You cannot go to India
without thinking about the relationship between Christianity and other
religions, at least if you are a theology professor and an Orthodox priest. The intersection of various spiritual
traditions really slaps you in the face with sacred cows, temples, pilgrims,
calls to prayer, and many other reminders that this is a part of the world where
faith in so many forms is a lively presence.
There have been Christians in India since St. Thomas the
Apostle, but they remain a small minority.
Both the evangelical ministry which hosted our group from McMurry
University and the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Christians whom I met were quite
comfortable working with and serving people of whatever religion. The evangelicals spoke of bringing people to
Christ and the Orthodox maintained their traditional worship and sacramental life. Both sponsor ministries to needy children of many
different faith communities. The evangelicals run a school with a Sikh
principal, Hindu teachers, and a tiny minority of Christian students. They also minister to a colony of lepers that
includes Hindus and Muslims. The
Orthodox mentioned that Hindus and Muslims sometimes come to services on major
feast days. A guide told us that most of
the visitors to a famous mosque in Mumbai are Hindus who venerate the relics of
an Islamic holy man. The Orthodox also
told me that one of their Indian saints is commonly venerated by both Muslims
and Hindus. To put it mildly, these
interreligious dynamics are a bit more complicated than the ones I encounter in
West Texas.
Both evangelicals
and Orthodox commented that conversion to Christianity is a complicated matter
in India, but not impossible. Though the
general Christian experience there has not been one of persecution, since
returning home I have read reports of an increase in anti-Christian violence in
some parts of the country in recent years.
Some Indian states have passed anti-conversion laws in response to Hindu
nationalist appeals. I was told that it
is virtually impossible to change one’s religion or caste in official
government records, but that in practice conversions definitely do occur.
“Preach the gospel at all times. When necessary, use words.” That quotation, attributed to St. Francis of
Assisi, came to mind in observing Indian Christians of whatever stripe. To bear witness to the good news of Jesus
Christ is a fundamental Christian practice which may be carried out in a
variety of ways dependent upon the circumstances. Actions often speak louder than words and a
picture (such as an icon) is worth a thousand words. The Lord invited His first disciples to “Come
and see.” The emissaries of Prince
Vladimir were drawn to Orthodox Christianity because the beauty of the Divine
Liturgy was such that they did not know whether they were in heaven or on
earth. To offer the worship of the
Church and to demonstrate Christ’s love to the needy are both ways of becoming
a living icon of God’s salvation that invites others to enter into the joy of
the heavenly kingdom.
Too much focus on the abstract question of the eternal
destiny of adherents of other religions leads us, however, to matters beyond
our rational knowledge. People find
salvation as persons in relationship with the Lord and one another, not due to
our knowledge of ideas, even when they are about God. Jesus Christ is surely the only Savior of the
world, but the parable of the Last Judgment in Matthew 25 provides hope that
some serve Him well without knowing that they do so. Created in the divine image and likeness, all
human beings can do better or worse; and the more truth we have received, the
greater the expectations. The witness of Indian Christians reminds us to
live out what we say we believe with integrity, even as we bow before the
mystery of how others relate to Him. As Christ taught, we will be judged by the
same standard we apply to others; so it is good to be careful to focus on
taking the logs out of our own eyes first.
St. Seraphim of Sarov said “Acquire the Spirit of peace
and thousands around you will be saved.”
That is the Holy Spirit, of course, and it is by His presence in our
lives that we may become living icons of God’s salvation and partakers of the
divine nature (2 Pet. 1:4). If we want
to live the kind of lives that point others to Christ by showing them His love
and holiness, we must be transformed by the One to Whom we open ourselves in
prayer, worship, and all the spiritual disciplines of the Christian life. Whether in India, America, or elsewhere,
Christians will be of no use if we are not enlivened by the same Spirit Who
overcame national and linguistic boundaries on the day of Pentecost and even
united Jews and Gentiles into one body.
Those whose lives manifest the presence of the Holy Spirit cannot help
but be true evangelists as signs of what happens to human beings in whom God
dwells.
India is a complex and confusing place, at least for this
recent visitor. But the focus of Indian
Christianity seems to be as clear as this admonition from St. James 1:27: “Pure and undefiled religion before God the
Father is this, To visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself
unspotted from the world.” Surely, there
is no better way to proclaim the gospel.
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