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Zizipho Pae is ’n Christen student by die Universiteit van Kaapstad (UK) en was visiepresident van die studenteraad. Sy is egter van die studenteraad geskors nadat sy ’n Bybelsgefundeerde uitlating gemaak het na aanleiding van die feit dat die Amerikaanse hoë hof bepaal het dat homoseksuele huwelike gewettig moes word in die VSA. Sy het op haar Facebookblad geskryf: “Ons is besig om ’n sonde te institusionaliseer en normaliseer! Sonde. Mag God ons genadig wees” (“We are institutionalising and normalising sin! Sin. May God have mercy on us.”)
Kort daarna is homoseksuele pornografie en perverse anti-Christen godslastering op haar Facebookblad geplaas. Aktiviste vir homoseksualiteit by UK het ook Bybelverse teen die muur van haar studenteraadskantoor afgeskeur en halfnaak fotos van hulleself in haar kantoor geneem waar hulle wellustig poseer. Die ironie is dat hulle verdraagsaamheid eis.
Ten spyte hiervan het die UK-bestuur geen stappe teen die studente geneem wat Zizipho geteister het nie, maar Zizipho is geskors uit haar studenteraadsposisie. Dit is diskriminasie in die hoogste graad.
Later is sy weer in diens geneem by die studenteraad, maar ’n baie minder belangrike portefeulje is aan haar toegewys.
Michael Cassidy en Dr Isak Burger (kyk Media Verklaring deur Isak Burger) het skrywes gerig aan die visiekanselier van UK om vir geloofsvryheid te pleit. Ook Angus Buchan het sy steun gegee (kyk Gay-huwelike is sonde, sê Angus Buchan).
Die NG Kerk leiers het egter geskitter in hul afwesigheid. Inteendeel, op dieselfde dag wat Netwerk24 oor Zizipho Pae berig het (1 Julie 2015), is ook berig dat Nelus Niemandt, moderator van die NG Kerk, gevra het dat die NG Kerk homoseksualiteit in die NG kerk sal normaliseer (kyk Nelus Niemandt se pleidooi: ‘Gooi NG Kerk óóp vir gays’).
Ongeveer 6 weke na Zizipho se eerste Facebookplasing, het sy die volgende op Facebook geplaas:
Zizipho Pae’s Personal Account of the last 6 weeks
13 Augustus 2015
So on this topic of Sin
The last six weeks have been, to say the least, like nothing I could have imagined when I put up that status which said “We are institutionalizing and normalizing sin. Sin! May God have mercy on us”.
One of the reasons I have refrained from saying much on this, was because I understood that there was no possible explanation or context that I could have provided that would have appeased anybody, if it did not come with a retraction or an apology.
What was required from me by various groups of people (including The Queer Revolution, the SRC, members of University staff, some members of Parliament and sometimes even the media) was for me to retract that status and to apologize for posting it. And this, I could not, and will not do.
We are living in a society that is wilfully drifting further and further away from the righteousness of God. A lot of our sinful practices are not new to our generation, they have existed for thousands of years. Prostitution, sex-outside-of-marriage, homosexuality, drunkenness, pornography, pride, lying, etc etc – these sins are not new.
But what is new, is the inability of the church to see these things as sin and to lovingly call us to repent…
There were many people that were offended by what I posted, non-Christians and some Christians too…
To those who don’t identify themselves as Christians:
The whole notion of sin is something that is determined by a deity, a God… And in this particular case, the sins I was referring to, were spoken about by the living God of the Bible. Now what I would deduce is that if you don’t believe in this God, if he is a myth and you don’t subscribe to His standards of righteousness, why then would the word sin even be relevant to you? Even to an extent that it offends you?
Unless we are not as unbelieving as we say we are.
To those who do identify as Christians:
A lot puzzled me here…. truly…
It was so tragic how the church was so divided on this matter…
A general trend that popped up was “God is love” or “Christianity is about love”….
A few people even quoted the scripture about the prostitute who was brought to Jesus by religious leaders, and Jesus said to the religious leaders ‘the one amongst you who has never sinned, be the first one to throw the stone’….. And somehow everyone omitted the part where Jesus said to the woman ‘I do not condemn you, now go your way, and sin no more’….
So many of us did not recognize that we have all been called to Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand”… The word repent means to abandon and turn away from your sins.
Some of us have gotten to a point where we believe that being loved by God means that God allows us to continue happily in our sin. That if God does not accept our sin, then He is a God of hate and he does not know love… We have gotten to a point where we think that we can determine what constitutes as sin…
But who are you, oh mortal man!!!!!!!!!????? Do you not realize that you are as a vapour in the wind. Where is your reverence for the sovereignty of God???? Do you not know, that the Angels in heaven, who have never sinned, before they sing they bow down and they cry holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty…. When the Angels are at the thrown of God, they cover their faces because they cannot handle the majesty of God!
Do we not realized oh man kind, that we are depraved, that we are born of a sinful nature!, we are flawed!! And yet we have the audacity to think we can determine what is righteousness and what is sin…. How can we, in our broken state, ever be so proud, to think we are equal to God?
About two weeks ago, I heard a Pastor say that the parts of scripture that are no longer serving the humanity, dignity and justice of us as people, should be discarded… and I thought, have mercy on us oh God…
See the love of God is shown in this, that whilest we were still sinners, Christ died for us…
See sin offends God more than we could ever fathom, but Jesus in all His righteousness said “I have loved you with an everlasting love”…
The love of God is shown in that Jesus paid the wages of our sin, He made Himself a sacrifice to appease the justice of the Father God so that we may not have to pay for our sins – and great was that price….
And because of Jesus, the veil that separated us from God, was torn, so that we could have everlasting relationship with the Creator God…
And this is Amazing grace, this unfailing love… That He laid down His life, that we would be set…
Over the centuries, people have abused and even murdered those who belong to the LGBTIQ community. And this has been sinful, and such people will stand before God one day, and they will give an account. The LGBTIQ community has suffered many ills, including being castrated, being murdered, being spat on, sent to sangomas and being rejected, because of their sexuality.. I acknowledge that these ills exist in our society, even today. And under no circumstance do I endorse them, in fact I condemn any such treatment.
In an SRC meeting last week, an SRC member said to me “Zizi, I want you to hate me. I know that if it were up to you, you would feed me to the dogs. Stop speaking to me, stop smiling at me, stop greeting me. Treat me like you hate me, stop pretending like you love me and accept me. Treat me like a sinner”…
And this hurt me, so deeply… For two reasons.
- That this person thought that all this time, I had been pretending with them. When I have so wilfully and intentionally loved them. Or at least I tried to.
- That this is the expectation from Christians – that we hate sinners. Which is very sad, because that would mean we must hate everyone, including ourselves. (For all have sinned, and fallen short of the Glory of God)…
Similar to how Christ loved us, God expects us as Christians to love one another, to love people… The two greatest commandments are for us to love God and to love our neighbor (aka people)….
I would like to end of by saying that, as Christians in the 21st Century, living in South Africa… We really have it easy… we truly have got no idea what persecution looks like… And this is not to say that God overlooks less traumatic forms of persecution…
But there are Christians in this world, brave men and women of God, who are beheaded and imprisoned for the sake of the gospel. There are nations where Bibles are forbidden, nations where people memorize the entire book of Psalms or Matthew because there is no other way for them to have access to the word. People in our day and age run churches and cell-groups underground where they are forbidden.
And I must admit that I am rather uneasy, and torn, when it comes to Christian persecution. Because as much as we ought to speak up and fight for the rights of Christians, and we must defend the gospel… Jesus said “blessed are you when people insult you, and persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you”…
As the body of Christ, may we remember Him who brought out of darkness, and into His glorious light…
May we remember and find comfort in His words when He said “I am with you always, even until the end of the age”…
May we remember how God said to Joshua “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid, do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God is with you, wherever you go”
May we remember how God said to Jeremiah “Get yourself ready! Stand up and say to them whatever I command you. Do not be terrified by them, or I will terrify you before them. Today I have made you a fortified city, an iron pillar and a bronze wall to stand against the whole land – against the Kings of Judah, its officials, it’s priests and the people of the land. They will fight against you, but will not overcome you, for I am with you and will rescue you, declares the Lord…
And may we remember that every day, we are in constant need of His redemption through Christ Jesus.
I was reflecting today about everything that has been happening, and in case you don’t know, I have been removed/reshuffled as Vice President External of the SRC… I am now the Health, Safety and Environment Chair… And it is well… I shall work on this portfolio as though I am doing it unto the Lord… The SRC made it a point to ensure that I don’t get any of the 8 execute portfolios… And although it momentarily made me sad, it is well with my soul. Because see the thrones of this world, shall pass away. But the throne of God continues from everlasting to everlasting…
There has been so much chaos over these last few weeks, but I have come to know the perfect peace that Jesus promised us. In the chaos, in confusion, I know that He is God… And in the moments of my weakness, He gives me grace to do His will… And when I fall, His mercies are new every morning…. As I repent, He works…
I hope to one-day get to a point where I can truthfully say “I would give up any and everything for the gospel of truth”…
Shalom…
Please note: this status is not a press statement, nor does it speak of any legal jargon. Rather it is a reflection of my spirit. And I do not write this in my capacity as an SRC member…. I write it in my capacity as Zizipho Pae, someone who was born sinful and depraved of the Glory of God, but who, through God’s everlasting love and mercy, has come to know the forgiveness of sins, that is found in Christ…
Bylae
Bylaag A: Media Verklaring deur Isak Burger
Apostolic Faith Mission (AFM/AGS)
WHAT ABOUT MUTUAL RESPECT AND TOLERANCE?!
The legalization of gay-marriages for the whole of America has been in the spotlight during the recent past. South Africa had of course gone this way almost 9 years ago.
While the majority of Christian denominations as well as some other religious groups and traditional communities in South Africa hold a view contrary to same-sex “marriage”, they were relatively undisturbed when the Civil Unions Act was enacted in November 2006.
Not so with individual Christians. There have been and currently are several cases before the courts and with the Human Rights Commission filed against local churches, Christian ministries, colleges and businesses because of alleged discrimination against gay persons.
The unconditional acceptance of gay persons and their lifestyle has become the most politically correct stance in the West today. Anyone who is not in agreement or maintains a different position based on their Biblical convictions is labeled “homophobic”, bigots, right wing fundamentalists and narrow-minded. Pitifully, valuing diversity and tolerance, both characteristics of an open and democratic society, is not reflected by such unfounded accusations.
The AFM maintains that all people have the common qualities that make them humans and in that sense, are equal.
God loves all people and all are made in His image and are worthy of dignity and respect. Every citizen also has an equal right to freedom. But not a freedom that allows people to do anything they want, nor can freedom for some mean limiting the freedom of others.
Freedom of thought, opinion, conscience and religion is every citizen’s right. And for this reason, we have a reasonable expectation that the Biblical convictions and values of the Christian Church including individual believers must be respected.
However, a tendency seems to exist amongst the gay-community to be intolerant of the Church. There is a high level of intolerance of people who confess they once were gay but are now delivered and healed by God – in some cases for many years. Sadly, alternatives to LGBTI orientations are interpreted as “harassment” and “hate” against gays, even though the individuals seeking healing from unwanted same-sex attractions are merely exercising their freedom to reaffirm their gender.
A UCT student, Zizipho Pae was recently suspended from the SRC for merely expressing her Biblical beliefs on the US Supreme Court ruling on her personal Facebook page. She was threatened, abused and called the most despicable hateful and vile names by gay activists for exercising her freedom of speech. Her SRC office was trashed and Scriptures on her walls ripped up. Gay activists occupied her office and photographed themselves semi-naked and in lewd poses. They also called her scholarship funders and demanded they stop funding her studies. Incredibly, these are the same people demanding tolerance, equality and respect.
While we recognize every person’s individual autonomy in regard to sexual choices, we maintain the view that not a single Scripture in the Bible endorses the gay-lifestyle. If others are comfortable with ignoring the Scriptures, so be it!
But as far as the AFM is concerned, we have to bow before the will of God as revealed in Scripture. We consider this more important than being politically correct. If need be, we will take the stand of Martin Luther – “our conscience is subordinate to the Word of God, we cannot do different, so help us God.”
The mainstream media including editors and journalists must refrain from imposing a liberal and “politically correct” viewpoint on the Church. The Church is guided by the Word of God and the Holy Spirit and not by the opinions of those in the media who often are ignorant of the Scriptures.
Realizing that there are some of our own members who have to deal with a gay inclination, we are not unsympathetic and insensitive towards people experiencing same-sex attractions. We do, however, believe there is hope and victory in Jesus Christ for everybody. We pray God will give us the wisdom to address these issues with the dignity, love and respect it deserves.
ENDS
For more information contact:
Dr. Isak Burger
President: Apostolic Faith Mission
afmgs@mweb.co.za
Cell: 0832298906
Bylaag B: Gay-huwelike is sonde, sê Angus Buchan
Dear Vicus Bürger, Donderdag 06 Augustus 2015 15:22
Huwelike tussen mense van dieselfde geslag is ’n sonde, het die evangelis Angus Buchan Donderdagoggend in Bloemfontein gesê.
Hy was ’n spreker op Vrystaat Landbou (VL) se kongres in Bloemfontein. Hierna het hy aan Netwerk24 gesê: “Ek is lief vir homoseksuele mense, ek is lief vir lesbiërs, maar ek kan nie hul lewenstyl aanvaar nie, want dit is in teenstelling met die Woord van God.”
Volgens Buchan word hy deur baie gay mense genader wat hom vra om vir hulle te bid en te help.
Hy het egter bygevoeg dat daar nie “ ’n graad van sonde” bestaan nie.
“Sonde is sonde. Of jy nou geld van die regering steel, want jy betaal nie jou inkomstebelasting nie, jou werkers uitbuit deur hulle nie genoeg te betaal, of jou vrou verneuk en kinders misbruik . . . dit is alles sonde.”
Die grootste sonde volgens Buchan is om nie in God te glo nie.
Hy het in sy optrede verwys na Zizipho Pae, adjunkvoorsitter van die studenteraad van die Universiteit van Kaapstad (UK).
Pae het ’n herrie op die kampus veroorsaak toe sy in Junie vanjaar ’n Facebook-inskrywing oor ’n beslissing van die Amerikaanse hooggeregshof oor gay-huwelike gemaak het en dit as die “institusionalisering van sonde” beskryf het.
Buchan het aan die kongresgangers gesê hy het haar gebel en gesê: “Ek is so trots op jou, my meisie . . . Jy moet bly staan. Ons staan saam met jou.”
Buchan het ook vir die gehoor, wat meestal Afrikaanssprekendes was, gesê hul voorvaders het van Europa na Afrika gekom vir vryheid om hul God te kan dien.
“Hulle het nie hierheen gekom om geld te maak nie, maar vir vryheid van godsdiens . . . Dit is in jul wortels, manne. Ek weet nie van ’n ander nasie in die wêreld wat wortels so diep in die Woord van God het nie.
“Hoeveel van julle begin soggens jul dag met gebed en Skriflesing? Julle voorvaders het. Elke dag. Dit is hoekom Afrikaners taai mense is. Ek weet van niemand in die wêreld wat taaier as die boer is nie.”
Buchan, wat Skotse wortels het, het ook namens die Britse volk om vergifnis gevra vir die grudade wat in die Anglo-Boereoorloog teen veral vroue en kinders gepleeg is.
“As daar nie vergifnis is nie, is daar geen krag nie en is daar nie ’n weg vorentoe nie.”
Hy het later aan Netwerk24 gesê hy glo Afrikaners het al herhaaldelik om vergifnis vir apartheid gevra. “Ek glo nie daarin om voortdurend om verskoning te vra nie . . . God is nie doof nie.”