die historiese kritiek). Le Roux argued that if Heyns had done so, he would likely have agreed that it was a) impossible to speak of the unity of Scripture's message; b) imperative to completely discard settled patterns of reasoning (Afrikaans: gevestigde denkpatrone) in Christianity; c) to be accepted that the church can no longer relay its message authoritatively; 4) to be acknowledged that the cosmos in its entirety did not require elucidation by the "light" of Revelation. Heyns responded with grace, but also expressed his serious concern about Le Roux's deductions from historical criticism. Heyns replied that if the acceptance of the results of historical criticism were to lead and force theologians into such interpretations, it would in his view set systematic theologians, besides biblical scholars, on a perilous course.[17] 163. Heyns's words were prophetic, in light of Le Roux's notably supportive review of Fatherless in Galilee (2003), the pioneering historical book by the Jesus Seminar scholar, Andries Van Aarde. Views on apartheid In the 1980s and the early 1990s, Heyns became a central figure in the struggle to change the NGK's stance on apartheid, leading to the church's eventual rejection of that policy. In 1982 Heyns publicly rejected the notion that apartheid was the will of God, and caused a furore at that year's synod by openly supporting multiracial marriages. For a year he stayed out of favour with the church hierarchy, but reemerged in 1986 to become moderator – the highest position in the church. He immediately tried to persuade the church that there was no biblical foundation for apartheid. Following the NGK Synod of 1986 (at which Heyns presided), tens of thousands of church members and many congregations broke away to form the Afrikaans Protestant Church. In September 1989, at a time when the government indiscriminately crushed all protest marches, mediation by NGK leadership under Heyns convinced the government to allow peaceful protests. This concession heralded the first swing away from the armed struggle to a strategy of non-violent confrontation. In 1990, speaking for the NGK, Heyns declared apartheid a sin. His theological contributions had a large impact on changing the thinking of the Afrikaner government. Assassination On Saturday evening, 5 November 1994, Heyns was playing cards with his wife and three grandchildren (then aged 2, 8 and 11) at his home in Pretoria. He died instantly when an unidentified attacker using a .303 caliber rifle delivered