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?
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?
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