral part of the whole Assembly,
this was unnoticeable. Even the sessions set aside for "worship" were so dubious that it was hard
to see the lesson being conveyed. For example, the United Bible Societies took the first session
on morning worship. They presented the account of the prodigal son who later found his way
home. A parable that was meant to teach the lostness of man in regards to salvation was
presented to imply that those outside the ecumenical movement are the lost son. Perhaps it was
my failure to understand the presentation, but was the simple picture story meant to be made so
difficult that only a genius would understand?
The parable was presented in music and drama. A little pamphlet contained the Scripture
account and the songs. A narrated explanation was read by the Archbishop of Canterbury. On the
pamphlet was a picture of a house and a mountain. From the house foot prints went off behind
the mountain and then came back around the other side. There were people on top of the house
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celebrating. (By the way, that was the terminology much used about salvation. You celebrate
salvation'. It has a kind of anthropocentric impact.) In the narration read during the course of the
presentation the impression given is that the lost son is not really lost to the father as such. But he
is lost to a kind of unity. In the context of the World Council of Churches, those who are still
outside are the lost son and are being invited to come back home. The theological point of the
account regarding salvation is lost. (See the Additional Notes at the back of this PERCEPTIONfor some quotations drawn from the narration of this WCCpresentation.)
Worship as such came in various forms; the Greek Orthodox had their time, etc. On the last day
of the Assembly there was a closing time for worship. People were brought from all the different
backgrounds. The Orthodox chanted their form of worship. When they finished they walked
down and then there was a long list of documentary reports that followed as worship of the
Assembly. It was reasonable. But towards the end of the 'worship' they ended up with a dance.
As I was watching it brought to my mind the prophets in the Old Testament with the ecstasy
worked up by the false prophets, jumping into dancing and all kinds of psychological expressions
so they that might get into a kind of other-worldliness. The Assembly ended this 'worship' by
dancing down in a procession led by Phillip Potter and other leaders of the WCC. They danceddown the stairs and went about hugging and kissing everybody and moving among the
Assembly. Similar dancing earlier in the Assembly had presented the theme: "Jesus Christ Frees
and Unites."
The study group on 'Spirituality' which I attended made no reference to the Bible for its concepts.
Some implied that oriental transcendental meditation was the way to attain spirituality. An Asian
Roman Catholic priest spoke very highly of a disciple of Krishna for the latters spirituality.
Others suggested that mans union with nature was the means to a discovery of spirituality. My
destruction of 'sister' and 'brother' animals is sin against Mother Earth. My treating them with due
respect is a part of the discovery of my true Spirituality. This type of nature worship was also
reflected in one of the major papers: Professor Birch appealed to man to thank Mother Nature foreach breath of air.
There was a Eucharistic celebration which was an effort to bring people from different
backgrounds to participate together. The Orthodox never would eat the Lord's Supper together
with the others, however. But the sad thing was the lack of reference to the death and
resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ as the events being symbolised by these activities.
The displays in the Conference Centre reflected the non-spiritual nature of the Assembly. Instead
of seeing Scripture verses on the walls or other things with a similar message, they turned to the
other side to negate it. In one section called The Media there was a photographic exhibition with
a message under each picture. The whole area was decorated with large photographs. Some of the
pictures reminded me of the medieval period when they drew ugly pictures of Satan with horns.
And there were pictures about sex and how you should teach your children early in life to that
they may adequately enjoy sex. Some of the pictures raised the question of the identity of God.
Is He an idea? One picture of a pregnant mother was captioned: "Youll be a mother, a child of
Christ, whether you can or you can't. That's the true meaning of marriage; we're sorry, but we
can't see any other purpose for your life. The one mention of evangelism derided it in the
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African context. There was a large photograph of an old man's ear, long lobes stretched down
with his weighted ear ring. Underneath it said, "Through this ear, penetrating the magic field of
forces formed by the carrion fly, safety pin and amulet, the missionary seeks to instill his white
doctrine (italics supplied). One of the pictures was of an old sign saying "JESUS SAVES in a
tumble down garden. Under the picture the explanation spoke of how this gardener would have
Jesus Saves', and at the same time he is oppressing somebody which is wrong.
At one place in the conference centre a long display board was mounted. People were allowed to
write anything they wanted to say. Somebody wrote: "I have heard women's liberation and
liberation from oppression. What about liberation from sin? I haven't heard it yet!
LACK OF CONCERN FOR EVANGELISM
The 5 Assembly of the World Council of Churches met for the first time in Africa. For 18 daysth
I waited to see if something might happen that would turn their attention to the cry of the 300million unconverted Africans. But no such miracle occurred.
The World Assembly came with its admirable theme: "Jesus Christ Frees and Unites. Spiritually
concerned Africans exercised the caution of wait and see. Other African participants had on their
agenda the primary goal of drawing the attention of the Assembly to the questions of the
liberation struggle in the continent. A youth congress had been held in Arusha, Tanzania and
another in Limuru, Kenya. Several proposals were drawn up for the Assembly, but none of the
proposals showed concern for evangelism. The WCC spent lengthy hours every day dealing with
every conceivable problem of man anywhere with hardly any reference to sin as man's
fundamental dilemma.
Admittedly, evangelicals did have some influence in the production of some .of the final
documents that were approved. For example, in Section One on 'Confessing Christ' and in the
amended Section Three on 'Seeking Common Humanity' evangelical views were reflected. But
the objections raised on the floor of the Assembly showed that delegates would go back perhaps
stronger in their syncretistic marxist presuppositions than they were before, if they came to the
Assembly with those presuppositions. After all -- the whole conduct of the Assembly did not
reflect whatever evangelical veneer there was on the final documents.
We must give credit to some evangelicals who feel that their strategy is to work from within. To
work from within they will just fight to be heard. They cannot fight to exclude anybody. And
some of them are being heard, but it is very limited, to be honest. For example, John Stott was
invited as a speaker. And do you know that he was flown in from London and back and in the
end had only 8 minutes to speak! One of his five points that the WCC needed to recover was
The Lostness of Man Without Christ. Afterward he was severely criticised for this in groups, in
meetings with the press, and in publications. Evangelical delegates, of course, came to his
defence. A number of third world delegates brought in their cultural emphasis by speaking
strongly in favour of dialogue which aims primarily at producing a common humanity where
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religious frictions must not exist. Excellent papers on various topics were presented, highlighting
dangers to man's survival: dangers of pollution, exploitation of nature, hunger, war and
oppression of various types including that of women and children. The general impression one
gets is that both the problem and the possible solution are found basically in the horizontal
dimension of life. Man finds himself alone in the universe. The supernatural God, if He exists ,
does so as an absentee landlord.
Here is a typical solution given to man's problems by Professor Birch of Australia. After
graphically painting man's problems which raise the question of man's survival on earth, Birch
then offered this solution: "What is needed is a fearless pursuit of the meaning of the unity of
nature, man and God in the light of both science and a wider ecumenism that includes African
and Asian cultural ideas." What a solution! It is purely anthropocentric. The good news of eternal
life is denied to man. What a tragedy.
The message of the Assembly was that man must fight for his salvation in this 'One World' where
any differences are only relative. I am thankful for the evangelical contribution. But some of the
contributions, I am afraid, might only help to cover up the issues. One does hope and pray thatthe WCC will change. But so far it remains only a wish. Evangelicals must rise. up to call Africa
to Christ.
THE UNITY EFFORT THAT IS TALKED ABOUT
It is true that there was a good evangelical contribution in the whole Assembly. And it was done
in good faith. But it is a part of the effort of the World Churches to accommodate anybody and
everybody. Some things that are said are presented in this way, particularly if they relate to
spiritual things. Some of it is couched in general terms with a vagueness that anybody can
interpret to suit what he believes. If you are an evangelical you can easily see that it is saying
what you as an evangelical would like to say. And if you are not evangelical, still the words areso carefully chosen that you will not feel offended.
So the effort was for unity, though one Jewish Rabbi, Arnold Jacob Wolf, in describing it
lamented the fact that unity actually was missing. He said, "The real enemy of the World Council
is neither Israel nor the Arab states, but disunity itself." The Assembly showed that they could
accommodate divergent views, submerge obvious divisions, and yet appear to be united.
The effort for unity was not only for the unity of Christians. The documents that were prepared
in advance for Nairobi indicated that there was a search for a common humanity, a search for
human unity. And it was evident at this Assembly, because when the leaders gathered there it
was not only church leaders -- not only Protestants, Orthodox and Roman Catholics, but beyond
Christendom as well. One day in the discussion on 'Seeking Community' there were seated on the
platform not only Christian leaders, but there was a Sikh, a Muslim, a Hindu, a Buddhist, and this
Jewish Rabbi. They were all involved in the discussion. There was a big applause, because we
were at last successful in bringing these non-Christians to sit with us and share in the effort for
unity.
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Now admittedly, some evangelical Christians within the system are anxious to see that we share
the gospel with people of other faiths. So they would understand the sharing of the gospel as the
goal of this emphasis on dialogue. But in what I have observed, the emphasis is to seek a
peaceful coexistence with non-Christian people, whom they call "men of living faiths". I asked
Rabbi Wolf in one group discussion, "What is your understanding of dialogue?" He answered, "If
dialogue were to mean seeking to convert me, I would not come to Nairobi! But I understand thatthis is certainly playing down any difference that there is and seeking a common humanity. We
come together, and that's it." The day that the different religious leaders were on the platform
there was no sign in any way indicating that Jesus is the only way and that these men were here
in order to be confronted with the gospel. If that were to be the case, they would not have come
or even have been invited. It would be impolite to invite them there only to shame them. But the
idea was to have them there and talk to them in common language, so that everybody would
agree.
One of the documents that was presented in this 'Search For a Common Humanity' said, "There is
more than a new and a sharper awareness of other faiths and communities of faith. There is a
great urgency for seeking a community beyond our own.. Whether we like it or not, we findourselves thrown in with all of humanity in a common concern for peace and justice. We cannot
but accept Pauls words about the Church to the whole world: "When one member suffers, the
whole body suffers."We have been thrown together in an inter-dependent world in which the
urgency is that of survival or not." The implication then, is that when a Buddhist suffers, we
suffer too, because we are all members of that One Body. Now, this particular document was
rejected by its Section and was sent back to the committee again and a more evangelical one was
prepared. But when it was presented one speaker after another rose to oppose the evangelical
revision, favouring the original document. Among them were some key leaders in the
ecumenical institutes, mainly in the third world. And people were saying, The kind of document
that you talk about now of Jesus being the only way, is too western. If you emphasize the
uniqueness of Jesus Christ ane discourage dialogue with men of other faiths, then you arebringing western imperialism upon us. You are neglecting the fact of our living with men of
other faiths in different parts of the world where we are." And the thing is made racial. Many
westerners immediately retreat when they hear something like that. They don't want to offend the
man in the third world. Nevertheless the evangelically worded document was passed. But my
conclusion was, although they passed the document, what would it mean to a person who had
stood to speak strongly against it?
THE PLAY MUNTUAND MORATORIUM
The subject of moratorium as such was not discussed at the 5 Assembly. Nor did it come out inth
any of the documents that I saw. Perhaps those who criticise it are beginning to be heard. And I
think people are becoming cautious, because as the movers of moratorium have found , the grass
roots churches in Africa are opposed to it. They are either changing tactics, or slowing down, or
using other terms.
However, on the first business day of the Assembly, the All Africa Conference Of Churches
sponsored, a play called Muntu" with the sub-title "African Challenge. The play presented in
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drama the ills that have befallen Africans. And one of the big ills is western missionary
Christianity. According to the play, mission Christianity has been used alongside other forces in
introducing colonialism into Africa. The missionary led the way, having the Bible in one hand
and the gun in the other. While he was preaching, his imperialistic colleagues were exploiting the
African by enslaving him and taking away his land.
After watching that play one European said, 'If this is what we have done by sending missionaries
here, then we had better not send them any more. And we had better not send money to support
them any more." So that was moratorium in practice. Apparently it was decided not to open the
matter up to discussion. It came through that play. Because to me the message portrayed by the
play was this: Missionaries are no good, and mission work has made very little contribution to
progress in Africa. Rather, it has brought a lot of evil. The play showed that Arabs too, had their
part in slavery. And African dictators are oppressing through military rule. Missionaries did build
schools and hospitals. But the technology and education introduced only helped to bring more
confusion to the African. Having lost sons, daughters, land and the good order of life, the African
is brought back at the end of the play to the good old days. The old way of worship is called
back.. Ancestor gods are revered because they gave children. But the white God took away thechildren of Muntu by means of slavery.
If the play told me anything, it said to me that missionaries should go home. African traditional
worship should be reinstituted. Nothing, including Christianity, has the answer for the African.
As the author of the play told me in an interview a few days later, the play was meant to tell the
African that his salvation lay in his own hands. Man is intrinsically good and should work hard to
liberate himself from oppression. The 5 Assembly of the WCC certainly reflected this spirit ofth
'self-salvation'.
THE POLITICAL ATMOSPHERE
The mission of the WCC is secular and seems to be highly political in thrust. The political
emphasis at the WCC Assembly was leftist. Having sat through the Assembly I came out feeling
that it would take a miracle to save most African countries from communism. The stage is all set.
There are things spoken of in the book of Revelation which may be near at hand, though I
realize that we cannot be dogmatic about some things. The marriage between political and
ecclesiastical systems seems something that is very likely in our own age.
There was much sympathy with communism in the Assembly. Two incidents illustrate this.
Angola was discussed. A strongly worded motion was presented condemning South Africa and
calling them to pull out of Angola. When that motion was passed an addition was brought to the
effect that we have condemned South Africa and we all agree on it, but should we not advise the
leaders in Angola to also stop employing troops from other powers? They did not mention the
Soviet Union. They just said, "Let us advise them to be truly independent. And there was
strong "No! No! No! No! throughout the hall. And they said, "If we do that we are usurping
their independence.'' They forgot what had just been passed. They dont feel that if they tell them
to reject South Africa they are usurping their independence. But if you tell them to say No to
the Soviet Union, then you are interfering with their position. And so the addition was rejected.
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The motion stood. 'We condemn South Africa, but let the Soviet Union and Cuban soldiers
remain.
A second evidence of sympathy with the eastern powers was in connection with a motion on the
Helsinki Agreement. The western and European powers, together with the Soviet Union, met
earlier in 1975 and drew up an agreement by which they would warrant fundamental humanrights, including allowing people to worship as they want. When this was discussed a Swiss
delegate put forward an amendment that the attention of the Soviet Union should be called to the
agreement they had made, because of religious persecution there. Religious persecution in the
Soviet Union is well known. Two letters had been written to the Assembly by Christians in
Russia asking for help. These were published in the Assembly news paper. But no sooner had the
motion for the amendment been made than Metropolitan Jevenaly, delegate of the Orthodox
Church of Russia, stood up at the microphone. And for the first time I heard him speak with
Christian sentiment. "This World Council of Churches meeting does not seem to me to be a
Christian meeting at all. It seems to be a political movement! Because I see for us to take sides
like this and choose one country to condemn is not allowing ourselves Christian fellowship." He
was forgetting that before that time most of the statements had been political. But because hisown country was named now he said the WCC was political and was not religious. And when he
spoke vehemently he put the leaders on the platform in disarray. Some of the Russians claimed
that they have no problem. Still, the Assembly voted and the motion passed. But then someone
said, "That motion was out of order." Then they talked again and withdrew the motion. And then
they said, "Let's go for tea break."
When they went for tea break some of us were observant. And Nikodim, who by the
way is one of the presidents of the World Council of Churches now, went with other Russian
delegates to the platform to meet Potter and other leaders,. There was a big discussion. And when
we came back after tea the whole meeting changed its tone altogether. They kept
on dragging, and then it was moved, "Let us put the matter to the hands of a small committee. Ahearing was held that night where the Soviet delegates were very hot that their country should not
be criticised. The next morning a very mild motion not specifying the Soviet Union was passed:
That people of all countries should respect the religious liberty of all people.
I was surprised at how some people, especially from the United States, would stand up and speak
strongly against their government. For example, when they were discussing oppression in South
America one American stood up and added more saying, "Our government has been involved in
bringing about oppression in Peru, in Chile, and other places. Let us include those things in the
motion." And they included them and it passed. But here was the Soviet Union, very patriotic,
and would not give in an inch. And that was the only attack on the Soviet Union. Almost every
paper dealt with capitalism and the western world and how much they have sinned. In the group
discussions many white people were very apologetic of all they are doing, as if all the ills in the
third world have been caused by the western world. Now in saying that, I am in no way excusing
capitalism or the western world. I realize that they do wrong. But I am just saying that it was very
imbalanced.
LACK OF THEOLOGICAL CONTENT
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Very little theological content was put in anything. Papers, like that presented by Prime Minister
Manley from Jamaica, were purely idealistic with theories of political systems. After Professor
Birch's paper about the world heading for disaster, one would expect a strong eschatological
note, such as Jesus coming again to intervene in man's history. Nothing like that was mentioned
there, or in any of the papers. The emphasis was on man with his problems, and man trying to
solve his problems.
The Assembly presented an optimistic view of man. From the play "MUNTU to the highly
idealistic professional papers with little or no theological content, the emphasis was man himself
solving his problems. Although the problem of sin did come in for mention towards the end of
the Assembly, very little room was allowed for discussion on it, let alone God's provision for
sin.
The Assembly was demoralising to any spiritually concerned Christian. Some Bible study groups
did have a good time. Where such was the case, the credit was due to evangelicals present
there. But others made no reference to the Scriptures. The legacy the Assembly left in Africa
was a de-emphasised spiritual impact on our churches. The challenge of evangelism wasshelved, while the emphasis on dialogue with a view to establishing a happy world community
free of religious tensions prevailed in the Assembly debate.
INFLUENCE IN AFRICA
What then are some of the things that we would see influencing the churches in Africa? These
are my observations:
1. First, the WCC movement gives encouragement to political liberation in different countries.
That subject featured heavily in the Assembly. I was surprised, though, that the African voice
was not as vocal there as I thought it would be. But the emphasis on political liberation was therenevertheless, and it will be given impetus. A motion was passed emphasising the Program to
Combat Racism. Somebody tried to inject an amendment to say, "Let us exclude the use of
violence." But that amendment was quashed because they said, "If you want to help people, just
give them money. Whether they use that money for arms or food is not your concern."
2. The WCC will be strong in East Africa now, especially in Kenya, because Bishop Okullu and
Rev. John Gatu were elected to the Central Committee. A Ghanian lady judge was appointed as
one of the presidents, and ecumenism is very strong in Ghana.
3. I believe there will be more alliance between the church and politics in Africa. This was seen
somewhat at the laying of the foundation stone of the new 1.6 million dollars AACC
headquarters in Nairobi during the Assembly. The stone was laid by His Excellency Mzee Jomo
Kenyatta. There was hardly any Bible message. In fact, Kenyattas talk contained more about
Jesus Christ than that was said by any of the Christian leaders. Two flags were hoisted at the
ceremony: the Kenya flag andthe KANU political party flag, but no Christian flag of any kind.
Not that it says all that much, but I can see in Africa more and more coming together of the
ecumenical movement and the political systems.
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4. Theological confusion will continue to reign, as there is very little emphasis on theology. If
there is any talk of theology now within the ecumenical movement, they talk of 'doing theology'.
They don't want thinking. The emphasis is on existentialism, talking about experience. Phillip
Potter was asked, "Why does the WCC not theologize? Why is there no theological basis for the
discussions?" And Dr. Potter replied that their concern is to communicate with people. In other
words, it must be felt that the Bible does not deal with them in their situation. Study the problemwithout the Bible, and then maybe we can find a veneer of theological justification for the
answers we propose.
From this then, I would conclude that both the need and the opportunity are very wide for the
A.E.A.M. in Africa. Greater participation by concerned evangelical Africans looks hopeful. A
number of African delegates at the Assembly talked to me and expressed their dismay with the
WCC. Just as the Assembly was finished we received letters from evangelical fellowships in two
more countries in Africa requesting full official membership in the A.E.A.M. Decisions taken at
the A.E.A.M.,Theological Conference just before the Assembly began prepared us to launch out
on a new programmes in this time of' opportunity. As we emphasise theological education and
theological societies, move ahead now to establish English graduate schools of theology inaddition to the French one at Bangui, and strengthen existing schools by an A.E.A.M.
Theological Accrediting Association, we will be meeting the need that faces us in Africa.
Africans themselves need to deal with these issues, to do their own thing. But church leaders and
churches need to be enlightened. They need to understand what the issues are. They need to be
courageous, to speak their mind -- to speak the truth in love and in politeness of course, but to be
firm in what they believe and in their articulations. National Evangelical fellowships need to be
strengthened so that evangelicals may work together in the task the Lord has given to us.
BYANG H. KATO
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
ADDITIONAL OBSERVATIONS AND NOTES ON THE ASSEMBLY
QUOTATIONS FROM THE NARRATIVE ON THE PARABLE OF THE LOST SONS
"Haven't we seen families which are so oppressive that the only solution is separation? Patterns
of behaviour can become unjust.. Should we endure oppression however painful and soul-
destroying it might be? Could you find your own identity if you had to live under such
conditions? In society . . . we all must have the right to fail or to succeed. This biblical parable
should never be used for a quick and easy condemnation of the son who felt he just had to leave
his parents. Even some of our churches have used it as an excuse for suppressing the genuine
desire for freedom. The younger son had reason to leave home. I can't condemn him, and I hope
neither will you."
"I do not blame the older son for feeling as he does. I understand that he refuses to celebrate with
someone who hurt his father so much and who is accepted without a word of rebuke. The older
son has reason to be angry. I can't condemn him, and hope neither will you."
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"Some of us are not able to accept their brothers and sisters. I could see a conservative asking for
the floor and telling us that he is unable to accept any sister or any brother who think they could
justify violence as a means of achieving peace, unity and justice. We all should keep in mind this
parable which says - "Both". I speak in defense of a father who above all wants his children to be
united. Unity is only possible if the members of God's family grant to each other to be who they
are. As far as the task of the Christian church in this world is concerned, we will be able to be auniting power among men as soon as we begin to live as people who are constantly being
brought together by our father in heaven so that we also be together with our brothers and sisters
on earth."
IS THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH JOINING THE WCC?
One of the hopes of leaders of the World Council of Churches was that the Roman Catholic
Church would join the WCC at the 5th Assembly. These leaders were happy to report at the
Assembly that friendly relations continue with Rome. However, the growth in links between the
two bodies has slowed down. Pope Paul VI sent his greeting to the 5 General Assembly of theth
World Council of Churches. He said the Catholic Church will continue to encourage theecumenical movement and where possible to cooperate with the WCC. Without saying so, the
message was clear: We will cooperate, but not join. The emphasis was that the Roman
Catholic Church is working for the same things as the WCC, and that they will work parallel
rather than united. This did not satisfy the Policy Reference Committee of the WCC who stated
that the Assembly looks forward eagerly to the day on which the Roman Catholic Church will
find it possible to join the World Council of Churches.
Roman Catholic participation at other levels is, however, still increasing. Cooperation in Bible
translation and distribution is listed by the WCC as one example of this. They also point to
participation of the Catholic Church as a full member in some regional, national and local
councils. Just since the 5th Assembly the Pacific Conference of Churches voted in its meetingJanuary18-21 to receive the Roman Catholic Church into membership. This was the first time the
Catholic Church has joined an already existing regional conference of churches.
WHAT DOES THE WCC MEAN BY EVANGELISATION?
Many evangelical. modifications were accepted in two of the 5th Assembly Section reports. One
modification that was not accepted, however, is the assertion that man without Christ is lost. This
does not appear in any statement adopted by the Assembly.
Bishop Mortimer Arias of Bolivia who addressed the Assembly in the only session set aside for
this subject criticised the WCC for neglecting evangelism. He did not assert, however, that man
without Christ is lost. Much of what he said about evangelism was good. But then he said that all
of the WCC's activities were really evangelism. "All this is mission and can be an integral part of
a true evangelism in the world." Dr. Peter Beyerhaus notes that it was in this sense that General
Secretary Potter justified the total lack of reference to evangelisation in his report. In answer to a
question Dr. Potter said that his whole report, dealing with a variety of physical and social
problems of man, was a single call to evangelisation in its full sense.
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Bishop Arias talked about social action being part of evangelism. He said that tin miners in
Bolivia who worked for the welfare of their land belonged to Christ even if they don't
acknowledge it. "These people did not consider themselves members of the Church. All that was
missing was the naming of the Name. And we had to recognize that perhaps these people had
more of Christ in them than we who spoke in his name . . . . To evangelize is to help men to
discover the Christ hidden in them and revealed in the Gospel!"
WHAT SHOULD SUPPORT BELIEF AND ACTION?
Bruce Nicholls of India commented that the 'Bible Study Groups' discussed the cultures of the
participants rather than the Bible. The speakers who addressed the Assembly quoted profusely
from human authors and documents, but remained silent on the Word of God Mr. Nicholls said,
"It was disturbing that no attempt was made to deal with Biblical principles or passages of
Scripture in any of the social issues debated."
A.E.A.M. NEWS RELEASE ON MORATORIUM PUBLISHED IN WCC ASSEMBLY
NEWSPAPER
The A.E.A.M. Theological Commission which met in Nairobi the week before the WCC
Assembly opened issued a news release on the subject of Moratorium. This was published in the
official newspaper of the 5th Assembly. In part it said:
"(We) ask for theological clarification of the current call for moratorium referring to a temporary
or permanent withdrawal from the churches in Africa of overseas personnel and finance.
"We express our concern that any valid interpretation of moratorium must be based on clear
Biblical principles of mission. Do the advocates of moratorium imply that salvation is found in
any religion and social structure and that no person is eternally lost? How can we justifywithdrawing one part of the Body of Christ temporarily or permanently from evangelistic
partnership in Africa when more than half of the population of this continent have little or no
knowledge of Christ?
Byang Katos AssessmentEncounterJanuary 1976, p. 10
Dr. Byan.g H. Kato was a young man with remarkable insights and wide experience. Nigerian by
birth, he was the General Secretary of the Association of Evangelicals of Africa and
Madagascar. Author of a penetrating analysis of liberalising trends in theology on the Africancontinent. Theological Pitfall in Africa (Evangel Press, Kenya, 1975), he attended the WCCs
fifth assembly as an observer. He gave us the following interview at the close of the assenibly.
ENCOUNTER: Dr. Kato. in what capacity did you attend this assembly?
KATO: I am here as an observer on behalf of our ten million Christians involved in A.E.A..M. in
Africa.
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ENCOUNTER: How do you feel about the Assembly, now that it is nearly over?
KATO: Well, the Assembly has certainly disturbed me in a number of ways. But before I come
to these disturbances. I would first of all like to give some commendable observations I have
noticed here. In the first place I think that it has been the first time that the Evangelicals who are
involved in the WCC have had enough courage to express their views. Though those views havenot been incorporated all the time, they have been able at least to make their presence felt visibly.
For example, in section I where they discussed Confessing Christ Today, many Evangelicals
were in the discussions, and as a result the document which came out was fairly evangelical in its
outward presentation.
Some have also spoken up in the plenary meetings of the Assembly. So one appreciates that
aspect.
Now to come to the things that have disturbed me. As I see it, the whole thing seems to be based
on man and on man solving his own problems. Man has problems, and he just has to look around
for the answers. It seemed to me that there is a basic Marxist presupposition that underlies anumber of papers as well as the way that the discussions have come out here. I wont go into
details here, but I would say that this has been more like a meeting of the United Nations than a
Christian Assembly. Certainly I havent felt a spiritual impact here.
ENCOUNTER: Could you tell us how you feel the assembly will influence Christianity in
Africa?
KATO: Well, for one thing, the African voice has been very weak here. I dont know whether it
was the kind of delegates that were sent or what, but one has not felt a strong vocal presentation
here. And that appears to me that since Africans have not been outspoken in issues maybe they
take things as they come. There is a lot of non-biblical presupposition that has come out of thediscussions, this would be taken up and employed as well as implemented by the Churches. I
have some concern that the assembly will present to Christians the idea that Christianity is like a
man struggling to find his own solutions to his problems. There is certainly not enough of the
Vertical Dimension. I think that this will have some negative influence in Africa. And then I
think that there will be an effort to emphasise Unity at any cost. One has seen there how they
have tried, in the name of unity, to accommodate people of different opinions, and to try to talk
down one and another, not minding what their particular scriptural interpretations are. I think
that the spirit of ecumenism is going to be promoted in the churches and the emphasis on
establishing church unions is certainly going to be encouraged in Africa after this assembly.
When you come to the area of liberation, well, the emphasis here tends to be more and more to
the leftist side, the communistic side. To illustrate the point that I have made in mind, let me
mention the way in which the assembly openly and categorically condemned South Africa for
involvement in Angola. I think that the assembly was right, for I think that every nation should
have its integrity. I mean a territorial integrity without interference from other places. But the one
thing that disturbed me is that it is an open secret that in Angola MPLA is very much dependent
on communist forces, and so a motion was brought in that this should also be brought to the
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notice of the Angolan leaders, and they should be advised not to depend on mercenaries, or to
allow people to be brought in to fight for them there. But when that motion was introduced, the
assembly did not listen to that, rather they skipped the point and did not name anyone else. Now
in order to do that they are rally interfering with the independence of Angola.
It was evident that they applied different standards for other countries. I think this wasinconsistency. I would say even that there appears to me to be a measure of support for
Marxism. I feel that in Africa, if we are not careful there will be strong influences from the WCC
in this direction, for it looks as if they condemn everything western, including Christianity itself,
and I am afraid that many Christians may be led to follow Marxist presuppositions.
ENCOUNTER: What are you going to do to counter these influences in Africa?
KATO: Well, the first thing I anticipate doing is to write up a report of this assembly just as I did
with the Lusaka Conference of the AACC last year and just lay the cards on the table. This will
inform Christians regarding some of these trends and the general impressions that I gained at this
assembly.
And then our theological commission of the A.E.A.M. which met here a couple of weeks ago
will also be busy. We hope that people will be writing articles on different subjects related to the
contemporary issues in Africa today pointing out the Biblical perspective. We hope that through
these writings Christians will come to understand the issues. As I have occasion to visit places
and states I will also share with people the Biblical foundations on these current issues.
ENCOUNTER: Against the back ground of all that you have said, what would you say are the
priorities for Christians in Africa today?
KATO: In Africa today there are many problems, of course, facing man, and there are things thatAfricans need to look into, but as a Christian with a Christian perspective I would say that the
No.1 thing for Africa today is the knowledge of Jesus Christ. To tell people that Jesus Christ
died for them, that they must accept Him as their Saviour, to teach them what the implications of
becoming a Christian means, so challenging Christians to live their life in obedience to Gods
Word. This includes a rejection of racism, tribalism, immorality, drunkenness and all things that
make a Christian appear as if he were a man of the world. I think that we need to teach Christians
to live the life of separation today. To me this is the No. 1 thing, because Jesus tells us: For
what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world but forfeits his soul?
And so when I think of the three hundred and fifty million people in Africa who are without
Jesus Christ as compared to about only between 25 and 50 million who do know the Lord Jesus
Christ, it really burdens my heart and causes me to almost weep as I see here in the assembly
resolutions no references to that fact. It is true that some small groups did mention it, but nothing
like that came from the platform of the assembly.
I think of the play Muntu, the so-called African Challenge which was presented at the
beginning of the Assembly. Well, it was called African Challenge, but again only on the social
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and anthropocentric manner, just dealing with man. They touched on different issues, but failed
to point out that Jesus Christ is the final answer after all is said and done.
And so one would weep. I would just pray that Evangelical Christians in Africa would take up
the ball from this point and really push forward with evangelism and mission in our continent.