Prof Cas Wepener, lecturer in the Faculty of Theology’s Department of Practical Theology, launches his latest book about anger in the current South African context from a religious viewpoint entitled Kookpunt! ʼn Gelowige reaksie van ʼn ontnugterde nasie, at an international conference in Cape Town this week. This popular work is aimed at the wider South African readership and will be translated to English as well.

Prof Wepener explains that people in South Africa have reached boiling-point – or are at least well on their way to reaching it. “Poor people are angry, wealthy people are angry. Brown people are angry, black people are angry and white people are angry. Christians, Muslims, Hindus and atheists are angry. But good Christian folks aren’t supposed to become angry, are they?”

The book confirms that Christians do become angry. However, it is what they do with that anger that is important. Various tough questions are tackled in this book, like is it healthy to contain anger?; how should a Christian react to corruption, poverty, crime, exploitation and violence?; which emotions are acceptable?; may we become angry when we see abuse and injustice?; and may we become angry for the “right” reasons or should we immediately turn the other cheek?

With Kookpunt! Prof Wepener aims to help Christians to channel their anger meaningfully, even to celebrate this anger and to speak about it, preach and sing about it, debate it. He wants to encourage Christians to become angry in a specific way; to fully experience emotions that are usually condemned.

Prof Cas Wepener

According to Prof Wepener, this publication in essense tries to illustrate that the anger that can currently be observed in the South African context is not necessarily negative.

“On the contrary, in most cases anger shows that people still care. When something that people care for or love is threatened, anger is an emotion often displayed. In this regard the churches in South Africa can play an important role, and this book pleads for furious preaching and furious church services to help Christians in South Africa embody that which they experience, in order to make a meaningful contribution on the continuing path to reconciliation.”

According to Prof Hennie Pieterse, internationally acclaimed expert in the field of prophetic preaching, the book is in essense a prophetic protest against the terrible things happening to the people in our country. Kookpunt! offers a unique and original contribution to the contemporary discourse in our country from a fresh perspective.