It was little over thirty years ago. I was attending, for the first time, the annual meet of the Indian Theologians’ Association held then at the Sacred Heart Seminary of Chennai. It was while participating in its deliberations that I got the spark of taking up a contextual and concrete, challenging and convincing focus for my doctoral study.
I had also resolved to accomplish the doctoral program in our Indian soil itself, as a manifestation of inculturation. And, that too, in Tamil. Observers note that, back in 1992, mine was possibly the first theology - doctorate in any Indian language. There was a news item then on this in a Delhi - paper since the degree was conferred by the Vidya Jyothi Theological Institute, Old Delhi. All these are for a sole purpose of ‘theologising in an involved, inculturated and incarnated way.’
Accordingly, I had embarked up on the Politico - Religious Analysis of Thanthai E.V. Ramasamy Periyar, a great Dravidian Revolutionary (1879 - 1973). In that doctoral research - process, ‘theologising’ had to be done challengingly over the message of one who was popularly recognised as a vowed atheist. And, he had very strong and straight words to utter against all religions, including Christianity. Only comparatively, he had some positive assessments and proactive comments to make about Christianity. Moreover, the research had to hermeneutically link his views and news with the Word of God and in particular, with the Gospel of Jesus.
The above theologising project has so far resulted with fruits surpassing all expectations. Just one or two samples : When it was eventually published, it had come to be a text book for the research - students at the Department of Philosophy in the secular Bharathidasan University of Triuchirapalli in Tamilnadu. Moreover, on that challengingly theologised research and on other theologising -books of mine, 3 have so far done their PhDs and 8 have done their M.Phil theses. One had done his theology - dissertation at St. Paul’s Seminary, Triuchirapalli and another, at the CSI - Tamilnadu Theology Seminary, Madurai. These are, in a way, ‘theologising - over- theologising ..‘! God be praised!
True, earlier during our canonical theological formation from1979 to 1982, we were introduced to the theo-logising process at ARUL KADAL (Jesuit Tamil Theologate at Chennai). Seven of us were volunteers to go through that process, being stationed at Tamilnadu itself while being registered as the students of Vidya Jyothi. Those 3 years that we had contextually spent before our priestly ordination, were immensely enriching and enlightening, impressively empowering and encouraging in the art of theologising. After that I could work with socio - pastoral creativity ignited by certain theologising insights, in 7 rural parishes belonging to 4 different dioceses of Tamilnadu.
Going by the above ‘grass - root anubhava’ and by its corresponding ‘theological explorations’, let me expound and explain 10 - HIGHLIGHTS that could be taken into consideration along the ‘on-going yatra of - theologising - in India ’:
01. Theologising becomes meaningful and integrated only when it is primarily concerned with moulding the personal and societal, Christian and human lives fuller and better, also more graceful and more beautiful. This concern demands a well - defined style of experiential ways and means of theological expressions that would, at once, be inspirational and invitational.
02. Theologising has to consistently and courageously ask whose needs and demands are being met in the given wider society, enquiring squarely as follows: How firm has been the theology’s rootedness in actual history? How deep has been the theologising’s concern with the concrete societal situation in which it is taking place? How far have the economic – political processes been taken in to account, not only as something externally related but also as intrinsic to the very doing of theologising? How much the real life and daily human and eco - relationships of the under- privileged like the Dalits and Migrants, Adivasis and Tribals, Women and Farmers..have become to be ‘the locus theologicus’?
03. Theologising, in order to acquire an integral approach, has to foster a dialectical relation between socio- ecological factors and theological re - search. The more constantly the dialectical movement between the above two happens, the more creative and concrete the theologising search and re -search will be! The dialectic and dynamic inter- action and hermeneutical relation between the ‘scriptural - texts ’ and the ‘societal con - texts ‘ would alone ensure a ‘living theology’.
04. Theologising, to be true to its concept, has to be methodologically operational and pedagogically multi – dimensional. It cannot be just an academic exercise with a set of scriptural, theological, moral and canonical tools. There need to be a variety of tools and myriad approaches of study, practically from every branch of education such as : Societal Sciences, Micro and Macro - Economics, Cultural Anthropology, Modern Psychology, Evolutionary Cosmology etc. Also, the study has to confront the political ideologies at work in today’s India such as Marxism, Gandhism, Ambedkarism, Periyarism, Capitalism and Socialism. This academic confrontation, being rooted in human situations and in living experiences, calls for a well knitted scientific and politico - religio - cultural analysis.
05. Theologising in India, going by our rich eastern ethos, should sincerely and systematically attempt to synthesise the various branches of sacred sciences, philosophy and theology, into one overall- scheme. This would indeed accelerate the progression of propheticism of Indian theologising. The idea is not to confuse these branches, but to avoid an unnecessary pattern of westernised compartmentalisation into conceptual treatises. In the process, to bring the different branches of wisdom into a productive interplay around the discernment on and discussion over concrete burning- problems of the Indian and Asian peripheries.
06 Theologising should be target- bound. It could be focussed on redeeming every human person from every oppressive situation. Also, redeeming every cosmic cell from every suppressive destruction. It has to commit itself to vehemently pooh – pooh and verily protest against any discrimination on the grounds of differences of religion, class, caste, race, colour, culture, language, ethnicity, custom and the like. To struggle for the human and cosmic liberation would mean that we prophetically shatter, both theo - logically and theo - praxically, the anti -values of the contemporary sinful societal systems which generate needs for all but satisfies only those of a selected few.
07 Theologising has to be ‘ faithful and fruitful’. Faithful to the basic tenets of Gospel - Values and consequently, fruitful in birthing a new humanity, a new earth and a new heaven (Rev.21). Here theologising gives to itself the challenge of not - being - high sounding but being- high - in awakening, animating and articulating an alternative way of proceeding, based on the Indian Constitutional features of equality, liberty, and fraternity.
08. Theologising in India from Christian perspectives should acquire some humility to approve, assess and accept the rich history of Indian theological revelations and religious celebrations which has more than 3000 years of myriad traditions and magnificent texts. It has to, first and foremost, get feasted with India’s glorious and godly past and present. Only then, it can proceed to share its further findings of God’s Mission today. With that dialogical procedure, theologising will be in a better position to arouse every individual’s inner dynamism and aid the society’s prophetic vision and passion. By that, theologising would travel beyond the borders and boundaries of Christianity. In that scenario, it is almost an imperative that we need to situate our theologising education in the broader canvas of country’s educational enterprises. All our theologising out-puts would then help a country like ours which is ‘peopled much by the helplessly poorest but religiously rich.'
09. Theologising has to be both a religious response and a political option, especially in the country’s current crisis of communalism and fundamentalism. By the way, both those corruptive and corroding conditions are available in all the mainline religions and churches, including in the Indian Catholic Church. That means, theologising should be bold enough to say ‘no’ when it has to be said so even to its own fold. No escape and no excuse here. Also, no compromise whatsoever. That way, theologising has to be emphatic and prophetic in all its experiences, expressions and executions.
10. Theologising is procuring, of late, an optimistic horizon that has to be welcomed and promoted. The hot - house formation is being questioned. Theologates are increasingly challenged to move progressively out of their comfort zones. Instead, the little traditions, the culture of the least and lowest, simplicity of life - style, the basic symbols of ordinary folks, the communication of faith - categories in local popular languages, the native and indigenous customs.. are beginning to draw a bigger and bigger attention of the students and scholars of theologising. One could see here something of the Pope Francis Effect. We are, so to say, living in a blessed time of our Church - history which we can still make it a bit more colourful through our convincing theo-logising and a bit more graceful through our committed theo-praxising.
A WORD OF SYNTHESIS :
We can conclude here asserting again that an integral approach of theologising over all the varied and emerging Indian realities should primarily be wedded to God’s historical and liberative process of the deprived and depressed. Theologising pedagogy should then be a critical reflection yet a creative vision based on the Gospel of Jesus, descriptive yet prophetic in the Spirit of the Divine, cross - culturally a valid perspective yet dynamically an advanced process toward a progressive cultivation of a caste - less country of India and a class - less continent of Asia and a corruption - less Cosmos ! In fine, LET GOD’S REIGN COME sooner than we expect..!
(This is a write up that originally appeared in the book, "Indian Theological Association")
Jerry Rosario, SJ. jerrysj1@gmail.com
21 June 2020
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