A religious sect registered as an official University of Stellenbosch society is fighting for the hearts and minds of impressionable students.
Academics have spoken out against the sect, known as the Shofar Christian Church, and have said they believe "some brainwashing" is involved, prompting students to walk out of lectures in protest.
Shofar is the Hebrew word for ram's horn.
Also opposed to the church is documentary film-maker Jan Dekker, who says he's going to make a film about it called Devil's Church, claiming it is "violating" members' human rights.
'They have misread and been misinformed about the Bible' But church members say Dekker's hostility stems from his love for a woman member who doesn't want to have anything to do with him. The church says he is "stalking" her. Dekker has admitted he is in love with the woman.
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Concerns about whether the church is a "fringe cult" have been raised by some Stellenbosch University lecturers, parents and students. Some members of the broader Stellenbosch community are also worried.
The university initiated an inquiry into the organisation after student newspaper Die Matie ran an article.
The church is the subject of a heated debate on various Internet websites and blogs. Even Facebook.com has two groups set up, one called "Shofar is evil and must be stopped", and another called "Shofar is a cult".
Allegations against the church include getting students to pay 10 percent of their bursaries, scholarships or earnings to the church; church members becoming slowly isolated from their friends and families; and members only being allowed to date within the church.
There have also been reports of one or two members having breakdowns because of what the critics call the preaching of "unwarranted demonic fear of brimstone, fire and hell".
The church was started by Pastor Fred May and his wife, Lucille, who settled in Stellenbosch in 1989. The church's website says the ministry started after "the Lord placed a burden" on May to intercede for Stellenbosch, especially when he saw "occult practitioners had become bold enough to gather in public seances and do door-to-door visits".
May started to gather a small group of converts who joined him in "spiritual warfare and intercession".
"The Holy Spirit directed them through prophecy to University of Stellenbosch. God opened a door for this fledgling ministry to register as a student society and start ministering to the students in all earnest. God, in His wisdom, chose to reach the community of Stellenbosch, which was greatly influenced by dead religion and racism, through a life-giving church that was born out of Pastor Fred and Lucille's cross-cultural marriage.
Despite initial misgivings, the community - which to a large extent is the cradle of traditional religion and apartheid, has embraced Shofar Christian Church."
The reference to the Mays' "cross-cultural" marriage relates to May being coloured and his wife white.
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