The centenary celebrations of the ANC and their determination to dedicate the country to the ancestral spirits sparked nation wide controversy. How are we as Christians to respond? What does the Bible say concerning the spirits of our ancestors? To whom should South Africa be dedicated? Are there examples in history of other nations that have invoked the spirits of their ancestors? What were the results in those cases?

According to World Council of Churches official, Wesley Ariarajah: Mission work has become unnecessary for “We must not take God somewhere — He is everywhere already.” All claims of uniqueness, he added are harmful in a world of religious pluralism.

One of our field teams was preaching the Gospel to a crowd of two hundred Caprivians near Katima Mulilo. They all seemed to be responding very positively until one of our workers spoke out against witchcraft. Suddenly the whole hail was filled with a rumbling sound as many angrily murmured and complained. One man stood up and rebuked us for condemning witchcraft — “It is our tradition!” he declared.

From a missionary point of view, the three greatest threats and challenges to the Christian church in Africa today are Communism, Islam and witchcraft.