I
remember where I stood just four years ago. In my mind, I somehow knew
everything about God's law for humanity. I knew that if I fulfilled rules 1, 2,
3, and 4. I would be saved.
Rule 1:
Go to church.
Rule 2:
Read the bible.
Rule 3:
Be a good Christian.
Rule 4: Complete
a whole list of "Rule 3" related items.
But
something deep inside of me said this couldn't be right. Something that caused
me to refuse to fill in the religion box on my Facebook with
"Christian". I wrote, "Follower of Christ," instead. Why?
*****
My
seat jerked beneath me and I slid forward. I looked down at my broken seat belt.
Stupid thing. Good thing I like flying. I
thought to myself. I looked to my left to see poor Surrender with his hands
firmly pressed against the seat in front of him for support. Peter Ignatius sat
next to him with a surprised and terrified look on his face.
The
intense sound of the jet's engines filled our ears. I looked out the window and
gazed at the small airport of Varanasi, India.
"That's
the roughest landing I've ever had." Peter exclaimed as the plane taxied
its way to the terminal.
"At
least your seatbelt worked!" I laughed. Peter joined my laughter.
Varanasi
is known throughout India as a type of Mecca or Jerusalem for Hinduism, looking
at it, it didn't seem too different from Chennai. Sweat dripped down my
forehead. The humidity here did rise far above Chennai's though.
Why
were we here? To attend a conference on the Rethinking Movement. What's the Rethinking
Movement? A movement in India that asks the question, "Why, after hundreds
of years of Christianity in India, is India only 3% Christian?" The answer
to the problem according to Rethink: Christians.
*****
Hinduism
cannot be fully depicted by any textbook. It is a multifaceted, multiethnic,
and multi-theological culture. Hinduism in many respects is not a religion at
all. It is a culture, a community system, and a way of life.
One
major problem Christianity faces here today is that it is Christianity. Read that again.
Christians have come throughout the centuries, converted Hindu people, and then
forced them to exit their entire community, lifestyle, and cultural identity
forever. They did this, because they saw the whole of Hinduism as demonic.
They
didn't understand themselves and they didn't understand Hinduism.
What
is Christianity like here today? It is laced and predominated with western
thought and traditions. It sickens me, because I didn't like these traditions
myself and I'm from the west!
Earlier,
I mentioned how I thought being a Christian was following rules 1, 2, 3, and 4.
For many in the west and under western thought that is what it has become. A
bunch of religious rituals claiming to give salvation.
Christianity,
then, is seen by Hindus as a foreign religion. It has rituals, a place of
worship, and community just like Hinduism. The only difference between being a
Christian and a Hindu is you have to leave your loving family, community and
life to join. Sound attractive?
*****
A
cow glared at me as I walked by. I glared back and nearly got hit by a
motorcycle holding three people. Outsmarted
by a cow again... I thought.
Mallick,
my recent Indian friend, guided me away from another honking motorcycle.
Rickshaws, people, motorcycles, cows, dogs, and cars stirred all around me in a
crazed dance. Street food filled the air with a wonderful Indian aroma. Sparks
from a nearby power line added a odd festive feel to it all. I smiled even as sweat dripped into my eye.
I
caught a glimpse of Peter and rest of our party through the crowd and we joined
the dance to reach them. Soon we arrived at Ganges River. A great crowd had
gathered and Hindi music blared over randomly placed speakers.
We
got a spot by the dirty water of the river and watched as five Brahman Priests
performed a ritual involving bells, fire, smoke, dance, and incense. I knew
they worshiped a different god now, but I couldn't help but marvel at how great
my God was. He gave us amazing human creativity and here it was before me.
 |
| Five Brahman Priest performing their ritual at the Ganges River |
I
watched as people continually came to the dirty water of the river to be
cleansed. Peter leaned over and told me that they believed the water of this
holy river took away their sins. The disgusting water, therefore, made sense to
them.
*****
So
many rituals I saw that night. Not Christian at all. But full of meaning and
longing to be set free from bondage and meaninglessness. Isn't that the cry of
every heart?
I recently watched the Pixar film "UP". I was struck by how the little boy, Russell, longed to be accepted by his father. He thought that if he got all of the right badges, he would get the love he longed for. But love for Russell came from a different place where badges weren't needed, Mr. Fredrickson.
You
see, we all are looking for something. You can see it in the Hindu rituals, the
Catholic traditions, the Buddhist meditation, and the Atheist's search for self
gratification. We all want to gain that... something that'll set us free from the terrible things of life.
What
do we have to do!? What do we have to do to be set free from this suffering,
this bondage, this hatred? What badge must we earn? Everyone is trying to figure it out.
Christians
have the answer but it is not being a
Christian. Many Christians forget that and then they force others to enter
into a new type of ritualistic bondage.
The
answer is Jesus. He came to set us free. He did not come to place us into a new
set of laws. Read freaking Romans if you disagree.
Jesus
paid the price for everything we have done once and for all. I cannot complete
rules 1, 2, 3, and 4 and expect to gain salvation on my own.
There
is no price we can pay that is enough to take away our own sins. There is no
enough except the perfect sacrifice Christ gave. Trust he paid the price and
you are free. No rituals are needed.
(I'm
going to move on from here, assuming most reading this know. But if you want to
hear more, I'd love to be in dialogue with you.)
So
can a person be a Hindu follower of Christ or Yeshu Bhakti? Can they continue to live in their community and
family, amongst all of the idolatry and rituals, and still worship God alone?
Are they still redeemed from sin if they don't recognize themselves as
Christians? My answer: OF COURSE!
There
are still many questions. What of baptism (Acts 2:38), living a holy life
(Hebrews 12:14), communion (Matthew 26:2-28), and the fellowship of believers
(Acts 2:42)? How does this all work within the Hindu culture? I don't have definite
answers (because, let's be honest, I'm just a child in all of this). I do have
another question. Are we willing to believe that God can work in different
ways?
For
example, I got the opportunity in Varanasi to take communion using bananas and
milk. Different? Yes. Cool? For me, it was pretty darn tootin'! Does God accept
it? Why in the world wouldn't He? Is communion for salvation? You better say
no. It is for remembering how great Jesus' sacrifice is and is intrinsically
associated with community in the Bible.
Think
about it. Look at communion in the bible and then look at how your church does
it. Is it the same? I highly doubt it.
You
see, we often put God in a box labeled Church
and Christianity. For centuries western thought has damaged other cultures
and its own cultures because it put God in a box. It has filled people with
guilt over their individuality and beautiful culture. Why does this have to be
when one of God's greatest gifts is human creativity?
Hinduism
implements the worship of many gods. That's against God's will for sure. I'm
not saying it isn't. But can they worship God alone using the same Hindu styles
and music? Previous Christian missionaries said, "no". I ask,
"why not?"
Being
a part of God's family isn't about what we do. It is about what Christ did. It
isn't about our rituals or thoughts. It is about giving glory to God the best
way we know how. It isn't about isolating ourselves from those we love. It's about
living with them in hopes they too might know Christ's love through us.
Just
some things to think about.
