It is no longer disputed that Apostle Thomas came to India in AD 52, preached the
gospel to the high caste Hindus in Kerala, and established a church that is
known as the Mar Thoma (St. Thomas) Church; the oldest church in India. When Islam and western powers colonized
India, this church faced challenges for its existence and identity. It survived the Islamic conquest, thanks to
its close affinity with the local Hindu culture. But it had to fight harder to maintain its
original identity from the encroachments of other foreign church bodies. Eastern Orthodox, Roman Catholics and Anglican tried to assimilate it into their fold; by offering material assistance they could only take away the splinter groups while the main church maintained its autonomy and identity. The millennia old traditions and theological orthodoxy of Mar Thoma Church have survived the temptation of material gain and political power offered to it by various external groups. Such fidelity to its church traditions and theological orthodoxy ought to be matter of pride and celebration for the wider church body in Indian subcontinent where after the advent of modern missionary era, the church has become a battle ground for religious enterprises to attract foreign donations.
South
Asian Church in general has rich historical soil from which many promising
theological schools and minds have sprouted in the past, but only a handful of
them were able to maintain their originality in the face of ever encroaching
power of western materialism; free thinking, theological reflection and
biblical convictions were/are often sold for material gain. The western materialism was indeed the
product of biblical worldview in which a person could work hard and better one’s
life by utilizing God-given ideas and labor.
After the reformation, the knowledge of the Bible had revealed to them
that the rulers were not gods to be worshiped by the citizens; the rulers were
given authority to rule in such a way that they could create social, political
and economic conditions in which a hard working person could enjoy the right to
life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
However, when such biblical revelations of right to life, liberty and
the pursuit of happiness were divorced from the practical faith in the Bible, the
desire for material progress became demonic and these powerful western nations
sought to serve their own people at the expense of other nations. The human greed controlled the powerful mind
of the west; colonization and slavery were justified for the selfish material
progress of the powerful. The colonized were reduced to
dust and an inferior civilization came into existence that struggles to assert
its identity long after the conquerors left them.
For example, in 1700, Indian economy was in par with Europe with 22% of
world income. But by 1950s, it was
reduced to 3.8% by the ruthless British rule that took everything away from the
Indians.[1] As a result of such depravation, the colonized
loathed the colonizers but secretly envied their power, prosperity and prestige.
When
the missionaries came, they brought with them a smiling face compared to the
harsh slave trader’s frown. The
colonized Christians were willing to serve a smiling master than a whipping one. Thus, a new spiritual colonization took lace
and it remains to be a stronghold that prevents South Asian theology and
theological minds to express original ideas.
Whenever a South Asian Christian minister travels to the affluent
nations, the primary purpose is most often to report to the donors the progress
of mission work. He/she does that by
narrating personal stories and experiences.
These stories and experiences are often spiced up to suit the donors’
taste. Even a gifted preacher and a brilliant
theologian falls into such a temptation where he or she becomes reduced to a
fund raising machine for the mission work in the former colonies. Even if the funding church in the affluent
nation asks a South Asian preacher to preach the word of God to them, he/she
does that with the intent of stimulating the minds and the pockets of the
audiences. Even the great Watchman Nee
was accused by the Chinese brothers for falling in this temptation when he visited
United Kingdom.
In
the face of such colonized spirituality, Mar Thoma church therefore gives us
reason to be grateful to God for sending Thomas to India and beginning a church
that is still proud to have its roots grounded in the apostolic teachings and
traditions. Sadly, the Orthodox Church
in India is content to live within its four walls. How we wish that it would come out of the
four walls and make serious attempt in influencing the subcontinent with its
originality and orthodox theology that has the substance compared to other
traditions with form only.
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