Restoration of land : towards a biblical jubilee in South Africa
Land restitution is an inevitable consequence of the new dispensation in South Africa. Restitution aims to return people to land dispossessed because of racial laws corresponding to the Land Act of 1913. An alternative is to compensate the victims in other appropriate mechanisms. In facilitating this aspiration the present study proposes, as a solution, the biblical Jubilee as in (Leviticus 25) reiterated by Jesus in (Luke 4:16-30) and further adopted by the Christian Tradition as a theological submission. The Jubilee concept, from its biblical inception, was designed to resolve the landlessness experienced by deprived Jews in ancient Israel. This model has been adopted by various scholars as a guideline in solving similar problems in modern societies. A theological view is deemed necessary since the legal, political, economic, and agricultural systems have failed to emphasise the moral dimension in reparation and land restitution. The Christian Church in South Africa is identified as the prime facilitator in this country's nation building process. It should therefore assume a leadership role in this process through, in this instance, translating the Jubilee concept in the transformation in our modern society.
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