Hindu Nationalism and the Indian Church (Towards an Ecclesiology in Conversation with Martin Luther)

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About the Book In this book, the author attempts to re- construe an Indian ecclesiology vis-à-vis the narrowly defined ideals of Hindu nationalism in contemporary India by analyzing and investigating the ecclesiological thoughts of Martin Luther, the 16th century Protestant Reformer. The book brilliantly places the teachings of the Reformer within the social and historical travails of that time and brings them to bear on the ongoing constructive task of living into a relevant and appropriate Indian ecclesiology (and thereby, Indian Christian theology) today. In this process, it is being maintained that the Indian Church must transform itself into a "Perichoretic Communion", in which the diverse Christian ethnic groups and the plurality of cultures of India must interpenetrate in order to form one unit, while keeping their respective ethnic, linguistic and cultural identities intact. The author draws his insights from Luther's fundamental theological/ecclesiological principle: unity of the opposites or distinction and integration, and passionately proposes that it must be the principle of the Indian Church today.

This theological writing presents an important and pioneering opus. It clearly focuses on contemporary contextual issues, concerns and challenges, and offers insights of general validity, not only for the Indian world but also from a global perspective. It is timely volume and is well advised for the worldwide Church and the public at large.

About the Author Rev. Dr. R. Sahayadhas is an ordained minister of the India Evangelical Lutheran Church (IELC). Currently he is Professor, teaching systematic theology, and the Dean, Division of Graduate Studies at the United Theological College, Bangalore. Prof Sahayadhas affirms himself as an ecclesial person with a deep-rooted passion and commitment for the mission/ministry of the Church, especially in India. He has come to academia after having a long stint of pastoral experience to his credit. He is the recipient of Dr. Frank Collision Award (2012) for the best published article by an Indian theologian entitled: "Religion-State Relationship: Significance of a Middle-Path in Contemporary India". Prof Sahayadhas is married to J. Usha, a High School Teacher, teaching Tamil language, and they are blessed with a son, Benil Sahayadhas, who is studying in college now.

Preface Has the Church become obsolescent in the context of the Hindu nationalist politics in modern India? Has religion come to be blunted and relegated to human private realms with the onset of modernisation and secularisation? How can the Church respond to modernity's attempt to reshape the world within the limits of technical/technological reason alone? What is the relationship between religion and the 'secular' state? What is our response to Hindutva's aggressive posture to hijack India's pluralistic texture in order to re-construe the nation through the instrumentation of the dominant religion? This volume revolves around such vital questions that have serious consequences to the life and mission of the Church (and thereby the life of the Indian Christians) in contemporary India. It is the outcome of my intense research and passionate theological reflections towards understanding the nature of the Church, its life and mission/ministry in the contemporary Indian context of Hindu nationalism. To be sure, ecclesia has never been a perfect institution since its inception in world history. In its worldwide journey, the Church has, time and again, been tormented by various heresies (controversial teachings), schisms, internal conflicts, and self- contradictions. It could never exhibit an ideal image as the body of Christ for the world. Hence, for the critics and detractors, ecclesia cannot evoke in them any sense of special interest as a theme of theological ratiocination.

Foreword R. Sahayadhas' Hindu Nationalism and the Indian Church: Towards an Ecclesiology in Conversation with Martin Luther is an important and timely study. In this volume, the author attempts to critically engage himself, both analytically and creatively, with the 16th century reformer Martin Luther's ecclesiological thought, with a view to gain helpful insights for the task of constructing a meaningful ecclesiology in the present-day Indian context, especially in view of the challenges posed by the Hindu nationalistic ideology known as Hindutva.

Introduction The Indian Church currently undergoes a crisis situation, perpetrated by the right wing Hindu extremism, which came to make its veritable manifestation in terms of Hindu nationalism effectively scaffolded by the formidable Hindutva ideology. The Christian presence in India is as old as the religion itself if we lend credence to the theory of Apostle Thomas' visit to India. The St. Thomas Christians of Kerala emerged as an indigenous Christian community and co-existed with other communities for several centuries. However, this ambience gradually changed with the western missionary enterprises in India, which coincided (and to some extend collaborated) with colonialism, leading many Hindus to develop a strong suspicion about the very intention of the Church and culminating into a sort of a strong anti- Christian syndrome in the minds of the Hindu right. Consequently, the Church came to be viewed with great prejudice as having only one purpose of conversion - a view that completely overlooks the enormous contribution the Church had made in the life of the nation. One of the serious invectives leveled against Christians is that their loyalty to the nation is split, which emanates from the mischievous insinuation that their God-man is not the son of the soil but of an alien soil.

**Contents and Sample Pages**