Ghandi and Mission

I just read Jonny Baker's post last week on Ghandi's mission advice to Christians. Wow. Live more like Jesus, do not tone down your faith, make love central, look for the good in other faiths so that you might be more sympathetic. What a challenge! We could plan a whole curriculum around that advice!

Jonny goes on to write about E. Stanley Jones and his advice to the Indians - Make Christ your own -- read the gospels afresh -- do not take on our Western forms. We expect you to add to our understanding of Christ by what you put together to follow him. This moves away from a modern perspective of mission, one that states that a particular cultural expression of Christianity is most valid for the rest of the world (usually developed in 16th century Northern Europe) and moves to a missional (and non-modern) model: each distinct people, when following Christ within their cultural forms and developed theologies, adds to the collective understanding of God and brings about the celebratory worship that culminates in Rev. 5:9.

In an interesting aside, Jonny closes with conversations between a Hindu and a Christian about trading holy books -- Christians read the Bible, where the NT teaches peace, yet they advocate war, and HIndus read the Bhagavad Gita, a book that gives reasons for war, and yet they are generally peaceful.

A really challenging set of writings -- thanks Jonny!!

In one of my classes at Fuller, we talk about a good deal about post-colonialism and mission.

Technorati Tags: culture, Hindu, mission

Comments

[jonny]

thanks!

[gourmet packaging]

My mentor. He's a god.