Theological Education: Making of the Faithful

Why theological Education?

- Everyone should be theologically educated. Not bible/scripture class but theology
- Theological institutes should open up to all – not just to church candidates or to
Christians in general. Our theology should also be tailored so that it can include others
as well!
- It is extremely crucial to have theological education today, in the given situations of
war, oppression, discrimination, majority-minority dynamics, etc.
Quote from O.V. Jathanna:
“Theological education and ministerial training need to fix its (sic) gaze on the Christian
theological premise that the church is called to be a sign, instrument, nursery and foretaste of
the larger reality of the Kingdom of God, as understood in the N.T., i.e., as the inaugurated
reign of God on earth, the fullness of which is yet to come.” (O.V. Jathanna, “Theological
Education in India: Some Reflections on the Occasion of the Bicentennial of the Founding of
the Serampore College (1818-2018)”, in Bangalore Theological Forum, December 2018, Vol.
L., No.2. p. 16 (13 – 38)
For whom?
- For all!
To what end?
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Theological Education is actually knowing and doing faith!

Interview: in life, suffering and sorrow are permanent, to acquire happiness and joy is rare!

When one wants to gain life, s/he will lose it, if he wants to lose it, he will gain it for eternity.

Theological Education is spiritual maturity:

Spiritual maturity is NOT collection of degrees and diplomas!

According to a scholar, the Greeks wanted to meet Jesus in order to learn from him… not like many
others, who wanted to test him!

The Gentiles approach Jesus, and the response of Jesus is : the time has come for the son of man to
be glorified. It is a proclamation of the Jesus’ passion and death. This is Theological maturity! To live
a life based on eternal life and not on transitory life.

Theological Education: Establishing Unity

“Where your treasure is, there will be your heart also”

“The grain of Wheat has to die, only then, it will produce much /fruit/”
For some, only fruits matter! They don’t want to fall on the ground and die! Death is not an end, it is
the beginning of a new creation/beginning.

Greek philosophy: body and soul are separate/different! Dualism

Jewish thought: It takes life as a whole! If one keeps the commandments, it will be good of him, if
not it can give rise to YHWH’s wrath.

We see a unity! We are intrinsically intertwined with each other. Not only with our kith and kin
(language, religious and ethnic), but with the entire human race, why, with the whole creation.

We have a false sense of exclusivism/uniqueness! We teach our children this exclusivism.

The Greeks come to see Jesus. The response of Jesus is one that has been influenced by Hellenistic
thought. In Christianity, there is space for new ideas. It is not a narrow-minded, closed philosophy.

Christianity accepts other concepts as well! Today, we have probably made it a rigid philosophy. We
state: “only if you are baptized, anointed by the HS, you can join our fellowship!”
Theological Education breaks/destroys these superstitions.

Theological Education: Affirming the other

Generally, education is not to benefit/profit someone. Theological Colleges are there to affirm the
other – in faith!

In John, life is a very important entity/crux/aspect. “Life” in John is meant only for others and not for
oneself. “If the grain of Wheat does not die, it stands alone, but if it dies, it produces much!”

Christ’s life was meant for others. The goal of theological education is nothing else, but to affirm the
other in the faith.

Life is for others –

It was only when I stopped living for myself and started living for others, did I experience happiness,
peace of mind and fulfilment!

Many a time, we do not consider as “worldly”, those who have undergone theological education and
those who are involved in full-time ministry. We do not realize that they too undergo the same trials
and challenges, like anybody else!

However, they have to put aside all these experiences and live only for others/people!

This calling is applicable not only to those in the ordained ministry, but to all people of God.
Whichever profession you may have, you need to perform for God/the glory of God, for others.

In Hinduism, this is understood as duty or nishkama karma. However, for us all actions are done on
the basis of love. We are called to do all things in love. As Mother Teresa once said, “ I see Jesus in
everyone I encounter”!

Many a time, we give utmost importance to this life and live lives of self-interest/selfish lives. But we
should not forget that we are connected to one another in Christ. The old saying goes that, “ if we
show concern for the neighbour’s child, our own child will grow well!”

Just like that, theological education is nothing but affirming the other in faith.

The tree does not give fruits for itself, but for others. The death of Christ is also for others.
Theological education is given in the hands of the church. If we nurture and support theological
education as a church, as a community, then, it can positively influence theological education to a
great extent.

To ruminate on the theme, “making of the faithful”, I wish to focus on the term “faithful”. The Greek
word for faithful “pistos” carries a love connotation. This connection is seen when we compare the
English word “believe” with its German counterpart “belieben”, which actually means “to love”.
Therefore, the concepts of love and faith are conjoined together, so that it is difficult to tell one from

the other. In fact, love and belief seem to be two sides of the same coin. So, “making

of the faithful” is also “making of a loving community”.

Theoloogical Education: Making of the Faithful!

There was a time in the 70s and 80s and 90s too, where theological colleges in India were quiet
places, something like an ashram, a retreat spot, where Church groups went for spiritual retreats.
This was a time when we had, 12-15 B.D. students, 4-6 M.Th. students and a couple of D.Th.
students. However, in the last 20 or so years, this trend seems to have changed, in that, the
classrooms are full with 30-40 students, M.Th. students in each class are around 10 in an average
and every year, the number of D.Th. students keeps increasing!

What is the reason for this? It is true that theological education has now become a lucrative and
enterprising field and there are more applicants for the “ministry” than can any college take!

The truth is that “ministry” as a vocation/job has become a much sought-after field. When a person
becomes the presbyter-in charge of a congregation, almost all his needs are taken care of. Coupled
with a fat salary, the church members see that every need of the pastor is taken care of. The pastor’s
wife gets a job in church school and the pastor’s children are admitted to church schools. The eb,
water, etc., expenses are all taken care of, by the church members. The medical, travel, etc., are
taken care of. Most days of the week, the pastor gets to eat out!

The faithful, do not belong to a religion, do not adhere to religious rites like visiting worship spaces
regularly, or observing religious practices staunchly, no. the “faithful” are transformed from self-
affirming to other-affirming, church-centric to world-centric, world-centric to creation-centric.

Radhakrishnan calls this the “religion behind religion”.

For me, “faith” always has an element of doubt in it! You cannot be cock-sure or anything!

We pray that it should not rain on the Church harvest festival, but we all carry umbrellas.