CHRISTIAN THEOLOGIES FROM AN INDIAN PERSPECTIVE
Sunand Sumithra Christian Theologies from an Indian Perspective
© Theological Book Trust 1990 ISBN : 81-7475-038-X
Firs Firstt publis publishe hed d 1990 1990 by Theo Theolo logi gica call Book Book Trus Trustt Revi Revise sed d edit editio ion n 1995 1995 by Theo Theolo logi gica call Book Book Tru Trust st Thir Third d edit editio ion n 2002 2002 by Theo Theolo logi gica call Boo Book k Tru Trust st
All Rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form, except for the purposes of brief review in periodicals, without prior permission of Theological Book Trust, P.O. Box 9529, Bangalore 560095, India.
Theological Book Trust Bangalore
Printed at : The J & P Print & Allied Industries, Industries, Bangalore.
To the memory of my parents
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CONTENTS
Foreword
v
Author’s Preface
vii
SECT SECTIO ION N 1 Intro Introdu duct ctio ion n Chapter 1
Why Theology from an Indian Perspective?
3
The The c con onte text xts s in whic which h Ind India ian n the theol olog ogie ies s spr sprou oute ted d
7
The socio-political context
8
The religio-cultural context
14
The so sources o off th theological tr traditions in in In India
22
Prama Pramanas nas:: Sour Sources ces of reli religio gious us author authority ity in India India
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SECTION SECTION 2 Indian Indian Contrib Contributio utions ns to Christi Christian an Theolog Theology y Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
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Raja Rammohan Roy
41
Keshub Chunder Sen
46
Pratap Chandra Mozoomdar
57
Brahmabandhav Upadhyaya
63
Nehemiah Goreh
76
Lal Behari Dey
81
Dhanjibhai Fakirbhai
85
Surjit Singh
88
David G. Moses
90
Sadhu Sunder Singh
96
A.J. Appasamy
10 4
Vengal Chakkarai
11 5
P. Chenchiah
12 1
P.D. Devanandan
14 2
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Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
K.M. Banerjea
1 51
Swami Abhishiktananda
1 54
Klaus Klostermaier
1 59
S.K. George
1 65
M.M. Thomas
1 69
Raymondo Panikkar
1 81
S.J. Samartha
1 87
Russell Chandran
1 99
Vinay Kumar Samuel
2 06
Vishal Mangalwadi
2 09
Paulos Mar Gregorios
2 11
Saphir Athyal
2 12
Mahatma Gandhi
2 15
Swami Vivekananda
2 23
Sarvapalli Radhakrishnan
2 30
SECTIO SECTION N 3 What What is India Indian n Christ Christian ian Theo Theology logy? ? Chapter 11
The Three Confrontations
2 39
Indian christian theological expressions
2 43
Some guidelines for contextualising in Hindu cultures
2 50
Guidelines fo for Indian ev evangelical th theology
2 57
Beyond contextualising
2 65
Appendix
2 71
Suggested Bibliography
2 73
Subject Index
2 81
Person Index
2 87
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FOREWORD
The need for attractive, readable yet scholarly Christian books was a felt need among Indian Christians for a long time, as is evidenced by numerous national level conferences and their findings on Christian literature during the last half a century. Among the valid reasons for slow progress in meeting the need lack of expertise, cooperation and financial limitations were the major ones. Though many Christian communities, particularly Christian social activists produced sizable fruits in the area, conservative had lagged behind. Now Theological Book Trust seems to be the appropriate agency under which such theological creativity can be and is undertaken. The organisation did sense the need much earlier, but printing of books at a price an average Christian reader can afford materialized just a few years ago. Encouraged in its early efforts, now TBT has launched a mammoth project of bringing out several series of Christian books, both for the seminary students as well as for the people in the pew: Text Book Series: M.Div. level course-, text-, work- and source- books on theological and biblical subjects, pastoralia etc., meant primarily for theological students; Research and Reference Series: such as library and concordance helps, theological dictionaries, commentaries, compendia, etc.; Theological Issues Series: dealing with religious topics such as pluralism, inter-religious dialogue, syncretism, and ideological issues, revolutions and signs of the times; and Devotional Series: Dealing with practical personal help for all ages in Christian growing.
In Thinking Be Adults (1Co.14:20) -- is the motto of Theological Books Trust. The only determining criterion for these series is that they all gladly confess their allegiance to v
originals in most cases, but a lot more material is added, which is not found in Boyd or elsewhere. For economy and readability footnotes have been largely avoided, but wherever needed references and notes are provided. I hope that the book would meet a crucial need not only for text book in our theological training institutions, but also for indigenous scholarly works for the thoughtful Indians. I heartily welcome your criticism on this present volume, in order that the husk may be thrown away and grain preserved. This revised edition has some important corrections and additions. One important correction is the change in the title. We cannot talk anymore of one, single theology of Indian Christians but of a host of theologies theologies.. As there is no single Indian culture or forms of religion so there can be no single theology applicable to the whole of India. Each attempt to interpret the Christian message has its validity and usefulness in its locality. Apart from this change notes and references are supplied wherever necessary and a detailed index is included. I must say thanks to the friends who worked on the second edition of this book, especially, Mr. Augustine Bhasker and Mr. Philip Peacock.
Sunand Sumithra October 1995
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SECTION 1
INTRODUCTION
1 WHY THEOLOGY FROM AN INDIAN PERSPECTIVE
Some rash critics — such creatures, we regret to say, do exist — have insisted that Indian Christians have produced not even a decent heresy, let alone theology! Like those who mocked the prophet Elisha and were eaten up by bears, probably these carpers also have received just recompense for their rashness. But they demonstrate one fact, though (beside their jaundiced eye): that they either equate theology with Tillich’s system, Barth’s Dogmatics or Aquinas’ Summa, Summa, or they do not understand at all what theology is, considering how they divide theology and heresy. The fact is, in the Indian scene there is now not only an abundance of heresies, but of theologies as well, even systems. Every time the message about Jesus Christ encounters the Indian people in their own contexts, there Indian theology is being created. This is doing theology in Indian context. context. Doing theology is inevitable — it is risky no doubt, with the possibility of the product becoming a heresy always at hand — but it is inevitable. For, from God’s revelation (the Bible) to its receivers (the Church), theologizing is a necessary step. The current situation in India is so vastly different than that of the apostles, in ever so many ways. Every time a new aspect of the gospel shows its relevance to a particular Indian context, there Indian theology is born. Since this is happening all the time, it is not an overstatement to say that now Indian theology has not only arrived, but is advancing full steam! Or to go one step further: theologizing in India (that is, doing theology in the Indian context, or verbalizing the message of the whole gospel in such a way that it is 3
Thus far, among these schools Vedanta has been used extensively. Brahmabandhab’s use of Sankara’s advaita and Appasamy’s use of Ramanuja’s vishishtadvaita are the outstanding examples. Besides Vedanta, Vedanta , other systems also are used — e.g. Chenchiah’s use of Aurobindo’s Creative Evolution; Nehemiah Goreh uses, in the Thomistic fashion, the Hindu logic to refute his adversaries. The fifth pramana, pramana, (which Boyd considers as a type of logic) is upamana or analogy. Just as Jesus used parables and Thomas Aquinas used his ‘analogy’ most effectively, so in India Sadhu Sunder Singh has used this method of upamana fruitfully in all his writings and messages. Once the Bible is accepted as the final authority, then the resort to upamana can be perhaps more fruitful than other pramanas. What can be said in conclusion? At least this: The primary task of theology is to establish the nature of authority on which one’s faith/theology is based. As we have seen, this is the first question both in Christian and Hindu systems. Also there is a good deal of similarity between the sets of authorities, so that adaptability becomes easier. Once the Scripture is accepted as the ultimate authority (as in Hindu systems), then other Pramanas, Pramanas , Experience, Reason, Church’s teaching, Analogy become supportive authorities.
NOTES 1. P.D.Devanandan, Preparation for Dialogue, CISRS, Bangalore: 1964, p. 191. 2. R.H.S Boyd, An Introduction to Indian Christian Theology, CLS, Madras: 1969, p. 11. 3. Karl Rahner (ed.), Sacramentum Mundi , Vol. 6, Scripture and Tradition, p. 54. 4. Boyd, op. cit., p. 228.
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SECTION 2
INDIAN CONTRIBUTIONS TO CHRISTIAN THEOLOGY
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In the following chapters we shall examine the way in which Christ has been interpreted in approximately the last two and half centuries by Indian thinkers who were in the forefront in the cultural, social, political and religious changes taking place in India. We focus on three or four leading thinkers, both on their life and their interpretation of Christ. For the sake of uniformity the method we follow in each case is the same: we give an outline of the background of their life and teaching and the main points of their interpretation followed by an evaluation. One word of caution here. It does not mean that those whom we consider here are the only ones to have responded to the Christian Gospel, nor that they have responded most. It only means that for scientific analysis their writings are preserved and are available. It is possible that later some other writings/theologians be discovered for an objective study.
RAJA RAMMOHAN ROY (1774 - 1833) We have already seen that the new self-understanding of Hinduism in the last two centuries was primarily on account of its encounter with Christian faith. There is no doubt that such new self-understanding is really new, because it differs considerably from that of classical Hinduism. It is both a reaction to the Western (then basically Christian) influences, as well as their product. This is evidenced by the new sense of Hindu missions. As religion, culture, politics, society and philosophy were all one bundle, this face-lift of neo-Hinduism affected all these areas. But it is legitimate to say that the primary reinterpretations took place in the social-ethical sphere. There was an increasing aversion to idolatry, polytheism, casteism, joint-family, disregard of woman on the one hand. 41
3 BRAHMABANDHAV UPADHYAYA (1861 - 1907)
His background and approach Many anthologies of Indian Christian Theology omit Brahmabandhav Upadhyaya. The reasons for some considering him a Christian and others not, as we shall see later, can be found in his own autobiography — though it is not for us to judge whether one is a Christian or not. But for us Brahmabandhav is one of the most important figures in Indian Christian Theology. He has written profusely on almost every aspect of the Christian message. He lived in a time when theological turmoil in Hinduism was perhaps at its greatest. This was the time of the ABC movements in Hinduism — Arya Samaj, Brahmo Samaj, and Christo Samaj. In this section we shall study this atmosphere briefly. THE THEOLOGICAL ATMOSPHERE
Awakened by the Christian message itself the Arya Samaj of Dayanand Saraswati was an extreme form of resurgence. Brahmo Samaj of K.C. Sen was a milder form of the same, while the Christo Samaj of Kalicharan Banerjee was even more positive in its attitude towards Christianity. But all these were the products of the time. Following the national patriotic spirit of the times, these were different efforts of indigenisation of the Christian message and the church. Yet, these Samajes had little or no impact on the vast Hindu population but were confined in influence to a selected few. It was rather the non-intellectual message of Shri Ramakrishna (see the section on Vivekananda) which really appealed to the multitude and thus was a greater challenge to Christianity. In no small measure does the success of Ramakrishna owe to his indigenous lifestyle, language and method of teaching, devoid of all philosophical jargon. Perhaps a case can be made also for the super62
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NOTES 1. Sri Parananda, The Gospel of Jesus According to St. Matthew , 1898, p. 49 2. Animananda, The Blade, p. 68. 3. Ibid., pp. 71f. 4. Ibid., p. 200. 5. Bramabandhav has written a beautiful hymn in Sanskrit on the Trinity. Many translations are available. 6. Animananda, op. cit., p. 84. 7. N. Goreh, A Letter to the Brahmos from a Converted Brahman from Banares , 2nd Edition, 1868, p. 52.
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4 DHANJIBHAI FAKIRBHAI (1895-1967) This theologian is a saint from Gujarat. Born in a devout Hindu Bhakti family of Baroda, he became a Christian as a young man. He became a teacher of Physics and retired as professor in a college. Only after retirement he devoted himself to the writing of Christian literature, presenting the Christian faith in a way relevant to the Hindu thinking. He wrote several books which are very widely read in both Gujarathi and English. These include Christopanishad, The Philosophy of Love, Hriday Geeta, Prematatva Darshan, Praktya Adhyatma Darshana, and Shree Krist Geeta.
Dhanjibhai's Focus: Love As can be discerned from the list of his writings the principal divine attribute on which Dhanjibhai concentrates is that of love. In his own thinking this description of God as love is higher even that of God as Saccidananda. Saccidananda . Where intellect fails, love proceeds on; for love transcends all other categories. In this way Dhanjibhai relates all the doctrines of the Christian faith to love. Creation is the work of God’s love. The relationship between man and God is one of love. Sin is the rejection of God’s love. And what is this love? He explains that it is the self-sacrificing suffering of God on behalf of the good of his creatures. As such, the proper response of man to God’s love can only be repentance and humble acceptance in faith. Jesus Christ is love incarnation and new birth is the change of heart to love others and God. He further maintains that more than the karma marga, bhakti marga, marga, and Jnana marga there is one more marga which is the prema yoga, yoga, the way of love. This leads to nothing less than salvation or moksha. moksha . In addition to this Prema yoga, yoga , in another writing called Shree Krist Geetha, Geetha , 85
In reply to this, Moses says that though the different forms of religions are necessary, they are by no means all equal; otherwise such an approach will lead us into agnosticism. We need to discern between essential and nonessential elements of religion. Finally, in reply to Radhakrishnan’s affirmation that faith is “herd infection”, thus is sociological (by birth, like the Hindu), Moses counters that faith is purely a personal affair, a doctrine, which means the conversion, from one faith to another faith and so change of religion, is valid and inevitable. A brief explanation is needed here to understand the relevance and even the content of the above. Moses lived in a time when the debate of discovering one true religion in all the religions was at its height. Religion with capital R refers to a faith relationship with ‘God’, while religions with lower case refer to the systems containing doctrines, myths, ethics, rituals, experiences and social institutions. And Moses’ time was rife also with the question of missionary work and conversion as proselytisation, and Gandhi and Radhakrishnan were involved in it fully.
almost inevitable temptation for all of us! In any case, Moses’ writings lack the depth which warms one upto the cross and senstitizes one to the working of the Holy Spirit.
NOTES 1. Boyd, p. 332f. 2. Boyd, p. 334. 3. Surjit Singh, Preface to Personality , CLS, Madras: 1952, p. 112.
Thus Moses is attempting here a Christian apologetics, both against Christianity as a religion as well as defending conversion as religious rather than sociological, political or ecumenical phenomenon. Towards the end Moses changed (like Karl Barth!) his position several times, and his final stance seems to be quite conservative, rejecting the teaching that all religions are equally as dangerous. He ended up in saying that Christianity has the final revelation, opposite to Radhakrishnan’s claim that Hinduism is the final religion, because it is the most ancient religion.
Evaluation Our comments are brief here also. We should appreciate that Moses wrote in response to the burning issues of the day, and hence was most relevant. But he seems to be using the methods and weapons of the enemy, by taking up rational and philosophical argumentation, a common and 92
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5 Criteria for indigenisation
At this juncture it is unnecessary to repeat that we are dealing with Indian thinkers whose primary aim was to indigenise the Christian message. There are as many indigenised theologies as there are thinkers. The question is which of them is right? Are there any criteria by which we can judge one more valid than the others? Once I read an interesting anecdote in a book: during World War I in South India, rice, which is the staple food, became a scarce commodity. In order to meet the crisis the British sent wheat to the South Indians but they dumped it into the sea all along the coast: Not only did they not know what to do with the wheat but they also took an offense at the British, because knowing that they eat rice they had sent some other grain. Apparently the British thinking went something like this: there is a big food shortage with you and wheat is better than rice, so we are sending that to you. I think the big mistake the British made was they did not adequately south-indianize the wheat and so it was re jected. In indigenisation of theology also, more or less the same conditions hold good. In indigenisation we are not so much concerned with the sales technique or even the packaging but rather with the usefulness (in the case of wheat whether it gives protein to the body or not), digestibility and form (whether it comes as bread or bun or chappati or nan or whatever). As far as the Christian gospel is concerned, the universal claim of ‘no other name’ takes care of usefulness. But we must also be concerned with the form or the expression whether they were familiar with hearers or not. And we must consider the digestibility, that is whether the thoughts and concepts used are understandable or not. 94
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6 VENGAL CHAKKARAI (1880-1958) Vengal Chakkarai is considered by some as the only systematic theologian from the Indian continent. He belongs to the well known trio of theologians — Appasamy, Chenchiah and Chakkarai. He was born in Madras in a rich Chettiar family. His father was a Vedantin, while his mother was a devout Vaishnava bhaktini. bhaktini . He received his early education in Christian institutions: Scottish Mission school and Madras Christian College, where he came under the influence of William Miller. He studied the Bible himself and through the friendship of Miller he was helped gradually to a personal experience of Christ. What really mattered most to Chakkarai in his conversion was the cry of dereliction on the cross by Jesus, “My God, My God! Why hast thou forsaken me?” He deduced from this that any man who should cry like that must really be divine. As you have already noticed the person of Jesus Christ touches different people in different ways! He made public profession of his faith and was baptized in 1903. Though qualified as a lawyer, he worked in the evangelistic department of the Danish Missionary Society in Madras, among educated Hindus. Yet as early as 1906 he became a patriot throwing himself passionately into the national struggle against the British. In 1907 he joined the Home Rule Movement and in 1920 he supported Gandhi’s non-cooperation campaign. Later he also took active part in the Labour movement. He became one of the best known Christians and was elected Mayor of Madras in 1941. In 1951 he served as the Chairman of the All India Trade Union Congress. Along with Chenchiah, his brother-in-law, he was one of the founders of the Madras group known as the Christo 114
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K.M. BANERJEA (1813-1881) K.M. Banerjea (also spelt Banerjee or Banerji) was a recognized leader of the Indian Christian community in Bengal, and was made the first president of the Bengal Christian Association in 1870. The main purpose of this association was to establish a national church of India, ministered by Indians and supported by Indian money. He was one of Alexander Duff’s early converts and also a member of the Free Church of Scotland. Right after his baptism in the Anglican Church he became a priest, in 1852, and taught for 15 years in Bishop’s College, Calcutta, as a Professor. Till 1870 his approach to Hinduism was negative, but after his retirement from Bishop’s college he became sympathetic to Hinduism. His books include Dialogues and an d The Arian Witness. In this book he starts off by saying that there are striking similarities between the Old Testament and the Vedas. Thereby his desire was to show that Christianity, if not identical with, is in any case the logical conclusion of original Hinduism: He also finds parallels between Vedic and Assyrian texts and even the Hebrew and Sanskrit languages. For Banerjea the Hebrews and the Aryans have a common background. Even etymologically Banerjea finds Manu and Noah to have the same root. All this implies that Christianity is not foreign religion but the fulfillment of Vedic religion. Though the Christian message would frighten many Indians, he exhorts that this is also what happened to Apostle Peter. He did not want to mix with the uncircumcised and had to be mildly rebuked by the Lord in order to be led to the full truth. The corner stone of the commonness is in the institution of sacrifice and priesthood. He is specially quick to find 150
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NOTES 1. Swami Abhishiktananda, Hindu Christian Meeting Point , The Institute of Indian Culture, Bombay, 1969, p. 27. 2. Ibid., p. 27. 3. Ibid., p. 28. 4. Ibid ., pp. 23-24. 5. Ibid., p. 19. 6. Boyd, ICT , 1989, p. 294. 7. Ibid., p. 296. 8. Ibid., p. 297. 9. Klaus Klostermaier, Kristvidya, CISRS, Bangalore, 1967, p. 13. 10. Ibid ., p. 13. 11. Ibid ., p. 15. 12. Ibid ., p. 39. 13. Ibid ., p. 21. 14. Ibid ., p. 22. 15. Ibid ., p. 40. 16. Ibid ., p. 41. 17. Boyd, ICT , 1989, p. 308.
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8 M.M. THOMAS (b. 1916) In this chapter and the following we will be studying living theologians, so their theology is still in the making and changing. Looking at it one way, of all the contemporary theologians we have studied, M.M. Thomas is a crucial theologian in his own right. He is not only the most experienced among the contemporary Indian thinkers but also the one who has read most and written most. In the years to come he may also have the greatest influence for Indian Christian Theology. Along with Raymondo Panikkar and Stanley Samartha, M.M. Thomas makes up the modern trio of Indian theologians, comparable to the classical trio — Chakkarai, Chenchiah and Devanandan. As we studied the first trio together it will be beneficial to study the second one also together, as they influence and cross fertilize one another.
Early Days Madathilaparampil Mammen Thomas was born in 1916 in Panavila, Kerala. His father was a member of the Orthodox Syrian Church. He was pious and quite well to do, a well-known evangelist, also an enthusiastic patriot who wore khaddar . After early schooling at his native place, Thomas went to Trivandrum to study Chemistry. It was during the first year at college that he came into contact with Christ in a meaningful way which he describes in his own unpublished autobiography: It was through an evangelical experience as a first year college student in Trivandrum in 1931-32 that Jesus Christ became real to me as the bearer of divine forgiveness and gave my life, awakened to adolescent rages, a principle of integration and a sense of direction.1
During his turbulent adolescence he was drawn in gratefulness to God and began reading the Bible and meditating on it. At the time his moldable mind was deeply impressed by 169
9 In the recent decade or two, there have appeared scores of theologies from new Indian thinkers which are a thorough mixture of all strands we have discussed so far. Many of them are theologically very creative and bold, even radical. Some are good thinkers but not writers. In this chapter we briefly note their contribution, without attempting to do a systematic analysis of their thought. Time, it appears, is not yet ripe for such an effort.
RUSSELL CHANDRAN (b. 1918) Russell Chandran belongs to that generation of Indian Christians who stand between the colonial period and the emergence of indigenised Christianity. As such he and his contemporaries were compelled to take up the leadership from the outgoing foreigners in all the Christian institutions, and so were unfortunately bogged down in administrative and financial aspects of their organizations. This means that their creativity in those lines, and so their writings are neither definitive nor plenty. But they are important land marks on the way.
Background Joshua Russell Chandran was born in Tamil Nadu in Kanyakumari district in a Christian family. After his early education he took to ministry at the young age of 20, as a probationer in the Kodankarai pastorate. This led him to theological studies at United Theological College, Bangalore, (BD). He then served as pastor in the Irenipuram Church for three years. He pursued higher studies at Mansfield College, Oxford (1947-49), Union Theological Seminary, New York (1949-50) and Chicago University Divinity School (1957-58). In between he was appointed as a lecturer at United Theological College, Bangalore in 1950, and became its principal in 1954. He was the principal of this prestigious 198
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theology must be its mission-orientedness, and willingness to suffer. Thus in developing an Asian confession of faith in the total life of the church, Asian theology needs to be more issue-oriented rather than academic. These extracts are taken from his article “Towards an Asian Theology” published in 1975.
NOTES 1. A Vision for Man, 1978, p. 31. 2. Ibid., p. 31. 3. Ibid . 4. “CSI Synod Theological Commission” in South India Churchman, April 1969, p. 13. 5. A Vision for Man, p. 34. 6. Ibid . 7. Ibid.
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10 Hindu Interpretation of Christ
MAHATMA GANDHI (1869 - 1948) Many historians call Mahatma Gandhi as the man of the century, “the most effective potency in the awakening of the Orient”. In India, without doubt he is the watershed in the modern history of the century, and the most influential voice in every sphere of thought among the Hindus. As such, Gandhi’s understanding of Jesus Christ and the Christian message carries greater weight among Hindus than perhaps all the Hindu philosophical and religious interpretations of Jesus.
Life and Work Mohan Das Karamchand Gandhi (Mahatma is a title, meaning ‘great soul’) is the subject of literally hundreds of books if not thousands, and so his life sketch is too well known to be repeated here. His autobiography, My Experiments with Truth is an authentic and absorbing self-examination of a sincere soul, and makes profitable reading. We need only to mention some major elements of his life which have been influential on his thinking. The powerful position his father and grandfather had as ministers in the local princedom, and his mother’s Vaishnavite bhakti devotion must be the earliest and strongest to make impression on Gandhi’s character. His early youthful experiences and failures led Gandhi to be “devoted to none but truth”. Right from an early age, there is an intense and unyielding pursuit of truth as the chief characteristic of his personality. Later, when he went to South Africa as a lawyer, there he encountered his first life-mission: the two decade long struggle against the racist discrimination against the Indian settlers 215
SECTION 3
WHAT IS INDIAN CHRISTIAN THEOLOGY
236
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You will notice in this final chapter we are coming back to the questions we raised in the earlier chapters of this course — the question of doing theology in context. It is a truism to say that Indian Christian theology has of course relevance for the Indian people, but the question here is: Does it have any significance for churches outside India? We want to draw out from what we have learned in the thinking of many Indians. Again we may look at Boyd’s summary of the development of Christianity in the world. It had to struggle to survive and every time it overcame a particular culture or philosophy or religion its growing power increased correspondingly. THE THREE CONFRONTATIONS
Boyd says that the first great confrontation Christianity had was with the Jewish culture. With a strong sense of being the elect the Jews thought they were the centre of all nations — they called all the other nations heathen. It must have been well-nigh impossible for the early Jewish Christians and apostles to come out of the Jewish environment. It was very easy for them to understand that Christianity was just a continuation of the Jewish religion and that Jesus was the promised messiah to consummate the Jewish kingdom. In fact, some understood that way. But it is the miracle of history that Paul and Peter and James tore away radically from Judaism and that at its very birth. Perhaps here some of the Jerusalem Christians can be the cause. But whatever the cause, the Christianity of the early church was definitely no mere sect of Judaism. That is one reason why it could immediately take root in heathen and Greek cultures and that is why Antioch and not Jerusalem became the centre of mission, and later the centre of orthodox Christianity (here I am referring to the 238
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APPENDIX
The importance of writing Biographies We are indeed very much indebted to Dr. Kaj Baago for producing under the research plan of the United Theological College, Bangalore, an anthology of Indian Christian writing. This is a good, though by no means exhaustive collection. As you read through the collection, one dominant feature is that the biographies of Indian Christian saints are lacking. This is not to say that there are none of them; there are of course. But I am convinced that there is a greater majority of saints whose biographies are not written.
There are varied reasons for this: (a) Following the oriental logic one is not supposed to say anything bad about those who are dead and gone (perhaps that has to do with ancestral worship?) except in eulogies. (b) Lacking a sense of history perhaps our Indian mind is less inclined to put down the facts or even to interpret them with a definite purpose. (c) Since Christianity came to India through the western colonialism and was already an established religion in western countries for several centuries, there seems to be an unconscious idea in the Indian mind that only Saint Francis or Saint Teresa are saints in India. (d) Finally, what Jesus said also is true. Since a prophet is without respect in his own country, those who know him best tend to remember rather the working side of the person. The right side is often forgotten, hence its usefulness to the wider world is gone. If you read some of the Puranas or Hindu literature, and then turn to the Bible, one of the most striking features is that even about the great patriarchs like Abraham or David or Jacob the Bible is very realistic in picturing their character. It does not hide their mistakes. In fact, I remember as a young Christian this aspect greatly impressed me concerning the truthfulness of the Bible. But what I am driving at is this. The Bible itself has several biographies written. If the gospels were not written you would not have known about Jesus now. The famous list of the faith giants in Hebrew 11 is a grand cloud of witnesses which can edify us even today. Just think how much poorer our under270
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standing of God’s relationship with man would be if we did not have the records of Abraham’s sacrifice of Isaac, or Moses running away to Libya, Hannah’s dedication of Samuel, Queen Esther’s devotion to her people, Job’s suffering and his fighting with God, Daniel in the den of Lions, Paul’s conversion and missionary journeys, and dozens of other biographies. It is wrong to think that biographies are written only for self-glory. On the contrary they are written with the express purpose of glorifying God; that what God’s grace has wrought in others can also work in me and encourage and edify and strengthen me in my Lord’s service. Thus one of the main reasons why throughout history several saints’ lives and ministries have been recorded is that they edify the church universal. Is not God really glorified through the faith and commitment and life of his servants? But this education is two fold. It not only helps us to follow where the saints have trod, but it also helps us to avoid the mistakes they have done. For example, David’s adultery, Jacob’s deception, Peter’s denial are still strong warnings to us today. Actually speaking, church history is the story of God’s people. Right now I am involved in corresponding with senior Christians all over the land to collect some of the unknown Christians’ biographies. Some of the things I have discovered are most illuminating. I hope some day to publish them. But it is most encouraging to see that in the recent decade several anthologies of Indian Christian saints have appeared. If you come across any of these biographies I will be grateful if you can kindly write to me or even send a copy of that to me or let me know the address where they are available. If you know of any unwritten stories, you could tell me also. Perhaps we can share it for the benefit of other Christian Indian brothers and sisters. Thank you. ADDRESS :
Dr. Sunand Sumithra Theological Book Trust 54, MIG. Colony Koramangala, Bangalore- 560095. 272
SUGGESTED BIBLIOGRAPHY
Abhishiktananda, Swami, Hindu Christian Meeting Point , CLS, Madras, 1969. Amirtham, Samuel (ed.), The Vision for Man,
CLS, Madras, 1973.
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