Wise Words from Desmond Tutu

The most Reverend Dr. Desmond Tutu is a South African activist and Christian clergyman who rose to worldwide fame during the 1980s as an opponent of apartheid. He was the first black South African Anglican Archbishop of Capetown, South Africa, and primate of the Church of the Province of Southern Africa (now the Anglican Chruch of Southern Africa).

As we look at the explosion of growth of the Christian faith all over the word, and its stagnancy in North America, perhaps we can learn a few things from our brothers and sisters across the sea.  Perhaps we in North America have tried to contain God in too small a box; just maybe God is more awesome, more wonderful, with capacity for infinitely greater love than we have been taught to believe.

In the words of Desmond Tutu:

“Surely it is good to know that God (in the Christian tradition) created us all (not just Christians) in his image, thus investing us all with infinite worth, and that it was with all humankind that God entered into a covenant relationship, depicted in the covenant with Noah when God promised he would not destroy his creation again with water. Surely we can rejoice that the eternal word, the Logos of God, enlightens everyone -- not just Christians, but everyone who comes into the world; that what we call the Spirit of God is not a Christian preserve, for the Spirit of God existed long before there were Christians, inspiring and nurturing women and men in the ways of holiness, bringing them to fruition, bringing to fruition what was best in all. We do scant justice and honor to our God if we want, for instance, to deny that Mahatma Gandhi was a truly great soul, a holy man who walked closely with God. Our God would be too small if he was not also the God of Gandhi: if God is one, as we believe, then he is the only God of all his people, whether they acknowledge him as such or not. God does not need us to protect him. Many of us perhaps need to have our notion of God deepened and expanded. It is often said, half in jest, that God created man in his own image and man has returned the compliment, saddling God with his own narrow prejudices and exclusivity, foibles and temperamental quirks. God remains God, whether God has worshippers or not.”