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Anglican & Lutheran Reflections

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Anglican & Lutheran Reflections Relating with Hindu Diaspora Anglican & Lutheran Re ections edited by Lucinda Mosher, Andrew Wingate, & Joshva Raja A joint publication of Anglican Interfaith Networks, Lutheran Porvoo Communion, & World Council of Churches 2015 London, UK Contents Contributors . ii Preface . iii Michael Jackson Gratitudes . iv From Bangalore to Birmingham: A Consultation Overview . v Andrew Wingate Opening Address . 1 Kenneth Kearon Possibilities and Opportunities for Diaspora Relations . 2 Anantanand Rambachan Reflections on Hindu-Christian Relations: A Response to Anantanand Rambachan . 7 Israel Selvanayagam United States Hindu-Christian Relations: Some Observations . 11 Lucinda Mosher My Journey of Faith from Hinduism to Christ to Hindu Yesu Bhakta . 18 Kumar Rajagopalan The Problem of Understanding Conversion: Religious Change and Interfaith Dialogue . 22 James Harry Morris Theologising in the Brothels with Mathamma: Towards an Indecent Dalit The(a)logy . 26 Eve Rebecca Parker Ecumenical Involvement from the Margins .. 37 Peniel Jesudason Rufus Rajkumar Radical Dialogue: A New Dialogical Intervention . 42 R . Christopher Rajkumar Double Religious Identity and Hindu-Christian Dialogue . 44 Laura M . Johnson Interpreting Faith to Visitors: Commitment and Openness in a Pioneering Faith Guiding Course 48 Ruth Tetlow Evangelism, Conversion, and Hindu Relations . 53 Robin Thomson Introducing Generous Love: An Anglican Theology of Inter Faith Relations . 56 Michael Jackson For Further Reading . 62 i Contributors The Most Reverend Dr Michael Jackson is Primate and Metropolitan of the Church of Ireland, Archbishop of Dublin, and chairperson of the Management Committee of the Anglican Communion Network of Inter Faith Concerns. Dr Laura Johnson was the administrator for the NIFCON conference. She currently works for the Diocese of Hereford and as a tutor in the MA in Interreligious Relations programme at the St Philip’s Centre, Leicester. The Right Reverend Dr Kenneth Kearon is the Bishop of Limerick and Killaloe in the Church of Ireland. At the time of the Consultation, he was Secretary General of the Anglican Consultative Council, a position he held from 2004 to 2014. James Harry Morris is a doctoral student at the University of St Andrews (Scotland) researching Christian con- version in Japan and Mongolia. Dr Lucinda Mosher holds a Doctor of Theology degree from The General Theological Seminary of the Episcopal Church. She is Faculty Associate in Interfaith Studies at Hartford Seminary (USA) and Assistant Academic Director of the Building Bridges Seminar. Eve Rebecca Parker is a PhD candidate at the University of St Andrews (Scotland), specializing in interreligious dialogue, multiple religious belonging, and subaltern religiosity in the context of India. Her previous roles working for the Council for World Mission and United Reformed Church have further influenced her work on interreligious dialogue. The Reverend Dr John Joshva Raja is a priest in the Church of South India. He is research scholar at Queens Foundation, Birmingham. He was formerly Associate Professor and Chairperson, Department of Communica- tion, United Theological College, Bangalore (India). He is also a member of the NIFCON management group and is a joint coordinator for this conference. The Reverend Kumar Rajagopalan is the London Baptist Association Regional Minister responsible for Racial Justice and for Inter-Faith issues. The Reverend R. Christopher Rajkumar, an ordained minister of the Church of South India, is Executive Sec- retary of the National council of Churches in India’s Commission on Justice, Peace and Creation. The Reverend Dr Peniel Jesudason Rufus Rajkumar, a priest in the Church of England, is Programme Execu- tive at World Council of Churches, Geneva, with responsibility for interreligious relations especially with Hinduism and Buddhism. Formerly, he was a lecturer of Christian Social Ethics at the United Theological College in Bangalore (India). Dr Anantanand Rambachan is a Trinidadian Hindu-American scholar, teaching and researching as Professor of Religion at St. Olaf College (USA) with a specific focus on interreligious dialogue. The Reverend Dr Israel Selvanayagam is Professor and Head of the Department at Gurukul Lutheran Theologi- cal College and Research Institute in Chennai, Tamilnadu (India). He is a priest in the Church of South India. Ruth Tetlow is coordinator of the Birmingham Faith Encounter Programme (UK). Robin Thomson is an educator and author with extensive experience teaching Bible and training church leaders in India. The Reverend Canon Dr Andrew Wingate was the founding Director of the St Philip’s Centre for Study and Engagement in Leicester, and is now a consultant and teacher in the area of Inter Faith Relations, particularly with Scandinavia. He remains an Associate staff of the Centre. ii Preface elations between people of different world faiths are important points of growth, learning and generosity. It is not that the adherents of such faiths regard the central components of the faith that they themselves hold Rdear to be interchangeable with other world faiths. Nobody expects them to do so. It is, rather, that they have come to the realization that shared understanding gives enhanced scope for understanding of one’s own tradi- tion and for understanding of The Other. These layers of understanding are important for all of us who live in a complex modern world and who interact with faith, tradition and culture of many other people beyond ourselves in everyday life, whether it be in a social, political, educational or religious context. Pluralism is a precious way of life and is in constant need of nurture and care. The world invites and challenges us to an understanding of the layers of meaning and motivation that inspire some and impede others in living the lives they feel called to live for themselves and for others, lives of service and responsibility, of freedom and justice. One of the ironies and limitations of accelerated communication is that information can remain unpro- cessed. We find ourselves part of this logjam of discernment because we can and do move quickly to the next area of information and to the next topic of significance. This means that we leave behind us people and things that continue to matter. The other significant factor is the range of human experiences that are lived out within diaspora situations and identity. The movement of people as individuals and as families has accelerated in the past decade although it has been a feature of life internationally for many generations. The impact of warfare, natural disasters and economic instability has necessitated migration on an unprecedented scale in the twenty- first century. People search for dignity and stability, for peace and opportunity, thinking more often than not about the generations that will follow them than primarily of themselves. Part of what they bring with them is their identity. Frequently it is the new contexts that bring to the surface questions that have never before had the opportunity to arise or to be addressed. This movement brings its own dangers. The Queen’s Foundation, Birmingham welcomed our Consultation on Anglican and Lutheran Relations with Diaspora Hindus because this is the sort of work in which it excels. The distillation of theological expertise in the areas of Inter Faith relations and Christian mission brought us to the heart of the international need for peaceful co-existence and the advocacy of this as an urgent priority on the part of people of faith and people of Faiths. The multi-ethnic diversity and the fruitful relationships of respect and creativity across the community of Birming- ham on the ground also made Birmingham the right place for our Consultation. I should like to acknowledge the contributions of learning and of hospitality and sheer human generosity that were afforded to us in the prepara- tion for the Consultation and throughout its life. I should like furthermore to thank those who came from near and far to share their stories and to raise their issues. The combined Anglican and Lutheran perspectives further deepened our theological resources, our ecclesiastical experiences and our understanding of a broad range of societies worldwide. It also honoured the bonds of relationship between Anglicans and Lutherans through the Porvoo Communion of Churches. Consultation is the beginning rather than the end. Its role is to stimulate comparison and conversation, to develop breadth of understanding and depth of response. In its being a new beginning, my thanks go to everyone who made Birmingham 2014 possible and contributed so selflessly to its success in terms of finance, ideas and presence. One of the phrases used in one of our sessions was: the need for conflict resilience, particularly where conflict resolution currently is unattainable. Both in microcosm and in macrocosm, the phrase: conflict resilience speaks more and more to a world crying out for grace, mercy and peace. The invitation contained in this volume is given to everyone who reads it to take its spirit into his and her heart and to add your personal commitment to our partial expression. It is also an invitation to engage in that journey of understanding with God and neighbour. We cannot do this on our own. We need the encouragement and the stimulus of those of Faiths other than our own. This Consultation is a staging post of this process for Hindus, Lutherans and Anglicans. We invite all of you to join us. – The Most Reverend Dr Michael Jackson Archbishop of Dublin Chairperson: Management Committee of the Network of Inter Faith Concerns of the Anglican Communion iii Gratitudes he Management Group of the Anglican Communion Network of Inter Faith Concerns (NIFCON)—and particu- larly Andrew Wingate and John Joshva Raja, this colloquium’s principal organizers—acknowledge that the TConsultation on Anglican and Lutheran Relations with Diaspora Hindus would not have been possible without help from many individuals and agencies. In particular, gratitude is extended to the Interfaith Desk of the World Council of Churches; The St Augustine’s Foundation; the Anglican Communion Interfaith Office; The Spalding Trust; Us.
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