Introduction:
M. M. Thomas (1916-1996) was a member of
the Mar Thoma Syrian Church. With a background and education in sociology and
economics, he was for many years a founding member and director of the
Christian Institute for the Study of Religion and Society in Bangalore. In the
years 1968 to 1975 he was the chairman of the Central Committee of the World
Council of Churches. In the late 1980s, he became the governor of Nagaland in
northeastern India.[1] Thomas was a versatile thinker and theologian who wrote
on a wide range of issues such as Asian revolution, nation building, political
and social change, secularism, interfaith dialogue and ecumenism. Indeed,
theological reflection was his main passion. Most importantly, it provided a
theological framework for interpreting many of the people's struggles for
justice. He did not want people to be passive, but active and participatory in
the struggles for upliftment and equality. His search for an understanding of
Salvation was fueled by his belief that Christians must take responsibility and
should participate in struggles and group movements.[2]
Thomas' theological
methodology:
In Thomas, the understanding of theology
is alive and dynamic. Living theology is always situational and contextual.
This explains two implications: the first theological task in Asia today
involves a new evaluation of the classical and confessional theological
traditions that Asian churches inherited from the West; secondly, a deep
engagement with the Asian situation in the conditions of the new theological
renewal. Theology is a living thing that is related to our existence as
Christians and the Church. Thomas says: "Churches cannot stand aside as
spectators, but must engage in contemporary Asian existence in solidarity with
the human and spiritual struggles of the world..." Thomas ultimately sees
that theology is a human-centered practice: every theology has an
anthropological content that is its own own or derived from it…”[3]
Thomas' Christology: In his Christology,
Thomas begins with the world, but not with cosmology, but with what happens in
the world, which is history. Looking at history, he finds that revolutions
prevail over all phenomena. According to the approach of the Second Vatican
Council and the World Conference on Church and Society in Geneva in 1966, it
also finds basically three revolutions, they are:
a) Scientific and technical revolution.
b) the revolt of oppressed groups
demanding social and international justice and
c) Revolution between religions,
societies and states or the secularization of human life.
Thomas's Christology of the
Three Main Problems
a) Human Christ: Thomas realizes that
within the framework of the revolution, Christ works to awaken the desire for
greater human value. For him, human values are freedom, selfishness and
humanity of the community and a sense of personal destiny, which is part of the
historical destiny of mankind. Such an approach tends to imply that the
revolution is a partial fulfillment of God's kingdom. However, Thomas also
recognizes the evil in revolution. That is why he says that this is where the
revolution needs the prophetic voice of the church.
b) Christ's offer: According to Thomas,
because man is looking for freedom, love, historical commitment, Christ offers
precisely these things, so his Christology is a tailor-made Christology. In his
understanding of the incarnation, he is a man born in a certain historical
period, for him the incarnation means the confirmation of man as the method of
God and history as the arena of God's action.
c) Mission of the church: According to
Thomas, the mission of the church is to participate in the revolutions of our
time. The mission is primarily humanization and not salvation. For him,
salvation is only one humanization. The method of mission is no longer divinely
called and sent missionaries, but rather organizations or churches that do
works.[4]
The message of true humanism is the
secular meaning of Christ: For Thomas, some elements of Christian theology are
relevant to secularism, but then theology should be reformulated in a secular
perspective. His concern was not limited to the interest of Christians, but to
the rights of every person to bread and liberty to enable them to develop their
humanity to the fullest extent, and the Church needs to serve the human rights
of the wider community. And as a message of spiritual salvation, it tries to
bring every person to the maturity of the human form of Jesus Christ. As a
message of spiritual community, it is essentially the power to transform any
society into a community of persons who are in a mutual relationship of
freedom, justice and love.[5]
Salvation and Humanization: In Thomas's thought, salvation and humanization have a
dialectical relationship and cannot be seen in isolation. The theological
assumptions regarding the relationship between the concept of salvation and the
search for a fuller humanity make it clear that Thomas cannot agree with those
who claim that the message of the Gospel can be fully known in isolation from
the human search. "The humanization
of our lives has become a hobby, a form of communication, and even a measure of
many aspects of salvation," Thomas said. Salvation remains eschatological,
but historical responsibility within an eschatological framework cannot but
include the task of humanizing the world of secular history. The mission of
salvation and the task of humanization are inextricably linked, although they
cannot be considered identical. Thomas says very clearly that "but there
is no reason why the historical destiny of man (anthropology) cannot be the
entry point for understanding the ultimate destiny of man in God's purpose,
which is his eternal Salvation".[6]
The Conception of
Salvation: First, Thomas roots his
understanding of Divine salvation in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus
Christ. Second, communicating the message of Salvation requires understanding
the language of human response in their struggle for humanity. Thomas mentions
that the missionary enterprise in early India was fundamentally conservative,
but nevertheless became a vehicle for social and cultural humanization, because
their very approach to outcasting the gospel changed the spiritual foundations.
Salvation in Christ became the source of a new human community, at least in
worship, and helped to eliminate the unequal social structure. Thus,
humanization in India was the preparation of the gospel. Thomas believed that
the concept of salvation should also be viewed from an ecumenical point of
view. He said: "There is a growing recognition today that the salvation of
Christ is so broad that it encompasses the individual, the communal, and the
world, and that Christ's victory does not end in personal sin, but also over
the principalities and powers of the common life... " [7]
Dialogue with secularism on
humanization: Thomas, in line with
the dialogue, sees the importance of Christian dialogue with Indian secularism,
which would give an adequate spiritual basis to a secular society. According to
Thomas, "Interreligious dialogue between Christianity and secularism
requires their active participation in the humanization of social and state
structures". Thomas believes that biblical categories and forms of
language are not sufficiently universally comprehensible to the modern secular
person without considering the novelty of the situation. The theology of
mission should help the Christian church to engage in social practice. The form
of the church is of fundamental importance in this secular age. According to
Thomas, "secularization has diminished the importance of the church, so it
is important to rethink religious traditions in India as they impact the world
today". We therefore need a new model of the union of Christian
self-identity and secular solidarity with all people.[8]
Concern for Social Justice: Thomas believed that we as Christians enter into our daily
struggle with a basic concern for justice that calls us to social justice.
Thomas mentions that Martin Luther King, in his discussion of black power
violence, makes it clear that participation in political power and processes is
the essence of human dignity. He mentions that there are two types of human
rights: one is the right of the people, the right of tribal peoples, the rights
of dalits, women and the rights of the people of a certain section of society;
and two in every people, the rights of every people. In this sense, we are
dealing with the fundamental rights of the human person to freedom and
equality.
The Church and Christian
participation: The whole ecumenical
environment requires the necessity of awakening people, organizing people and
participation of people in the struggle for social justice. Thomas mentions
that the WCC's latest statement, the Church's interest in participating in
development, is "Towards a Church in Solidarity with the Poor". It
vehemently expressed that the struggle in the process of liberation must be
accepted. The Church should not run away from it, but should actively
participate in the process of liberation. Thomas explains one of the mantras of
greater unity: "Participation in the struggle of Asian people for a fuller
human life in state, society and culture, in true partnership with men/women of
other faiths and of no faith, is the only context for realizing the true being
of the Church and exercising the Church's service and mission".
Participating together with
people of other faiths: In the thoughts
of Thomas we find very clearly that he convinced the churches to come out of
their Christian ghettos, mission composed ideologies and introspective ideas
that are based on each other. Thomas says: "As the whole world is awake to
the task of building human society and culture, partnership in nation-building
between Christians and non-Christians is the proper context for
evangelism". In today's context, Thomas says that participation is part of
the prophetic ministry. Therefore, those who participate in the struggle of
people can be prophets, and therefore it requires commitment and courage from
us. This prophetic ministry is based on love and service for the betterment of
humanity. One of the main points in this area of people's participation and
struggle that Thomas brings is the concept of service, which has now become a
connecting thread with society and other religions. Christian participation can
be more fruitful if we join with the secular world and other faiths in the
development of society in the fields of education, health and social services.
Speaking at the Sri Lanka Theological
College, Thomas attacked by arguing that a new anthropology was needed as a
basis for a healthier process of development and modernization. People involved
in the welfare of the marginalized need to explore more the relationship
between modernity and tradition to develop them. He also emphasized that the
Church must be ready to stand with the people as they fight for an economy that
prioritizes eco-justice and social justice rather than just economic growth.[9]
Risking Christ: Thomas always tries to combine his ultimate commitment of
faith in Jesus as Lord and Savior with the penultimate commitment to find a
basis for the coexistence of different faiths and ideologies in a working
harmony that can ensure the well-being of all people. His experience of the
evil caused by inter-religious conflict in India leads him to the idea of a
secular society, which naturally shapes his vision of a global human society.
His concern was to draw a link between the ultimate commitments of faith, which
tend to separate people, and a "rational, moral, and other common
goal" that can unite them. There could hardly be a more important question
for human well-being. The problem is how to relate the last penultimate. Thomas
talks about the need for Christians to place their faith "alongside other
faiths and beside the rational and other human values we share with
others," which allows us to examine everyone, including our faith, in the
categories of others. In the process, we Christians risk Christ for Christ.
Different commitments of faith can and must be placed "side by side":
this is what dialogue involves. Thus he developed a theological framework for
the dialogue between religion and secular ideologies.[10]
Conclusion:
At the very beginning it can be seen
that there is an urge to make the gospel more social and liberating. Yes, the
gospel did participate in the development of the social context, but at the
same time it had its own motives. The writings of M. M. Thomas challenge us to
rethink the concept of Christian mission in a changing context. He called for
the church to identify with the world and participate in its struggle for human
rights, social justice and world community, and establishing such participation
is an essential condition for the renewal of the church in mission. It is quite
clear that theology and anthropology should go hand in hand. The mission should
not detach itself from the world, but attach itself in such a way as to fulfill
its purpose.
[1]R. S. Sugirtharajah and Cecil Hargreaves, Reading in Indian Christian
Theology 1 (Delhi: ISPCK, 2005), 93.
[2]Amit Thomas, Christ in Multidimensional Context: An Integrated
Presentation of Articles (New Delhi: Christian World Imprints, 2016),
151-152.
[3]Amit Thomas, Christ in Multidimensional Context: An Integrated
Presentation of Articles (New Delhi: Christian World Imprints, 2016), 152.
[4]Maong Lemtur, Christ in a Changing Context (Dimapur: Tribal
Development and Communication Centre, 2008), 114-115.
[6]Amit Thomas, Christ in Multidimensional Context: An Integrated
Presentation of Articles (New Delhi: Christian World Imprints, 2016),
152-153.
[7]Amit Thomas, Christ in Multidimensional Context: An Integrated
Presentation of Articles (New Delhi: Christian World Imprints, 2016),
155-156.
[8]Amit Thomas, Christ in Multidimensional Context: An Integrated
Presentation of Articles (New Delhi: Christian World Imprints, 2016), 158.
[9]Amit Thomas, Christ in Multidimensional Context: An Integrated
Presentation of Articles (New Delhi: Christian World Imprints, 2016),
162-163.
[10]Laji Chacko, Introduction to Christian Theologies in India (Kolkata:
ESPACE, 2014), 147.
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