Love One Another

About this episode

This episode discusses the importance of love in action, drawing on the lives of Desmond Tutu and Nelson Mandela in the context of apartheid in South Africa.

1 John 3:18 (Common English Translation) "Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and truths." This passage is probably written in the late 1st century by the same John who wrote the Gospel of John. But it could also have been written in the late 21st century by Archbishop Desmond Tutu, an African Episcopalian leader and visionary. The life of Desmond Tutu reveals how God's word is alive and powerful in our time. Desmond Tutu lived in South Africa in the late 20th century when 'apartheid', the separation of whites and blacks, severely limited the rights of South African blacks. Working with Nelson Mandela, who had been imprisoned 27 years for his opposition to apartheid, Tutu opposed hatred and embraced love. After Mandela was released from prison and became President of South Africa, he appointed Tutu to oversee the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, a body that helped South Africa heal from the crimes of apartheid through confession by those who committed the crimes, forgiveness by those who suffered, and restitution to those who had been abused. Both Mandela and Tutu embraced the African concept of ubuntu (ooh-boon-too). In Tutu's words, "It…

People in this episode

Hosts: Jim Stovall, Greta Smith

Topics covered

• love
• forgiveness
• reconciliation
• ubuntu
• social justice
• Christianity

Keywords

• love
• Desmond Tutu
• Nelson Mandela
• apartheid
• forgiveness
• ubuntu
• Christianity

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Truth and Reconciliation Commission

Books & works: God Has a Dream: A Vision of Hope for our Time

Places: South Africa

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