Is the Freedom Charter still relevant today, 30 years after its first publication? I am convinced that it is, and that the vision of society which it proposes is the only sure way to achieve a genuine and lasting peace in South Africa.

As a Christian I have been struck by the similarity of the Charter's message to that of a much older document – the Bible. Like the sacred writings of Hindus and Muslims the central message of the Bible is that all human beings are made in the image of their creator – God. Because human persons are made in God's image they enjoy an infinite dignity. All should therefore be accorded an equal dignity, rights, opportunities, an equal share in wealth, land, education and decision-making.

I would like to look at just two of these – the sharing of land and wealth – to show how the ideas of the Freedom Charter have close parallels in the Bible.

In the Old Testament a remarkably radical idea is proposed – the “Jubilee Year”. It was prescribed that every 50th year, all land was to be returned to its original owners, without compensation, and all debts were to be suspended or cancelled. So the land was to be equally divided, and those who had accumulated vast tracts, found themselves having to part with these. It is significant that what was called for was not a hand-out from the rich to the poor, but a radical redistribution, that is, justice.

We are not sure how often or how extensively the prescription of the Jubilee Year was carried out in Old Testament times, but in the New Testament we see a similar idea carried out even more frequently by the early Christian community. So we read, in the “Acts of the Apostles”.

“The faithful all lived together, and owned everything in common; they sold their goods and possessions and shared out the proceeds among themselves according to what each one needed … they shared their food gladly and generously.” [Acts 2:44,45,47.]