What is the Belhar Confession?
Drafted by the Dutch Reformed Mission Church in South Africa, the document was written in 1986, emerging from a context of acute racial tension in that country's apartheid era. The confession focuses on themes of unity, justice, and reconciliation. It is the only confession ever received from the Southern Hemisphere by the worldwide Reformed community. The CRC is reviewing the document and proposing its adoption in 2012. If adopted the Belhar would join the Belgic Confession, the Heidelberg Catechism, and the Canons of Dort.
(Banner, July 2009)