Nandi Hills and Church Schisms

What has Nandi Hills got to do with Church Schisms? Nothing at all, excepting that as a group, from the ‘Christian Fellowship,’ we went on a day’s picnic to Nandi Hills on 21^st May, 2017, and amidst the worship songs with guitar and mouthorgan as accompaniments, we also considered ‘Divisions in the church,’ a topic selected by the Group Administrator.

It fell to my part to introduce the topic and lead the discussions among the participants. As a background to the topic I brought in the major schisms in the church that had happened from the beginnings of the church history.

Divisions in the church is not a recent phenomenon. It is a malady plaguing the church since the very beginnings. Apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 1:10-17 addresses such a situation in the early church at Corinth. He writes, “I appeal to you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another so that there may be no divisions among you and that you may be perfectly united in mind and thought.”

The Corinthian church was split along the leaders; one said he follows Paul, another Apollos and yet another Cephas. Paul questions them, “Is Christ divided?’ These cracks in the edifice of the church appeared within 30 years of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, for Paul had written this letter by 55 AD, near the end of his third missionary journey.

In Ephesians 4:3-6, Paul exhorts people saying, “Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body, and one Spirit – just as you were called to one hope – one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all…”

It is interesting to see what Jesus taught about this unity. In his intercessory prayer reported in John 17, he prays in verse 21, “that all of them be one, Father just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me.”

In the church history, we see that in the first three centuries Christianity was a persecuted religion, comprising mostly of the poor people, the marginalized and the outcastes and the slaves. The situation changed dramatically when the Roman Emperor, Constantine the Great, became a Christian in 312 AD. The persecuted religion became the State Religion.

Unfortunately, the worldly accompaniments of power and position came to be bestowed on the church leaders, called the Bishops, with the bishop of Rome becoming prominent among them, later to be called the Pope.

Constantine, divided his huge empire into two in 330 AD, the Western Roman Empire with Rome as the capitol and the Eastern Empire, the Byzantine Empire with Constantinople as the capitol.

Western Roman Empire collapsed in 476 AD, with the attack of Germanic tribes. Pope of Rome became prominent and occupied the vacuum left by the Emperor and became the spiritual sovereign. The Eastern Empire would last another 1000 years before it was conquered by the Ottoman Turks in 1453 AD.

Differences have been brewing up between the Pope and the Patriarchs. There were five Patriarchs, one each in charge of churches in and around Rome, Constantinople, Jerusalem, Alexandria and Antioch. Due to historical and political reasons Patriarchs of Rome and Constantinople became stronger and more prominent. 

Patriarchs of Rome and Constantinople ex-communicated each other and a major split occurred in the church in 1054 AD, known as the Great Schism or the East West Schism. The Western church remained the Catholic (catholic meaning, all comprehensive) church and the Eastern church became the Orthodox or Greek Orthodox church.

Pope became the leader of the Western church and the Eastern church was run by a group of Patriarchs; West practiced Latin liturgy, while the Eastern church continued Greek liturgy. Rapprochement between the two occurred only in 1965, when both lifted the ex-communication orders issued in 1054 AD!

The second major split happened in the 16^th century, with Martin Luther starting the Reformation movement by nailing his 95 theses to his church door in Germany on 31 October 1517. He had raised objections to many of the practices of the Roman Catholic church, like the sale of indulgences.

Reformation led to counter-reformation and a long-drawn war which devastated Europe, ending only with the signing of Peace of Westphalia in 1648. But the Western church has irrevocably divided into the Catholic church under the Pope and Protestant churches.  

Protestant churches branched off into many, but all based on five major principles, that salvation is through, (1). Sola Fida – by faith alone; (2). Sola Scriptura – by Scripture alone; (3). Solus Christus – through Christ alone; (4). Sola Gratia – by grace alone and (5). Soli Deo Gloria – glory to God alone.

Protestant churches came to be known by the leaders, just what Paul warned us against! Followers of Martin Luther became Lutherans, John Knox’s followers became Presbyterians, John Wesley’s followers the Methodists, John Smith’s followers Baptist and so on.

In the beginnings of the 20^th century came the Pentecostal movement with the out pouring of the Holy Spirit in a big way and churches like the Assembly of God church started in 1901-1914. They remained within Protestant group of churches.

In the 20^th century another movement started to unite all the churches of the world under one umbrella, without any denominations. The Modern Ecumenical movement started in the World Missionary Conference in 1910 at Edinburgh and culminated in the formation of the World Council of Churches in 1948.

But did this movement really unite all the churches? Not really. If so, what are the repercussions of being a divided church? Or can we call it as unity in diversity?

Our group further discussed, what are the reasons for such divisions in the churches? People felt that mutual jealousies, selfish ambitions, doctrinal differences, difference in traditions, and not in the least, the confusion caused by Satan to be the reasons for such divisions.  

Are such divisions good or bad? If good, how and why? If bad, what can be done about it? Many felt that such divisions are good, because the Word of God penetrates the corners of the world, even remotest places, for as long as the name of Jesus Christ is glorified, it should be sufficient. Some felt divisions show Christianity in poor light.

So, what can be done about that? May be while not encouraging further divisions, churches could arrive at a workable guideline for unity, especially as all true Christians worship Christ alone and look to the Bible as the Word of God, and a standard, and depend on the guidance of the Holy Spirit. The other differences could be mulled over.

More combined Bible studies, sharing of spiritual experiences, joint praise and worship sessions, cooperation in the social service activities and a constant dialogue between the various churches could definitely help bridge the gap.

As we await the Second Coming of Christ, in this confused and violent world of ours, including our divided churches, I can only say “Come, Lord Jesus,” as said by John in answer to the proclamation of Christ, “Yes, I am coming soon,” as John would write and conclude his book on Revelation in the Bible, which forms the very last sentence of the Bible.

Yes, Lord, come soon and save us all from the clayey mire.

Amen. 

How Good is Your Self-worth?

Self-worth of a person is variously known as self-esteem, self-respect or even self-pride. It is basically what we think about ourselves, how we rate ourselves, positively or negatively.

We start to have our self-worth very early in life, as a small child, a toddler, when one is totally under the control, care and protection of the parents or elders, who surround the small world of the child. How a child shapes depends on how much love and care the adults give them, when the child is so impressionable and young.

The babies are born with a mind which is clean as a new slate. Nothing has been written there yet. It is the parents or whoever takes care of the baby, who starts writing on this pure and fresh slate, the mind of the child.

The child can sense and make out from just the way she or he is held by the mother or the caregiver, whether she or he is loved or not. Tactile functions of the baby are very strong during these days. The baby can sense rejection or love very early in life. Baby’s self-worth or self-esteem starts to take shape.

When the baby is cuddled often, loved, kissed, fed and cleaned properly, the baby knows she is loved and cared for and blossoms into a healthy child. As a child grows, parents and elders who matter, either reject the child for various reasons or accept the child for what she is and love her in spite of any faults and defects.

Unconditional love is more important as the child grows. It’s worth enhances as the mother or father accept the child for what she or he is without criticizing or overtly praising her or him. As the child grows this becomes very important.

Due to competition in admissions to good schools and good colleges, parental pressure starts when the child is admitted into kindergarten even. Then comparison starts. “Why can’t you be as smart as the neighbours’ son? Why can’t you work hard like your cousins and get good marks? Why didn’t I get a fair child? Why is my child so dull in studies? And so on and so forth.

The damage these remarks does to the little boy or girl is enormous. May be, parents are indulging in such behaviour, only to push the child or motivated the child to work a bit more harder and do well in the school or college, so that the child’s future is assured, financially, by getting a good job.

This is a commendable goal alright, but needs to be done without comparison with other children and without forcing it on a child who is not inclined academically. Every child comes into the world equipped and endowed with some talents and gifts peculiar to that child. A fish cannot be asked to climb a tree; only a monkey is created for such a feat and climbs a tree effortlessly.

Parents need to observe their children to find out in what the child is good at, either academics or mechanical efforts or art, and then channel the child through that stream so that the child will shine in that field, which is so close to its heart.

Self-esteem of a person could be damaged by the early childhood memories of treatments meted out to the child while young. Repeated put-downs and constant criticisms will make the boy or girl unsure of themselves. They will start doubting their ability and capacity, because they are not able to please their parents by whatever they do.

While young, the children try their level-best to please their parents and a word of appreciation of their effort will go a long way to build up their self-esteem. You either build up your child or mar the child for life.

The second most important thing in one’s life, which bolsters or damages self-esteem is the experiences that life throws at one’s path. When repeated tragedies or bad things happen in one’s life, it makes a person scared of life and self-confidence of that person goes for a sixer.

In a case where a mother loses her first child in infancy, then goes through separation and divorce and then is bed-ridden due to an accident and later a debilitating disease, is sure to develop loss of confidence and a damaged self-esteem. That person will be so scared of life that negative emotions start to pile up, asking ‘what next?’

Negative emotions and thinking attract negative events. So it piles up. Job of the Bible, when he lost his children, property and all that he had, exclaims, “What I feared has come upon me; what I dreaded has happened to me.” Job 3:25. What one fears and keeps thinking of, happens, because by thinking thus, he or she has attracted the very thing that they wanted to avoid.

The constant doubt in such a person’s mind would be, ‘Will I be able to accomplish that task which I desire?’ The fear of that person would be, ‘What if something horrible happens if I do manage to accomplish it or before I accomplish it?’ This is again a seed sown when one is very young – ‘the evil eye.’ So, he or she would tend to ask, ‘What if the gods are angry at my progress?

Most importantly, ‘what if my friends and relatives feel jealous over my achievements?’ As if in an effort to ward off the evil eye, or the fear of not accomplishing what one wants to, that person will not try his best in accomplishing that task. They would deliberately, subconsciously of course, not do their best to accomplish the task. Their failure reinforces their philosophy in life.

What is the remedy? How do we overcome these? How to repair a damaged self-esteem? This is not easy, it is very difficult to repair such a damage with human strength and effort, though many such people have overcome the damages of childhood to climb up the social ladder or do very well in what they had wanted to do in their lives. But generally, it is difficult to do it on your own.

In such a situation, God could help, because God, our Creator, knows our weaknesses and strength and accepts us unconditionally. Christ went to the cross when we were still sinners. That is love, unconditional acceptance. Romans 5:8 says, “But God demonstrated His own love for us in this: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

When we accept that love, unselfish and unconditional love, our self-image of ourselves improves tremendously. Damage done to self-esteem gets repaired by such a love. As one realises that he or she is the child of God, beloved of God, for whom He gave His very life, healing starts to happen.

That is the only sure way to restore a holistic self-worth, and repair the damages to self-worth, suffered in childhood or later because of life experiences. “in all things God works for the good of those who love Him,”, says Paul in Romans 8:28.

Yes, in spite of all the wrong things that could have happened in our lives, God is able to bring out something beautiful, if only we love Him, trust Him and entrust our lives to Him.

Will you do so, entrust yourself to Jesus and be His child for eternity?      

“Dangerous Despatches”

I usually do not read novels, but this one was authored by a senior colleague of mine and a well-wisher Mrs. Achala Moulik. So, I started to read it. Wow, I couldn’t lay it down till I finished the whole book, 380 pages and all, in a matter of five days. What lovely lives have been painted in the book!

The story is wound around four friends, two of whom after their education at London School of Economics, go to the far corners of the world, as Front-line correspondents, Shivan, a bright Indian and Alexei a Russian. The other two friends are Julian, an Englishman and Farid, a prince from Afghanistan, who will later join them.

They marry, Shivan to a headstrong but intelligent and tender Romona, an Indian student of the Institute of Archaeology of London University. Julian, falls for her sister Vanita, also from London School of Economics, but Vanita decides to settle down with a man from Bengal, selected by their father, a senior international civil servant. The whole story is set in 1960s.

Being intelligent and young they are all involved in the happenings around them in the world. They banter about US President Kennedy’s Cuban policy, fate of Serbs, Croats, Slovenes, Macedonians, Albanians of Yugoslavia, and the interference of the superpowers, especially that of USA, which reduced these people to small and divided nations, impoverishing them in the process.

Just before they part as students the tragic assassination of J.F. Kennedy happens and devastates the world, on 22^nd November 1963. Soon after Shivan is posted to Istanbul to cover the Eastern Mediterranean region. He gets his PhD on ‘Thucydides: Father of War Correspondents.’

The author describes the partition of Palestine and the creation of Israel and how the Arab nations vow to destroy the infant nation, but with every onslaught Israel emerged stronger occupying more land than she started with. Palestinians became refugees in their own land.

Fearing Romona might follow her sister and marry someone else, Shivan meets her after three years and proposes to her. He warns her of the uncertainty and hardship of the lives of frontline journalists and she assures him that she ‘won’t be a clinging vine or wilting violet.’ They marry most romantically at Venice in a gondola, at the very place where Venice was supposed to have been married to the Adriatic Sea!

Being posted briefly in India, Shivan reports on the tumultuous war of liberation of Bangladesh, with assistance from India, in 1971. In the mean while West Asia militancy of Arab Muslims commenced, changing the world once and for all. Arab terrorism grew at the same time when Vietnam war was ending, with USA leaving Saigon, acknowledging her failure there.  

A son is born to Shivan and Romona, Aditya and he grows up among all this turmoil. In India, the Prime Minister Indira Gandhi promulgates Emergency and clamps down freedom of speech and writing; Shivan is arrested and sent to prison, but released after six months.

Next Shivan is posted to Iran and another interesting journey of their lives starts. The military coup engineered by the British and the American Oil Companies shows the greedy politics of the powerful. The Iranian revolution that followed and the installation of Mullah Ayatollah Khomeini’s regime in 1979 are given in some detail. No wonder that the Muslim world considers USA as a Satan and has developed strong dislike for the Western world.

What I like about the book is how the narrative intertwines the historical and cultural aspects of various parts of the world around the story of Shiven and his wife Romona and his friends. It is offered with a lot of insight on international affairs.

Next posting of Shivan is Kabul to report on the developments in Afghanistan. This is where the book really livens up. Historical details about Afghanistan, cultural moorings of Kandahar or Gandara, where deserters from the army of Alexander the great settled in 4^th century BC, the genesis of Mughal rule in India, whose first king Baber hailed from Kabul are all delightfully narrated.

Afghanistan stood untamed by both the British and later Russia, for her war-lords were undefeatable. She was receiving help from the Russians and to halt the spread of Communism, Americans started to equip the Mujahidin, the local Afghans to fight against Russia. Alexei a Russian die-hard reporter, joins them here.

One could discern the author’s soft corner for Russia. After all she was awarded the prestigious Pushkin Medal by the Russian government for her work on Russian literature.  Not that she is biased, but historical truths do speak of the origin of Taliban menace due to American interference and arming Afghans to wage a proxy war for USA against Soviet Union.

Pakistan was involved in training these Mujahidin, of course with lot of American assistance. These guns would later be trained on India and create problem in Kashmir. Alexei and Prince Farid, both Shivan’s close friends, die in Kabul unrest. By 1979 the situation deteriorated fast and Russia invaded Afghanistan on the request of its President. In this melee, not only Taliban but also Al-Qaida were born.  

In addition to the details of national literature, culture and current events happening in the 20^th century world of ours, what really attracted me is the strong love story of Romona and Shivan. True to her commitment she remained a faithful wife, braving her lonely days when Shiven is posted to far-off corners of the world and most often amidst dangerous situations.

Shivan loved his wife deeply, and remained loyal to her, but for a small indiscretion when posted in Sarajevo, amidst chaotic clashes and genocide. Almost retiring after that, both spend some peaceful years in writing their respective books. One day suddenly Shivan dies. Romona is shattered. Her beautiful world vanished overnight. She was all alone in the world. Her only son was married and settled in America.

Still she decided to remain alone, and be true to the memory of her first and last love, Shivan. She did not encourage their dear and close friend’s attachment to her and his proposal of remarriage. She got her husband’s book that he left completed published; as fathomed from his diaries, she published his war memoirs. Having done her duty to her husband, she started writing her own books.

It is a tender love story above all, that touches the heart and leaves one to wonder, whether such a love as this is possible at all.

Long live Romona and her devotion to her husband.

A good read loaded with information and lot of love and human drama amidst the chaos that is our world today.  

Is it Possible to Practice the Presence of God?

Is it possible at all to enjoy the constant presence of God, the Almighty, the Maker of heavens and earth? Or is it something that we can enjoy only if we manage to reach heavens after death? Is it possible to sense that nearness to God on earth itself and in this human life? Does the Almighty stoop down so low to come near us, mere humans? 

These are the questions that rankle my mind and I am sure it does yours also.

At least one Saint who goes by the name Brother Lawrence, who lived in the Seventeenth century in France, seemed to think so. He was born around 1610 in Herimenil, France. He was converted to Christ at the age of 18. He fought in the Thirty Years War, which left him maimed for life, with injury to his sciatic nerve. I myself am suffering from sciatica and I know how it debilitates a person!

He lived for a few years in the wilderness like one of the early Desert Fathers.  After a brief stint as a civil servant, he entered the monastery. He was a cook in a newly formed monastery in Paris for some time and served the community of some hundred monks. After fifteen years of this he was shifted to the sandal repair shop in the same monastery. He was a simple and humble soul.

Br. Lawrence, in his walk with God, discovered a simple and uncomplicated way to walk continuously in God’s presence, which he practiced for some forty years of his life on this earth. He died in 1691. After his death, some of his letters were collected and published. Some four interviews held with him by the then representative to the local Archbishop, Joseph de Beaufort, were attached to it and published later.

Brother Lawrence established the practice of continually conversing with God, which helped create the sense of God’s presence. In this endeavour, he resolved to make the love of God the end of all his actions, whether cooking or mending the shoes of the inmates of the monastery.

When thoughts of his previous sins plagued him, Br. Lawrence simply wowed to himself, whether he is lost or saved, he will always continue to act purely for the love of God. This he did and this attitude brought peace and joy to his tormented soul.

Not that he was beyond discouragement. But he would, in the beginnings, force himself to get into this habit of conversing with God continually and referring all he did to Him. Including his worries. Well, this habit of continually talking to God evolved into a type of prayer, called “Breath Prayer.”

Breath prayer is the ancient Christian prayer practice dating back to 3^rd century. The Desert Fathers in Egypt, in 3^rd and 4^th centuries, developed a short prayer, which later came to be known as the “Jesus Prayer,’ which is to repeat the prayer, “Lord have mercy,” based on from Psalm123:3 and Luke 18:13,38. This, of course was practiced more by the Eastern Churches like the Russian and Greek Orthodox churches.

This sort of short prayers, which are constantly said, not aloud, but silently in the heart and mind, elevate our conscious mind to the presence of God. It is based on Paul’s exhortation to “Pray without ceasing,” 1 Thes.5:17. When attention wanders, we gently bring it back to the prayer. This can be done anytime, anywhere, times when we are not occupied mentally in doing any work.

While we are resting or when we are having our morning walk or treadmill workout or jog or when we are cooking or cleaning the house or the car or any such mechanical works, we can silently do this type of prayer. It is an acknowledgement that we are in God’s presence all the time. Psalm 46:10 says, “Be still and know that I am God.” It also reminds us that “In God we live and move and have our being.” Acts 17:28.

Another thing Br. Lawrence did was to refer all he did to God. Paul recommends this in Colossians 3:17, “whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.” In whatever he did he tried to please God, including buying vegetables for the day’s cooking! He further advises that we need to tell God our failings and seek His forgiveness, guidance and strength.

In such conversation with God, Br. Lawrence besought to praise, adore and love God incessantly for His infinite goodness and perfection. Our daily duties, we need to surrender to the Lord and simply pray, “Let Thy will be done.” Of course, Br. Lawrence renounced everything for the love of Jesus and ‘began to live as if there was none but He and I in the world.’[1]

He further said, that in all timers, ‘I drove from my mind everything that interrupted thoughts of God.’[2] By often repeating short prayers, they become habitual and the presence of God becomes quite natural to us, he says.

He describes, “it is a habitual, silent, and private conversation of the soul with God.” This gave him joy and contentment. To him it was a small but holy exercise, repeating little internal adorations all through the day. For people facing life’s storms he advises, “Take courage. Offer Him your pain and pray to Him for strength to endure them.”[3] “Stay with God always for He is the only support and comfort for your affliction.”[4]

What a source of comfort! What a way to cultivate the presence of God! I have taken the verse John 15:4, “Abide in Me and I in you,” and I repeat it to heart’s content, as I drive or cook or when all sorts of annoying and unnecessary thoughts come to my mind. Oh, what peace and joy soon pervade my being and I simply thank the Lord for this grace of His.

One final clarification, it is not a mantra to be repeated, nor a vain repetition against which Jesus warned his disciples in Matthew 6:7, or an incantation or focusing on the breathing, or clearing of the mind or for merging with the spirit world, as in Eastern religious meditation or in Yoga.

The purpose is not to become one with God, but to simply lift our minds and hearts to God gratefully in everything we do.

It is a constant prayer to the Lord Jesus Christ. 

This really brings us to the presence of God all the time, even when we live in this earth as human beings.

Won’t you give it a try?

God bless you and your strivings to have a close walk with Him.  

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[1] Brother Lawrence, “Practice the Presence of God,” MB, 1691, Merchant Books, 2009, p.33.

[2] Ibid, p.34.

[3] Ibid p.63

[4] Ibid, p.62.