Mahatma Gandhi on Christianity in India

When the great Christian missionary, E.Stanley Jones, first encountered Mahatma Gandhi, he asked him a very bold question: "How can we make Christianity naturalized in India, and not a foreign thing, identified with a foreign government and a foreign people, but a part of the national life of India and contributing its power to India's uplift? What would you, as one of the Hindu leaders of India tell me, a Christian, to do in order to make this possible?

"Gandhi's response was as bold and direct as was Jones' question. He said, "First, I would suggest that all of you Christians, missionaries, and all, must begin to live more like Jesus Christ. Second, practice your religion without adulterating it or toning it down. Third, emphasize love and make it your working force, for love is central in Christianity. Fourth, study the non-Christian religions more sympathetically to find the good that is within them, in order to have a more sympathetic approach to the people."

There is no doubt that what Mahatma Gandhi did at that moment was put his finger on exactly why Christianity not only has failed to capture the hearts and minds of the majority of Indians, but also why it is collapsing in the West. I will speak to my American brothers and sisters in the church first - not as one who is or has been anywhere near perfect in any of this, but as one who sees what Gandhi saw and who is in his own humble way "working out" his salvation with fear and trembling before God Almighty. There is no doubt that a huge gap has opened up between American Christianity and what Jesus clearly taught was the "norm" for His followers. There is a huge disconnect between what the Bible teaches and how the average Christian conducts their daily life. And as this gulf widens, Christians all across American are becoming "saltless" and the light of their lamps have grown dim even as the twilight of this age fast approaches. American Chrisitans have replaced divine agape with a complacent tolerance and a "go along to get along" political correctness that causes them to sweep every kind of sin and injustice under the rug... lest they be accused of being judgmental.

It is important to study and compare others' faiths with ours. We must indeed find points of commonality and mutual respect for others' religions. However, it seems American Christians have gone far beyond that and have ended up devaluing their own faith and eroding confidence in the absoluteness of the truth they profess in Jesus' name.

Christianity in America is truly in trouble. Our nakedness and shame is exposed for the world to see and if we do not find a way to repent and follow the prescription of that wise Hindu "great soul" Gandhi, we will very soon find ourselves in the trash bin of irrelevancy. The challenge for the church in India is no different. For far, far too long Indian Christians have patterned themselves after the West - for good and ill. To my Christian brothers and sisters in India, I say it is long overdue for you to stand up on your own two feet and end your love affair with the West. Seek the Lord Jesus Christ with your whole heart, mind, soul, and strength. If the one billion souls of India are ever going to have a chance to hear the powerful message of salvation in Christ, then we must embrace Gandhi's words and start living for all to see what we say we believe.

God bless you.

Fred