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.)
| Volume | Date | Issue |
|---|---|---|
| 3 | 1966 | 3 |
Easter
Will it be Easter, now and ever, for you and me?
Let us think back to that first Easter:
A child was born: in a simple peasant home but heir to the riches of those days.
Heir to "the Law", wrought out of a pilgrimage,
through the "wilderness," unto "the Promised land" ...
heir to one of the greatest family of prophets ever known ...
heir to all this and more.
A child was born who soon knew
that he must be about his "Father's business."
He became a "son-of-the-law" and "of-the-prophets."
He was a faithful son of his village.
He took his place in the synagogue.
But he knew he must go beyond; he must fulfil.
He must make his own pilgrimage.
And he did!
He went out, no place to lay his head,
to feed the hungry, to quench thirst;
to heal the sick, to forgive;
to visit the imprisoned, to bring freedom and much more.
He could say, "I am the way, the truth, the life."
"No one is good but God Himself."
"You will do greater things than I; I go to the Father."
"I have greater things to tell you; the Spirit will guide you."
and much more.
The time came when he turned his face to Jerusalem.
He cleansed the temple.
He faced the religious and political leaders of the day.
They crucified him! Weak men know no other way to face the good man.
Weak disciples again became strong.
A satsang was born; Devotees of "The Saviour" had all in common.
They turned the "world upside down."
They went to the ends of the earth with their message.
They affirmed, "The Lord is risen!"
Humanity still faces hunger, poverty, disease and exploitation.
A "dog-eat-dog economy" dominates our living.
Caste, class, nationalism destroy the family of man.
Creedism, denominationalism, sectarianism taint all religion.
But man is ever reaching out for new expressions of truth
Jesus said, "Love the Eternal and your neighbour."
That sums up the law and the prophets.
We should worship "in spirit and in truth."
Sensitive souls today are saying:
"The day of religion and politics is gone;
Now is the day of spirituality and science."
"Christianity has been only a religion;
the Christian is now called to share the suffering of the world."
"Christianity is not only a religion of salvation;
our relation to God is a new life in 'being-for-others'."
"Christ calls man out of his 'being for-himself.'"
The seed must die in the dirt of life if it is to be reborn and live.
The true parent gives its life for the child and lives!
John Kennedy is stronger dead than alive.
You and I?
Ours is a great vocation; the living for others and Reality:
When others are in heaven; then I am in heaven.
When humanity is fed; I am satisfied.
When man is free; his child is free.
This is the risen life! for you and for me!
Great Souls have lived and opened great doors.
Such opening doors face us today:
A man of new stature, greater maturity is being born.
The midwife, Time, is bringing the New Family into being.
One sees the first break of the egg of the New Community.
Hindus, Muslims, Buddhists and Christians slowly realise
that they must walk and grow and serve together.
World Community is being born!
New Life is everywhere.
The resurrection is real;
prophets of this New Day have given their lives.
No one man is sufficient for these great tasks.
We hold our vocation in fellowship.
The integrity of the individual is that of being able to give
his precious gift, in freedom, unto all.
But his gift is always that in fellowship.
We are a great family of workers, of sinners, of saints,
of priests, of prophets ... a great family of creators ...
Comrades in ushering into existence the New Life.
In that Great Fellowship the Scavenger, the Doctor ...
the Mother and Father ...
the Guru and the Child ...
the Tiller and the Driver ...
the Priest and the Prophet ...
yea, all True Servants of Humanity
have their equal and important place!
Each child of the Eternal is unique.
That gift must be given and will be given.
There is the equality of man and of all his expressions.
There is the genius of man in all its variety.
It is Easter!
Is it Easter for each one of us?
Are we experiencing the Risen Life of Jesus Christ? of ourselves?
Will our sowing of the seed bring forth the good fruit?
The harvest is ready; are the labourers ready?
Each one of us must discover the secret of the New Life.
Only then can Easter be real to you, to me and to us all.
It is to that glorious Easter we are called.— Ralph Richard Keithahn.
Spurious Tongues and Subtle Satanic Deceptions Through the Subconscious Self
(Continued)
1. Error Due to the Word “Stammering” Used
Some erroneously believe that such strange sounds as ‘Thu-thu-thu’ are the manifestation of filling by the Holy Spirit and quote Isaiah 28:11 to substantiate their theory. If we refer to the R.V., we find that the exact translation is ‘strange lips’ and ‘another tongue.’ This passage is quoted by the Holy Spirit through Paul in 1 Corinthians 14:21, which even in the A.V. are said to be ‘other tongues’ and ‘other lips’, which prove that stammering tongues were not countenanced in Apostolic times. So such utterances can be only from the subliminal self of man or the outcome of the deceptions from the evil spirits.
It will be remembered that the excellent and godly men who translated the scriptures in 1611 had not the advantage of their successors in 1881 for neither the Vatican, Sinatis (both most ancient of Biblical MSS.) nor the Alexandrian Codex were available to the translators of our noble Authorised Version, Consequently the blemishes of the former were corrected in the latter Revised Version of 1881.
2. Erroneous Addition of the Word “Unknown”
It is true that in the days of the apostles, God gave the gift of tongues, that is languages, so that different nations speaking different languages and dialects could understand the Word of God as the Spirit gave utterance (Acts 2:4-8). No doubt at that time it also served as a sign to unbelievers (1 Corinthians 14:22). There are five references in Acts and twenty-one in 1 Corinthians, regarding tongues, but nowhere is unknown tongue mentioned. The word ‘unknown’ is the addition of the translators on their own initiative and responsibility. Had they known that such confusion as has risen in these days would ensue, they certainly would not have ventured to qualify the word Tongue by the word ‘unknown.’ Nevertheless, it is to their credit that they have shown the word in italics to denote that it is their insertion and that the word does not appear in the original text. The method of using italics is not incorporated in the oriental languages, therefore in the translation of the Bible in certain oriental languages, since italics are not used, the word ‘unknown’ appears as if it is in the original. Those who use their Bible only in the vernacular are truly confused. Our conclusion therefore is that the tongues prevalent in Apostolic times were definite languages and not unintelligible sounds. Similarly, we are justified in concluding that the gift of tongues mentioned in those days was bestowed neither as a result of prayer nor as the product of a tarrying meeting, but was the immediate outcome of their knowledge of Jesus Christ when they accepted Him as their personal Saviour which led them to magnify God in languages recognised by the apostles present at that time, Acts 10:44-46. We have reason therefore to wonder how we could by any stretch of imagination associate the unintelligible gibberish of spurious tongues heard today with the genuine utterance of apostolic times.
3. “Letting Go”
The pernicious doctrine of “Letting go” of the inner self to keep in blank on the pretext of filling should be challenged. If people fall into this trap they will consciously or unconsciously expose themselves to the attack of the wicked spirits who are in search of human bodies for manifestation. God has given the five senses that we might through this avenue gather knowledge for our mind and spirit. Similarly, the intellect, reasoning capacity and conscience are God-given gifts to man so that he might always utilise all these faculties for His glory. “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul and with all thy strength” is what the Lord Himself instructed the lawyer who questioned Him (Matthew 22:39). It is dangerous therefore to “Let go” any part of our tripartite being at any time. The enemy is anxious that these channels of instruction and information should be put out of action so that by deadening the consciousness, the subconscious self might come to the forefront to enable him to dominate in the inner self of man. It is not God’s intention that at any time man should become an automaton. Man was created in the image of his Maker and though he fell by transgression, it is the intention of God that man should be conformed to the image of His Son (Romans 8:29) It is His will that the very God of peace should sanctify us wholly that our whole spirit, soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ (1 Thessalonians 5:23). A believer, neglecting the Word of God and prayer and associating himself with wicked and voluptuous people is liable to fall a victim to his passions. Similarly, a born-again person would jeopardise his position if he allows his subliminal self to dominate him for in that state of dull torpidity and passivity, robbed of his individuality and deprived of the full use of his senses to decide right from wrong, he becomes extremely vulnerable to the attack of evil spirits. A believer should be in a fit state to analyse his physical feeling and to differentiate them from those which arise from his soul. Similarly, he should be in a position to discern soulish activity from that of his spirit, lest he let out any part of his tripartite self for enemy control. He must learn at the very moment he is attacked to seek shelter in the shed Blood of the Lamb and to wield the Sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God.
(Concluded)
— Excerpts from BETHANY TRACT 58, Thiruvottiyur High Road, Madras 21.
The Brahmo Samaj
Its Religious Principles
We believe that this universe has sprung from, is sustained and governed by the will of a supreme and self-existent Being, infinite in power, wisdom, love, justice, and holiness. We cannot conceive or comprehend him except partially through his manifestations in nature and in man; but by means of our reason and instincts, our faith and intuition, we can sufficiently know him to believe in him and to worship him.
We believe that worship, or conscious moral and spiritual intercourse with the Father, consisting of an attitude of love, gratitude, trust, and reverence is a most sacred and solemn duty on man’s part and the way to salvation.
We believe that the way to this salvation is through love, which teaches the soul to seek the will of the Father, as the biggest good. It does not snatch the soul away from temptations, nor violently uproots the desires, but places it above them and beyond them by making them matters of indifference to its purpose or aim.
We believe that not only outward morality, but also the purity of the inward nature, producing singleness of mind and holiness of intention, is one of the first conditions of spiritual intercourse with God, and that the attainment of this holiness should be a matter of earnest prayer.
By prayer, we understand that loving, trustful, and expectant attitude which the soul naturally assumes towards God, when it feels itself weak and fainting in its struggles after spiritual progress.
We do not look upon the world as a delusion nor as a place of bondage nor as the heritage of fallen humanity and consequently an abode of sin and suffering; but we believe that the world is a nursery for the soul, beautifully adapted for its growth and development, and for the exercise and culture of its moral and spiritual powers during the early stage of its existence; and that all the spiritual and moral ties that bind man to his family and to his kind, are sacred and divinely ordained.
We believe that true piety does not consist in outward ceremonies and asceticism, but in the strict purity of inward conduct, in the sanctification of the relations of life, and in the combination and harmony of faith and work, of communion and prayer, and of love and philanthropy.
We believe that religion is progressive; that all the religions of the world represent more or less imperfect attempts to spell out the common religious instincts and spiritual aspirations of mankind; that they have not been made but have grown out of the spiritual life of man, assuming different forms owing to differences of intellectual moral, social, and political condition So there are truths in all, and we cheerfully accept them.
We regard the whole human race as a family, of which God is the Father, the world the abode, the great men the elder brothers, the scriptures of all nations the depositories of spiritual treasure and the triumph of truth, love, and justice the ultimate goal.
— The Indian Messenger - Sivanth Sastri.
The Better Way
Factions within the Church was the theme of a Consultation held last year at Rajpur (Dehra Dun) under the joint auspices of the Christian Retreat and Study Centre there and the Christian Institute for the Study of Religion and Society, Bangalore. A few of the papers presented at that Consultation and the findings have now been brought together in the March 1966 issue of the Religion and Society (Bulletin of the C.I.S.R.S.). It seems to us that this study is important and topical because of the prevalence of factional animosity and violence that so much mar the unity and effective witness of the Church. It is hardly worthwhile religiously pursuing church-union negotiations when, at the same time, local churches and dioceses are splitting up. Important though the church union efforts are, to ignore the rot that is within the churches would be hypocrisy. The last state of the future United Church would be worse than the first - in their separate existence.
In a few dioceses of the Church of South India there are factions, often violent ones. They are called factions for the reason that they form the minorities and are up against the powers that be who are wont to crush them. So long as the official body is strong with constitutional, legal, financial and hierarchical buttresses they tend to be content to say that the faction leaders should capitulate or quit. It does not seem to occur to the powers that be to ask themselves whether and to What extent their own actions helped create such factions. In Kerala some time ago a popular drama ningal enne kammunist aaki, you made us Communist, was being staged in hundreds of places. Might not some of our dioceses ask, Did the authorities create these factions? A measure of self-criticism might help even where factionalism has gone too far. A little soul-searching might go a long way to heal the breaches.
Indian Churches, it seems to us, are awaiting the emergence of a leadership that relies on truth and non-violence in thought, word and deed. This is the minimum that India’s heritage asks us to supply, even if we are not so surrendered and unselfish as to claim for ourselves the greater fruits of the Spirit. No, no, no, no. The authorities in the C.S.I. dioceses cannot afford to turn the blind eye to the current situation. Our claim to spirituality, to having a Gospel of Peace and Goodwill, to our being ‘a chosen generation’, needs to be justified by practical acts of love and reconciliation. Else the Hindu population will rise up and pronounce judgement on us, and when they do, where shall we stand?
— The Guardian, 4 August 1966 - (Editorial) M.S.R.
Gandhijii and Jesus
By Chandrashekhar S. Kirby
Shri P. Kodanda Rao, a veteran member of the Servants of India Society, while commenting on the World Christian Council held at Delhi, wrote an article in one of the dailies published in Bangalore, in which he tried to compare Gandhijii and Jesus Christ, under the above caption.
Comparison Necessary
The saying that “comparisons are odious” is only a half-truth; and it is to be noted that only those who suffer by such comparisons take shelter under this saying! But even in our every day life, we do compare and contrast in most of our transactions; and it is not only advisable but even necessary to compare between two or more things or persons in order to assess their respective worth and value and find out the truth dispassionately and without prejudice or preconceived ideas.
But in his attempt to show his great admiration for Gandhijii, the Father of our Nation, who liberated us from the yoke of foreign rule, Shri Kodanda Rao has failed in the correct evaluation of Jesus Christ, and has placed Gandhijii on a bigger pedestal than Jesus Christ!
Truth Often Unpalatable
And however convenient and pleasing this picture of Shri Kodanda Rao might appear to the lovers and admirers of Gandhijii, one should not lose sight of the Truth because it happens to be unpalatable. It is a well-known fact that the outstanding weakness of our Hindu brethren is their tendency towards low hero-worship, which makes them magnify and even deify persons with a few extraordinary gifts or qualities - in spite of their defects - just because “We admire them” or because “they are our men!” And in the case of Gandhijii, we all know that there are thousands of persons who are prepared to worship him as “an Avatar of God” because he won freedom for our country without firing a shot or shedding the opponents blood, but by using the miraculously powerful weapon of “Ahimsa” or non-violence.
But even a cursory and superficial examination would make it crystal clear to any sincere and fair-minded person that the difference between these two great personalities is so wide and great, that it becomes a difference in kind and not simply in degree! And for want of space, we shall not go into any detailed analysis, but shall assess their value on some acknowledged facts and on their own claims and statements, which cannot be doubted since both are admitted, on all hands, to be perfectly truthful and honest.
Their Own Claims
- Gandhijii never claimed to be a Godhead or “Avatar” of God (except in the general sense according to the Hindu philosophy which looks unto all men as having a portion of divinity in them, and to that extent, being the “Avatar” of God). Jesus Christ, on the other hand definitely claimed to be the “Avatar” of God and the Saviour of sinful humanity from the guilt and power of sin.
- Gandhijii was keenly conscious of his defects and draw-backs and openly admitted his having committed “Himalayan blunders”; but Jesus Christ was pure and sinless, and even challenged his enemies to find any sin in him.
- Gandhijii never claimed to be a spiritual leader, although he was a very devout person who experimented with truth successfully for winning freedom for his country, which was the chief aim and object of his life. But Jesus Christ was not a political leader trying to win, for his Jewish race, freedom from the bondage of Roman sovereignty; but claimed to be the Saviour of sinful humanity, and sacrificed his life on the Cross, as an atonement or prayaschitta balidan, to redeem the sinners, and bring about their reconciliation with the holy God.
- There are many spiritual leaders whose preaching and practice differ very widely; but Jesus Christ stands out as the most perfect and unique figure in human history, revealing the qualities of the Holy, Just and Loving God. It is therefore rightly said that Jesus Christ is the perfect and qualifying adjective to the common noun God!
- While Gandhijii was only an experimenter and follower of Truth Jesus Christ who spoke with authority said, “I am the Way the Truth and the Life,” and claimed to be “the Light of the World.”
It should therefore be the duty of all earnest seekers after Truth, to examine the claims and statements of these two honest and truthful personalities, and arrive at their own conclusions, after disabusing their minds of all prejudices.
[The above article was published in “Mysinia” Weekly of Bangalore in its issue of 14-1-1062]
Family Life Weakens
Statistics recently released by the Population Reference Bureau are a staggering commentary on the state of family life in this country. According to bureau, 400,000 of the 1.6 million marriages in the United States in 1963 will end in divorce. Three million children in the nation now have divorced or separated parents. One baby of every 20 born in the United States in 1963 - or approximately 224,000 - will be born to an unmarried mother. The number of births out of wedlock is nearly twice what it was in 1950 and nearly three times what it was in 1940, Paralleling such depressing statistics are certain sociological developments. The average family size is declining to 3.4 children per married woman; two-thirds of American women are now married before age 21; 77,000 married girls attend high school; one of every three women in the United States is in the labour force. Although these parallelling sociological developments undoubtedly weaken American family life, the major factor contributing to this delinquency is the widespread decline of reverence for the marriage vow, the home, the family, the sexual relationship. When a generation concludes - as many in this one has - that in regard to sexuality nothing is inviolably sacred, nothing absolutely forbidden, nothing degrading which sophistication cannot redeem, it is on its way to domestic ruin. The warning signs are up; we have already travelled a long way down the road which destroyed Rome.
— Christian Century
[If we had correct statistics of India they would reveal the same, if not far worse social and moral conditions in our country. Socialistic and political remedies may alter some superficial appearances. They can never cure the roots of the moral and spiritual malaise. The only effective and permanent remedy is a call back to the Cross of Christ from which the churches of the west have been slowly moving away. - Editor. Church of Christ.]
(Copy of a letter dated 1-9-65 from Rao Sahib K. Subba Rao, B.A., B.T., of Munipalli, Guntur District, to Mr. C.D. Airan, Trimulgherry, A.P.).
My dear Brother Airan,
This letter is written in an inspired and semi-conscious mood. Ha! I feel that you must be with me in moments of inspiration to hear what I say. People hear, but can’t understand. What is more, they think that I am a fool and an enemy of Christians. And the Hindus think that I am a Christian religionist bent upon destroying Hinduism.
My position is peculiar. I love this position as I am not alone. I am with the greatest children of God. Once I heard a story about Hasarath Mohamined who was fleeing from his enemies. Abu Bakr, his disciple was with him. The enemy was almost on them. Suddenly both of them slipped and fell; and hid themselves behind a stone by the wayside. The enemies were looking up, riding fast and not looking down, where these two were hiding The disciple was trembling with fear, He said: “O Master, we are only two and without weapons; they are thousands.” The Prophet said: “We are not two, but three. The third one, powerful Allah is with us. Don’t worry” That teaches us a very good lesson.
God is perfect. Man is imperfect. Man has to become perfect to become the son of God. A perfected man is Son. A perfected man is the Visible God. Seeing a perfected man (Son) is seeing the Father. God is a Spirit - unseen, beginningless, endless, formless and nameless. If Airan becomes perfect, seeing him is seeing God.
What is the meaning of being perfect? Jesus said: “Be ye perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect.” God is perfect. Man is imperfect. God is a Spirit. Man is matter and spirit. Matter has desires, lusts, hatred, etc. God, who is the Spirit, is quite free from all these qualities of matter. To become the Son of God, man has to keep himself free from all these evils. Son is God. A perfect man - Christ - is the Son of God. That is, he is free from the bondage of the body. You can’t be both. You can’t be both God and Mammon.
Live for the Spirit, you are saved. Live for the body, you are undone. He who tries to please his body, which is a part of matter, can’t please God. Conquest of self is the problem for man who has to be saved - who has to realise himself - who has to become Christ. Complete conquest in mind, word and deed - no good in setting limits to the nature of the body, and calling them Commandments. Commands are there for the slave of the body; orders are for servants. For a free man - for a Christ - there are no orders. When you are not subject to the dusty body, you are not subject to the laws at all. He who is in Christ can’t be condemned by any law, by any religion or by anything else here or elsewhere. He is a Law unto himself and even more than that.
The outward you are the temple of God, and it goes without saying that the inward “you” is God. And it is only for a beginner in quest of Truth that God is a form. A beginner attributes his form and his qualities to the Spirit, and pleases himself by calling that Spirit, God. You forgot what you are, and fell. This has been called Sin. There are two kinds of sins in the minds of philosophers. One is crossing the limits set by law, e.g., adultery. Here you are allowed to be the slave of the body. But even if you keep yourself within all the limits - Commandments - there is no freedom or salvation. One has to renounce everything to become perfect. It was rightly said by HIM that those who are fit for salvation do not marry or be given in marriage, and unless one gives up his wife, children, house, etc., he cannot even become His disciple. If complete renunciation and conquest of the self are not accepted, acceptance of Jesus Christ is nothing but a mockery. I may not be able to do it. But that does not mean that I should twist the Truth and be damned.
When once we misinterpret or deviate from a Truth for the love of a religion, or to cover up our incapacity, we become deceivers of Christ Himself. This sin shall never be forgiven. Such people are the “slaves of the belly.” They crucify Christ every day. They keep religion above CHRIST. They preach love and practise hatred. They lay stress on means rather than on the end, just to cover up their inability - face-saving device.
In the fallen state, man has forgotten himself and created an external God in his own image, giving him a form, time, space, thirst, hunger, etc. And constructed for him a shelter called a Temple or a Church. Days and nights in vain he worships Him, rather begs Him, that imaginary God who is the creation of his own image or “Agnana” (ignorance) of his fallen state. He has ill-treated or killed every perfect man, in the name of a religion, mistaking it to be a perfect service to God. He has killed the perfect man - Jesus Christ - with all his religious zeal, simply because He told him the TRUTH, “Destroy this temple; I shall rebuild it in three days.” And again made Him (the rebel against a religion) a prisoner of another religious jail called Christianity. And moving about to propagate it, even at the expense of Christ. Wonderful World. Wonderful Men. They are not ashamed of their crime.
O man; O hypocrite; why all these senseless things? Why so much waste of breath and energy? You may do a lot of penance and fasting; you may embrace all the religions; you may undergo all the varieties of baptisms; you may weep day and nights in bitter tears in your eyes; and call it tearful prayer. But know that you get nothing out of all that. Undo all that nonsense, disturb the business there like the Master Jesus, come out victoriously like Him, get free from the bondage of all religions and the innumerable doctrines; bury them deep, and like HIM, live for others, die for others and become a Christ.
You are the Temple of God, and the Spirit of God dwells in you. If you forget this fact you are lost. See the God within you, and in all the other bodies around you. Poor chap, you can’t look in; you lost the strength for it. The bodily nature disturbs your attention. It fixes you to the world and worldly things. It creates “I” and “Mine.” Conquer the nature. It is not so easy. Try hard. Again and again. That is “Sadhana.” That is Worship. That is Prayer. If you succeed, your link with the world is gone. Matter and Mammon have no control over you. Then your memory comes back. Then once again you can remember who you are. The delusion will be gone. That is realisation. The whole process, effort, is Prayer, and Worship. That is realisation. You have become Christ. No more prayer. If further prayer is still required, it would mean that you have not become perfect; you are not united with Him; you have not lost your individuality; and you have not merged with Him; you are therefore NOT a CHRISTIAN.
It is in this context that I told you in my last letter that prayer and worship lead you nowhere. Live like Christ Jesus, die like Jesus Christ. That makes you perfect. That makes you Christ. That is Salvation.
My dearest Brother Airan! May the Lord Jesus lead you on to realisation. May He give you lots of opportunities to expound His Truth. May God bless you and your family. Yours affectionately,
— Sd/- K. Subba Rao.
[We are glad to publish this letter of Rao Sahib Subba Rao as sent by Brother Airan. While we appreciate the spirituality that breathes through this letter and Brother Subba Rao’s evident Bhakti for Christ, we feel we must make a few short comments in the interest of truth and a deeper understanding of the nature of Christ.
Sin is not just forgetfulness of your true self being really God in you. It is a typical and fundamental Hindu idea that the Jeeva is Atman - the soul of man is pure in itself unaffected by sin as such being covered and protected by fine and coarse sheaths (Pancha Kosha). In that condition it is oblivious of its true divinity under the spell of maya (Avidya-ignorance-forgetfulness). Forgetfulness is sin. To pierce the sheaths of maya through true enlightenment is seeing oneself in its true nature of divinity. So knowledge is salvation and ignorance sin.
Now, even a superficial student of the Bible will understand that this Hindu doctrine is antithetic to the teaching of the whole Bible from the beginning to the end. According to the Bible sin is rebellion against the Divine Will - disobedience to the command of God. Adam and Eve knew fully well the commandment of God. They did not lack knowledge. So sin is essentially deliberate disobedience. Sin affects the soul, twists it. Through sincere repentance and faith in the atonement wrought by Christ upon the Cross through the love of the Father and the power of the Spirit, this crookedness is made straight, and the soul regains its obedience to the Divine. This is Christ’s salvation a free gift of God - not a fruit or price of our sadhana however sincere it may be. The Hindu idea is static metaphysical the Christian truth is dynamic creative - ethical. The Divine human relationship in Christianity is a moral situation - full of revolutionary potentialities while in Hinduism the relationship is a matter of outlook - Darshan of Reality - of true Being revealing an eternal status - which is static. Because as soon as the realisation comes that one is a God or is one with him in a positional sense that is the End. To read Hindu concepts into Christian truths or interpret them in pseudo Christian language, if done through misunderstanding, will create confusion in the mind both of the author and of the readers. If done deliberately, it will be literary dishonesty or spiritual hypocrisy.
If sin were mere ignorance or forgetfulness (Avidya or maya) it would be excusable. But look at the world-both ancient and modern. Is not sin a fiendish power working havoc upon life - in family, society, in the state? Is it excusable? And must be punished, and he has done so once and for all.
There is a factual error when Rao Sahib quotes our Lord as saying that those who are fit for salvation do not marry or be given in marriage. He evidently spoke of the angels in heaven and not of men.
Perfection belongs only to God and to his perfect Image on earth - Jesus Christ. We, His children, can only approximate it. It will remain an aspiration, and a growth which will be full only in heaven. The idea of perfectionism is a dangerous theory. It begets spiritual egotism. Christ likeness should not be cheapened. We must have the due humanity. The growth in Christ likeness must be a process entirely under the grace and guidance of the Holy Spirit. We are too familiar with the hopeless situation in India where Gurus and Incarnations have grown on the right and on the left like mushrooms through the ages. - Editor Church of Christ.]
Notes
1. Shimoga
Has become a notorious name and a painful memory among many in recent months. The Christians of Shimoga have been ruthlessly oppressed and uprooted from their lawfully owned and occupied lands by the Mysore Government. They were dynamic and productive cultivators. It is not clear for what fault or failure on their part these harmless members of a minority community have been driven out of their homes, their houses burned, property looted, convents and churches destroyed by a secular Congress Government. It is unimaginable unless you believe that the Congress today is dominated by Hindu communal elements. Such methods of cruelty and violence were used by Indian princes and landlords when they wanted to oust their poor and helpless subjects for any reasons. Other instances of such oppression of minority and poor communities are not wanting during the last 19 years of independence. How will common people continue to cherish the ideals of democratic justice and equality so loudly proclaimed by our leaders and Government representatives when the Chief Minister of an important state becomes guilty of such naked repression and violence against hundreds of his poor but honest workers on land in these days When production of food is being boosted by the Government itself?
One hopes that a proper judicial probe will be made into this sordid affair and if for any compelling reasons the poor people cannot be reinstated on their previous homesteads, adequate arrangements for their rehabilitation will be made and their losses, temporal and spiritual, will be fully compensated for. The matter has been widely noticed by the Indian press in their editorials. Catholic, Protestants and other national organisations standing for justice and fair play should carry the matter to the highest authorities for full redress and equitable restitution. In these days of making an Indian nation, we must not allow such acts of violent injustice to go unchallenged. It is good that meanwhile the sufferers are being helped in temporary camps by social organisations. But we must not rest with some social helpfulness. Our object should be to fight to the last for social justice. It should be a matter of serious consideration irrespective of creed and caste by all Peace Organisations of the country.
2. Vacillation and Inefficiency
They are writ large upon the Foreign and Home policies of the country. There have been consistent prevarication, hesitation, thoughtlessness either prompted by selfish reasons or due to administrative inexperience. Too many compromises, tantalising delays and fearfulness mark the behaviour of our ministers. Our legislatures show lack of unity in fundamentals, divisive party interests, want of ordinary decorum and sense of justice and fair play. If the representatives of our common people in Parliaments are forgetful of their constituencies interests and welfare, if they love comfort and party squabbles - how can the country progress or rise? If our ministers and bureaucratic administrators are either greedy, or idle and negligent, or inefficient or have neither talents nor education nor experience - where is the hope for the success of secular democracy? As regards our foreign policy, it has been marked with a happy-go-lucky posture all along. Our embassies have been too expensive with little substance but big show. Our representatives in other countries, except a very few exceptions, are not well-trained. Some have not been quite loyal to our ideals. Instead of doing hard diplomatic work in a wise and efficient manner, have taken the line of least resistance and have enjoyed cultural and artistic pastime.
While our representatives have failed to come up to the mark, the Government of India’s policies have not been always clear to make effective communication and publicity possible. In trying to maneuvre between the two blocks of power, they have hardly given a clear lead to the foreign missions. Then, the Government policy in regard to the Nagas, language question, boundary questions, bifurcation of states, internal political quarrels has been full of contradictions, dilatory and not in accordance with any fundamental principles. Our handling of the problem of Kashmir and the Chinese dispute has lacked both precision and decision. Under the circumstances, our foreign propaganda cannot be very fruitful.
We have been borrowing too much from overseas instead of learning self-reliance through a slower process. In the too many sky-high projects and big industrial plans there has been too much corruption, and they have become less productive and insecure. The masses of poor people have been suffering great hardships because of public apathy and neglect of smaller industries.
The outstanding scandal has been the total failure of Government in checking the rise of prices, in supplying food especially to the poor, in halting black-marketing and profiteering, in dealing firmly with corrupt and inefficient ministers, in checking the greed and high-handedness of big business. How long, and how can the people, for whose happiness and prosperity the Government has been established, bear with them? The administration in all its branches, is full of not only bribe and neglect but also of casteism, nepotism and favouritism. Apart from red tape there is so much pressure by politicians upon the administrative machinery that it has become almost impossible for the average citizen to secure justice. The Government has failed to remove the causes of huge unemployment, of academical and political indiscipline, of rank corruptions and widespread poverty. Shock treatment on the eve of elections will not convince anyone. The writing on the wall is ominous.
3. Conference on Peace With Justice
At Bombay recently is an indication of the past failure of the church as a whole in expressing a proper and effective Christian attitude towards public questions and national problems. Some thoughtful Christian leaders in different walks of life have always felt this lack throughout the country. The Indian Christian Association of the British times and the age of missionary ascendancy fulfilled the need to some extent. But India’s entry into a new pattern under independence has changed many aspects of our life. There are new problems and new situations. What is the duty of Christians in the present context of India? The All India Council of Indian Christians, obsessed with a sense of the failure and default of the church, has been trying to do something nebulous without a clear grasp of realities.
The protagonists of the present enterprise, if it is not to fizzle out as a mere sentiment, must pursue it further and deep into the situation of the country and be sure of facts. Christians have failed in several directions.
- They have failed to realise their real needs and problems by over emphasising the importance of their temporal wants;
- They have failed to define precisely their purposes and objectives.
- They have put forth too much attention and effort on the all India nature of their work and neglected its development at state levels - the real base.
- The leaders have generally lacked the knowledge of Christian principles, and the skill to apply them to our social and political life.
- The most harmful failure has been an almost entire absence of sacrificial service in the field of national life, so that Christian’s demands for rights and equity have lacked the moral justification.
Remembering these past failures and weaknesses the organising leaders should see to it that the movement for unity, fellowship and co-operation on the political and social and even religious levels is rooted in the states and even the districts of the country. For this there must be volunteer workers of zeal and industry and of selfless spirit as they have had in the Indian National Congress in the past. The discovery and creation of character in Christian leaders and in other workers should be the primary aim of this movement. Unity and fellowship will not be developed among Christians by any sermons or campaigns but may slowly grow if there are arrangements for meeting of one another at the local social and religious levels.
4. Plight of Christians in Varanasi
The Anglican Diocese of Lucknow promised to settle Christians on its compound land adjacent to St. Paul’s church on terms of lease about two decades ago. Christians who were already living in the compound in rented houses together with some others were asked to form themselves into a society which they did very promptly. Then started a process of tantalising delay in the implementation of the promise. Christians had gone into some expenses for the formation of a society and for making up the plots. The Parish Hall which used to stand in the middle of the compound having collapsed was never rebuilt on its old site but later on was built as part of the parsonage and of the church compound. For 35 years we have never seen a church school in the Christian compound which was slowly isolated from any contact With the church compound and all links through any religions or educational institutions were lost. Rumour is afloat that the Corporation is going to acquire the whole Christian village which will practically mean that the Diocese will get a few lakhs of rupees and the poor helpless Christians will be thrown out on the street! There seems to have been a deep-laid plan devised in collaboration between the religious and temporal authorities in order to reduce further the already depleted and demoralised life of the indigenous church!
Five senior ministers of the Lucknow-Varanasi synod of the (British) Methodist Church have resigned apparently because their temporal needs are not adequately met by the reduced Mission grants from abroad in these days of big prices. Many of these ministers have been involved in the desecration, abuse, and selfish appropriation of the land of the now extinct “Benares United City Mission” at Ramkatora where between 1930 and 1948 this editor spent 18 precious years of his mature life in a fruitful evangelistic ministry among the religious Hindus under the grace of God.
After all that has happened here among Christians - both missionaries and nationals - the Christian situation stands out as shameful, dismal, hopeless and dark. Probably God is breaking the conspiracy of Satan in sacred places - the power of human wisdom and wealth in building up his kingdom and giving an opportunity to true believers to rise in freedom and victory and joy.
In the Fellowship of Faith and Work
(REPORT and NEWS)
The Annual Day of the Bharat Khrist Sangha for retreat and business was held on the 19th June (Sunday) 1966 in the hospitable home of our respected friend Shri P.N. Choudhury of Dum Dum, Calcutta. It was a good meeting to which some new friends came, and their presence was very welcome. But it was a matter of regret that no representatives of outside churches could attend.
Pastor David Dutt conducted the morning service at which he gave an uplifting sermon. In the afternoon devotions Rev. B.D. Roy M.A., B. Ed., spoke helpful words. In the business meeting a new Treasurer was appointed in the vacancy caused by the demise of Prof. M.L. Sircar, M.A. In the same way a new President was elected in the place of Dr. V.N. Sharma Ph.D. of Madras who retired after nearly 5 years of happy fellowship. Unfortunately we could not fill up the vacancy of the Assistant Secretary. Our sincere thanks are due to Brother Choudhury for his kindness and hospitality extended to the B.K.S.
We are interested to know that our beloved young friend and servant of God - Debabrate (David) Dutt has been rather suddenly called to a ministry of the Word in the U.S.A. at Chicago in the first stage. We wish and pray God’s richest blessings upon his prophetic ministry. May he be kept safe and sound while in U.S.A. that dynamic and restless country. Our hearts are gladdened to see that this young worker is developing fast along the lines of his late father - the well-known and effective evangelist - Nalini Dutt. D. Dutt had an encouraging evangelistic trip this last summer round Bhilai, Rourkela and Cuttack.
Acharya Das, on his return to the Ashram and after an initial trouble overcome, has met and taught two groups of adult American students (22 and 28) of the World Christian Seminar studying religious, social and political conditions of different countries. Miss Hamilton (U.S.A.), a lady from W. Germany, Canon Chatterjee of Howrah and Shri S. Sircar (itinerant evangelist) have stayed in the Ashram.
— Secretary, B.K.S.
Dedicated Minister
From American Reporter
Dr. Howard Thurman is Dean of the Chapel and Professor of Spiritual Disciplines and Resources at the Boston University School of Theology, Massachusetts. He is also minister-at-large of Fellowship Church in San Francisco, a unique church organisation inviting persons of all races and all faiths to join together in common worship. A speaker of commanding eloquence and a profound religious philosopher, Dr. Thurman has been described as one of the great preachers in America today. Many people, thinking of his creed - that the spiritual experience of the human race is essentially one single experience - have given him another title prophet.
At Boston University, Dr. Thurman heads a six-member board of clergymen and directs religious programme aimed at establishing an interracial, inter-denominational religious centre for the 27,000 students and faculty and the neighbouring community. Here, as at Fellowship Church, he is continuing the work-around which most of his life has centred for the past twenty-five years, the development of a spiritual fellowship that will bridge the divisive social barriers of religious worship.
Meeting With Gandhi
The idea of a “church for all peoples, whatever their colour, whatever their caste,” came to Dr. Thurman at Khyber Pass while he was making a “Pilgrimage of Friendship” to India, Burma and Ceylon in 1935. On leave of absence from the position which he then held as Dean of the Chapel at Howard University in Washington, Dr. Thurman travelled some 20,000 miles, spoke in forty-five educational centres and met many of the spiritual and political leaders of the East. A meeting with Mahatma Gandhi started him thinking about the inequities of “separateness” in religion and the spiritual need of the “disinherited and underprivileged.” “The trip caught up with us at Khyber Pass,” he said, “and it was here that we weighed it and sorted it out.”
Returning to Washington, Dr. Thurman continued his work at Howard University for the next few years. The idea of building a non-denominational church never left him, however, and in 1944 he took leave of the campus that had been his home for more than a decade and moved to California to become co-pastor of the newly formed Church for the Fellowship of All Peoples.
Inter-Racial Church
From the beginning the new church cut across racial lines. Himself a Negro, Dr. Thurman sought to bring together Caucasians, Africans, and Asians in common worship. He also organised the “Friends of Fellowship Church,” an auxiliary of about 1,200 members-at-large living in widely scattered places as far away as India, parts of the United States, Japan, South Africa, Taiwan, Iran and England.
Invited to join the Boston University faculty in 1953, Dr. Thurman accepted the appointment only when he was convinced that the university programme offered an opportunity to put the principles of Fellowship Church into practice; arrangements have been made for him been made for him to spend his summers in San Francisco working with the church.
Whether speaking to his congregation as a minister or to his students as an educator, the rich baritone voice with which Dr. Thurman holds his audience spellbound is as quick to laughter as it is to eloquence.
“What we are committed to,” he explains, “is very simple - that it is possible to develop a religious fellowship that is so creative in character, so convincing in quality that it inspires the mind to multiply experiences of unity - which experiences become over and over again more compelling than the concepts, the ways of life, the sects and the creeds that separate man. Wherever man has the scent of the eternal unity in his spirit, he hunts for it in his home, in his work, among his friends and in his pleasures. It is my simple faith that this is the kind of universe that sustains that kind of adventure. And what we are fumbling towards now - tomorrow will be the way of life for everybody.”
[It was a great privilege, 30 years ago, to receive Dr. Thurman as a three-day guest together with another couple - his colleagues in the Team. We cannot forget the deep impression he made upon a large audience in the Hindu University Hall when he described with dignity the sufferings of his people in America and how they were steadily winning in the struggle against white racial hatred through the grace and power of Jesus Christ their unseen Leader and Guide. - Editor Church of Christ].
Books on the Interrelation of Hinduism and Christianity
Indian Christian Thought Series
- My Theological Quest - Bishop A.J. Appasamy
- Ananyatwa - Sri Mark Sunder Rao.
- Khristopanishad - Prof. Darjibhai Fakirbhai.
- Unique Christ and Indigenous Christianity - Dr. S. Jesudason.
- The Mountain of the Lord - Two Pilgrims on the Way.
- Convictions of an Indian Disciple - Acharya R.C. Das.
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