We live in a time when the authenticity of all religions is questioned in reference to their faith and practice. This is also a time of an uprising mood of nationalism defined in terms of religious fundamentalism. The raise in socio-political and religious issues and challenges in India poses a question of the identity and relevance of Christianity in India. This paper is a discussion on defining the Christian role in India amid the issues and challenges.
Toward an active community building
Often Christians become individualistic and escapist in their religious and practical matters. The gospel and salvation are always projected in individualistic terms, and the Christian faith's socio-political implications are less addressed. The majority of the Christians look Christian faith as practising personal pietism and doing some social works. Christians are divided in their definitions of the gospel. While a branch of Christians defines gospel and salvation in mere individualistic terms and has no implications for building a community, the others define evangelism only in terms of social service. Christians must realize that their mission is not picking out some individuals but building a community, a society. Individual faith must be reflected in social action.
Christians are not called to be indifferent to the social and political issues but to confront them with the power of the gospel following the model of Jesus. Oftentimes, Christians fail to become a voice for the suppressed and oppressed in society. The religion of Christianity must address the things that degenerate humanity. It is not an escapist religion that merely focuses on individualized salvation, prosperity, inner peace and stepping higher in the spiritual stance rather it is a religion that confronts issues, becomes actively respondent to the things that threaten the lives of the poor and powerless. Christians are to realize themselves as transformed and new humanity who are called to build an alternative society that stands different from the rest of the society but not indifferent to the cries and crises of the people from the beyond.
Most of the time Christians address the issues that confront their religion alone but pay less attention to the issues and challenges that are faced by the rest of the society. In today’s Indian context, every individual Christian must become an active participant in the mission of God rather than becoming self-centred and individualistic. Participating in the mission of God is not simply to proselyte the people of other religions rather it is to become active agents of God in realising his vision of new heaven, new earth and new humanity that is guided by the politics of compassion, the economics of justice and religion of purity.
Christians are blamed by the non-Christians for their unethical and selfish life. Whenever someone points out a mistake in Christianity, Christians often tend to respond to them in a critical way that abuses and devalues their religions. This simply builds up violence and never resolves the issue. Instead of this, Christians must present practical holiness in their lives so that they share in the characteristics of God bearing His image in the world. Christians must be filled, empowered and guided by the Holy Spirit to live a holy life and at the same time performing signs and wonders not to promote self rather liberate and deliver humans from their social and spiritual oppressive powers. It is the demonstration of God’s power in bringing holistic restoration to humanity.
Toward an indigenous community building
Indian Christians must become indigenous in their faith and practice. The Western influences of gospel and faith must be avoided to bring up a community that is rooted in Indian society. Being rooted in Indian culture does not mean accepting the principles of nationalism proposed by the Hindutva ideology rather letting the people identified in their own community at the same time transforming them into new humans. The Indian Christian theology, worship, structures and administration must not seem foreign to the native Indians. Christians in India need to develop mission stations that are not powered by the Western citizens rather by the native Indians themselves. This is necessary because the Christian mission is falsely alleged to be propagating foreign culture with foreign support and making India to be run by foreign powers. The only way to resolve this issue is to develop missionary churches in India with no foreign aid. Of course, it is burdensome yet it becomes inevitable, at least in the near future.
Toward an inclusive community building
Christians must build an inclusive community where all believers feel that they are given equal dignity and priority. Christians must develop social and religious structures that are inclusive in nature and resemble the vision of the Kingdom of God as envisaged and proclaimed by Jesus and the early Christians. When a person comes to the church (community), s/he must not feel discriminated against or judged based on his/her caste, race, economic status, political affiliation or religious beliefs. Every Christian must learn to love their neighbour as they love themselves. This is to say, self-centredness and greed must be replaced with justice, compassion and order. Individualism must be replaced with collective identity.
Responding to the religious violence, Christians must endure the violence and respond to it with love and forgiveness. That does not necessarily mean that one has to keep silent which seems to be agreeing with the violent actions. Instead, Christians have to speak, not only on behalf of their own religion but on behalf of all the minorities in India. One of the problems with Indian Christians is that we do not respond to the issues unless it affects us. Even when it affects us, we try to clear our roads. Religious and communal violence must be seen as a threat to humanity. Communal violence at present is not only directed towards Christians but also every other minority group. At the time of communal violence, Christians are ought to be compassionate over those who are afflicted, even when the person belongs to another faith.
We live in a time when religious conversion is a hot-debated topic in India. Most of the religious laws and regulations in India are aimed, in one or another way, to stop Christians from converting the people of other faith. Evangelical Christians in India are known for rigorous proselytisation. The presentation of the Christian gospel has become so mystic and otherworldly that it seems gospel as an invitation to leave one’s religion in preference to Christianity. However, evangelization is not about converting one’s religion rather it is making humans be a new creation that also included one’s devotion to God. Salvation is humanization. Gospel is not for picking out some individuals to join the church nor is it simply about Christianizing the whole land. In a strict sense, evangelism is creating new human beings who disagree with the inhuman definitions of the present world by accepting the definitions of the Kingdom of God. It is humanizing individuals which in turn results in a just and stable society that resembles the vision of new heaven and new earth.
Christians need to stop blaming other religions for their beliefs and practices. Instead of criticizing others, Christian leaders and believers must develop an attitude of love and respect towards all religions even if we disagree with them. Instead of projecting wrongs in other religions, we need to project the nature and character of our God and our faith.
Conclusion
Presently India is moving towards building a Ram Rajya that strictly stands against all minorities and their faiths. In a context where the politics, economics, religion and society are defined in terms of exclusivism, indifference, inequality, majority and ungodliness, the Christians must adhere to the politics of Jesus (often Jesus’ politics are ignored by Christians thinking that he is a mere moral teacher or simply divine). Politics of Jesus is a politics of compassion and service. Economics in the biblical understanding is the economics of equity and sharing. Society according to the Bible is a society of human dignity and ethics. Christians must become biblical and active in their life and faith in the context of uprising issues and challenges that question Christian identity and relevance.
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