TRULOCK THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY & RESTORATION THEOLOGICAL COLLEGE

Assignment on
Introduction to Christian Theologies in India
Concern Lecturer: Sir Seikholen Lotjem
Presenter: Lunginsang Haokip

Topic: Churchless Christian

1. INTRODUCTION
Churchless Christianity is a topic according to which we will know the contemporary
situation today’s Church and the Christian people are facing in the church due to lack of
teachings of Christ in the life of people. In contemporary India, a new form of worship or
Christianity has been developed in several parts of the country. Therefore, many theologians
have made several attempts to indigenize the Christian tradition and culture which would be
suitable to India through re-interpretation of the Biblical Ecclesiology. The concept of
Churchless Christianity is the result of such an effort made to indigenize Christianity in India.

2. CAUSE OF CHURCHLESS CHRISTINITY

First and foremost the term Churchless Christianity is not a new term; it is a
terminology in reflection to the early Christian thinkers like P. Chenchiah, V. Chakkarai, A.J.
Appasamy and M.M. Thomas. In our present contex, ‘Churchless Christianity’ has indeed
become a controversial issue in the mission and praxis of the churches today, because the rise
of Nationalism in the hearts of Indians tends to reject all sources of foreign influence to the
Indian soil since Colonialism. Therefore, Christianity itself has been rejected by many radical
nationalist thinkers.
In the case of India, many would agree to the fact that there is discrimination on the
basis of religion in India as church members and missionaries experienced discrimination in the
society. However, through recent research it can be seen that number of person experiencing
discrimination is high among the Church members while it is low among the Church
worker/missionary. This is because, the society is open and receptive towards people from
outside, as missionaries are mainly coming from a cross cultural context, the people’s attitude
towards the missionaries is quite positive. On the other hand, the attitude of the society is
quite envious towards the local Christian as they are regarded as denouncing their Hindu
culture. Therefore, it is proved that religious discrimination is the main cause of Churchless
Christianity in India; Churchless Christianity in India is largely due to religious
discrimination upon the local Christians.1

1
“Churchless Christianity”
https://www.coursehero.com/file/128453288/2B-Assignment-Churchless-Christianitydocx/ (accessed date 6.03.24
9pm). (Hereafter cited as “Churchless Christianity” https://www.coursehero.com)

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3. MAIN PURPOSE OF DR. HERBERT E. HOEFERS’S CHURCHLESS CHRISTIANITY
The main purpose of Hoefer’s ‘Churchless Christianity’ is to theologically reflect the
position of thousands of people who believe solely in Jesus Christ as their Lord and savior but
who have no plan to be baptized or to join the church. Hoefer based his research from the
early 1980s among Non-Baptized Believers in Christ in Tamil Nadu. He found that there are
significant numbers of true believers in Christ who openly confess to faith in fundamental
biblical doctrines, yet remain outside the institutional church. Hoefer’s idea of ‘Churchless
Christianity’ awakens the thought of many Indian theologians. 2

4. INDIAN THEOLOGIANS’ VIEW ON CHURCHLESS CHRISTIANITY

4.1. Chenchiah states, “there is no Church, Catholic or Protestant...” 3 Jesus’ intension was not to
create an institution where people get baptized and be a member, but to create a Kingdom of
God, where every believer have a new birth and become new creation with the help of the Holy
Spirit. This concept of Christian movement is also practiced by Subba Rao of Andhra Pradesh
in which Hindus accepted Jesus Christ as Lord and savior yet still remain un-baptize within the
Hindu fold.4 A Brahmin convert, T.K Tiwari also share the same testimony. 5

4.2. Along the same line with Hoefer, Alwin Johnson argued that, Jesus’ intention was not to
form an institution where his followers get baptized and be a member, but started Kingdom of
God, where every human have become new man with the help of the Holy Spirit. He further
argues that the Hindu cultural pattern can be a better way to contextualize Jesus and become a
better follower. 6 Has Baptism, therefore, in our social context been distorted into dead-giving
Law rather than life-giving Gospel? 7

4.3. Indian theologian M.M. Thomas gives a new concept to what Hoefer called Churchless
Christians as, “Christ-centered secular fellowship outside the Church”. According to him, it is a
distinctive new humanity which belongs to Jesus, but exists outside the “empirical Church”.
Here lies an important question: can there be a Christian without Church? And question of

2
“Churchless Christianity”
https://www.coursehero.com
3
Alwin Johnson, “Churchless Christianity; Can there be a Christian Without Church”
https://pastorallwin.page.tl/CHURCHLESS-CHRISTIANITY-d--CAN-THERE-BE-A-CHRISTIAN-WITHOUT-
CHURCH-f--.html (accessed date 5.03.24 2pm). (Hereafter cited as Johnson, “Churchless Christianity; Can there
be a Christian Without Church”)
4
Gerald H. Anderson, ed. Asian Voices in Christian Theology (Maryknoll: Orbis Books, 1976), 23.
5
He said, “When I decided to be baptized, I did not think that I was leaving Hindu society. I thought I
was adding something new, something glorious to my Hindu heritage. I wanted to continue to live with my parents
to co-operate with other Hindus in social work to visit the temple, etc. I was like early Christians who met daily at
Solomon’s porch in the temple. Soon I discovered that this was not possible.”
Quoted from, Herbert E. Hoefer, Churchless Christianity (California: William Carey Library, 2001), 150.
6
Johnson, “Churchless Christianity; Can there be a Christian Without Church”
(accessed date 5.03.24 3pm).
7
Herbert E. Hoefer, Churchless Christianity (California: William Carey Library, 2001), 150.

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whether baptism in India has become like the Jewish circumcision, the mark of entry from
one communal group or caste to another, is a subject that has been raised off in the history of the
Indian Church.8

CHURCHLESS CHRISTIANITY P. CHENCHIAH

According to Chenchiah, making a Christian should mean implanting the light of
Christ in a human heart, creating loyalty to his ideal, and promoting devotion to the lordship
of Jesus. In short, it is to full the mind with enthusiasm for Christ’s way of life. He says,
evangelism is a change of heart and mind, not an annexation to the Church. This new ideology
of conversion would shift the emphasis from mass to quality, from charge to character.
Chenchiah vehemently says that so far the church in India has preached Jesus after the flesh,
Jesus the man, and not Christ the all enfolding Spirit. The change that is therefore, required in
the presentation of the Gospel and in missionary methods lies in the direction of exploiting the
means of communicating Christianity as life and power, and not as an institution. In peace of
baptism, admission to churches, segregation, and transplantation of converts, he says that we
need to emphasize the formation and growth of the lord in the human heart, the indwelling of
Jesus in the human soul. Chenchiah opposed attempts to convert people through baptism and
membership in the organized church by opining that the Gospel can spread as life and inner
change without disaffiliation to one’s culture. For him, conversion meant coming into an
experience of Christ and accepting the gift of the new power in Him and proposed churchless
Christianity.9
It is also said about Chenchiah that the doubted whether Jesus in fact intended to
establish any sacraments as the Church teaches. He also envisaged a religionless Christianity
without sacraments where without the radical step of a change of community, Hinduis would
respond to Christ and the change will be in the realm of Spirit, not in the region of the Name
and form (Nama and Rupa). Chrnchiah’s dream was that in Indian in the future, there would
no baptism, no confession of faith, and no creedal profession. The Hindu has to change before
Hinduism can change. Chenchiah believed that a Hindu would slowly and steadily come under
the influence of the spirit of Christ. Chenchiah says that “non-affiliation to the Church without
baptism as perceived today need not mean denial for self-expression to the changed life. Life
will express itself, for that is its nature. If we realize that God is the agent in conversion we
may be inclined to leave the future in His hands.” Christology occupies the central place in
Chenchiah’s thinking, because his radically Christo-chentric. According the Chenchiah, the
decisiveness of the Christ-event lies in the very fact that in Jesus God has because Man and
Man God; and thereby He became the New Man. He denies Jesus as God and accepts Him
only as a New Man. Chenchiah argues that through there are other “saviours” who deliver

8
Johnson, “Churchless Christianity; Can there be a Christian Without Church”
(Accessed date 5.03.24 4pm).
9
“Churchless Christianity House Churches”
https://www.coursehero.com/file/193421314/2-Churchless-Christianity-house-churchespdf/ (accessed date 5.03.24
8pm) (Hereafter cited as “Churchless Christianity House Churches”)

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men and woman from different predicaments at different times, Jesus still remains the only
Saviour in the sense that He is the ultimate Saviour. He also holds the view that Christianity is
universal as life-life in Christ and not restricted to the Church. Therefore, all religions should
be transformed into Christianity through the regenerating power of the Holy Spirit. While
Chenchiah’s proposal gives some insights on Christ’s universal presence, it fails to take into
consideration the importance of the visible fellowship that Christ demands. One of the major
problems with the inclusivistic position is that there is only very little difference between that
one is asked to accept as the work of God and Jesus Christ in other religions and the inherent
value of that religion in itself. If God’s work is available even outside of Jesus Christ why
then was Jesus’ work necessary? There needs to be some restrictions even for the
‘normativeness’ of Christ to be considered, or else everything can be justified as God’s
revelation.10

CONCLUSION
The exploration of Churchless Christianity in India reveals a complex phenomenon
stemming from efforts to indigenize Christianity. Religious discrimination against local
Christians, who are seen as rejecting Hindu culture, is a major factor. Dr. Herbert E. Hoefers's
research on Non-Baptized Believers in Christ challenges traditional church membership ideas.
Indian theologians, including Chenchiah, offer diverse perspectives, with Chenchiah advocating
for an inner-focused Christianity devoid of sacraments. However, critics raise concerns about
the inclusivity of this approach and its impact on the uniqueness of Jesus Christ. Overall, the
discourse reflects ongoing theological debates about faith, culture, and Christianity's relationship
with other religions in India.

Biblliography
Anderson, Gerald H. Ed. Asian Voices in Christian Theology. Maryknoll: Orbis Books, 1976.
Hoefer, Herbert E. Churchless Christianity. California: William Carey Library, 2001.

Webliography
“Churchless Christianity”
https://www.coursehero.com/file/128453288/2B-Assignment-Churchless-Christianitydocx/
(accessed date 6.03.24 9pm).
“Churchless Christianity House Churches”
https://www.coursehero.com/file/193421314/2-Churchless-Christianity-house-churchespdf/
(accessed date 5.03.24 8pm).
Johnson, Alwin. “Churchless Christianity; Can there be a Christian Without Church”
https://pastorallwin.page.tl/CHURCHLESS-CHRISTIANITY-d--CAN-THERE-BE-A-CHRISTIAN-
WITHOUT-CHURCH-f--.html (accessed date 5.03.24 2pm).

10
“Churchless Christianity House Churches” (accessed date 5.03.24 8pm)