The Church of Christ

(Based on the Word of God; dedicated to the promotion of independence, Indianisation, unity, co-operation, and to the removal of corruption and evil in all forms and in all places.)

The Battle of God Against Gog

The battle of Gog and Magog is at least seven years previous to the battle of Armageddon. In the battle of Gog in Ezekiel 38 there are only two alliances of nations facing each other. In the battle of Armageddon the Antichrist brings all nations against Jerusalem.

When the battle of Armageddon is fought it will be in Valley of Megiddo, but the battle of God with Gog is fought on the mountains of Israel, in the northern part of the country given to Abraham and his seed.

The great age-ending events of prophecy are swiftly shaping up for fulfilment. The rapture of the saints at the coming of the Lord is ever-nearing, and all who love the Lord and the souls of men should bend every effort to get the truth to the people, and link themselves up with the myriads of Christians throughout the globe - praying for world revival, world evangelisation and the World return of our blessed Lord.

— By William Beirnes.

Fasting Strengthens the Intensity of Prayer, and Becomes the Unceasing Expression of Prayer Without Words

When the Lord’s people return to prayer and fasting, revival will come - and the power of God shall be made manifest. The reason why Christians in general are lukewarm is - there is too much sleep, too much meat and drink, too little fasting and self-denial, too much conversation in the world, too much preaching and hearing - and too little self-examination, with fasting and prayer.

— By Gordon Core of Great Britain.

What Meanest Thou, O Sleeper? Arise, Call Upon Thy God

Jonah 1:6.

THE MASTER CHALLENGES: WHY SLEEP YE? RISE AND PRAY Luke 22:46.

We Are in a Time of Great Trouble and Distress

Hear the Word of the Lord: “Call upon Me in the Day of Trouble. I will Deliver Thee, and Thou Shalt Glorify Me”. Psalms 50:15.

God Awaits the Fervent, Believing, Persistent, Prevailing Prayers of His Redeemed People - That He May Save Us from Ruin and Desolation. (2 Chronicles 7:14; Luke 18:1-8; Luke 11:1-13; Psalms 107:6).

Evangelical Christians Hold the Key to Today’s Crisis

If We Pray, in Faith - If We Pray Through - God Will Intervene. He will Always Answer The Prayer of Faith! (Matthew 21:22, Mark 9:23)

But if We Fail to PRAY, and to Pray THROUGH - We Are Responsible for the Wreckage and Ruin That is Headed Our Way!

Therefore, Pray Ye

"Herald of His Coming"

The Christian Ashram Movement

A Report and an Evaluation

By C.D. Airan, I.O.S., (Retired)

In the India of today some of our ancient customs and institutions have outlived their usefulness. The caste system is no longer indispensable for the social grouping of professional people; the study of religious Scriptures is no longer the exclusive right of priesthood. But the Ashram movement in its progressive form is continuing to serve its purpose.

Historical Background

Centuries before Christ, Ashrams had been started by Hindu Hermits who chose a life of solitude and devoted their time to meditation and search of God. They undoubtedly believed that they would be nearer to God in an environment of silent loneliness surrounded by nature in all its glory. They formed a family of disciples around the founder who by spontaneous assent became their Guru. Such Ashrams had existed even before Buddha appeared on the scene of spiritual renaissance. Discipline, simplicity, humility and love reigned supreme in such ashrams and the Gurus of those days were reputed to have achieved supernatural powers. Such Ashrams were usually located on high mountains and unapproachable secluded depths of jungles. The Gurus were not merely religious. The great kings of the past were sent to Ashrams to be trained in archery, king-craft, diplomacy, democratic principles and concern for the common people.

The atmosphere and scope of Ashrams gradually changed down the centuries. The present generation is well acquainted with the Ashrams established by Mahatma Gandhi, Dr. Rabindranath Tagore and the Ramakrishna Mission for the all-round purpose of education, cultural training and social service, besides the practice of religious life. And these settlements are no longer confined to deep forests or high mountains. Family life is upheld and all distinctions and discrimination strictly discarded.

Concerning ancient and modern Ashrams, the late justice P. Chenchiah comments: “Sadhu Sunder Singh made sanyasa an ideal acceptable to Christians, and Dr. Jesudasan and Dr. Paton made ashrama colonies an integral part of Christian social organic life.” “Ancient ashrams sought to introduce a spiritual element into the texture of caste. The Brahmacharya learned Scriptures, the Grahasta practised charity and hospitality. Sanyasis were avowedly above caste. Ashrams were great centres of spiritual experimentation. They experimented with spiritual techniques, later known as Yoga, unhampered by custom or tradition. Lastly, they made experiments in simple life plain living and high thinking.”

Oneness with God and harmony with all living beings were diligently sought after by the inmates of ancient ashrams. For realising the Presence of God and attaining unity with Him, they practised Yoga by long silent hours of meditation, to be able to detach the mind from the body and say: “Speak, Lord, Thy servant heareth.” We, on the other hand, are used to long prayers saying: “Listen, Lord, Thy servant speaketh.”

The Ashram Movement

The imported hostile attitude towards Hinduism and the establishment of Western forms of worship have continued to be an obstacle to evangelism in India. The doctrinal divisions among Christians are also a serious hindrance. The surrender of some harmless habits and customs of the Hindu tradition as preconditions to baptism has also retarded the progress of Christianity in our country. In the light of these circumstances, the Christian Ashram has appeared on the scene as an ideal institution for preaching the Gospel of Christ without any doctrinal and ecclesiastical strings. This indeed was the underlying purpose of Dr. Savarirayan Jesudasan and Dr. Ernest Forrester Paton, in making a start in Tirupattur. They also felt that great hindrance to the understanding of Christ’s messages was the deep-rooted opinion in the mind of our people that Christianity was a foreign religion. This has been accentuated by the fact that the political domination of backward countries by the west had also served as a spearhead for Missionary ventures.

The Christian Ashram

It may surprise many to know that there are 40 odd Christian Ashrams in India, most of them in the south. Few of these can, however, claim to follow the pattern of ancient Indian Ashrams, where the Guru and the Bhaktas lived together in isolation, practising, austerity and sanctity. Some of our Ashrams are no more than Camps for Christian groups to meet for Retreats and Conventions. But all have a vocation to serve the Church. The chief distinguishing factors are:

1. Some are primarily meant for single men, others are limited to single woman and a few admit men and women, who live separately but unite for worship and service;
2. Some are strictly vegetarian while others are flexible in their choice of food;
3. The medium of communication depends on the language of the region where the ashram is located; these are Malayalam, Tamil, Canarese, Telugu and Hindi, and also English, the happy medium for all; (Also Bengali and Oriya. - Editor)

Indigenous Expression

A Christian Ashram provides a more effective presentation of the indigenous nature of Christianity than a City Church. The mode of worship, devotional lyrics, silent moments of meditation, prostrate adoration, use of oil lamps and flowers at the altar, the temple atmosphere and simple attire of worshippers, the taboo on footwear within sacred precincts, all these tend to reflect our religion as an Eastern faith. Most of the Ashrams bear the prefix of identity with Christ, such as Christu Kula, Isha Panthi, Christa Seva, Christa Prema, Christava, Christa Mitra, Christa Panti, Christa Krupa, Christ Sevakee, Christa Shanti, Christiya Bandhu, Christa Dasa, Khristpanthi, Christian, Christa, Yesudasi and Christa Sishya. Some indicate their Christian alliance by the prefix Bethel, Sevananda, Premalaya, Bethany, Shishya, Fellowship, Gospel and Spiritual Life Centre.

The Syrian Church of Kerala, though it has existed for about eighteen centuries, has not spread outside its own linguistic and regional boundary. The Foreign Mission that appeared later naturally introduced their own form of worship and methods of religious expression, thus sowing the seeds of denominational groups, following the pattern of their Western affiliations. This gave rise to the unfortunate erroneous belief that Christianity was a foreign religion whose followers were loyal to the foreign rulers.

The early missionaries, who did some magnificent pioneer work under very great hardship, had an engrafted wrong notion that Hinduism was a false religion with barbarous customs, and regarded our people as heathens and pagans. But there is no excuse today for persisting in the attitude. Our temples are opening to Shudras and our Churches are always open to blacks and whites. Fr. Robert de Nobili with other Jesuits is reported to have incurred the displeasure of the Vatican for Indianising themselves by dressing like Hindu sanyasi (ascetics) in saffron robes and wooden sandals, and freely mixing with the people primarily to get a tolerant hearing on religion. The term “indigenous” should not, however, be mistaken for “primitive,” nor should it mean unfair prejudice against anything and everything foreign. Dr. Paton wisely defines it thus: “We should not slavishly follow that past nor take up a way of life simply because it is Indian.”

Preaching and Practice

Christianity, to survive in its indigenous form, should become a powerhouse of spiritual influence in daily life - not a machinery for preaching and propaganda. For people are no longer attracted by sermons, but only by character; not by arguments, but by moral standards; not by blindness to the indwelling Christ in men of other faiths, but by rejoicing that “the true Light lighteneth every man that cometh into the world.” The best training ground for this is an Ashram, where the fellowship in Christ is not bound together by any formal vows or ceremonies. And here is what Gandhijii said during his visit to the Christu Kula Ashram in 1934: “Could you not be content to give witness to Christ by your lives alone, as words are always inadequate and often misleading as they expressed either too little or too much.”

Ashram Principles

The main principles of Ashram life may be enumerated as follows:

1. Prayer and devotional life around which the daily round of work and service bears the fruit of “abiding in Christ.”
2. The spirit of loving one another, forgiving one another, and bearing one another’s burden, as marks of the indwelling Christ.
3. Service to neighbours who are mostly poor villagers, sharing the simplicity of their life, winning friendship and meeting their particular needs as far as possible;
4. Seeking to make use of these forms of life and expression of devotion for realising the search for God;
5. Building up character and discipline in obedience and humility in service;
6. Establishing a simpler form of worship without any confusing ecclesiastical systems, theological gabble or academic jargon.

— Reprinted from the Christian Focus, October 1963.

Herbert Pakenham Walsh

Missionary, Principal, Bishop, Sadhu, Ashramite and Faithful Servant of God

Bishop Walsh was Irish by birth. His father was the Dean of Cashel, Cathedral town in the South-East of Ireland. The Bishop was first educated at a preparatory school in the south of England, then at Birkenhead school after which he entered Trinity College, Dublin. With him were his brothers, Willy and Ernest - whom the college servant named ‘the big devil’ Herbert because of his black hair, the ‘black devil’ and the ‘little devil.’

Herbert was ordained deacon by his father in 1896 and joined the S.P.G. at Hazaribagh in India. He was ordained priest in 1901 by Bishop Whitely of Ranchi. He was anxious to follow Christ as a servant like C.F. Andrews, Marjorie Sykes and others. He was appointed Principal of the S.P.G. College, Trichinopoly 1904-1906, Principal of the Bishop Cotton Boys’ and Girls’ High Schools in Bangalore 1907-1913, Diocesan Missionary and Travelling Secretary for the CEMS - Church of England Men’s Society for two years, Bishop of Assam 1915-1923, Principal Bishop’s College, Calcutta 1923-1935, Sadhu and Guru at Tadagam Ashram founded by him and members of the Orthodox Syrian Church 1935-1959. He died on January 9, 1959 at 87.

Bishop Pakenham Walsh was a true servant of Christ wherever he was. The few years of his life as Bishop of Assam were the best years of his life.

The one aim and object of the Father in God is to meet and minister to as many of his people as possible (p. 33). Sri Paul Nadar who joined the college with the Principal in 1904, an advocate and an old student at Tiruchirappalli, wrote of him.

“We felt the quality of his discipline. He looks like a medieval monk … The subject of his teaching was Love of God.” Sadhu Sivananda of the Rishikesh Ashram, and Sesha Ayangar, Madras High Court Judge, were among his old students.

The Rev. Pakenham Walsh was consecrated Bishop at Calcutta in January 1915 by the Metropolitan Bishop Lefroy. As Bishop, he travelled much. The roads were composed largely of silt in the Brahmaputra valley. He once travelled on cycle 30 miles returning at 10 p.m. The Bishop’s Headquarters was Shillong, and he travelled in a daring way.

During the visits to congregation the whole day he was busy. As Principal of Bishop’s College he gained a reputation for friendliness. Every Saturday was a ‘retreat’ day for the Bishop - the Brahmo Samajist Mayor of Calcutta, Mr. J.M. Sen Gupta, had tea with him and told the students ‘you have a saint as your principal.’ During his second furlough in 1935 he visited the Patriarch of Antioch in Hom. His attempts to make peace between the Syrian Christians who were going to courts of law did not succeed immediately.

In recent years the Bishop’s Ministry is known for his healing work. Christians are nervous about taking to this ministry fearing to bring dishonour to Christ’s name, He conducted a healing service at Colombo Cathedral in 1922. His student at Bishop’s College, the Rev. C. Wickramanayake of Badulla, Ceylon writes with regard to preparation of people for Divine Healing:

“The example of the bishop, the way he interceded for the sick, and in particular those who sought Unction, was sufficient inspiration and evidence that what one man learnt of prayer through these preparation classes was true.”

He was a familiar figure in Madras during his Tadagam days conducting the ministry of healing. Bishop Pakenham Walsh was a pastoral bishop. He never refused to see people. His ministry at Tadagam as Guru with Father Verghese as Acharya will be considered by some as the best period of the Bishop’s service. All servants of God are real Sadhus with or without a Sadhu’s robes.

As long as churches in Europe send missionaries of Bishop Pakenham Walsh’s type there is evidence that in spite of materialism and indifference to religion, the Christian Gospel will survive.

— The Guardian.

How Bishop Trevor Huddleston, Anglican Bishop of Masai, in Tanganyika Lives and Administers His Diocese

His palace of mud and wood has a living room, a bedroom and a chapel. His Cathedral is of stone with corrugated iron roof. There is neither an organ nor a choir in his Cathedral and, therefore, it is an encouragement for the congregation to sing.

He travels on foot or in a Land-Rover. He speaks Swahili. His church is an African church. 6 out of 10 of his clergy are Africans and there will soon be an African Assistant Bishop and an African archdeacon. He is not a colonialist. The land is not fertile and the Bishop thinks that the church has a splendid opportunity here. Secondly the church must produce leadership in all fields of activity of the Tanganyika Government. Missionaries who come out have to live on their bare stipends. The bishop is a celibate. He is simple-hearted and holy.

— The Guardian.

(Such bishops or heads of churches are badly needed in India. - Editor S. and P.)

Christmas Celebration

My dear Brothers and Sisters,

I am exceedingly grateful to Dr. T.M.P. Mahdevan (the Area Secretary of The Union for the Study of Great Religions) for having rescued me from the limbo of Oblivion - and for having given me this opportunity to attend this Seminar and have Fraternal fellowship with you all, and to listen to so many of your erudite expositions and philosophical discourses regarding the various subjects which come under the purview of this third Seminar.

While listening, as a poor and uninitiated layman, to the high-sounding, mysterious and mystifying words of philosophical terminology, I felt myself out of joint.

Of course, I do admit that such highly specialised language is necessary, and has to be even coined, in order to express some higher and finer shades of philosophical ideas, which specialists like you wish to communicate.

Although I had a great fascination for philosophy, it was such high-sounding and mystifying words which scared me away from my Philosophy Class while studying in the Wilson College in Bombay, and contended myself with a practical and working philosophy regarding the three vital problems, namely God, Soul and the World or “Ishwara, Jeeva and Jagat” which even the ordinary man on the street has to face and solve in his own humble way. I also felt convinced that “Moksa” was meant not only for the highly qualified philosophers but also for the poor but sincere and honest peasants and even illiterate “Bhaktas” who worship the Almighty and Merciful God, in a spirit of complete self-surrender or “Sarva- Samarpana-Buddhi!” I have had many wonderful experiences which have convinced me, not only about the existence and presence of God, but also of his abundant Grace and Love even towards sinners like me!

Just one more thought which occurred to me was, that we had met here as Doctors to carry, on a post-mortem examination of a dead-body, with all our skill and scientific knowledge! I felt that instead of, or in addition to, the wonderful analytical survey of the Mystic cult, or the “Bhakti Marga” if we had invited at least a couple of Mystics or Bhaktas to relate to us their experiences in their own language or poetry, or through their emotional or even physical reactions while contemplating about the ineffable and indescribable Beauty, Grace and Love of God, we would have been considerably benefitted by such a practical and ocular demonstration and proof of the mystical cult or “Bhakti Marga”!

Now, to come to the main subject of Christmas, I wish to convey to Dr. Mahadevan and Professor Ramanujachari my grateful thanks for having allowed us (Christian delegates) to celebrate this Christmas Festival with you all Brothers and Sisters! When I left my native place last week, to attend this Seminar, all the way from Hubli, which is nearly 1,000 Kilometers from here, my relatives and friends were considerably puzzled and worried as to why I should undertake such a long, inconvenient and expensive journey and that too, during this Christmas season, when Christians all over the world travel hundreds of miles to be with their kith and kin during this happy festival - and they wondered why I should go to this Seminar - especially when I was not one of the speakers!

And I too, could not give them - or even to myself - any satisfactory explanation except that I was feeling a great urge within me to respond to Dr. Mahadevan’s kind invitation at any cost! But it is only now that I see the Divine plan that I should celebrate this Christmas with all of you who are my Brothers and Sisters in a special way - not merely because we all belong to the common human race, but because you are the Children of God seeking and exploring the Absolute Truth and Ultimate Reality in an earnest and highly commendable manner! And therefore it is most fitting and proper that we, who have gathered here, - not accidentally but providentially, - under the auspices of “The Union for the Study of Great Religions” should devote some time for knowing more about the exalted and inexhaustible and wonderful Saviour of mankind, Jesus Christ, - on this Happy Christmas Day, when 90 Crores of men, women and children (out of the total world population of 300 crores), are worshipping and celebrating the Birthday of this great Friend and Redeemer of sinful humanity!

You are, no doubt, aware that Swami Vivekananda - the illustrious Son of Bharat Mata - who inaugurated the famous Ramakrishna Mission on Christmas Night - had a great regard for Lord Jesus Christ, which he expressed in the following memorable words, “IF I, AS AN ORIENTAL, AM TO WORSHIP JESUS OF NAZARETH THERE IS ONLY ONE WAY LEFT FOR ME; AND THAT IS, TO WORSHIP HIM AS GOD, AND NOTHING ELSE!”

So, on this Christmas Day, I am asking a few of my Christian Brothers here, to join me in singing a song (Hark! The Herald angels sing!) after which, I shall read to you a few paragraphs from Dr. Charles Hall’s speech delivered as far back as in 1902, in the series of “BARROWS LECTURES” and then I shall end up with the concluding portion of a tape-recorded speech given by an eminent Christian Bhakta of Karnatak, when he was invited to Mysore in September 1960, to address the 13th Annual Session of the ALL INDIA DIVINE LIFE SOCIETY, founded by the late Swami Shivanandaji of Rishikesh, Himalayas: -

I would like to conclude by bringing to your kind notice that Christmas is really and truly celebrated, when Christ is born in our hearts; and that the first requirement for Him to be born in our hearts is to get to know Him; because,

TO KNOW HIM IS TO SEE HIM; AND TO SEE HIM IS TO LOVE HIM! AND TO LOVE HIM, IS TO LOVE BUT HIM, FOREVER!

May God Bless you all abundantly on this Christmas Day, and throughout the Coming Years, so that you may go out as Messengers of Divine Peace and Love!

Yours Sincerely & Fraternally, C.S. Kirby, Founder and President, The Centenary Christian Association, Hubli.¹

News From Many Quarters

Students take Communion together. Some 320 Christian students from a variety of confessional backgrounds took communion together at a study conference held at Graz in Austria by the World Student Christian Federation.

Their action was a new attempt to deal with the problem of communion at ecumenical conferences - one of the most delicate points of discussion in the ecumenical movement.

Traditionally at such meetings communion services are held by local churches and the group divides, each participant going to his own church.

The invitation to take communion was issued ‘in the name of Christ’ by the conference chaplain, the Rev. Heiko Rohrbach, of the Evangelical Church of Wurttemberg, Germany, who acted with the authorisation of his own church and with the permission of local church authorities. Sharing in the service with him in distributing the bread and the wine were ordained ministers of the Swedish Lutheran Church, the Evangelical Church in Austria, the Anglican Church of England, and the Waldensian Church of Italy.

The preparatory document outlined why Federation officials took the step. It quoted a report on Unity issued by the Third Assembly of the World Council of Churches which said: ‘We must meet responsibly, the rising tide of impatience among many young people, and indeed among many others for more prompt and certain progress toward mutual understanding in this most central and vital experience of Christian worship and witness.’

With this in mind, the Federation paper said, ‘We felt that we had discussed questions of inter-communion for long enough to be almost exasperated by more discussion. Could we not do something and see what happens?’

— N.C.C. Review, January 1968

British Youth Stress Need for Church Unity

The necessity for Church Unity was stressed by the 1,200 delegates to the Third British Conference of Christian Youth in a statement which was adopted with only a handful of dissident votes.

One of the highlights of the conference, which was sponsored by the British Council of Churches, was an open Anglican communion service in the local cathedral. All baptised delegates, no matter what their church affiliation, were invited by Dr. Ronald Williams, Bishop of Leicester, to attend the service.

This was the first open Anglican service ever to be held in connection with an ecumenical youth conference in Britain. Bishop Williams was criticised for this action by the Anglo-Catholic wing of the Church of England, and by some secular newspapers.

The young people said, We ask that the blessing which unmistakably altered the Service of Preparation and the Holy Communion at Leicester be recognised by our churches and by the British Council of Churches. We urge that for the future ways be sought to make possible an even more open invitation. But we acknowledge the seriousness and sincerity of those who do not share this conviction. We remember that it was both with pain and joy that we found ourselves one in Christ in the Cathedral Church at Leicester! N.C.C. Review. January 1963.

What We Look for in Our Clergy

Recently we had occasion to visit churches of various denominations in the course of work having to do with Fellowship in Prayer, several times when church members paused to speak to their minister after service. What struck us forcibly was the thing that almost everyone really seeks in their religious leader and so rarely finds. What they look for, what they hunger and thirst for, is not what many ministers believe they seek. They do not look for scholarship and learning, not for worldly wisdom and a knowledge of the times they live in. They can find these things, and more effectively, in many other areas, and from other sources. Nor do they want theological attainments and knowledge of the scriptures. They look for spiritual power, radiance and purity; for spirituality, for the strength of holiness, for the wisdom and love that come to a man when he has had spiritual experience, when he not only knows about God - but actually knows God, from direct experience.

How wonderful it would be if after church service we could greet our religious leader in the certainty that he was a man of God, if we could see in his face and eyes the love for all humanity which the knowledge of the God alone would give him, if from the touch of his hand and a few soft, intuitive words we could draw that special strength and inspiration that nothing else, and no other association in life, could give us.

Such men, even after a brief contact with them, can renew our flagging spirits and restore our faith in the spiritual life as we leave to face the world again, with all its challenges and doubts. They would be the bread for our souls that we so sorely need. They would be a living witness to the reality of God and the all-conquering power of prayer, for if God were not real and these men did not pray, never would they have achieved the character and quality they have. The very thought of them would refresh us and fill us with joy. By thinking of them with admiration and reverence we would gradually become like them.

How rare are such men in our times, and how badly they are needed. For, these people, and they alone, can talk to us of God and of spiritual things and make us believe them, and only they can tell us the purpose of life.

Many of us, most of us perhaps, think of Christ as a divine figure, the ideal of mankind through the ages. We are told to live like him, to be and act as he did. But how can we know what he was like if we do not know a Christ-like man to start with In religion, the character of the teacher is everything, it is the only thing that convinces us. Lacking that, philosophy and instruction stimulate us for a while, but do not stay with us. Character alone is constant. Only he who is like Christ can show us the ideal in a living reality and inspire us to try to follow it.

Thus, the great majority of the men who tell us to imitate Christ, be they priest or minister, are no closer to the Nazarene, in the conduct of their own lives and the development of their own personalities, than we are ourselves. This is the sad truth. It is why few sermons strike deep roots in us.

Talk is easy. Most of us can talk quite well on spiritual matters from a pulpit or a living room. When it comes to action; to actually living out religion in our lives, it is another matter altogether. This is not a criticism of the clergy as such. Most of them are good men. They are not to blame any more than the rest of us. The fault is in our approach to religious goals. We think that a knowledge of theology, a little familiarity with the scriptures, or subscribing to a few beliefs make a man religious. All this is talk, mere intellectual attainments. Most of us are experts in these fields. In the long run they count for nothing. They have their place, no doubt. But they cannot take us to God, they cannot transform our lives into lives of spirituality and invulnerable inner power, they cannot make us know the Divine Reality.

Most religious leaders today cannot live the Christ life because they do not spend enough time in prayer and meditation, they do not undergo the necessary spiritual disciplines, they do not practice renunciation to a sufficient degree. In short, they do not stir up in themselves a longing for God and for spiritual experience. The result is that we get men who often have great charm and maturity men of poise and intellect and social grace; but not holy men, men who have risen above the bondage of opinion and desire, not men whose very presence can give us an absolute conviction of the reality of God and the deathlessness of the soul. Only a living example can do it.

Mere goodness is not enough, admirable though it is. Our priests and ministers are all good men, but we are all good at times. Morality and ethics are not enough. They are moral, decent men. But so are the rest of us more often than not. Many people who believe in no God at all are good, moral and ethical people. Obviously these things are not really the answer. What is the answer? Spiritual discipline, renunciation, consecrated lives; and prayer and meditation of a type whose only purpose is to contact the living God and make ourselves one with Him. Short of that, we have theology and ethics and though they are good in themselves they are only secondary things. The other things, what we look for, long for, and so rarely meet with in our spiritual counsellor, is the real thing, the pearl of great price.

Clergymen of all kinds have too long been deceiving themselves with the thought that lectures on religion and articles about the scriptures make a man religious. We all know they do not. We all know the religious man - the man of spiritual power - when we see him, but we do not see him often in our churches. Our clergymen should re-examine themselves and drastically revise their estimates of the religious ideal. All of us should do the same.

Editorial, _Fellowship in Prayer_, August 1960 _The Indian Messenger_,
21 October 1960.

Fellowship News

1. Quite some time ago Sadhu J.N. Huldar dissociated himself from the B.K.S. and its activities.
2. Dr. V.N. Sharma our beloved President spent a year (1963-64) in Germany, Switzerland and other centres in Europe delivering lectures on Indian Culture to Universities and on the relationship that should subsist between them and the Indian Christians, also on the desirability of the church in India coming to its own on an indigenous basis.
3. Sadhu A.N. Sircar of Katpadi (Vellore, Madras State) has been carrying on his healing services on Sundays in the Hall on the ground floor of his house. At this writing he is taking part in the Diamond Jubilee celebrations and all India Council meetings of the N.M.S.
4. Ishananda Sudhir Kumar Paul has been preaching the* Gospel and praying for the sick in different centres in Cuttack, Berhampore and Puri districts of Orissa. He seriously proposes to open an Ashram centre on the seaside. He hopes to take a tour of Bihar, U.P., Rajasthan and M.P. in the spring of 1965.
5. D. Rev. Sevak Haripani Jennah has been carrying on in different parts of Orissa with his Ashram and Church Centre at Keonjhar. I had the pleasure of meeting him for 8 days at Barrackpore in a Conference.
6. Our much respected friend and Hon. Treasurer Prof. M.L. Sen, M.A. of Calcutta has been keeping fairly well. We wish him health and strength and many more years of useful activity for the church.
7. Dr. D.K. Santra Ph.D. Professor at Birla College, Pilani (Rajasthan), our dear friend and senior Vice President of the B.K.S. went abroad last year with his family for further experience. It is a matter of pride and encouragement that on return they have entrusted him with serious responsibilities of organising leadership in this fast developing technological and scientific Institution. May he be found worthy of the trust.
8. At the next meetings of Committee and Retreat we shall have to approve of appointment to the offices of Assistant Secretary and President. Please let us think of suitable names and pray over it.
9. Our beloved Brother Rev. S.J. Pramanick of Jamshedpur has not been well recently suffering from eye trouble. Please remember him in your prayers.
10. A Retreat Conference of Hindu converts and Christian writers of apologetics met in October at Barrackpore Methodist Church in the Bengal Christian Literature Centre. Acharya-Das was asked to convoke it under the auspices of the “Christian Institute for the study of Religion and Society” (N.C.O.), Rev. J.P. Hastings (leader of the Literature centre) made excellent arrangements. Dr. Herbert Jaisingh represented the C.I.S.R.S. as its Associate Director. Prof. Y.D. Tiwuri of Serampore College - himself a convert - was another leader. The participation of a Hindu Swami (Chinmayananda Puri of Serampore) an old student of St. Paul’s College well versed in the Bible (who calls himself a Christian but not Churchman) was an inspiration and a challenge. It was good that two of us B.K.S. men (Brother Haripani and myself) were present there and made our contributions.
11. It is a matter of deep regret that our respected former President - Rev. Dr. C.G. Samuel of St. Thomas Hospital and Zion Church Fellowship of Mahasamund - has been hobnobbing with the Jehovah Witnesses and Rai Sahib Subba Rao (the unbaptised Hindu believer and healer of Andhra) and denying the Divinity of Christ. His dearest relatives (including Dr. Mrs. Samuel) and the bishops of the Mar Thoma Church have all been grieved. In the spring of 1964 I was invited to lead in meditation during the Passion Week in his church. Most gratuitously he interfered with me and stopped my meetings in the middle. Some of us had the impression all along that he was not mentally whole and suffered from paucity of brain. Only the living Lord and the divine Saviour can heal him. So pray for him and his sad family.
12. Acharya Das was in the Ashram at Varanasi as usual except that (a) he spent the summer (April, May, June) on the seaside at Puri and conducted a Retreat to which 5 younger people came from outside. Some local friends joined as usual. (b) He twice attended the North India Literature Society’s Committees and annual meetings at Allahabad. (c) He also attended the Barrackpore Conference. This winter (1964-65) he suffered from the effects of cold but is better and hopes to take a tour in W.B. in the spring.

Dr. Chittaranjan Mondol of Siliguri

At the foot of Darjeeling Hill has lost his Doctor father and the burden of the family has fallen on Shriman Chittaranjan. Our sincere condolences for the bereaved family and prayers and good wishes for the junior Mondol so that he may carry on bravely and cheerfully healing the sick and preaching the Gospel. For years their home has been open for outside preachers and a centre for keen evangelism. We met the young doctor in Varanasi where he came intending to carry on both his vocations in association with the local Pentecostal brethren. There was no prospect of success. On our prayerful advice he returned home and has established himself there. Let us remember him.

— Palali Pramukh.

News, Views and Comments

1. A Pastors Conference in Kerala

“800 Pastors gathered to consider only one question - Evangelism - the question as to the ways and means to reach the outsider with the Gospel. As an Indian organisation standing for this one purpose, the N.M.S. has reason for particular joy and gratitude for this lead and help from the ‘World Vision of America’.”

1. It is passing strange that after centuries of hibernation the leaders of South Indian Churches have awakened to discuss Evangelism. It is apt to remain fossilised on the stratum of theory as hundreds of such discussions have remained on the academic level for more than half a century.
2. It is a matter of shame for the N.M.S. to feel particular joy and gratitude for Uncle Sam’s bag of dollars and American lead - N.M.S. whose ideals in the past have been indigenous money, indigenous management and indigenous policy and method.
3. With no organisation and no money our Lord trained his disciples into apostles like Hindu Sanyasis in the village, or the street, in the Temple and synagogue, in the hills and lonely places (Ashrams) and on the lake-side.

The three years of Fellowship of Jesus the Guru and his chelas constituted both a stationary and peripatetic Ashram like that of Socrates and those of Hindu Rsis. Until Indian Pastors, preachers and teachers are disciplined on the basis of renunciation and simplicity of life nothing of the sort of things expected will ever happen. The blind cannot lead the blind. That is what is happening in theological seminaries.

2. “The Guardian - Guardian of What?”

This is how the Biblical Witness - Official organ of the so-called India Bible Council, an offshoot of Dr. Molntire’s notorious American faction - the International Council of Churches - speaks of much respected Christian journal of Madras, vide B.W. Dee 1964 page 15. The Guardian has been dealing with human affairs from very sound Christian standpoint for over a century in this land of Hindus and Muslims. It always has had an appeal to the Christian conscience, heart and reason.

Of such a well known and widely read paper the Witness speaks in terms of warped judgement and peculiar prejudice. It accuses G. of possessing “all the traits of a theological chameleon” of editing “for the right, left and centres,” of “giving modernists a boost,” of “shedding a tear for the fundamentalists leaving the denominations” and of “recently being nowhere.” It calls the “Christian Institute for the study of Religion and society” - (a department of the N.C.C.) who have recently accepted the editorial responsibility of the Guardian from Bangalore - “a portion of the Ecumenical Octopus.” According to the Bible Witness the Guardian has “passed into the hands of men (like Mr. M.M. Thomas long time advocate of liberal causes) who do not believe that the Bible is the very Word of God.” etc.

Whenever the B.W. or the India Bible Council criticises any other Christians than themselves they call them various names and exhaust the vocabulary of adjectives and abuse. It is only in America that the small sects and splinter groups are arising and buffeting the Body of Christ all over the world. The motives that lead to these secessions are apparently theological and organisational but really personal and selfish. Abundance of wealth, leisure, indiscipline in the new continent breeds these hybrid ecclesiastical abnormalities. It is indeed a pity that the I.B. Council has been promoting artificial splits in the name of Jesus Christ who is the full-orbed Truth and set in motion a spate of hatred, condemnation and division. Biblical ‘separation’ is a moral phenomenon not a physical or social fact. To put it mildly, we can only say that it is all due to immaturity (theological, spiritual and cultural) and impatience of an engineered movement with ambition and aggrandizement as motivating causes. Such unholy zeal and intolerance, lying and insincere propaganda has little chance of success in India.

3. Asian Christian Youth Congress

Sponsored by INDIA YOUTH FOR CHRIST in Hyderabad, India, May 19 to 26, 1965.

Features:

Exciting Bible Quizzes
Youth Know - how Sessions
Joyous Singspirations
Youthful Musical Talent
Evening Youth Rallies
Qualified Speakers

For further information, write to:

THE ASIAN, CHRISTIAN YOUTH CONGRESS

23 Damodara Mudaliar Road, Kilpauk, Madras 10, India.

[Why so many sectional youth conferences under so many different auspices? Can there be not one youth movement - co-operative and representative under the banner of the Church of Christ? These western sectarian, narrow and exclusive groups are poisoning the minds and hearts of the impressionable youth of Asia and of India in particular. They are prejudicing the leadership. Of the Church. - Editor.]

4. Election of Bishops

Though it is ultimately true that “ideas rule the world” (Carlyle) and though it is perfectly true that spiritual truths are dynamic, yet both these need a congenial atmosphere - a helpful situation - a way without fixed and heavy hurdles - a good ground in man’s practical life. In the modern world a man’s life is made, moulded and ruled almost wholly by external forces - money, ideology, politics, customs, constitutions, conventions, disciplines and systems not only in the practical sphere but also in the moral and spiritual. That is why we need today the help from the auxiliary power of law and legislation to encounter entrenched evil.

If there is any truth in the above remark it applies equally to the spiritual and religious life. Our life and its functions today are not uninhibited and everything is not spiritually motivated. Sound ideas and correct scriptural injections are often not respected and followed.

The spiritual position of bishop is today almost hopelessly integrated with economics and prestige. Until and unless this complicated knot is unravelled, or the Gordian Knot cut, by modifying the system or accepting a simpler pattern, there is not much hope of malpractices in elections disappearing or a wrong man net being elected. Even if a right man be elected, he will be a slave of the system and conventions and his good ideas and spiritual dynamics will not have any moral sway over the flock. Only under the direction of the Holy Spirit the present wrong and harmful situation can be rectified.

— Editor.

Khristpanthi Ashram

Varanasi, India.

After a consistent and fruitful ministry of the Word among the Hindus in this great city of 8 hundred thousand people of all groups covering 35 years at a stretch the activities of the Ashram may cease soon. The primary cause is lack of funds, secondarily my advancing age. In this strategic centre, between the main temple and the largest ghat, once the accommodation is given up, other Christians may not be able to come and live. Rupees sixty per members is the main responsibility for rental and electricity. A small family can live alongside of me.

A newly retired married couple, believing and imbued with the spirit of evangelism, or a couple of educated younger men with a broad outlook, a mission or an evangelical group or even a single man possessing qualifications of head and heart - will do great work for the kingdom. As long as I live or until I become infirm, I am prepared to give encouragement, counsel or instruction to the best of my ability. It has been my prayer that a distinctive witness to Christian Truth and Love may continue among the religious and educated Hindus here. Any persons, Indian or non-Indian, interested in this pioneering venture of faith may contact as follows.

Edited and Published by:

Rev. R.C. Das, M.A.,
Khristpanthi Ashram,
129, Dashashwamedh, Varanasi, India

Printed at:

Evangelical Press,
“CHRIST NAGAR MISSION”,
Badagayedapadavu Post, Mangalore Taluk, S. India