Indian Christian Theology
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253 6 ○○○○○ ○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○ Indian Christian Theology WHEN ONE SPEAKS OF Indian Christian Theology, it is generally considered as articulated reflections on God, Christ and the church, and how the Christian faith meets with Indian people in their views, culture and belief. To an outside observer the church in India seems to be dominated by western thinking as evident in church architecture, organization, music and publications. Again, a glance at the syllabus of any theological institution would reveal that it is dominated by western theology with the result that the preaching of an average Indian minister or evangelist reflects a western theological perspective. But efforts have been made to bring in ‘indigenization’ in its life and worship. There have been experiments in many other areas as well, such as Indian architectural styles. It is interesting to note that the Christian ashrams or religious communities, from the earliest days of western missionary activity, have used Christian lyrics composed in Indian metres and sung to tunes played on Indian instruments. Also there have been Indian Christian poets in every area and Indian Christian ascetics (sadhus) as well. Yet a pertinent question remains; was there a truly Indian expression of theological thought? One factor which has tended to discourage the emergence of a formulated Indian theology is the widespread dislike, both among the Hindus and Christians, of anything dogmatic. Hindus tend to think that Christianity is an authoritarian religion, which lays down dogmas as essential, 253 254 Christianity in India Through the Centuries and demands unconditional acceptance of them as prerequisites for salvation. This attitude has received considerable encouragement from the writings of Dr S Radhakrishnan, who has criticized Christianity for the tendency to fix its doctrinal categories. The absolute character of theological doctrines is incompatible with the mysterious character of religious truth.1 Indian theologians have related themselves to a number of Hindu philosophical systems. Western theology has never been able to dissociate itself from philosophy, from the time of Platonism of Justin Martyr onwards. Plato lies behind Augustine, and Aristotle behind Aquinas and even Calvin. In the West, the philosophy with which theology was been associated has not necessarily been Christian philosophy, and theologians in their systematic statements have used the language and thought patterns of such philosophers as Plato, Aristotle, Kant, Hegel and Buber.2 The Indian Christian theologians are concerned with two chief options. One is to remain faithful to their experience and knowledge of Christ who is the centre of their life. This involves a loyalty to that knowledge which the theologian has learned and the love of Christ. The other is to be concerned about the interpretation and proclamation of their understanding and experience so that others may come to know of it. The earliest Christian theological response of the traditional South Indian Christians in the early centuries was that they adapted the life pattern of their community to the socio-cultural life of their non- Christian neighbours. To them, the church was a religious congregation; they had occasional celebration of the Eucharist, which expressed their acknowledgement of the deity of Christ and set them apart as a Christian community from their Hindu neighbours and their worship pattern. At the same time, they attempted an integration of the Christian faith with its Semitic roots and the Hindu religious ethos. While they separated themselves from the rest of the society by their profession and practice of the Christian religion, they and their Hindu neighbours believed that every religion was effective as a means of salvation for its followers and they adapted themselves socially to the prevalent caste-hierarchy in India. Although this approach was not formulated in depth at any theological level, its historical significance in the wake of any contemporary discussion on the roots and relevance of the Christian faith in a pluralistic society cannot be ignored.3 The ancient church in Kerala included in it a number of traditions of Indian Christian Theology 255 the Persian Church, commonly referred to as Nestorians, and of the Syrian or Jacobite Church. But the early Indian Church did not evolve any distinct theological point of view, which could guide and inspire the Indian people. Probably it was because the Indian Christians existed in the midst of an alien Hindu environment and they had fitted into the caste-pattern of the society. Moreover, the language of the liturgy, Syriac, was not understood by most of the people for a long time till the Bible was translated into the vernacular (Malayalam) in the 19th century. So, naturally, Syrian Christology influenced the Indian theology of the time. Indigenous Theology Before the 16th century As there were no official records prior to the 16th century, in order to find out about indigenous Indian Christianity, one has to examine the general outlook and religious mentality of the community in regard to their life, customs and traditions. Robin Boyd says: It might be expected that the Syrian Church, with its long Indian tradition behind it, would have evolved a distinct type of theology which could be a guide and inspiration to Indian theologians of other, more recent, traditions. It must be admitted, however, that this has not been the case, and that it is only comparatively recently, and under the influence of western theology, that theological writers of note have begun to emerge.4 However, Antony Mookenthotam feels that it is possible that the ancient Indian Church had developed some theology of its own and this theology is not written in books but is implicit in the life, experience and traditions of the community. If one examines the certain aspects of the socio- ecclesiastical life of the St Thomas Christians, he may come to the same conclusion that of Antony Mookenthotam: Their identification with their socio-cultural milieu implies an incarnational theology lived as awareness that Christ in becoming man assumed everything human and redeemed all social and cultural values.5 The relationship between St Thomas Christians and the Hindu communities of the time gives an idea of their theology. The Portuguese noticed that they followed a number of pagan customs. In the Synod of 1599, the Portuguese forbade a number of customs and practices, which they considered pagan (Hindu). These prohibitions and restrictions are a witness to the communal harmony and cordial relationship that existed between the Christians and the Hindus. This communal harmony and the spirit of 256 Christianity in India Through the Centuries tolerance should be considered a typical Indian contribution to the Christian witness of the time. In Act III, Decree 4, of the 1599 Synod it referred to ‘a perverse dogma of politicians and those tolerant. .Consequently being indifferent they wander very far away from the truth’. The Portuguese sensed a danger in the more liberal attitude of the Christians towards the Hindu religion. This attitude of the Indian Christians was due to the fact they had been living for centuries in a positive encounter with high caste Hindus and had developed a theological vision of the Hindu religion, which was positive and liberal. The Indian Christians never accepted the idea that only the Latin form of Christianity was the true form, and they differentiated the ‘law of Peter’ from the ‘law of Thomas’. They believed that each Christian community had its own customs and usages, which probably originated from the apostles. The presence of Christians in India has had its impact on Indian society. Just before the arrival of the Portuguese, Christianity was confined almost entirely to Kerala, and the Hindus, Muslims and Jews co-existed. This brought a modus vivendi, which some historians called a ‘cultural symbiosis’ in which it is not easy to discern the specific influence of one religion on another. Small communities had existed here and there outside Kerala at one time or another before the 16th century. There are speculations and theories with regard to the influence of Christianity on Hinduism. One such speculation arose in connection with the alleged belief in a prophecy among the Hindus, particularly in certain bhakti literature about the coming of a ‘redeemer’. The Portuguese heard in Mylapore about some such prophecy.6 The St Thomas Christians as a community had adjusted to the environment in which they had to live and function over the centuries. Any student of history would wonder at the spontaneity with which the community adjusted itself to its mileu at least as far as their social life was concerned. This naturally led to the acceptance of certain practices and customs, a few of which perhaps tended to be in conflict with a genuine Christian life. Probably the Synod Diamper (1599) had some justification in correcting them. Unfortunately the Synod went a step further, which probably led the community gradually to become less and less open to change. The Syrian Orthodox Church is often called the ‘Jacobite’ Church Indian Christian Theology 257 (although a number of Orthodox Syrians do not accept it), the term ‘Jacobite’ being usually equated with ‘monophysitism’, which is a dogma associated with Eutychus who held that human nature of Christ is absorbed into the divine. The Council of Chalcedon with its affirmation that in Christ the two distinct forms, divine and human, are found in one ‘Person’ condemned Eutychus. A modern Syrian (Indian) writer E.M. Philip feels that the Chalcedon formula fails in effect to safeguard the true unity of Christ’s Person, or ‘nature’.7 A few Indian Syrian theologians who raised the questions were Syrian fathers like Severus of Antioch (who died in 538 CE) ‘Monophysites’.8 It seems that the traditional attitude of the Syrian Church to the Council of Chalcedon is that the Chalcedon formula is not the only way of expressing a true Christology.