Steve hits back 'to save soul'
2008-02-08 07:44
Pretoria - Steve Hofmeyr has climbed into the preacher who warned earlier this week that unless Steve mended his ways he would lose his soul.
Writing on his blog (www.stevehofmeyr.co.za), Steve said, among other things, that church men like Dominee Slabbert le Cornu of the Carletonville Reformed Church were the reason that churches were losing parishioners.
"You're the reason people like me no longer find God in the church.
"Your convictions come between us and the Lord," wrote Hofmeyr.
His letter singles out what he calls "hate speech, from your arsenal of prejudice, snobbery, Biblical abuse and misconceptions".
Referring to Le Cornu's accusation that Hofmeyr was a blasphemer, Steve said the quote used came from a debate six years ago, in which most of those taking part agreed that it was not God that was under fire, but human caricatures of the Lord.
Old Testament verses
He said the God that Le Cornu was selecting from the Bible had for most people long since ceased to be the angry old Jewish one who felt that He should be defended.
"The God you've been fobbing off on us all these years can only continue to exist thanks to your help.
"You're guilty of idolatry if you confuse God and the Bible, Slabbert. Pull yourself together."
Hofmeyr also writes: "Your reckless application of Old Testament verses resounds against the heavens and is the real reason that God is scoffed at and ignored by young people.
"You're instrumental in the decline and fall of this wonderful religion, Christianity."
Referring to Le Cornu's rhetorical question if one could still play and sing Hofmeyr's Blue Bull song, Bloubul from the heart, Hofmeyr asks: "Have you checked the religious conviction of every provider of every tin of food and cool drink in your pantry?"
He said: "Jaco van der Westhuizen, a true Christian, has not stopped playing rugby because there are people sitting in the pavilion from other faiths.
"Your inconsistency makes you a target of your own prejudices, and I wouldn't trust you as far as I could throw your granny (no pun intended)," wrote Hofmeyr.
He said he hoped that if there was an e-mail campaign against him, it would be by someone other than Le Cornu.
"Someone who's a palpable example of God in action. Like the Blue Bulls. But not you. You're a (religious) 'quack'."
'Merciful and loving'
Responding to this on Thursday, Le Cornu said his remarks were intended as a loving reminder that, according to the Bible, God was merciful and loving, but also fair and holy.
He would have preferred (for the news report on his remarks) a heading such as: "'Dominee says there's hope for Steve", or "Dominee to Steve; 'There's Sin and Redemption'."
He said he sought Hofmeyr's welfare, the Blue Bulls and the entire land, not his downfall.
Le Cornu asked: "Yes, I admit that I'm a weak, sinful and often disobedient slave of God and the Bible, but whose slave are you, Steve?"