Theological Education and Realities of Ministry in a Multi-Religious Context

India is one of the most religiously diverse nations in the world, with one of the most deeply religious societies and cultures. Religion plays a central and definitive role in the life of the country and most of its people. In such a multi-religious context, the Indian constitution provides freedom of religion, yet there has been continued religious violence and religious intolerance during the recent past. The government sometimes has not acted swiftly enough to counter effectively societal attacks against religious minorities and attempts by some leaders of state and local governments to limit religious freedom. A majority of the people try to live in peaceful coexistence but tensions between religious groups are a problem in some areas. Hindu-Muslim tension continues over disputed places of worship claimed by both groups to be sacred sites. There were instances of politically manipulated religious tension in Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh and Vadodara, Gujarat in early 2006. Conversion continues to be a highly contentious issue. Some Hindu organizations frequently allege that Christian missionaries lure converts, particularly from the lower castes, with offers of free education and healthcare, and equate such actions with forced conversions. Some Christian groups allege that Hindu groups forcibly "reconverted" those who had embraced Christianity. In order to foster certain dominant ideologies some extremists continue to commit violence with impunity.
There are many more issues and incidents happening everywhere in India, including the ongoing riots in Bangalore over the execution of former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein. However, the questions that we as Theological students need to ask are: To what degree do we need to foster religious harmony and religious tolerance? What are the different possible steps that need to be taken to foster such a harmonious relationship between different religious groups in India? Are we to foster ideologies that are politically motivated or religiously biased instead of working for a better world with new values being sensitive to other religions?
In Indian Christian Theology class we have been discussing that it's becoming increasingly important to know the scriptures of other religious groups in India in order to be an effective servant of God. Every religion has influenced people and has served as a vehicle for uniting as well as dividing. This leads us to question the role of religion in the society. A Vietnam folk tale says that there is only one difference between heaven and hell. In hell, they have chopsticks three feet long and the people can't eat. In heaven, they have chopsticks three feet long and but the people feed each other. The purpose of our life is not to live for our own sake but for the sake of others. This is what Jesus wants from us, which is also the motto of United Theological College "Not to be served but to serve". Often we want a religion that comforts us but what we need is that which challenges us. We should be committed to a growth process in the direction of responsible action expressed in increased concern for others and openness to future change. The norms for our actions cannot be abstracted into general principles, for they are situation specific and are subject to review for they are not backed up by any ideology. For example, when Jesus was asked to heal Simon's mother-in-law on a Sabbath, which was forbidden by the law, he being aware of the self-centered character of adherence to the law chose to do what was just and right, a responsible action we could call, by healing Simon's mother-in-law on the Sabbath
In Hinduism there is a popular saying "Atman is Brahman" which implies that all living things are Brahman at their innermost core. Indeed, this understanding of God will certainly lead us to relate ourselves to the suffering ones and experience the needs of the people as our own. Given our changed needed perception, we act in response to the needs of the people just as he/she acts to meet his/her needs. In this process, there is fear of losing neither one's own identity nor compromise on the issue of mission, instead it validates mission. We are called to love others, in the words of Jesus "Love your neighbor as yourself”.
The movement we call religion comes with baggage: dogmatism, authoritarianism, holy war, patriarchy, dressing up in unusual clothes, pastor's preaching, ministry mysticisms, money-spinning, new age quackery. However, religion means different things to different people. The point is, as theological students how are we going to make use of our theological education to promote religious harmony and tolerance in the midst of religious violence and intolerance?
United Theological College at Bangalore has a long history of setting the groundwork and preparing for dialogue especially when we see the pioneering works of Dr. P.D. Devanandan and Dr. S.J. Samartha. For Devanandan in the light of nationalism he revisioned the evangelistic understanding of Christian cooperation in the context of multi-religions. For Samartha, cooperation with other religions was not a betrayal of mission but he held that it is there that the the Christian witness to God's saving work in Jesus Christ becomes transparently clear.
Recently, I visited the Henry Martyn Institute (HMI), International Centre for Research, Interfaith Relations and Reconciliation. This ecumenical organization is striving to create better understanding between people of different faiths and facilitating the process of dialogue and reconciliation. Many times peace and reconciliation, based on justice does not happen in practical situations, as it is quite difficult and the demands can be very dangerous , but HMI is not losing hope. The kind of symbolism that HMI uses in its logo is quite interesting to note. The logo has in it a building with a dome and tower, the building with its door open signifies it is open to all, a dome that unites people of all faiths, and a tower that, while pointing to God above, remains to the earth that sustains all. In fact the devotion hall at HMI is also built in this manner which stands as a (do you want to say that this logo is actually a picture of the devotion hall at HMI - it would tie it to the next paragraph better!)
Worship of God has been to many the very core of being human because of which humanity is called 'homo adorans', that is, 'the worshipping human'. Von Ogden Vogt says, "Worship is celebration of life". There is a growing awareness among the Christian churches in India to revise the worship patterns and indigenize the whole approach of worship. In addition, there needs to be a growing awareness to take up the challenge of making it appropriate to the reality of religious pluralism in India, which accommodates most of the world's great religious traditions. As theological students, we need to be agents of proclaiming peace and reconciliation among the members of the church and society. As has been pointed out there is a fear of losing one’s own identity but we should not forget the transformative work of Christ on the cross which is too precious to be confined to an exclusive community or group of people. Our theological education at United Theological College should equip us to face the realities of a Multi-religious context.

Bibliography


Devanandan, Paul. D. Preparation for Dialogue eds. N. Devanandan and M.M. Thomas, Devanandan Memorial Vol. II Bangalore: CISRS, 1964.
D'Souza Andreas. “Reconciliation in Practice" in Religion, Conflict and Reconciliation: Multifaith Ideals and Realities. Jerald D. Gort, Herny Jansen, and Hendrik M. Vroom. Eds Rodopi Publisher, Amsterdam - New York, NY 2002.
Samartha Stanley. J. One Christ Many Religions: Towards a Revised Christology (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis, 1991: third Indian edition, Bangalore: South Asia Theological Research Institute, 2000)

Web
http://www.hmiindia.com/

Indian Christian Theology

Indian Christian Theology course began this term bringing out six important aspects, which address in an Indian context. Firstly, the whole question of language we use to understand God. This is highly a political issue; even in the history, every missionary group, which came to India, faced the question of naming God. How do we address God? Can we address God as Rama, Visnu, etc. to make it sound Indian. There has been many attempts made by the final year students at UTC especially in their Bhajans and lyrics to address God in a new way but sometimes they are comfortable using some familiar names to address God. The question of naming God is a cultural thing so there is continuity as well as discontinuity. There is continuity because it comes from that which already exists and there is discontinuity because we don’t take it as wholesale but just take part of it and try to use it. In Indian Christian Theology the struggle has always been to discover Christ, so the question that arises is, as Indians how do we confess Christ? There needs to be a constant attempt to discover new theological vocabulary to address God and one of the best ways to do it is when we pray. Dr. Kiran Sebastian says if you can not pray and live your theology then leave it.
Secondly, Indian Identity vs. Christian Identity. There was a struggle to be Christian as well as be Indian at the same time which is the outcome of Indian nationalism. Brahmanism was identified as being Indian and there was a notion that, to be Indian you have to buy Indian goods etc. Moreover, when it comes to ‘Christian’ what exactly would define something as Christian and/others as not? There needs to be a constant struggle in articulating our faith.
Thirdly, there is an ongoing struggle to understand Bible as the revealed scripture. One of the major questions in this struggle is what is the relationship between the Bible and other scriptures? Unless and until we read other scriptures and compare it with Bible how can we say that Bible is the only revealed word of God. Moreover, is it God’s word or word of God? We need to remember that Bible is not just preached but it is also heard so there is an element of Srutri and also an element of Smriti.
Fourthly, How do we see Christianity and Religions of India. There was an attempt in history which we could call it as a marriage between East and West wherein it was associated with Vedantic religion vs. Christianity in a theoretical form. The missionaries taught the Indians that God is love but could not show it through their lives, that is why it is called as theoretical. There has been many attempts made to address the issue of religious tolerance in theological colleges but to what extent are these attempts yielding fruits is a serious question. When we look at the present scenario we could see that there are number of riots taking place around India in the name of religion. To what extent or to what degree would one have tolerance against one another in some of the ongoing religious struggles in India? Recently we had witnessed few riots in Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh wherein these issues have now become political in the sense the organizations and the so-called people movements are using certain delicate issue for their selfish motives. They are either promoting their ideology or demanding money in the due case of operation, which is a very sad thing to note.
Fifthly, Colonialism, Neocolonialism, globalization, should be addressed in the Indian context. When we deal with colonialism, what about the privileges given to the Indian by the British, example Indian Railways, Postal services etc. On the other hand, can we ignore the damage caused by Colonialism? To add on in the present scenario we can say the same thing with Neocolonialism, globalization etc.
Finally, the ecclesiastical and societal structures need to be challenged. Why are we doing what we are doing in the church and society? Are we doing what we are doing just because we have to do? or are we critically analyzing what we are doing? In addition, why is it ok to do certain things at certain times and not at other times? For example, why is it not acceptable to boil milk and conduct Pongal service where as it is mandatory to boil milk and let it overflow while dedicating a new house?

My First day as a Mess Coordinator at UTC

My Day started off at 6 am on January 7th the Sunday 2007. At the regular time i.e.7:30 am we started the mess and surprisingly had many students coming for breakfast. Anyway it was fun serving and was very exciting to see all our friends coming back to college after a month's vacation. It has been UTCians tradition to greet each other with a hug and pat on each other's backs when meeting friends, probably one could identify a pastor/theologian as a UTCian if they happen to do it I suppose. Don't you think it is an easy way to recognize a person as UTCian? Even as the greeting, meeting and eating was going on there was lot of stress and strain on our minds as to whether the food would be sufficient or not. While one of my friends was appreciating me for preparing nice food, another enquired (rather sarcastically) whether I myself prepared the food. So in the midst of those tense moments there was some time to laugh and have fun which I felt was good. There are lots of decisions to be made on the spot while being a coordinator which is a challenge and since it is the first day it was a bit nervous and I am learning to make decisions.

You might be wondering how was the lunch. Well I am in fact coming to that; by God’s grace we did had delicious food.

The college has a tradition of beginning each term with Principal’s Tea during which time I was asked to join the singing group and we led the community members into singing some choruses. It is always a great experience to be part of singing and praising God even in the midst of busy schedule as a Mess coordinator. Soon after the Principal's Tea we had Covenant Service for the community in which the Principal preached and the Registrar led the service. It was rather a long service because we had communion for the community which is quiet ideal for some of us as some of our friends would not have had the opportunity to take part in the breaking of bread in their local congregations because of their local preaching assignments.

Soon after the Covenant service it was followed by Dinner and since it was the beginning of a new term and also New Year we thought that it would be fantastic to begin with a Bang so we prepared Briyani. (Hyderabad is famous for Biryani) It was an exciting dinner because even the Principal and the Registrar's family joined us for dinner and I happened to serve them. In closing my experience as a Mess coordinator has in fact taught me to depend on God for every small thing just as a child would depend on his/her parents. It was absolutely a wonderful experience for me to mangage and orgainze so many things with in a short span of time.