Heretic or rebel? The heresy trial of Albert Geyser

Abstract

During September 1961, a charge of heresy was laid against New Testament scholar and antiapartheid activist Prof. A.S. (Albert) Geyser. The charge was brought by three senior theological students of the University of Pretoria. They accused Geyser of interpreting Philippians 2 in such a way that it undermined the church’s doctrine of Christ’s pre-existence. The heresy trial started on 24 October 1961 under massive public interest. The trial lasted 6 months and the proceedings covered 2672 typed pages. Reporters of 25 national and international newspapers attended the trial. The heresy trial caused widespread international condemnation of what was regarded as an orchestrated attempt to get rid of Geyser, because of his public and radical opposition to apartheid. In this contribution, Geyser’s theological critique of apartheid as well as his conviction of heresy is discussed. The proceedings of the trial, minutes of the moderature, media coverage and Geyser’s publications serve as primary sources. It concludes with a critical evaluation of Geyser’s theology and his role as a public theologian.

Retracing the racial semiotics of the other-lingual (anderstalige) in Dutch and Afrikaans: Exploring its emergence in South Africa and its (re-)emergence in Flanders

“…Although Geyser received international support, he was eventually found guilty of heresy and disposed of as a minister of the Church. Dreyer (2016) argues that, despite Geyser being a prominent anti-apartheid scholar of his time, his legacy in public memory suffers from this conviction. The following paragraphs discuss the encoding of the other-lingual in du Preez (1959) and its decoding in Geyser (1960a).…”

A theological response to collective trauma in South Africa

“…The reformers had to respond intellectually and practically. Calvin's response to social change was quite extensive not only in terms of publications (intellectually) but also in practical ways in Geneva (Dreyer 2016). On a practical level, his involvement with the diaconate and hospital in Geneva is a clear indication of his social consciousness and concern for the welfare of people who were traumatised by wars, forced immigration and destruction of families (see Innes 1983).…”

“…From 1960 up to 1994, civil war was a real possibility in South Africa (see Dreyer 2016). From 1960 onwards, attacks on civil, police and military targets escalated.…”

“…Trials resulted in harsh prison sentences, even executions. Over a period of 28 years , 134 political activists were executed by hanging (see Dreyer 2016). In the decade after the Soweto uprising (1976)(1977)(1978)(1979)(1980)(1981)(1982)(1983)(1984)(1985)(1986) alone, 130 people were 'executed' by the liberation movements.…”

Sola Scriptura versus Sola fide versus Solum Imperium? Albert S. Geyser en ʼn kontemporêre verstaan van μορφή θεοῦ in die Christus-himne

“…Die aspek van Geyser se Skrifhantering word op 'n spits gedryf met drie teologie studente se aanklag teen hom. Dreyer (2016) som die gebeure soos volg op:…”