Belhar is a small suburb of Cape Town, South Africa, that is witness to a great event. In 1982, the mixed-race mission church which had been excluded from its parent, the Dutch Reformed Church, in the mid-1880′s, wrote a confession of faith about justice issues, including a special focus on racism, reconciliation, and unity. This document, adopted in Belhar in 1986, is now known as the Belhar Confession.
The Belhar Confession is accepted by a number of Reformed Christian churches in Africa and Europe as a confession, equal in authority to the Belgic Confession, the Canons of Dordt, and the Heidelberg Catechism. In June, 2009, in North America, the Synods of both the Reformed Church in America (RCA), and the Christian Reformed Church in North America (CRCNA) took major steps toward ultimate adoption of the Belhar Confession. The RCA vote to adopt was ratified by its Classis in March, 2010. The CRCNA vote to adopt must be ratified by its Synod in 2012.
The Belhar is relevant to all Christian churches today because it addresses critical issues that are emphasized in Scripture – unity among the people of God, reconciliation within the church and society, injustices of all kinds, and God’s bias on behalf of those who have been wronged.
Resources Regarding the Belhar Confession
- Belhar Confession with Scripture texts including the “Accompanying Letter” and the “Statement of Introduction” by the CRCNA and the RCA, taken from the Interchurch Relations Committee (IRC) Report to Synod, June 2009.
- A Summary of the First Christian Reformed Church Seattle (FCRCS) Engagement with and Adoption of the Belhar Confession. In October, 2007 FCRCS became the first assembly of Reformed believers in North America to formally adopt the Belhar Confession as one of its doctrinal standards. This is an explanation of that process.
- The report the Interchurch Relations Committee (IRC) of the CRCNA made to Synod, in June, 2009. In essence this report asks for a three-year study of the Belhar by CRCNA churches and recommends adoption in 2012. The report gives an excellent history of the development of this confession, reports on some 27 years of study of the Belhar by the denomination, and gives the grounds for its recommendations.
- Frequently Asked Questions by Those Considering the Belhar Confession. Prepared by the FCRCS Belhar Implementation Team, this is a brief discussion of the major issues that usually arise when Belhar adoption is under serious consideration.
- The 2009 overture from Classis Pacific Northwest to Synod endorsing the recommendations of the IRC but providing additional grounds. This overture emphasizes the role of confessions in the Reformed tradition, the importance of church leadership in addressing the issues of our current society, and applies the Belhar to our 21st century context.
- RCA Theologians Address the Belhar Confession. Articles in the “Reformed Review: A Theological Journal of Western Theological Seminary, Fall 2006.”
- “Cry From the Heart of Faith: The Belhar Confession and Race in the U.S.” by Cynthia Holder Rich, Western Theological Seminary.
- “To Stand Where God Stands“, Richmond Baptist Seminary lecture by Allan Boesak, October 2007
- Link to the RCA Belhar Study Center.
- Christian Reformed Church – Belhar Resource Pages.