Spring 2020 Part 3

 

The World Faith/Prosperity Gospel Movement Exposed


I wrote about these movements a long time ago. With the acceleration of World Faith/Prosperity Gospel preachers, it is time in 2020 to further expound on this issue. It is not a secret that I don’t agree with the Prosperity Gospel movement for various reasons. There are moral, spiritual, and intellectual refutations of such movements. Some folks desire excessive materialism instead of human spiritual development. The jets, the gold rooms, and the ATMs even in large megachurches signify a Laodicean mentality instead of a Philadelphian mentality. Many such preachers are members of Freemasonry, and I fundamentally disagree with Freemasonry because of many reasons (like their swearing of oath invoking death even if they aren’t to be taken literally, their doctrines, and calling a grown man Worshipful Master). During this time, more secrets are being revealed to the public than thousands of years ago with the advancing of the Internet plus other forms of advanced technology. It is also clear that we should give people the opportunity to change. Anyone alive now does have a chance to change and be saved. John 3:16 is clear that: “...For God so loved the word, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” If someone refuses to change, folks should leave that person alone.

The Prosperity Gospel, in my view, contributed heavily to some believing in the false stereotype of Christians collectively being money lusting, deceptive hypocrites who have selfishness. Many in the New Age movement not only promote that false stereotype. They are active in preaching many false ideologies like man can achieve godhood, you can believe in any belief system that you want, and the Judoeo-Christian ethic is outdated or nefarious. A lot of people don't know that the New Age Movement existed long before the counterculture of the 1960's with Hindu chants, yoga, etc. Modern New Age ideologies existed back in the late 1800's with the Theosophical Society. People like Olcott and Madame H.P. Blavatsky (who believed that the "spirit guides" sent her information about the "knowledge") taught new Age views. Blavatsky promoted the monthly magazine in London called "Lucifer." Before then, the Mysteries of the ancient civilizations taught polytheism, occult teachings, and other like-minded ideologies (Dr. John of the UK was known for his promotion of the occult including astrology). The problem with the occult and the New Age movement is that they claim to have the truth, but they require people to follow arcane, secretive, and unscriptural rituals in order for people to get it.

Whereas even the Bible says that the truth doesn't relate to secrecy, but it is wide open to all people. You don't need to chant or do certain rituals to have a righteous life. You can change, repent, and do good works to shine the glory of God in enriching other people's lives. As 1 John 2:20-25 says: "...But ye have an unction from the Holy One, and ye know all things. I have not written unto you because ye know not the truth, but because ye know it, and that no lie is of the truth. Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son. Whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father: he that acknowledgeth the Son hath the Father also. Let that therefore abide in you, which ye have heard from the beginning. If that which ye have heard from the beginning shall remain in you, ye also shall continue in the Son, and in the Father. And this is the promise that he hath promised us, even eternal life." The truth is that in each generation, there is always a remnant of people who are filled with the spirit of kindness, humility, and a belief in justice (while rejecting deceptive doctrines that are antithetical to the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ). Jesus is right to say that man shall not live by bread alone. At times, we have to show love and utilize discernment to condemn false doctrines.

The Prosperity Gospel Refuted

The essence of the heretical prosperity gospel movement is the belief that wealth is equated to spiritual enlightenment. In other words, its followers believe that the more money that you have, the more blessings that God gave you. Some go into the extreme to proclaim the lie that anyone poor is equivalent to that person experiencing a curse from God (not socioeconomic issues of structural injustices). Sometimes, the most righteous people suffer issues or problems. Yet, people can look to faith which is invisible (Hebrews 11:24-27) in order to have joy and peace. It is not a secret that real followers of Jesus Christ will not be loved by the world and will suffer persecution (2 Timothy 3:12). This is why the Waldensians were in risk of death by those (i.e. the Vatican hierarchy) who wanted to prevent them from translating the Bible in their own tongue. That is why William Tyndale was murdered in Europe for just translating the Bible into English. That is why Christians in many nations of the world experience religious persecution to this very day. The view that God wants all of his children to be wealthy isn’t just embraced by people like Benny Hinn (who recently renounced the prosperity gospel in 2019) or Kenneth Hagan. It has been embraced by many preachers of the new Prosperity Gospel. Hagin is bold to say that God wants us to wear the best clothes, drive the best cars, and to have riches and more riches. Ever since I was a child, I didn’t believe in that type of a gospel. There is nothing wrong with having money. Yet, money is never the determining factor of one’s salvation or character. A rich or poor person can be wicked. A rich or poor person can be saved. The OT and NT are rather clear that lusting after riches readily is linked to destruction (1 Timothy 6:9-10). Creflo Dollar and the rumored Freemason Kenneth Copeland are famous for desiring money and riches at the expense of sound spiritual doctrine. There is no evidence of Jesus Christ mentioning that his followers must make people rich by the Gospel. That is real. The Prosperity Gospel and the World Faith movement teach that faith is a force that can be manipulated by words to form health and wealth. Some extremists believe that sickness and poor living is a result of a lack of faith, which is ludicrous and disrespectful. History and life experiences just make us aware that wealth is not directly related to holiness. The historian Kat Bowler wrote a book entitled, "Blessed." In that book, she showed how many lower income Christians sending their hard earned money to prosperity gospel churches in trying to get wealthy. Bowler write that one pastor and his family live in luxury, while many members of those churches experience trouble paying for their bills. The book of Job showed a man who lost his wealth and his family. Yet, Job was tested and became better as a result of his faith and action to become a better human being.

Creflo Dollar

Creflo Dollar is one of the world’s most famous Prosperity Gospel preachers. He is a dedicated follower of its doctrines for decades now. His ally is the well-known Kenneth Copeland. His radio and TV show called “Changing Your World” is very popular. He has been on programs worldwide and in the Trinity Broadcasting Network plus the Lesea network. Creflo Dollar is the pastor of the World Changers Christian Center. That is a non-denominational church in College Park, Georgia. It has a $6.5 million gold dome. Creflo said that he paid 18 million in cash for his new facility. It has 8,000 seats and a plastic container for offerings at the end of each row. The church has over 20,000 members. He has two Rolls Royce’s. He flies in a private jet worth multiple millions of dollars. He has a wife with five children. He has a bachelor’s degree in education. Creflo like other prosperity preachers said that mere humans are gods: “…See if you are truly a child of God, if you were born out of God, you got to be a part of the God class.  I know I’m not God.  But I’m a child of the Most High…I’m a part of the God class…. But then the next verse says, “Because you did not believe you were gods, you’re going to die like men.”  But it says you’re gods.  And I said now, Lord, wait a minute here.  How we going to prove this?  Because I kept hearing over and over again all this week, we need to have a God training class for Christians.  So they can start acting…”) (Our equality with God through righteousness 1/21/2001). The reality is that Psalms 82:6-8 said that, “I said, 'You are gods, and all of you are children of the Most High. But you shall die like men, and fall like one of the princes." The biblical application of this verse was addressed to the judges of Israel they were called gods not because they were divine but because they represented the true and only God when they judged the people. The word for God that is used here is elohim, which can mean rulers, (not Yahweh elohim used only for the one God). The word for Judges is found in Ex.21:22; 22:8-9 it is ha elohim (other scriptures of how the acted Deut.1:16;16:18; 25:1; 2 Sam.11:7). Creflo said the false doctrine that God made a duplicate of himself when he made Adam: “So when God made man all he did was take a reflection of him… So he said let us make another speaking spirit.  When God made Adam all he did was make an exact imprint of hisself. He duplicated himself, he was the image and from his image came hisself…" (Our equality with God through Righteousness 1/21/2001).

The reality is that Adam was not God. He wasn’t a duplicate of God. The Scriptures mentioned that God alone is eternal, uncreated, uncaused, and infinite.  Creflo agrees with the Mind Science position by saying, “Growing into sonship means that you grow in your ability to operate as a “little God” (a replica of the Father) in the earth” (World Changers magazine, p.6, Dec. 2002). Creflo Augustus Dollar Jr. was born in College Park, Georgia on January 28, 1962. Dollar justifies his teachings by saying that God wants righteous people to inherit wealth on this Earth. He wants people to claim it and he believes in the myth that righteousness, wealth, and riches go hand in hand. He believes that faith is a spiritual force that leads to prosperity. The truth is that wealth isn’t necessary a sign of righteousness as some of the wicked people in human history were rich. We must use logic and science plus prayer to deal with health issues as health issues exist by many reasons not because of a lack of faith. The Gospel is about changing lives, helping others, and having glory without a lust for material wealth. There is nothing wrong with houses, clothes, and cars. What is the problem is about how some want to promote the falsehood that material wealth is a prerequisite of salvation or righteousness. That is the problem.

Oral Roberts

Oral Roberts was one of the greatest defenders of the World Faith/Prosperity Gospel movement. He passed away in the year of 2009. For long decades, he has been a worldwide famous Charismatic televangelist. He worked in both the Pentecostal Holiness and United Methodist Churches. He is considered one of the godfathers of the modern day Charismatic movement. He founded both the Oral Roberts Evangelistic Association and Oral Roberts University. He was born in Ada, Oklahoma. He was educated at Oklahoma Baptist University. He preached the seed faith doctrine for over six decades.  He said to Larry King Live that he has Cherokee descent. Roberts was a card carrying member of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma. In 1977, he claimed to have had a vision from a 900 foot tall Jesus telling him to build the City of Faith Medical and Research Center (and the hospital would be a success). He was controversial to claim that his son had seen his father raise a child from the dead in 1987. The practice of speaking in intelligible tongues have existed in ancient Egypt and in the ancient Greek world of various Sibylline priestess plus the woman of Delphi. Oral Roberts believed that the seed of faith movement can cause people to get money. Oral Roberts have written over 120 books on his religious views. His ministry was heavily focused on miracles. Roberts is right that each person does sin, but he is wrong to say that God promised prosperity materially to all. Carlton Pearson and Benny Hinn are similar theologically to Oral Roberts.

Joel Osteen

Joel Osteen is the quintessential positive preacher. He is similar to Oral Roberts. He is very young preacher who has his church in Texas. He left Oral Roberts University in 1981 to start up his own Lakewood Ministry. His father was a preacher too. His shows are aired worldwide in over 100 countries. John Osteen was his father who taught the World Faith movement's views for years. This same teaching is embraced by Kenneth Copeland and Kenneth Hagin. John Osteen sadly passed away in 1999. Lakewood's sermons are shown by TBN. The church is located in the Houston area. One of the problems is involving Joel Osteen is that he promotes love but he de-empathizes the importance of morality too. There is nothing wrong with love, but you have to condemn evil forcibly to save souls too. In other words, stealing is wrong and harming innocent people is wrong. Imperialism is wrong. These evils should be exposed in the pulpit without any apology from any preacher or congregant. He refuses to talk about hell a lot when even Jesus Christ spoke about hell and which types of people are going to Hell without repentance. Talking about such things will be unpopular with the world. It is better to be unpopular and right than popular and wrong. Joel is similar to Norman Vincent Peale. Years ago, Bill O'Reilly (the fired racist, sexual harasser, and liar) asked Joel Osteen if he believed that Jesus Christ was the Way, the Life, and the truth  Joel Osteen ignored the question. Joel later apologized. Like other Prosperity preachers, Joel Osteen believes in the falsehood that Jesus Christ was held captive in Hell for a time: "...For three days Jesus fought with the enemy. It was the battle of the ages, light versus darkness, good versus evil. But thank God Satan was no match for Jesus (Joel Osteen, Discover the Champion in You, TBN, April 26, 2004). It is true that Hebrew 9:14 that Jesus Christ was offered himself as a sacrifice without blemish. 1 Corinthians 15:1-4 said that Jesus Christ died for our sins, was buried, and rose from the dead. Osteen told Chris Wallace on December 23, 2007 that Mormonism is Christianity when Mormonism came from Joseph Smith. Mormonism teaches a works based salvation, that Jesus is a creature in heaven, and humans can be gods on their own planets. Therefore, Joel Osteen preaches a half truth. He is right that God is love, and we should promote goodness. Yet, he is wrong to ignore the other half of the gospel which is about exposing sin, being disciplined, and following righteousness. There was the Hurricane scandal in Houston involving him years ago too.

Paula White


 Paula White is not only a prosperity gospel proponent. She is one of the most outspoken leaders in favor of the racist and sexist Donald Trump. She has supported Trump so much that she ignores his heinous policies. She is the spiritual adviser to Trump too. Recently, White made the offensive remark that she metaphorically wants all “satanic” pregnancies to miscarriage. Paula White said that she became a Christian in 1984 at 18. She said that she had a vision after her conversion. She is an ordained minister, and she studied at National Bible College and Seminary. Paula White teaches that salvation includes healing and physical healing plus financial abundance in this life are provided for the atonement of Christ. This is heretical, because salvation has nothing to do with material financial abundance. Years ago, many of her shows were on BET, CMT, and TBN. T.D. Jakes supported White when he invited her to speak at his “Woman Thou Art Loosed” conference back in 2000. The irony is that Paula White has publicly denied being part of or supporting the prosperity gospel movement. She does believe that Christians give in order to gain material wealth from God. On Easter Sunday service in 2016, she said that salvation would come to a TV viewer if they donated a “Resurrection seed” to her ministry. As for her support for Trump, Roland Martin did do a great job in refuting the agenda of Trump and saying that White is wrong for giving great support to him. Paula White believes that God raised up Trump to be President. She made the heretical statement that even resisting the most bigoted agenda of Trump is equivalent to resisting God. The truth is that we follow God unconditionally not Caesar unconditionally. Donald Trump has made it his business to praise Neo-Nazis and neo-Confederates as “fine people” after the Charlottesville disaster. Trump has used sexist remarks against women without apology. He has been accused of rape and sexual assault by many women too. Trump allowed babies on the border to be placed in internment camps. He treated immigrants as less than human. That was wrong. Many pastors like Rev. William Barber have spoken out on these conditions and promoted voting rights for black Americans including all Americans in opposition to voter suppression laws. Trump is a habitual liar. Paula White claims that demonic networks lie about Trump, but Trump has shown his hand as disrespecting black people, women, and other minorities in graphic terms. Paula White is afraid to meet with pastors who disagree with the political views of Trump. Therefore, Paula White accepts the deception of the person Donald Trump.

Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer is one of the most popular proponents of the World Faith Movement and the Prosperity Gospel. Meyer has led sermons and other movements worldwide. When I was very young, I heard of her and her TV shows about religion. She has taught her followers that Jesus Christ atoned for our sins in Hell which is blatantly heretical. She even believe that Jesus was born again in hell, which is overt blasphemy. She cited the Amplified Bible to try to teach the World Faith false doctrine that Christians are little gods. Joyce Meyer in the Authority and Opposition, audio tape number 1236 says from her own mouth mentioned that: "... You know, I was listening to a set of tapes by one man and he explained it like this, and I think this kind of gets the point across, he said, "Why do people have such a fit about God calling His creation, but His man little gods? If He's God, what's He going to call them but the god-kind?'....Doesn't The Bible say we're created in his image? Now, you understand I am not saying you are God with the capital G." Like Kenneth Copeland and other World Faith preachers, she believes that Jesus Christ went to hell in our place. Joyce Meyer's booklet called, "The Most Important Decision You Will Ever Make" makes the heretical claim that there is no hope of heaven unless we believe that Jesus took our place in hell. The New Testament is rather clear that Jesus Christ's atonement was on the cross. At the cross, it is finished. Joyce Meyer believes that angels tell her what to say from the pulpit. This is dangerous. The Bible is clear that Christians are led by the Holy Spirit not by angels. That is found in John 16:13. The World Faith movement believes that spoken words can create power, that humans are little gods, that Jesus earned our redemption in hell, and spoke words can cause wealth plus healing. This is ludicrous, but people believe in these doctrines. Words are powerful, but words don't have the power by themselves to change circumstances miraculously or manipulate God to do something for you. You can't compromise real beliefs. We have to purge out the old leaven as found in 1 Corinthians 5:7. Living life means embracing morality, joy, and sound doctrine. In that sense, people can stand fast in the Lord (1 Thess. 3:8).

Jesse Duplantis

Jesse Duplantis is a very well known Louisiana World Faith preacher. His ministry is called the Jesse Duplantis Ministries. Also, he works in the Charismatic tradition based in New Orleans, Louisiana. By 1976, he preached his first sermons. He was introduced by John Hagee as "The Apostle of Joy" on TBN. He uses humor too in his religious sermons. He is part of the Christians Untied for Israel (CUFI) which is promoted by John Hagee (who is a Trump supporter). I think people should stand with Jewish and Palestinian people who seek justice and peace in the region. That justice includes an end to oppression and an end to a brutal occupation while innocent Israelis and innocent Palestinians aren't mistreated at the same time. All people in the Middle East should have equality and human justice. Duplantis loves the use of his private jets. Once, Jesse said that Adam was smarter than God. He claimed that God didn't know what he was creating. Jesse Duplantis claimed to have a visit to Heaven. He said that King David told Jesse that he had regretted writing some of the Pslams which is not biblical. He said that Jesus was taller than he thought. He also claimed to be transported to Heaven by a chariot in August of 1988. Even Kirk Franklin criticized Jesse Duplantis for saying that God is not flying that plane. This was in 2018 when Jesse Duplantis asked for donations to buy his ministry another multi million dollar airplane. Franklin wrote that, "Many of these 'ministries' built their wealth on the backs of poor rural minorities that put their trust in the hands of God's shepherds only to see the prosperity benefit those doing the preaching...Again, there are Great Christian leaders, and there is nothing wrong with having a plane...but if the burden falls on the less fortunate and greed is the check written by those drowning in socio-economic rivers of systematic disparities, GOD is not flying that plane." Like always, we embrace discernment.

Kenneth Copeland

 Kenneth Copeland is one of the most prominent prosperity gospel leaders in the world. He promotes the World Faith movement too. He has been a leader of his television show for years. Many of his programming has been shown on Trinity Broadcasting Network. He wrote many books and articles. His show was Believers’ Voice of Victory. He created his Believer’s Voice of Victory magazine. Many people have known of his doctrinal errors. He once said that, “It would have been impossible for Jesus to have been poor!" (9/90, Charisma). (Reported in the 2/15/93, Calvary Contender.). We know that Jesus Christ was poor. He lived under the occupation and oppression of the Roman Empire. The World Faith movement means that faith is a matter of what we say more than whom we place trust or what truths we embrace. In other words, it teaches the words have creative power. Its followers believe that positive confessions can make things happen. Copeland believes in the errors that every Christian is guaranteed physical healing and financial prosperity. The deal is that God has not promised health and prosperity to His people in the present world. There are many people who are sick, but they are very righteous people. Sickness comes from biological reasons not spiritual faith.  He also has a New Age view that humans are little gods: "You're all God. You don't have a God living in you; you are one! ... When I read in the Bible where God tells Moses, 'I AM,' I say, 'Yah, I am too!'" ("The Force of Love," Tape BBC-56). The reality is that man is not God and man can’t become a god or God. Copeland said that Adam was a god with an authority of a god. He said that Adam was not subordinate to God, which is blasphemy. Copeland made the other blasphemous statement that Jesus Christ was tortured by Satan in hell for three days to have people to have a chance for redemption. Before He died, Jesus cried in triumph, "It is finished" (John 19:30), indicating that our redemption has been accomplished on the Cross. Christ told the thief on the cross who believed in Him, "Today shalt thou be with me in paradise" (Lk. 23:43), not in hell! He said, "Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit" (Lk. 23:46).  Copeland in his audiotape from 1989 called, Following the Faith of Abraham said that Adam was God manifested in the flesh, which is overt blasphemy again. Kenneth Copeland said God lives on a mother planet, God is a failure, and the death of Jesus on the cross didn’t pay the price for our sins. This sounds like another religion not Christianity. The core of the Christian faith is that Jesus Christ died and rose from the dead for the sins of the whole world. In that sense, all living people now have a chance to be saved. Romans 5:8-10 is clear that we are justified by the blood of Jesus Christ. The same thing is taught in Colossians 1:19-22, Ephesians 1:7, and in 1 John 1:7. There are many rumors that Kenneth Copeland is a Freemason. Regardless if that it is true or not, Copeland embraces many false doctrines.

A Just Response

A just response to the Prosperity Gospel is to mention that we against Mammon. Mammon is the idol made out of money. We realize that money can be good to help people, but we are against the lust for money for the sake of getting money. Blind faith in money have led to bankruptcies, broken lives, and even prison for those who exploited people's money illegally. That is why we always ought to be embrace discernment to clear that human rights are more important than financial lust. It is reality that many in Wall Street have received record bailouts and profits while not paying much federal income taxes. This comes while Main Street, the poor, and middle class including small businesses never have the corporate socialism that large multinational corporations regularly receive. Real wealth is about compassion, helping people, saving lives, and being blessed to build a just society. Real wealth comes from the living waters of the Holy Spirit which maintains understanding and grows spiritual strength. Some of the greatest promoters of selfishness, greed, and largess are those who hate the state helping the poor or eliminating discriminatory policies. The government is instituted to not just be some stop light to only end fraud.

The government was created to establish justice, promote the general welfare, insure domestic tranquility and secure the blessings of liberty as cited by the Preamble of the Constitution. Justice and Liberty go hand in hand. Likewise, we reject nihilism. You can't do what you want whenever you want without violating moral principles. Therefore, the government also exists to restrain and fight evil in our world. Therefore, a response to the Prosperity Gospel is that spiritual strength is not determined by money, a rich person and a poor person who follows the Lord are equal in the eyes of God, helping the poor via social justice means is better than funding Lear jets, and we will tell the truth honestly about this situation. This is why in America and in the world, we advocate political, spiritual, and material freedom. Political freedom is about allowing people to have a free speech reality, free press, and the right to assemble. Spiritual freedom is allowing any person to believe in God or not out of their own volition without government interference. Material freedom is about allowing the government to provide the general welfare from Social Security to other investments in helping communities nationwide plus worldwide. We believe in truth.

Conclusion

It is true that we live in unique times. We have to deal with the coronavirus and other issues. Also, we realize that using logic, courage, real information, and safety will make a great difference in living our best lives. With all of this evidence, it is blatantly clear that the prosperity gospel is a slick deception based upon materialism, exploiting the poor, and religious misinterpretation. All of this doctrine goes back to some folks believing in the myth of the infallibility of capitalism. Love is powerful force that has done great things for humanity. Yet, true love has nothing to do with a commercialized world that focuses more on profit than human community development. That is why the love of money is the root of all evil. In other words, the lust of money has caused wars, discriminatory actions, poor shaming, and other forces of wickedness that disrupts the social bonds among the human race. The Golden Rule is the totally quintessential part of the Christianity religion.

Jesus Christ in Matthew 7:12 explained the Golden Rule in these terms: "...All things therefore whatsoever ye would that men should do unto you, even so do ye also do unto them for this is the law and the prophets." Jesus Christ is rather clear that we should treat a person with the same respect as they should treat us. This view is found in many religions and philosophies from Judaism, Islam, and other creeds. The 2 greatest commandments of Jesus Christ from Matthew 22:35-40 is Love God with all of your heart, soul, and mind plus love your neighbor as yourself. The weakness of the Prosperity Gospel is that it changes the real gospel into a money making scheme where human souls are subordinated under the interests of consumer profits. That is obviously wrong. When you have solidarity and altruism, then anyone can grow his or her own spirituality. Another important point to remember is that love is not related to nihilism and licentiousness.

Some people mistake love with the Crowleyan evil of do what thou wilt. In other words, we should not do what we want. We should do actions bounded under integrity, goodness,and righteousness. It means that adultery is wrong. It means that murder is wrong. It means that any form of abuse or mistreatment of fellow human beings is definitely wrong. We know about how greatness is not about the person with the greatest ego. Greatness encompasses how great a person serves the interests of hope, righteous action, and determination to advance justice. Despite what Hayek says, government is not just meant to be a sole referee among parties. The government ought to be the administer of justice, the protector of human rights, the protection of institutions including the environment, and the giver of the general welfare to the people collectively. The general welfare is part of the essence of the true role of government being progressively expressed. Now, the response to Prosperity Gospel preacher should never involve slander, disrespecting them, or maligning them in an inappropriate way. The response is about showing how we disagree with the Prosperity Gospel in the right way along with inspiring change where those, who embrace the Prosperity Gospel, will change to be more open to follow more enlightened insights. That is how to get things done.

Johannesburg, South Africa



Johannesburg is a city with a lot of great history and culture. Just a few decades ago, it was one epicenter of the fight to end the evil of apartheid. From Nelson Mandela to Steve Biko, heroes sacrificed their lives for justice. Today, Johannesburg is a multicultural, beautiful city filled with South Africans. Most of the people who live and work in Johannesburg are of course black people. As always, I love my black people as I am black. Johannesburg (or Jburg) is the largest city of South Africa and one of the 50 largest urban areas in the world. The location is called eGoli in the Zulu language. It has 129.27 square miles and 5,635,127 people. Its mayor is ANC member Geoff Makhubo. It was created in 1886 where many people found gold in the area.  Soweto is now part of Johannesburg since 1994. In our time in 2020, there are places of Jbourg where people have enjoyed their daily lives. For example, there are places like the Johannesburg Art Gallery, the Nelson Mandela Square, the University of the Witwatersarand, and other areas. The city’s motto is “Unity in Development.” South Africa is the 24th largest nation in the world by land area with over 58 million people. About 80 percent of the country has people of Bantu ancestry as most African Americans have Bantu ancestry. Learning about South Africa certainly makes me more aware about how international issues must be known in order for societies globally to benefit. The city makes us cognizant of the fact that the journey for real freedom continues to this very day, but allying with righteousness will make a real difference in getting our legitimate dreams fulfilled.

The History of Johannesburg

The history of Johannesburg is a long one. The first people who lived in the city were the San people. They were hunter gathers who used stone tools thousands of years ago. The San people are some of the oldest groups of people in human history. By the 1200’s, there were groups of Bantu speaking people who moved southwards from central Africa into South Africa. They came and met the San people. There are stone walled ruins of Sotho-Tswana towns and villages being scattered around the parts of the former Transvaal in which Johannesburg is situated. Many of the places have the ruins of Sotho-Tswana mines and iron smelting furnaces. This suggests that the area was being utilized for its mineral wealth before the arrival of Europeans or the discovery of gold. The most prominent site within Johannesburg is Melville Kopoies, which has an iron smelting furnace. After the Great Trek, European pastoralists started to settle in Transvaal. Some of them chose to farm where Johannesburg was to rise later. Each burgher (citizen) was entitled to at least one farm, measuring 1500 morgen or about 3100 acres. The first recorded discovery of gold on the Witwatersrand was made by Jan Gerrit Bantjes in June 1884, on the farm Vogelstruisfontein. Other farms to become famous later included Langlaagte, Turffontein, Doornfontein, and Braamfontein. George Harrison is today credited as the man who discovered an outcrop of the Main Reef of gold on the farm Langlaagte in February 1886. By May 12, 1886, Harrison and his partner, George Walker came into a prospecting agreement with the owner of Langlaagte, one G.C. Oosthuizen. Two days later Colonel Ignatius Ferreira staked out his camp on Turffontein to serve as a center for diggers. Louwrens Geldenhuys found the Main Reef on Turffontein and Henry Nourse located it on Doornfontein. On September 8, 1886 nine farms, extending from Driefontein in the east to Roodepoort in the west, were declared public diggings. Carl von Brandis was appointed as the mining commissioner for the area. On November 8, 1886 a diggers' committee was elected to assist the mining commissioner in the execution of his duties. The earliest mining actions werealong and adjacent to the outcrops of the main reef. The diggers did the work by themselves at first.

The diggers had little equipment. The pits grew deeper. They need more labor people and machinery. So, they recruited black African human beings to perform the unskilled work. Machinery was imported from Europe. It is important to note that black people in South Africa were victims of colonialism, imperialism, and racial injustice. Fuel had to be found to power the machinery. There was coal found on the far east Rand at Springs and Boksburg as well as the construction of the Rand Steam Tram from colliery to the gold fields and into Johannesburg facilitated the growth of the industry in the early years. The coast has the railway. By September 1892, the Cape trailway reached the Rand. Two years later, the line Lourcenco Marques (now Maputo) arrived in the Republic. A third route opened from Durban the next year. In 1890, the MacArthur-Forrest cyanidation process successfully overcame the problems of treating the refractory ore from deeper levels.

It soon became apparent that individual diggers were different than those who had the task of mining gold in Johannesburg. Wealth could only be recovered by means of deep-shaft working and by capital-intensive companies having the necessary technical skills. Individual claims were soon joined into small mining groups. The amalgamation of smaller mining groups became a common occurrence and by 1895 the scene was dominated by a limited number of large monopolistic companies. These companies were: the Wernher-Beit-Eckstein group, Consolidated Goldfields, the J B Robinson group, the S. Neumann group, the Albu group, the A Goerz group, the Anglo-French group and the Lewis-Marks group. Of these, Cecil John Rhodes's Consolidated Goldfields was the most important. As many people know, Cecil Rhodes was the racist British oligarch who wanted the British Empire to dominate the world. In 1893, Johannesburg’s first stock exchange was opened. It is the seat of the South African stock exchange and the financial heartland today. The stock exchange is now at Sandton, Johannesburg. The Zuid-Afrikaansche Republic became the single biggest gold producer in the world, with a contribution of 27.5 percent in 1898. The city of Johannesburg was founded by many events. It was a town at first. The area was named after tow member of the ZAR named Christaan Johannes Joubert and Johannes Rissik. By 1887, the people in the area petitioned the government to proclaim a town council for the area. The proclamation was issued in November 1887. There was a health committee. The area was defined as Johannesburg. The stands were known as Marshall Town and Ferreira’s Town. Johannesburg was divided into 12 wards in 1897.  The Rissik Street Post Office was built in 1897, having been designed by the architect Sytze Wierda. The Post Office was at one time the tallest building in Johannesburg. The Post Office became a national monument in 1978, and it remained in operation until 1996 when the South African Post Office vacated the building. The monument was gutted by a fire in 2009. The old City Hall is opposite the Post Office in Rissik Street.

The gold rush in Johannesburg came about the discovery of gold. 100,000 came to South Africa to find gold. Many people who came were white folks and Indians. The Indians came from the sugar fields of Natal. The city had Cape Coloureds (what we call biracial and multiracial people in America), Chinese people, and African people were in the city too. There were artisans and miners from the Americas (and other places like Australia) who wanted gold. People came from Europe and many Jewish people came in seeking employment and freedom. Johannesburg saw the growth of mine managers, business people, engineers, solicitors, and others. There were criminals like philanderers too. By January of 1890, the Health Committee conducted the first census of the town.   They found that Johannesburg had 26,303 inhabitants. There were 13,820 buildings, of which 772 were shops and stores and 261 hotels and bars. The following suburbs were recorded: Booysens, Fordsburg, Langlaagte, Braamfontein, Auckland Park, Marshall's Town, Ferreira's Town, Prospect and Jeppe's Town. There was also an Indian Location and a Veldtschoendorp, the latter being a shanty town occupied by Dutch citizens of the ZAR.

Another census was conducted in January 1896. It was recorded that Johannesburg then had 102,078 inhabitants, of whom 61,292 lived within the three mile radius of Market Square and 40,786 outside. There were 50,907 Europeans or Whites, 952 Malays, 4,807 Asiatics, 2,879 mixed or other races and 42,533 Natives of whom 14,195 lived within the three mile radius and 28,838 outside. Of the 24,489 Whites born in Europe, 12,389 were from England and Wales, 997 from Ireland and 2 879 from Scotland. Of the 24,500 Europeans born in Africa, 6,205 were born in the Transvaal and 15,162 in the Cape Colony. New suburbs included: Klipfontein, Forest Town, Hillbrow, Berea, Yeoville, Bellevue, Houghton, Vrededorp, Paarl's Hoop, Robinson, Ophirton, La Rochelle, Rosettenville, Klipriviersberg, City & Suburban, Doornfontein, Bertrams, Lorentzville and Troyeville. It was also recorded that there was a Malay Camp, Brickfields, and other locations. Kliptown is the oldest Black residential district of Johannesburg and was first laid out in 1891 on land which formed part of Klipspruit farm. Society was divided by race and class. Ethnic groups lived in certain areas of the area. There were Dutch speaking people. After the 1896 explosion, the government divided the area by race. They wanted the suburb of Vrededrop to include only white people. Black miners were discriminated against and forced to live in cold conditions while white miners didn’t have that type of discomfort. Parktown has the rich people. Soon, the Boer wars existed. This was between Europeans from England against Dutch Europeans in South Africa. Cecil John Rhodes wanted Britian to dominate South Africa. They represented the Uitlanders movement. Alfred Milner was another British imperialist. The first war was in 1899. The Second Boer War existed and many Boers experienced concentration camps. In 1909 a National Convention was attended by the four self-governing British colonies in South Africa, namely Cape of Good Hope, Natal, Transvaal and Orange River, to consider closer cooperation. The result was that the British Parliament passed the South Africa Act, 1909 and the said colonies became the Union of South Africa with effect from 31 May 1910.

The Union of South Africa existed. In 1923 the Parliament of the Union of South Africa passed the Natives (Urban Areas) Act. This Act required local authorities to provide accommodation for Natives (then the polite term for Africans or Blacks) lawfully employed and resident within the area of their jurisdiction. Pursuant to this Act the Johannesburg town council formed a Municipal Native Affairs Department in 1927.It bought a large tract on the farm Klipspruit No. 8 and the first houses in what was to become Orlando Location were built there in the latter half of 1930. The Johannesburg City Library was opened to the public in 1939. In 1923 the Parliament of the Union of South Africa passed the Natives (Urban Areas) Act. This Act required local authorities to provide accommodation for Natives (then the polite term for Africans or Blacks) lawfully employed and resident within the area of their jurisdiction. Pursuant to this Act the Johannesburg town council formed a Municipal Native Affairs Department in 1927.It bought a large tract on the farm Klipspruit No. 8 and the first houses in what was to become Orlando Location were built there in the latter half of 1930. In 1948 the National Party won the general election and this was set to change the face of South African history forever. The support the National Party gained from the electorate was largely the result of white fears regarding the rapid urbanization of black people after the Second World War. The Nats campaigned vigorously for racially segregated cities under a policy they called "apartheid."

They imposed stricter pass laws which made it more difficult for black workers to travel to town, cleared black freehold townships and other areas of black settlement in the inner city and built 7,000 new houses in Johannesburg. By 1956 the Johannesburg City Council had provided 26,134 black families with houses in the seven townships under its control. These were Orlando (14356 houses), Western Native Township (2,250), Eastern Native Township (617), Pimville (1,246), Jabavu (5,100), Dube (1,115) and Mofolo (1,450). But the housing backlog had climbed to 57,000. Other laws that promoted apartheid in South Africa include the 1950 Group Areas Act. The Republic of South Africa was created in 1961. By this time, the anti-apartheid movement was in full swing. The 1960’s saw Nelson Mandela jailed in prison for his heroic actions against oppression. Also, new buildings developed. By the 1970’s, The Soweto event came about. The Soweto Uprising was a series of protests led by high school students in South Africa that began on the morning of 16 June 1976. Students from numerous Sowetan schools began to protest in the streets of Soweto in response to the introduction of Afrikaans as the medium of instruction in local schools. It is estimated that 20,000 students took part in the protests. The number of protesters killed by police was officially given as 176, but estimates of up to 700 have been made. In remembrance of these events,  June 16 is now a public holiday in South Africa. A thirteen year old Black boy, Hector Pieterson, is the iconic first victim of police brutality. Dr. Melville Edelstein was stoned to death by people, and that was wrong. The Soweto rebellion inspired the world to fight against apartheid. In 1982 Parliament passed the Black Local Authorities Act, No. 102 of 1982. In terms of this Act the City Council of Soweto came into being. Metropolitan municipalities developed in the city. By 1994, President Nelson Mandela was the first black President of South Africa. The September 1999 All Africa Games was held in the city. Soweto becomes part of Johannesburg in 2002. It hosted the 2010 FiFA World Final in July 11, 2010.  Nelson Mandela passed away in Johannesburg on the date of December 5, 2013. People continue to fight for economic justice, and the International 10th BRICS summit was held at the Sandton Convention Centre.

Demographics

The 2011 South African National Census mentioned that the population of Johannesburg is 4,434,827 people. It is the most populous city in South Africa. Black Africans are 73% of the population. White people make up 18%. Coloured make up 6%. Coloureds are what we Americans call biracial people or multiethnic people. Asian people are 4 percent of the population. 37 percent of the people are unemployed. Women comprise 43 percent of the population. 32 percent of Johannesburg residents speak Nguni languages at home, 24 percent speak Sotho languages, 18 percent speak English, 7 percent speak Afrikaans, and 6 percent speak Tshivenda. Suburbs are in the area too. 53 percent of the people of Johannesburg belong to mainstream Christian churches, 24 percent are not affiliated with any organized religions, and 14 percent are members of African Independent Churches. 3 percent of them are Muslim, 1 percent is in Judaism, and 1 percent follows Hinduism. Other languages spoken in Johannesburg are Xhosa, Zulu, Tawana, Venda, Tsonga, and Ndebele.

Its Weather and Climate


The city of Johannesburg is found on the eastern plateau area of South Africa. This place is called the Highland. The city is found on an elevation of 5,751 feet. The former Central Business District is found on the southern side of the ridge called Witwatersrand (or White Water’s Ridge). The terrain falls to the north and south. Witwatersrand marks the watershed between Limpopo and Vaal rivers on the northern part of the city is drained by the Jukshei River. The southern part of the city including most the Central Business District is drained by the Klip River. The north and west of the city has undulating hill while the eastern parts are flatter. The city drains into the rivers of the Orange and Limpopo.  Most of the springs form which many of the streams emanate are now covered in concrete and canalized. This represents the fact that the names of the early farms ended with fontein or spring in the Afrikaans language. Long ago, people wanted the area’s gold. The climate of Johannesburg is a subtropical highland climate. It has a sunny climate with the summer months (from October to April as it is in the Southern Hemisphere). Its summer has hot days with afternoon thundershowers and cool evening. Its months during the winter (from May to September) have dry, sunny days with cold nights. Temperatures in Johannesburg are fairly mild because of the city’s high elevation. Its average maximum daytime temperature in January is 78.1 degrees F. drooping to 61 degrees F. in June. The UV index for Johannesburg is extreme with 14-16, because of the high elevation and its location in the subtropics. Winter is the sunniest time of the year dropping to 39.4 degrees F. in June and July. Frost comes when it drops below freezing at night. It rarely snows, but it has happened. It snowed in 1956, 1961, and in 1981. Rainfall comes mostly in the summer months. The lowest temperature ever recorded in the city was 17.2 degrees F. on June 13, 1979.

 

Its Culture

Johannesburg is a city with a lot of great history and culture. Just a few decades ago, it was one epicenter of the fight to end the evil of apartheid. From Nelson Mandela to Steve Biko, heroes sacrificed their lives for justice. Today, Johannesburg is a multicultural, beautiful city filled with South Africans. Most of the people who live and work in Johannesburg are of course black people. As always, I love my black people as I am black. Johannesburg (or Jburg) is the largest city of South Africa and one of the 50 largest urban areas in the world. The location is called eGoli in the Zulu language. It has 129.27 square miles and 5,635,127 people. Its mayor is ANC member Geoff Makhubo. It was created in 1886 where many people found gold in the area.  Soweto is now part of Johannesburg since 1994. In our time in 2020, there are places of Jbourg where people have enjoyed their daily lives. For example, there are places like the Johannesburg Art Gallery, the Nelson Mandela Square, the University of the Witwatersarand, and other areas. The city’s motto is “Unity in Development.” South Africa is the 24th largest nation in the world by land area with over 58 million people. About 80 percent of the country has people of Bantu ancestry as most African Americans have Bantu ancestry. Learning about South Africa certainly makes me more aware about how international issues must be known in order for societies globally to benefit. The city makes us cognizant of the fact that the journey for real freedom continues to this very day, but allying with righteousness will make a real difference in getting our legitimate dreams fulfilled.

By Timothy