Original sentence: "  It should be noted that these views were not universal and were condemned by many Calvinists outside South Africa.As late as 1974, the majority of the Dutch Reformed Church in south Africa was convinced that their theological stances (including the story of the Tower of Babel) could justify apartheid.Even Calvin was not always above his own time, and as a influential leader in Geneva he helped ensure that people were kept under close watch and that crimes and sins (such as failure to attend church or laughing in church) were punished more severely than before his leadership.In 1990, the Dutch Reformed Church document Church and Society maintained that although they were changing their stance on apartheid, they believed that within apartheid and under God's sovereign guidance, "...everything was not without significance, but was of service to the Kingdom of God.It was pressure from both outside and inside the Dutch Reformed Calvinist church which helped reverse apartheid in South Africa.The Boers and so-called Afrikaner Calvinists allegedly used a twisted form of Calvinism and Kuyperian theology to justify apartheid in South Africa (see Afrikaner Calvinism)
Edited sentence: As an influential leader in Geneva Calvin helped ensure that people were kept under close watch so that crimes and sins (such as adultery or laughing in church) were punished more severely than before his leadership.Nevertheless, it is noted that few ideologies are free from misuse, and the overall impact of Reformed thought has been beneficial