On Saturday, one Angus Buchan called for a Christian government. He said he wanted to bring “normality to this beloved nation”. What exactly does this Billy Graham-inspired evangelist mean?

Well, that’s for you to decide. All we have are some snippets that you can unpack in your own time.

Soundbites alluding to his beliefs as to what ‘normality’ is – that kind of thing.

Buchan, who turns 70 this year, only spoke for five minutes to the humongous audience assembled on former Springbok Ollie le Roux’s farm, just outside Bloemfontein.

We posted a bunch of pics from that shindig HERE.

Here’s a taste.

According to Daily Maverick:

After reportedly touching down in a private plane, the evangelist spoke for only five minutes, and avoided targeting government leadership by name. What “saving South Africa” looks like in Buchan’s book, it emerged, is bringing more God into government.

“I look forward to the day Parliament begins every morning with the reading of scripture and prayer, because that is what South Africa needs,” Buchan told the crowd. “This is not a political change. This is a Jesus change, because we need a Christian government.”

Buchan continued: “[God] has found a people willing to stand up and say, Sir, not in my country.” He then led them in a pledge to “stand up for truth and righteousness”.

In attendance was DA leader Mmusi Maimane. DA Free State leader Patricia Kopane told the Bloemfontein Courant: “He is there to represent the Democratic Alliance… Although we are facing a crisis we have all decided to put our differences aside and come together to be united.”

Let’s unpack what he means by “truth and righteousness”. Perhaps an analysis of his audience will paint a picture as to whom his teachings appeal.

Such large throngs of people suggest a ‘movement’ of sorts.

Buchan’s support base has traditionally been white and male. Building his mythology within this group has been his Mighty Men gatherings, which are camps for men with the stated purpose to “restore masculinity”. In 2010, it was reported that more men attended the gathering than the total number of visitors to the World Cup in South Africa that year.

Buchan’s views on gender are based on what he sees as the roles for men and women that God intended. He believes that women who do not submit to their husbands “are going against the Word of God”. In 2004, he wrote: “It is very hard for a husband to love his wife when she insists on wearing the trousers and refusing to submit. The children become traumatised when the wife belittles the so-called head of the house, or he beats up his wife because she will not submit.”

Academics believe he is appealing to the white, Afrikaner farmers who are experiencing a “lack of leadership.”

These views appear to have found particular traction among white men in South Africa. A 2012 thesis by Neil Vels proposes: “Buchan’s message meets the needs of the people he is speaking to: mainly white, Afrikaner farmers who are threatened by a loss of meaning in a postmodern, postcolonial – and post-liberation – South Africa”.

Professor Johan Malan went so far as to suggest in a 2010 paper that Buchan’s followers may believe on some level that he can secure them political autonomy.

“The fact that so many people stream to the meetings of Angus is proof of the lack of leadership which the whites in South Africa experience in both the political and religious fields,” Malan wrote. “They are looking for somebody to come and lead the Boers…[Afrikaans seer] Prophet van Rensburg has referred to a leader who would lead the Boers to a Boer state where they can be free from domination by the blacks. Could this perhaps be the reason for the popularity that Angus enjoys?”

Whilst his views on women submitting to men may seem controversial, they are not the only beliefs that raise an eyebrow.

In the past, Buchan has said that Christians “joining hands with Islam and with Buddhism and Hinduism” amounts to “an abomination to God”. Buchan told Carte Blanche in 2008: “You can’t sleep with your girlfriend before marriage, and abortion is legalised murder. Homosexuality is against the word of God.” Last year Buchan was banned from preaching at venues in Scotland as a result of his belief that homosexuality can be cured with prayer.

Hmm.

Now let’s get back to the massive gathering on Saturday. Here’s a video, including men carrying crucifixes and Heinz Winckler.

Angus Buchan. Remember the name.

This is a very interesting space to watch.

[source:dailymaverick]