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A controversy arose some years ago when a group of Indian Christians refused to salute the national flag. It was then cleared by the Church that the group in question was a cult and it did not represent the mainstream Christianity. However, there are some sincere Christians who keep wondering whether saluting the national flag is not amounting to idol worship.
The word "salute" simply means "to greet with respect." In India we greet one another with bowed heads or folded hands. These postures vary according to cultures. This is not worship. Apostle Peter rebuked Cornelius because the latter exceeded the level of greeting and literally "worshipped" Peter (Acts 10:25,26). What the three Hebrew young men sternly refused was the "worship" of the gold "image" set by the King (Dan 3).
Christians may not be nationalistic but they must be patriotic. The Bible has nothing to say against patriotism, which means love and dedication to one’s country. Apostle Paul was proud of his Roman citizenship eventhough the Roman empire was pagan (Acts 22: 25-29). The Jews became homesick when they were scattered all over the world. Read Psalm 137 to understand how much a Jew loved his homeland. Jerusalem was his "chief joy" and as dear as his "right hand" (vv 5,6). Our ultimate citizenship in Heaven does not negate our present citizenship on earth. Otherwise we would need to go "out of the world!" (1 Cor 5:10). The flag represents the nation. When we salute the flag, we publicly declare our love and respect for the country.
In the Western world there’s a custom of keeping the national flag inside the church buildings. This is perfectly in order. Are not all governing authorities from God? (Rom 13:1). Why should we not hoist our national flag atop our church steeples or inside church compounds, atleast on the Independence Day and the Republic Day? We can have special programmes and prayers for the nation right inside the church. This will serve as an occasion to renew our commitment to obey the laws of the nation and be faithful citizens. If we have retreats or camps during these two important days, which are public holidays, we may begin the programme with flag hoisting, praying for the nation and singing of the national anthem.
Praise God for organizations like All India All Night Prayer Fellowship which organize fasting prayers on Independence Days and Republic Days in strategic cities of India to pray for a nationwide revival and evangelism. According to Paul, this must be our supreme prayer concern (1 Tim 2:1,2).
On the 15th day of August 2000 we have entered the 53rd year of Indian Independence. Hallelujah! India is the most religious country in the world. This country is unique in many ways. No other nation is so diversified in its languages and cultures. Let’s look at the huge population of our country as masses of potential candidates to be reached for the Kingdom of God. Rightly sang Mr. Emil Jebasingh of Transworld Radio in one of his Tamil songs that Indians would fill Heaven! True our nation is full of corruption and confusion. But is there a nation free from these? Let’s develop a positive attitude towards India.
Look forward to the next flag hoisting ceremony with enthusiasm. Our national flag is simple yet attractive. To guard ourselves from the disrespect that comes from ignorance, an understanding of the symbolism would be helpful. The deep saffron colour at the top speaks of valour and sacrifice. White stands for truth, purity and simplicity. The green represents our fertile land with vast natural resources. The chakra (wheel) with 24 spokes signifies motion, progress and dynamism. As you salute the flag rededicate yourself to these lofty values so the nation may be blessed and God glorified!
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Over 80% of Indians worship idols. Christians are hardly 3% in this country. We are constantly challenged to befriend the non-Christians, especially the Hindus who are the largest segment of our society, in order to share the message of the love of God with them. When invited they gladly join us for our birthday parties and Christmas dinners. They have no problem in eating the food we serve after offering thanksgiving prayer. But when they invite us to their festival dinners or send us pongal or sweets, we hesitate and they are offended. Relationships get strained. Some believers eat anything freely, whereas others are apprehensive. What does the Bible say about this?
Conditions similar to ours existed when the New Testament epistles were written. Eating food offered to idols was one of the hot issues apostle Paul addressed while writing to the young churches. In his first Corinthian Epistle he discussed this issue at length in two chapters, 8 and 10. Read them carefully. Here is what we learn—
o Strictly speaking, idols are "nothing" (8:4; Isa 37:19; Jer 16:20; Gal 4:8). As such any food offered to them cannot be contaminated. However, for the idol worshipper it symbolizes something supernatural. Commenting on their point of view Paul calls idols as "demons" (10:20). This figure is in their mind. According to the idol-worshipper the food becomes sacred when offered to idols. No Christian can accept food from an idol-worshipper if it is given in this sense or with this understanding (10:20,21,27). We can politely refuse it with a smile. If they still insist, we can receive it but later quietly give it away to a foodless platform-dweller or a beggar.
o The apostle mentions three places where food offered to idols will be served—(a) temples (b) houses (c) marketplaces. A Christian under no circumstance can join a dinner inside "an idol’s temple" (8:10). This public act will dishonour Christ and discourage new Christians who have denounced idols to serve the living God. But when invited to a family dinner of an idol-worshipper we can go and eat "asking no question" (10: 27). No true friend will try to trap us like Balaam or Jezebel (Rev 2:14,20). Next comes what is sold in shops. Muslims chant a prayer before butchering animals. Hindus place sweets and savouries in front of pictures of gods and goddesses immediately after making them in restaurants or stalls. We need not bother about these things but can freely buy and "eat whatever is sold... asking no questions" because the earth and all its fullness belong to our Lord! (10:25,26). All animals and birds and plants and trees belong originally to the Lord and they are for us to enjoy because we belong to Him! Everything is sanctified by the Word of God and prayer of thanksgiving (1 Tim 4:4,5).
o The underlying principle that Paul teaches in 1 Corinthians 8 & 10 as well as Romans 14 is that no knowledge of the truth or liberty in Christ should be used to "wound the weak conscience" of our brothers and sisters or to "become a stumbling block" to them (1 Cor 8:9,12). While there is nothing wrong, in the absolute sense, in eating whatever is served to us, it is sin if our eating makes a brother "stumble" or "perish" (1 Cor 8:13,11). Nothing we do must offend others (1 Cor 10:24,32,33; Rom 14:14,15,21).
To summarise: Don’t compromise on the truth; Don’t antagonize idol-worshipper friends; Don’t despise weak believers. 1 Corinthians 10:32 can be paraphrased as, "Give no offense, either to the nominal Christians or to the non-Christians or to the born-again Christians!"
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This question is repeatedly asked when we work among students. Some youngsters when they get saved start spending their evenings and all leisure time in prayers, Bible study groups and such spiritual activities. A few others find it difficult to leave sports and games. In course of time the second groupists develop a guilt because they begin to wonder whether the time they spend for sports instead of the soul is a waste. Is there a Biblical answer to this question?
Though the Bible does not directly encourage sports and games, it nowhere condemns it. The knowledge of the public games of Greece and Rome provided the New Testament writers with rich source material from which to illustrate spiritual truths. Paul alluded to wrestling, boxing, running, etc. (Eph 6:12; 1 Tim 6:12; 2 Tim 4:7; 1 Cor 9:24-27). The other apostles have also employed sports language (1 Pet 1:4; Heb 12:1,2; Js 1:12). Moses must have been a good boxer (Ex 2:11,12). He was also an expert in mountain-climbing. David was skilled in shooting. He must have practised catapulting as a shepherd boy (1 Sam 17:20,40,48-50).
Sports and games have many positive effects on the participants. A good sportsman is known for the discipline of his body, that is so vital to Christian life (1 Cor 9:24-27). Then there's obeying of the rules. In Christian ministry also, it is not "what" but "how" that matters (2 Tim 2:5; cf 1 Cor 3:10). Nowhere else do we learn the importance of team spirit than in games. How sadly we lack this in Christian circles! Perseverance is another character developed in the field of sports (Heb 12:1,2; Acts 20:24). Sportspersons aim for the medal. They won’t settle for anything less. Because this spirit is missing in the Church, very few Christians do their "utmost for the Highest!"
Churches and ministries must motivate their young people to participate in sports and games. I always believe that a Spirit-filled doctor will be a better doctor; a Spirit-filled architect will be a better architect; so also a Spirit-filled player will be a better player. Did not Prophet Elijah run faster than the chariot of King Ahab when the hand of the Lord came on him? (1 Ki 18:44-46). Did not Evangelist Philip overtake the fast Ethiopian chariot when the Spirit propelled him? (Acts 8:29,30). It was like a cross-country race! With the favour of the Almighty God on them, Christian athletes can be "ten times better" than their non-christian counterparts (Dan 1:20). Why not? (Rom 9:16). David boasted, "By my God I can leap over a wall" (Psa 18:29). High-jumpers and pole-vaulters, please note!
For the last many years India has been returning emptyhanded from the Olympics. Just a bronze medal for our big nation from Olympics 2000 has not removed the shame. Will the Indian Christian young people accept the challenge to turn away this reproach? Who else can? When Christian players testify to their faith, it has a convincing appeal to the younger generation.
How shamefully some of our top cricket players have recently behaved! Only those who are dead to covetousness and corruption can restore dignity to this game in India. Will Christians take up this challenge?
In these days of stiff academic competition, parents tend to discourage their children from all extra-curricular activities. This is bound to affect their wholesome growth. Jesus grew not only in "wisdom" but also in "stature" (Lk 2:52). If youthful energy is not channelled into profitable activities, it will flow into sinful avenues. As a student I took very active part in Literature & Debate Society, National Cadet Corps, Scouts, Drama, etc. None of these things has gone useless in my ministerial and leadership responsibilities today. But I was too concerned about my academic excellence to spend enough time in the playground. Until this day I have not even learnt swimming!
I advise young people to maintain a balance. There’s a time to study and a time to relax; a time to pray and a time to play. Don’t neglect or overdo any one thing. All the best!
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A decade ago the question was, "Can Christians go to cine theatres?" The answer from adult Christians and preachers was a stern "no" and the most powerful Biblical quote was Psalm 1:1. The argument was how could God’s people be seated in "the seat of the scornful?" The situation has totally changed today. You don’t need to "go" to theatres to watch movies. The theatre has "come" to our living rooms. The television explosion has changed the entire scenario.
I was brought up in a home where going to cine theatres was considered an awful sin. Cinema was called "sin-ma," the mother of all sins, by our church leaders. However, my younger brother and I used to bother mummy to let us watch atleast one film per year. She would reluctantly concede to it and give us just four annas (25 paise) for a floor ticket. When we returned home, she would narrate how she had been on her knees during those three or four hours praying with tears that our minds should not be corrupted by obscenity. As I look back I don’t regret such strictness in our upbringing.
If born-again youngsters would positively decide that they would never watch any commercial and secular movie, it is still good. They will not lose anything in life. At the same time, outrightly condemning all the movies as bad is not right. There are films which convey forceful messages on moral, ethical, social, political and cultural issues. Such films educate our minds and challenge our thinking. Meaningless traditions and empty rituals are shattered in these stories. A few film directors are committed to restore age-old family values and uphold time-honoured principles. The Christian movie "Joni" and secular movies like "Mayuri" inspire the invalid and the disabled not to give up. It is welcome that teachers take their students to watch such films.
In the developed nations there are organisations which publish film guides in which each new film is reviewed objectively. Depending upon the doses of violence, crime, sex, etc, these reviewers state their recommendations or otherwise for various age groups. Parents go through these notes and discuss and decide with their children whether they can watch a particular movie or not. This practice is not much in vogue in India. Therefore youngsters must be extremely cautious in their choice. If they do want this sort of entertainment, they must wait for sometime after the release of a film to gather informations to find out if the film would do them any good. Don’t go by the wall-posters and TV advertisements alone. These are your formative years. Anything will grow in the virgin soil of your heart. Weeding is not easy. Go slow. Your thoughts and judgments are now emotionally charged. Discernment comes by growth and maturity (Heb 5:14).
We must also look into the aspect of priority. In these days of unprecedented academic competition, when students don’t even have time for evening games, how can they waste precious hours before the TV? Working people complain of not having sufficient time for waiting before God, reading His Word and going out to witness for Him. Then where is the time for movies? Stewardship of time is a decisive factor in Christian discipleship.
The question concerning movies is one of those which cannot be given simple yes or no answers. However the overarching Biblical principle is: "Test everything. Hold on to the good. Avoid every kind of evil. May God Himself... sanctify you through and through" (1 Thess 5:21-23).
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Some Christians visit the graves of their dear ones on their death anniversaries or on special occasions to pay their homage. Others don’t turn that side once the burial is over. To support their viewpoint they quote the words of the angels who were standing at the open tomb of Jesus, "Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, but is risen!" (Lk 24:5,6). But I wonder why several people belonging to the second category travel all the way to Palestine to see the Empty Tomb! Atleast Mary Magdalene and others had not known that Jesus had risen. But why oh why nearly 2000 years after His resurrection folks still want to visit that Tomb? There is yet another funny thing: There’s more than one tomb claimed to be that of Jesus! No one knows for sure which one was really occupied by His body!
The Bible has nothing to say against visiting a tomb in memory of the dead. In his sermon on the Day of Pentecost, Peter while talking about David said, "His tomb is with us to this day" (Acts 2:29). This obviously meant that they had been maintaining the tomb of David as a memorial. Whitewashing the tombstone was an annual routine (Mt 23:27). It was an accepted Jewish custom to visit tombs with spices for the bodies (Lk 24:1). In India we take flowers or incense sticks. If it is wrong to visit a grave, why should we build a structure at all over the pit?
My daddy is buried in our native town Nazareth in southern Tamilnadu. Mummy is buried in Vellore where we live from 1971. I visit mummy’s grave once or twice every year and daddy’s whenever I go to Nazareth. No doubt I weep when I stand before these graves, but the tears are mostly an offering of gratitude to God for what my parents had meant to me and my younger brother (Jn 11:31,35,36). I think of the values they had taught us and rededicate myself to practise them. I also pray that God would raise many such parents who would give away their firstborn for the Kingdom sake. Just like the material substance of bread and wine enables us to "remember" the Lord in a special way, visits to graves inspire us. Whenever I visit these cemeteries I also spend a few minutes before the tombs of great missionaries and notable saints who sleep there. Of the places I visited in England what remains fresh in my mind is the grave of John Bunyan and that of John Wesley. What an inspiration!
There are certain things we must not do while visiting graves. ÿ We cannot pray for the dead. "It is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment" (Heb 9:27). There’s no second chance. Baptism for the dead was a non-apostolic practice, simply quoted by Paul to make his point (1 Cor 15:29). ÿ We should not pray to the dead also. The Bible strongly condemns any attempt to communicate with the dead. "Should they seek the dead on behalf of the living?" (Isa 8:19c). ÿ Having sentimentality is not wrong, but ascribing sanctity to the place of burial will lead idolatrous practices. A dead man revived when his body touched the bones of Prophet Elisha (2 Ki 13:21). But in the case of Moses the greatest of all prophets, God buried his body in a place known to none. "No one knows his grave to this day" (Dt 34:5,6,10,11). Rare incidents do not teach anything normative.
When the Church of England slammed its door against John Wesley, he preached from his father’s tomb. God has used funeral sermons to break the hardest of hearts.
It was only a pagan belief that tombs were haunts for evil spirits. Both Gergesenes and Gadarenes were "Gentile" cities (Mt 8:28; Mk 5:1). One need not be afraid to visit cemeteries anytime, day or night.
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Christianity in India is still thought to be the religion of the white man. This idea gets strengthened especially during Christmastime when our non-Christian friends observe how we celebrate the birth of Christ.
Christ was not born in the East or the West but in the Middle East. Announcing the birth of the Son of God the Angel told the shepherds that it was good tidings of great joy to "ALL people"—not just to the Jewish or any particular community (Lk 2:10).
Britishers were not the first to bring the Gospel to India. It was Thomas, one of the twelve disciples of Jesus, who came to India in the very first century with the message of Jesus Christ. Christianity is 2000 years old in our country. It’s a crime if we the Indian Christians still wrap the message of Christ in the Western jacket. The gospel of Christ is transcultural. Here are some tips to celebrate Christmas the Indian way.
Carol rounds is the longest prelude to Christmas. Why go to Christian homes year after year to tell them what they already know? Why not plan carols in vernaculars to non-Christian homes in the neighbourhood? Carols have degenerated to dignified begging! To me carol rounds is nothing more than sleepy Christians disturbing sleeping Christians. Practise songs set to Indian music. Let the words be simple and clear. Present each of the non-Christian families you visit with a Christmas-message greeting card or a New Testament.
Send Christmas cards to as many "non-Christian" friends as possible. Avoid sending cards with Western trees, leaves and scenery. For example, what’s the meaning of a snow deer picture card in India? I call upon Christian artists to design Christmas cards with Indian cultural settings in mind. Instead of a candle you can draw a lampstand (kuthuvizhakku) which is more Indian. It will be appealing if the greetings can be in vernaculars.
We can bring about a change in Christmas decorations also. Instead of using casuarina or pine leaves, we can go in for mango leaves which are typically Indian. Don’t tell me that mango leaves are associated with Hindu festivals. Do you know that several things associated with the Western style of Christmas celebrations have a pagan origin—like the very date of December 25, Santa Claus, Christmas tree, etc.?
Include non-Christian children in Christmas plays. Don’t leave them out for Christmas tree functions. The angel need not be fair in complexion. He can be in Asian brown or African black. Why not?
Sit with your pastors and elders to plan a special Christmas service for non-Christians. Get the choir practise bhajan songs on the birth of Christ rather than hymns. Let each Christian bring atleast one non-Christian to this service. Before, during and after the service in the Church premises the Christians must behave as hosts for the non-Christian guests. As far as possible remove your shoes when you enter the Church. Indian non-Christians cannot think of walking into a place of worship with sandals on. (Hanging of stockings overhead with gifts inside is totally unacceptable to the Indian mind!!!) Stay sensitive culturally.
Invite non-Christian neighbours to your Christmas dinner. In certain areas Christians are known as those who eat pork, drink and dance! Let’s repent of revels which have brought a reproach on the name of Christ. Feed the poor who cannot repay you.
Apostle Paul liberated the Gospel from Jewish clothing. Martin Luther liberated it from Latin clothing. It’s our responsibility to liberate it from Western clothing.
Some of what I’ve written here may be objectionable to many. But missionary-minded Christians will agree with me that unless such radical changes are effected in our personal and corporate lifestyle, we will not leave an impact on the non-Christian masses even if we are given another two thousand years.
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