From: barnhart@ddsw1.MCS.COM (Mr. Aaron Barnhart)
Subject: IPS:SOUTH AFRICA: MYSTICISM FLOWERS IN AGE OF UNCERTAINTY/RPT
Date: Mon, 14 Dec 1992 04:39:34 GMT
Organization: Evanston, Illinois, U.S.A.

Copyright Inter Press Service 1992, all rights reserved.  Permission to re-
print within 7 days of original date only with permission from 'newsdesk'.

Title: SOUTH AFRICA: MYSTICISM FLOWERS IN AGE OF UNCERTAINTY/RPT


an inter press service feature

by gavin evans

johannesburg, dec 4 (ips) -- south africans have long held to
the notion of the impending apocalypse -- a sense that
political, economic and religious catastrophe is just around the
corner.

this, according to university of witwatersrand anthropologist
professor robert thornton, is just one of the reasons why south
africans are reaching out to spiritual phenomena in rapidly
growing numbers.

there has been a flourishing of ''charismatic'' churches --
those emphasising the ''gifts of the spirit'' -- which now have
a million members and are leaving their more conventional
cousins with empty pews.

at the same time inyangas (traditional healers), sangomas
(healer/seers) and abathakathi (witches and wizards) all
claim an unprecedented business boom.

the african independent churches -- some of whom mix
christianity with a belief in the power of ancestors -- are the
fastest growing of the lot, and now have six million members
outside the black ''homelands'', according to the 1991 census.

if the country's priests and policemen are to be believed,
interest in satanism among the country's white youth is also
spiraling, with a spate of ''devil-inspired'' crimes, including
a pair of murders, having been uncovered recently.

perhaps for slightly different reasons, muslim community
leaders say that islamic fundamentalism is experiencing an
unprecedented growth, while according to local rabbis, interest
in the mysticism of the kabalah is spreading and eastern
religions also boast of significant membership increases.

so what is all this about?  the age of uncertainty, the age
of enlightenment -- or a bit of both? the explanations given by
those inside and outside the loop are not mutually exclusive.

''i think these beliefs indicate the kinds of fears that
people have. it's a resort to external powers from people who
don't feel they're fully in control'', says prof thornton.

rev ron steele -- a pastor at the pentecostal/charismatic
rhema church (the fastest growing in the country) -- sees it as
part of a world-wide spiritual revival. (more/ips)


south africa: mysticism (2)

''man is not a fool. he sees we've gone to the moon, we've
developed computers and yet we haven't solved basic problems
like greed, lust, murder and wars. he sees what is lacking is
the spiritual thing, he looks for his inner-needs to be met, and
he seeks the reality of god''.

steele says it is the ''supernatural'' component which
attracts many of rhema's members, though he and fellow pastor,
ray mccauley, add several practical reasons for why his
johannesburg congregation has grown from 13 to 17,000 members in
13 years.

modern music and media techniques, soup kitchens and marriage
advice, followers who include local sporting heroes,
socio-political activism and compassion for people are the final
touches.

cape town-based metaphysics lecturer, sangoma and astral
traveller, rod suskind, also speaks of ''fantastic growth'' and
offers an explanation which is both sociological and
astrological.

''it's gone way beyond the fringe over the last three years.
in the past my clients were almost all white middle class
people, but now i have many coloured and muslim, and some
african clients.

''one reason for the upswing is that the future seems so
unpredictable, and people are therefore looking beyond
conventional sources to understand what is happening.

''but there's also a cosmic reason. we're moving into the age
of aquarius, which is characterised by the rise of technology,
the break down of conventional barriers, and the search for
higher states of consciousness. over the next couple of
hundred years more and more people with paranormal abilitites
will come to the fore, until this becomes the norm''.

common in all this, is a view that interest in the
spiritual dimension may be prompted by social upheaval and
uncertainty.

''it's phenomenal -- everyone's actually turning spiritual --
there's a lot more people involved in this than before'', says
a johannesburg clairvoyant with the unfortunate name of sasha
posthumus.

johannesburg antropologist, isak niehaus, puts it all down to
the perceived failure of conventional science and religion to
answer the big questions facing people.

but what is clear is that south africa, with a tenuous grip
on international standards of normality and apparent addiction
to social and spiritual armagedons, is proving to be fertile
ground for a ''new age'' flowering of mysticism.
(end/ips/ge/oa/92)