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social and cultural background? This is the significant and challenging question the Mara Christians should ask themselves in their mission with people of other faiths.

1.      Critique on the Mission of the MEC and ECM

The old missionary movement in the west had a history which ran almost parallel with the history of western colonisation. This came to an end as the process of colonisation came to an end and the former colonial countries became independent one after another. The ex-colonial countries then had an opportunity to think for the first time of their own history and the churches also became independently responsible for their own mission and evangelism work. The Mara Church of Maraland also took up her mission work seriously and sent missionaries to different parts of India and Myanmar. It is indeed good to see the church aware of its missionary obligation, while it is continues to increase its effort in mission and evangelism work all these years. Starting from a small corner in Maraland and spreading out through several parts of India and Myanmar to other parts of the world. From a starting point of few hundred rupees and Kyats, the mission funds have grown to several millions of rupees and kyats, which is indeed a big leap for the Mara Church. Moreover, the mission and evangelism work creates a good atmosphere of oneness among the members of the church. However, the Mara Church still works with the traditional understanding of mission and reveals little or nothing of what has been taking place in the ecumenical movement since the New Delhi WCC Assembly in 1961. The main aim is to make converts, produce numerical growth of the members of the church and plant churches. Indeed, the author pointed out that the main concept of the Mara mission is not the intention of the church to save from economic and political injustices which are inflicted upon the society, but it is mainly winning souls to the Lord and planting churches.

Firstly, the missionary mandate given to Christians is “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching to observe all that I have commanded you; lo, I am with you always, to the close of the age” (Matthew 28:19-20). Obedience to the great commission demands willingness to enter into different cultures of the world and communicate the gospel meaningfully. Therefore the church has been called to bear witness to God’s love by proclaiming Jesus Christ as the life of the world. Since Jesus Christ is the good news to the whole world, it makes great impact in society and transforms it. But in reality most of the time Christian mission focuses on proclamation alone and neglects practical part. The Mara missionaries forget to recognise that proclamation and participation are two sides of the same coin of the gospel. It is true that throughout the history of the Mara Church, the main goal of mission is proclamation of the gospel and making of disciples. In so doing, the modus operandi is exclusive, triumphalistic and of a dominant nature. Pluralism whether religious, cultural or ethnic is revealed as part of God’s purpose in the biblical vision of healing, wholeness and reconciliation, but the church is not obedient to this biblical vision. It is a fact that most of the Christian mission songs and stories still continue to stress the religious superiority complex and arrogance, perpetuate religious fundamentalism and reduce the vision inherent in the gospel to a narrow parochialism.

If we look at the history and mission strategies of the Mara Church of east Maraland and West Maraland, it can be seen that her mission aimed foremost at saving of the souls from eternal damnation. The idea of saving souls is backed by a concept inspired by the evolutionary theory that views the ‘cultured’ western Christian race to be highly superior to the ‘uncultured heathen’ elsewhere. Mara missionaries were sent, therefore, not only to save the souls of the heathen from damnation, but also to civilise them. Mission therefore, primarily aimed at the conversion of the heathen into Christian race through which it expanded Christendom by inculcating its values among the heathens. The driving force at the heart of this mission was the spirit of crusade backed by the colonial expansionism. Various strategies were devised to achieve the goal of conversion and the expansion of Christendom. This understanding of mission continues to dominate a large number of ‘mission minded’ churches including the Mara Church of East & West Maraland and individuals of today.

Secondly, there seems to be a one sided emphasis on one aspect of the great commission and that is baptism. A Christian recognises the place of baptism as a sacrament signifying our unity with Jesus Christ. In a significant passage about baptism Paul says, ‘Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into his death? Therefore we have been buried with him by baptism into his death, so that just as Christ was raised from dead by the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life’.[1] But the same Paul in another context says, ‘Christ did not send me to baptize but to proclaim the gospel’.[2] Most commentators say that Paul had to say that in a situation where divisions were developing in the Corinthian church around the issue of baptism. The context makes it sound quite likely. No doubt we have accepted baptism as a sacrament being celebrated ever since the inception of the church. And a verse like “He who believed and is baptised will be saved” (Mark 16: 16) makes it appear to be a condition for salvation. Quite apart from the possibility that this particular text may not have been in the original gospel, the question is how we to understand this text? Did Jesus place baptism as a condition for being saved on a par with faith? All through the pre-resurrection ministry of Jesus we find Him ascribing great value to faith, but he says not a word about baptism by way of prescribing it as a sacrament to be administered. He sends out His disciples to proclaim the gospel of the kingdom of God, but He does not ask them to baptize.

It is in the light of this understanding of faith and baptism the Mara Church of Maraland need to perhaps review the whole question of baptism, which has been raised at different stages in the history of the church. Should baptism determine the boundary of the church? There are at least two notable examples of the rejection of baptism as a necessary sacrament, namely the Salvation Army and the Society of Friends (Quakers). The issue is not to be mixed up with any fear of persecution from Hindu fundamentalists or religious fanatics. It is only an honest way of facing the seriousness of costly discipleship. Do we not find Christians who believe that since they are baptised and have become part of the body of Christ, they have now arrived in the safety zone of salvation? They feel content that they are part of the community destined for salvation and that whatever the quality of their life they have a claim with God. If baptism has lost its original meaning and value, is there any point continuing it? Or do we still believe we can regain its value as an appropriate sign of one’s becoming a member of the body of Christ in the true sense of the term? Is it humanly possible to determine where the saving influence of the love of Christ stops? It is Christ who draws people of different cultural and social background to himself. Should the Mara Church not then be open to the possibility of developing fellowships of believers beyond the circle of baptised community, whose centre is still the Lord Jesus Christ?

Thirdly, the Mara missionaries firmly believe that the revelation in Jesus Christ is final once and for all. This means that outside the institutional church there is no revelation of God. There is no revelation in other religions. It is therefore not correct to say that God is present among other peoples or religions and he works among them. It is therefore the duty of a Mara Christian to proclaim the gospel and bring people to faith in Jesus Christ. For the Mara Christians, the revelation through Jesus Christ is supreme and crucial. Thus proclaiming the salvation in Jesus and adding people to the church constitutes the mission of the Mara Church.

It is rather unfortunate that Jesus call to the people to enter the kingdom of God has been misconceived as entering the gates of the church. Much serious thought need to be given to the missionary mandate of Jesus recorded in Mt. 28: 18-20. Did the commission imply the formation of separate religious community with its creed, code and labelled as Christian? Mission indeed is praying and working for the kingdom of God on earth.[3] It is important that the Mara Church should broaden its concept of mission, in which the kingdom of God would come into individual and corporate life, through words and deeds.

Moreover, the Mara concept of spirituality and its theological orientation is otherworldly and not down to earth in character. This idea seems to be against the very nature of Christian mission. As Hans Kung has pointed out, the church exists for the world by being linked to the world. Of course it must not simply conform to the world. But knowing as it does about the mercy of the one true God, who so loved the world that he gave his only Son for it, the church has from the first be deeply linked with the world. The church cannot shut itself off from the world in a ghetto and live a life of its own in splendid isolation. It must rather face up to the challenge of the world, accept it, share in its hopes and anxieties, its venture and its failures.[4] As the mission of Jesus is meant for the world, so is the mission of the Mara Church of Maraland. It should never be limited within the four walls of the church.

Fourthly, one of the characteristics of the Mara concept of mission is the saved and the lost or a sender and receiver relationship. The sender possesses the full truth and has the inescapable commission from God to bring this truth to the receiver. The receiver is the heathen, who still walks in darkness and has no knowledge of truth. His/her religion is the way of darkness. If he/she does not receive the truth he/she will die in sin and lose eternal life. Hence we see the urgency of mission and evangelism.

I have often felt that Mara Christians have made too easy for ourselves to preach about salvation to people of other faiths saying that believe in Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved. And we presume that we possess that kind of faith whereby we are already saved and they are all doomed to hell. When the Mara Christians take up the task of evangelism and approach the other people with such an attitude, are they not really being guided by the notion that what really saves them is the fact of being ‘Christians’ and what leads others to judgement is the fact that they are ‘non-Christians’. Here saving faith get mixed up with religious identity. Also there could be a kind of hidden arrogance in the very use of the term Christians and non-Christians when used in the mission context. When we approach the people of other religions, we generally go with the idea that since we belong to the Christian community, we have already passed the test of salvation and have been qualified for eternal life. Those who still remain outside the baptised community of Christians are liable to eternal punishment. Is it possible to think of salvation and judgement in terms of religious identity?

In any case, who are those people for whom the Mara Christians are so much concerned, and for whom they feel a burden for their salvation? Are they the ones who had never heard about Jesus Christ? That is certainly not the case, because a large number of Hindus, Muslims, Buddhists and others know much more about Jesus Christ than many of the Christians. Are they then the ones who have not come to a real commitment to Christ and have no real faith? This again is not a legitimate reason for crossing the religious boundary between Christians and others as though that boundary is the boundary between salvation and judgement, for how many of the Christians have such a real commitment and faith? In that case, can we look upon them as unbelievers ready to be eternally damned unless they take baptism and join the church? Surely the more educated and enlightened among the people of other faiths would only laugh at the idea of Christians being saved. We ought to completely agree with Lesslie Newbigin when he says that we must refuse to engage in speculation about the ultimate salvation of other people. The question of eternal salvation and judgement is not for speculation about the fate of other people; it is an infinitely serious practical question addressed to me.[5]

Fifthly, one of the most troubling features of the mission or the evangelistic witness of the Mara Church of Maraland is the sense of threat that is experienced by those to whom the message is brought. On the one hand, the Mara missionaries announce that the motive of mission is the announcement of the gracious love of God that has been made available to all humankind. They claim that in the life, death and resurrection of Christ, they have God as a loving and forgiving God, who brings healing and wholeness into the lives of the people, irrespective of whom they are and their situation in life, spiritual and material. They also proclaim that in and through his life and death, Jesus revealed to them that the challenge of participation in this love involves a radical realignment of their lives, not only in relation to God but also in relation to their neighbours. This is both good and challenging news and we are aware that from the very beginning while many responded to the message, some opted to become part of a community that became the bearers of, witnesses to, this good news in word and in life.

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[1] Romans 6:3-4.

[2] I Corinthian 1:17.

[3] Roger Gaikward, ‘Contextualization of Theological Education and Mission in North East India’, Seminar paper presented at Aizawl Theological College, Aizawl, 1994, 8.

[4] Hans Kung, The Church ( London: Burns & Oates Limited, 1969), 485-486.

[5] Lesslie Newbigin, The Open Secret, An Introduction to Theology of Mission (London: SPCK, 1991) 88.