South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu spoke before a packed auditorium at the Episcopal Divinity School in Cambridge Friday night about the value of religion as a solution to political problems.
“Forgiveness is not for religious sissies,” Tutu said. “It belongs in the political arena.”
Tutu has played an important role in the peace and reconciliation process that ended apartheid in South Africa. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1984 for his “courage and heroism” and for his “use of peaceful methods in the struggle against apartheid.”
Tutu was elected bishop of Johannesburg in 1984 and archbishop of Cape Town in 1986.
Quoting the bible, Tutu said, “Love your enemies.” He warned against dehumanizing one’s enemy, saying it leads to short-sighted policy. The audience responded with a reverberating “Amen.”
“Life is strong, stronger than death,” Tutu said. “Love, stronger than hate; light, stronger than darkness; good, stronger than evil.
“Laughter, joy, goodness and sharing will have the last word, because this is God’s world,” he said.
Drawing on anecdotes, Tutu addressed the historical relationships between religion and politics. He demonstrated by recalling preaching in a small church in South Africa, “surrounded by police with their fingers on the triggers.”
Becky Branch and George Trevathan of the Harvard Divinity School said they were both impressed by the hopefulness of his speech and by his articulation of how oppression demonstrates itself in the world.
Trevathan was struck by Tutu’s discourse on how theology can become political. He said he was amazed to hear how challenging somebody in a system, without trying to be political, could result in harsh oppression. He said Tutu demonstrated how one can “end up being political when all you intended to do was stand up for what is right.”
Tutu acknowledged the shortcomings of theology, and the ways in which it has been misused to justify horrible practices, but he said he still strongly advocates religion as a political tool to effect social change.
Rodney Peterson of the Boston Theological Institute, who thanked Tutu following the archbishop’s speech, enumerated this point when he referred to ministers, bishops and priests as “the Peace Corps of the 21st century.”
Obinna Nwadike, a 20-year-old international development student at Wheaton College, attended the lecture hoping Tutu would address the present situation in Zimbabwe. He said he was particularly impressed by Tutu’s work as head of South Africa’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which investigated crimes committed by both perpetrators and victims of apartheid.
Tutu said members of the Commission, which includes representatives of most of the major religions and atheism, opened every assembly with a prayer and a hymn.
Nwadike said Tutu “hit the nail on the head with the consulate commission of different religions by demonstrating that among all these religions, the message is always the same.”
Nwadike said he was interested in Tutu’s narration of how the great books of these different religions, such as the Koran and the Bible, have played central roles in many, if not all, movements impacting social change, particularly against oppression.
Curtis Ogden, a graduate of Harvard Divinity School, said he attended Tutu’s lecture out of respect for the archbishop as an enlightened speaker and his work with young activists regarding spirituality and justice. Ogden has attended speeches by Tutu twice before and has read his books, “No Ordinary Time” and, most recently, “No Future Without Forgiveness.”
Ogden said he was principally impressed by “his message of hope in spite of difficult times … A really powerful one, given he lived through apartheid and still has an optimistic view of the world.”
