Unreached People Group Project: Jat, Hindu of India - Coursework Example

Unreached People Group Project Inserts His/Her Inserts Grade Inserts 15 February 2009 Table of Contents 1. Introduction 2. “Unreahed People” a. Beliefs b. Way of Life 3. A Missionary Work 4. Proposed Strategy a. Missionary b. Wirship c. Study of Scripture 5. Conclusion Introduction The basis of a religion\ may correspond to reality or it may not; and the expression of that conviction may be adequate and essentially in character with it, or it may not. For a man with rational powers, the choice between such views must rest on something more fundamental than the accident of his birth in a particular culture. The role and importance of missionary to reach people who know nothing about Christian teaching and help them to understand the principles and norms of the religion teaching. With larger proportions of non-Christians in the population, this common element has constantly diminished1. Since the government assumed and was given the major responsibility for educating children, and since sectarian emphases in public schools would lead only to trouble, religion was for the most part eliminated from the American school curricula, so that the average young person grows up with the idea that religion is definitely an extracurricular matter, something good for those who are inclined towards it, but not a serious consideration in a total educational program, and not necessarily worth profound thought. “Unreached People” The term “Unreached people” means the ethnic or cultural group of people which does not have a history of Christianity. The task and duty of the Christian missions is to familiarize these people with Christian teaching and its main religious doctrines. In considering the relation of churches to the Church, many would seek first to determine which of these views is the true one2. There are those who insist that the true Church is found only with them and that all others have no justifiable claim to the title. Thus the Roman Catholic Church designates all Protestant denominations as sects, not truly parts of the Church at all. Though it would be dishonest and foolish to say that all Christians basically agree on the concept of the Church and that the differences we have discussed are unimportant, we must ask if there is not something held in common here that would link Christians together regardless of their emphasis in their concept of the Church, in contrast to those who are nonChristian. This would need to be more than some highest common factor analytically determined, more than similarly high moral standards which may be held by those who have never heard of Christ. Today, researchers suppose that there are more than 200 “unreached” groups of people around the world. The majority of “unreached people” groups are located in Asia and Africa3. Jat, Hindu of India The Jats is an ethnic group of people living around the world but joined by heritage and cultural traditions. “The Jats are primarily located in northwestern India and southern Pakistan, although there are also significant communities in Maldives, Russia, and Ukraine. However, their origin, history, and current dispersion are spread much wider” (Jat, Hindu of India 2009). The organizational structure of the Jats is such that lay doctrine and belief are derived largely from the ascetics (the monks and nuns) who may or may not derive these from the texts. If, in the community, where there are no monks and nuns, or indeed any particularly learned persons, there had been a move back to the texts in search of guidance and direction, Gods inhabit the heavens and the first of the hells, while demons inhabit the other six hells. Good or bad actions in this world can lead to rebirth in these realms4. Beliefs Most of the Jats are Hindu. Above the highest heaven, at the very top of the universe, lies a crescent-shaped realm, siddha loka or isat pragbharabhumi, the resting place of emancipated souls. When the soul is freed from karma it rises through the universe to inhabit this region. In this way the Jats differ from, for example, other schools of thought which either do not view all souls (of men, gods, animals, demons) as interchangeable (or rather, that one soul can exist in all states serially), or else perceive the universe as an expression of some higher being5. That is to say, in doctrinal Hinduism there is no distinction made between the mundane and the transcendental: the universe, and everything in it, is knowable and classifiable; even the experience of omniscience and emancipation is described and documented. This is the source and centre of atheism--there is for the Jats no supreme transcendent being in the universe, nor any means of divinely assisted salvation. The other liberated souls once emancipated, are unable to intervene in the affairs of men and the universe, for this would involve action and re-entanglement with karma. Emancipation is a state of permanent and unalloyed bliss, repudiation of which is unthinkable. It is also a state of non-action and non-desire, for it is through these qualities that emancipation is realized. Action by the soul (which includes emotion, expressed through desire) attracts karmas which stick in a literal and physical sense to the soul, causing it not only to be weighed down and confined to human, divine, or hellish realms, but also to be blinded to its own qualities and, in bodies other than those of men, unable to conceive of the possibility of emancipation6. This is the reason that liberation is only possible from a human body. Hellish beings are blinded by their misery, heavenly ones by their happiness, while animals, plants, and other non-human life-forms simply lack sufficient sensory perception or intellect. Only man experiences the right degree of happiness to alert him to the possibility of perfect happiness, balanced with the right degree of unhappiness to warn him that bliss is not to be found in earthly life (and then this is only possible during the right phase of the time-cycle, as mentioned).The Jats religion is not strictly a religion of the book, but there is a large textual corpus covering not only doctrine but also mathematics, poetry, astronomy, and so on. Some of these texts are accepted by some sects of Jats as canonical but they are not as widely read or quoted (certainly by the laity) as the canonical texts of other traditions7. The Jats own attitude to the origin of their religion has two aspects. The first is that Hinduism has no origin, and hence no founder; just as the universe is eternal, so is the religion. Indeed, in this view Hinduism is not a religion at all. The nature of the universe, including its geography, is as fixed and absolute as its eternity, though there is a regular fluctuation in the relationship between the universe and the souls that inhabit it--the dark and light halves of the time-cycle. The Jats religion is a method for the soul to traverse the universe and reach the highest heaven. Although most Jats stress the absolute disjunction between emancipation and entanglement in the world, the cosmologists clearly perceived of the universe as a whole8. Way of Life The strict vegetarianism of the Jats is regulated by calendrical calculations which ordain that green foodstuffs be avoided on certain days in the lunar month. The idol-worshipping part of the Svetambara sect is divided into a number of sub-sects (the non-idol-worshipping component). Again, strictly speaking, these are ascetic divisions but, because each maintains a separate calendar, the laity are also so divided. As a result of the separate calendars may fall on different days for different purposes. The Jats are not all equal in their depth of piety or in their commitment to their religion9. Unlike others researchers do not consider this to be a fault but as an example of alternative ways of looking at the world. Temples are open to anyone who cares to go in, though one is not allowed to touch the idols unless one has bathed and donned clean clothing first. In practice, non-Jats would rarely have cause to enter a temple (although in other parts of India some Jats temples are visited by non-Jats because of their beautiful architecture, and a few-particularly in Rajasthan--have become the focus for regional cults). The Jats speak Hindu. “Regardless of their religious affiliation, all Jats observe many ceremonies, especially rites of passage such as circumcision and initiation into adulthood”10. Most Jats, in common with most other settled residents, tend towards a joint family form of domestic arrangement. In general this tends to be of the stem type--three generations with usually only one married couple in the two senior generations. There are numerous exceptions, however, ranging from households containing a single individual to households of twenty or more persons. Households occupying flats and apartments outside the city centre are frequently nuclear in form; for example, many Jats households consist of a husband, wife, and their children, with the husband and wifes parents remaining in their village of origin, living alone or with younger, possibly unmarried children. Women rarely work outside the home, though some may take in sewing or other minor home-working occupations. While some women remain at home almost all the time (their husbands buying daily provisions at the market), emerging only to attend weddings and rituals, others move around quite freely within the town, going shopping or visiting friends and relatives. .”Only the men work in the fields, while the women are responsible for maintaining the household. The basic diet of peasant Jats consists of unleavened bread and curry, seasonal vegetables, ghee (a type of butter), and milk”11.Most children attend the state schools in the city, although one or two from wealthier families are sent to private school. The two most prestigious are both English medium (of instruction); the parents who sent their sons and daughters to these schools had hopes of their entering the professions (particularly the medical profession), rather than simple commerce. Among the Jats the situation is less marked. Urban and rural sections of groups intermarry and have some degree of social intercourse. The urban group excluded the rural members from using property when the latter first began to come to the city, and, after some years of acrimony, the rural section now owns its own property and has its own internal organization12. A Missionary Work In India contact among these various local groups was maintained by the apostles in their missionary travels. When these original leaders died, this communication had to be carried on by designated officers of the local churches. As congregational needs expanded, three offices emerged, though at any particular time practice probably varied from one church to another. First, there were deacons who were responsible for the care of the poor, widows, and orphans, and who managed the financial concerns. Second, there were the presbyters (called "elders" in most Protestant churches and "priests" in others such as the Anglican and the Roman Catholic). Higher in rank, they presided at the worship services and generally were responsible for church affairs13. Finally, there were the bishops. Some hold on the basis of New Testament interpretation that "bishop" was simply another name for "presbyter," perhaps for a presiding presbyter, but there is no doubt that before long the bishop was a distinct officer, the person in charge generally of the whole church. Because Christianity began in the large cities of the empire, these metropolitan churches assumed obligation for extending Christian mission work into the surrounding country. This work fell under the direction of the bishop, and although local churches multiplied, the bishop understandably came to be in charge of a geographical area rather than just one congregation. This organizational structure provided the for communication among the local groups: the bishops could correspond or even meet to conduct business on a wide basis. Some churches today stress the antiquity of their pattern of government and its scriptural precedent; however, it is misleading to think of its being handed down by Jesus. It is also misleading to think of a single world-wide organization of the church from the beginning. There was no over-all authority apart from the Spirit of God. The Jerusalem Christians assumed leadership, and the Apostles, but they sometimes were at cross purposes with each other. Through the years, and especially as teachings fundamentally contrary to the Gospel crept into Christian circles, Christians tried to establish a unity in order to meet such challenges14. The first example of this was the development of the Catholic Church (as distinct from the Roman Catholic Church with its characteristic practices) in the third and fourth centuries. The basis of this unity was the canon of the New Testament (the list of books regarded as authoritative for the Church), statements of belief such as the Apostles and later the Nicene Creeds, and standardized church government of the episcopal pattern (meaning "under the supervision of bishops"). But the uniformity was not absolute15. The Eastern churches, for example, refused to accept the claim of pre-eminence on the part of the church at Rome. Nor were the councils of bishops summoned at various times truly representative of the entire church. From the earliest days, heresies plagued the churches, as well as administrative difficulties. “Missionaries, Christian broadcasts, and evangelistic literature are needed to effectively penetrate the Jats with the Light of the Gospel. Most importantly, they need people who will begin to intercede for them, tearing down the strongholds that are keeping them in spiritual bondage” 16. This group of people is considered as “unreached” with the status 1.2. It means that only some evangelical resources are available for this people. But this historical consideration simply emphasizes for us the question as to the relation of these separate groups to the unique "people of God" that we have seen called forth by the Gospel proclamation. And yet when we come to ask what constitutes the real Church of God, there is no universal agreement as to an answer. Three different emphases are made: some stress the institution, others correct belief, and still others some manifestation of Gods Spirit. Any one group will maintain evidence of all three, but the major emphasis will be on one. For example, the groups that emphasize the institution stress the fact that people cannot be bound together, certainly for any concerted action, without some sort of organization to direct group affairs. When we speak of the idealistic qualities of an American, we think largely in terms of ideals of character --such things as initiative, resourcefulness, indifference to social position. Yet when we get down to fundamentals, we recognize that one cannot be an American without owning allegiance to the government17. In a similar way, then, according to this line of thought, the essential thing about the Church is its organization, an organization established by Christ when he gave authority to his disciples. The disciples, in turn, delegated their powers to others who succeeded them. So the line has continued through the centuries, and it is this continuing organization which is really the Church. If one is not related to this institution, he does not belong with the fellowship of apostles, martyrs, and saints. For practical purposes, this makes the Church principally the clergy, for it is they who are given the special powers and authority necessary to maintain the organization, power that has descended from Christ through an unbroken line of successors. Historically, the Roman Catholic Church is the prime example of this view, although it is held by some Anglicans as well, especially by those who insist on the necessity of "apostolic succession" of an organizational type for the existence of the Church. Apostolic succession means that the present clergy are in a direct line with the apostles, a line maintained only as one proper bishop ordains another to follow him18. During the last two years, no active church works in this region. In reaction to this view which to many was far too externalized to be consistent with a Gospel that searched the heart, an almost completely spiritualized concept developed at the time of the Reformation and became particularly characteristic of the Lutheran position. Luther held that the Church is essentially invisible; that is, it is constituted by the faith of its members and is a spiritual society with little need of outward forms. Organizational details are worked out as they become necessary, but the ecclesiastical institution is not Divine. The essence of the Church is the correct faith of the members19. The statistical data allows to say no real basis for conducting the practical affairs of church life other than voluntary cooperation are willing to give it. Some basis of outward union had to be established, and the tendency of churches of this type has been to identify true faith which alone brings the Church into existence with acceptance of a particular doctrinal standard such as the Augsburg Confession or Luthers Catechism20. Closely akin to this position is that of many Protestant "sect" groups who stress doctrines derived from a literal interpretation of the Bible. The Church is thought to consist of those who accept these doctrines. But just as any particular church will regard organization, faith, and living spirituality--though it will stress one of these more than the others--so it will also include elements of both the sect and church outlooks, though one will predominate. In general, the Roman Catholic and various Protestant state churches have taken the inclusive approach, while independent churches have been more exclusive, since they were not committed to responsibilities for an entire population. And many of the larger Protestant denominations that began with the exclusive pattern have widened their concerns through the years to become inclusive. The common memory s, of course, the historical circumstances of the life of Jesus: he can be located at a definite time in history, he did definite things, he was associated with certain people. Because of this common memory, Christianity cannot evaporate into mere speculation, regardless of the differing emphases of the several Christian groups. Time and again in the history of the Christian community it has been this memory that has corrected and tempered the wide variety of Christian witness21. Proposed Strategy Because this society is created by faith, two important implications should be noted. In the first place, the society of faith transcends all boundaries of race, nationality, and class. And here it is unique among human institutions. It crosses even the barrier between the Western and the Communist blocks of nations.. We do not belong to the body of Christ by natural birth but by the response of faith. The Church is not synonymous with humanity. Christians have, through the years, regarded the Church as inclusive of both the living and the dead, and it is to this that the Apostles Creed makes reference in the phrase "the communion of saints."22 That is, since the response of faith sets life in an eternal context, the fellowship of faith extends beyond the limitations of physical death. Jesus himself so understood it. The Letter to the Hebrews expounds this theme when it speaks of the saints of the past as living in faith, not receiving what God had promised "that apart from us they should not be made perfect," and continues with the picture of the "great cloud of witnesses" that constantly surrounds us. In other words, the fellowship of the Church is such that it transcends both time and space, and this is true only because God Who is eternal has called it into existence. Absolute honesty becomes essential, for no body can function if separate members cannot rely on each other. Nothing--anger, for example--dare be permitted to put members at cross-purposes with each other. Parasites cannot be tolerated. This emphasis on the body as an organism does not mean, however, that there is here an impersonal corporate entity for which individuals can be sacrificed. The Church is not comparable to the modern totalitarian state that ruthlessly exploits its citizens. There can be no health of the body apart from the health of the members, But just as the physical body requires nourishment, Christians require nourishing if the body of Christ is to reach maturity. This nourishment can come only from God: it is His grace. Grace refers to Gods own nature which He gives to those who will receive it, a gift shown incomparably in the coming of Christ23. Ministry The responsibility for the life of the Church rests on all members. To be a layman is not to be an outsider, as is often thought, but to be one of the people of God. But for practical purposes, some must be delegated certain responsibilities for the smooth and effectual functioning of the whole group. All Christians are ministers of the Gospel, for all are called into the on-going work of God; some people are set aside for special duties, and it is to these that we generally refer when we speak of "the ministry."24 We have already noted that traditionally there have been three principal offices: deacons, presbyters, and bishops. There are two principal concepts of the ministry. One sees it as derived from God. Ministers are those who exercise Gods authority in the congregation. The administration of the sacraments, teaching, and especially pronouncing Gods forgiveness to repentant sinners--all are seen as Gods work among His people. There can be no Church, according to this concept, without a duly authorized ministry, and usually this means one derived in an unbroken succession from Christ and the Apostles. These tasks cannot be done at all by a layman because he lacks the authority of God to do them25. The other concept sees the ministry as a delegated function of the life of the congregation as a whole. To accomplish its purpose the church must function smoothly; and so that things can be done decently and in order, the congregation sets apart chosen individuals for special tasks. There is nothing about leading a worship service that a layman could not do it, but one who is trained to do this and does it regularly is more likely to do it better. Since all members cannot have the necessary training and time off from regular employment to do these things, ministers are appointed by the whole church. In the first concept, the authority of the minister is thought to be derived from God directly; in the second, it is thought to come from the congregation or Church. As might be expected, elements of both views are frequently combined. Ones entering the ministry depends on the call of God to him personally and on the action of church authorities confirming that call26. The minister is responsible to both God and the congregation: he is not chosen merely to reflect the sentiments of men. Even where the minister is elected, he is expected to exercise Gods care over His people, being a true pastor to the members of the congregation. Some churches (usually those organized on the episcopal pattern) depend on a semi-independent clerical government to supply their ministers; others are radically democratic in allowing each congregation to choose its own; most combine the two, permitting congregational selection within over-all standards and through processes set by a higher authority. Types of church government therefore vary from the episcopal--with authority vested in the highest office--to the independent, in which each congregation governs itself, and the presbyterian in between with its pattern of local authority combined with a higher governing body.Qualifications for the minister are wide. Not only must he have a solid grounding in the Christian faith and his own tradition--in the forms and usages of his church--but he must be able to relate them to contemporary life27. Worship The process does not take place within a vacuum. That God can speak to men when they least expect it cannot be gainsaid. But the usual atmosphere in which men receive Gods grace, in which He imparts to them something of Himself, is that of worship. Worship comes from the Anglo-Saxon worth-ship and means "the acknowledgment of Gods supreme worth." Quite simply, to worship is to own that God is God. Since, however, we are human beings with psychological as well as physiological natures, since we function in characteristic ways, the Church worships by enabling its members to worship. And hence any "service of worship," though directed primarily to God, is also patterned to help men direct themselves to God. We must be careful at this point not to think of worship as some technique involving soft lights and mood music aimed little higher than at the creation of a particular feeling in the worshiper28. Now how does this apply to the question at hand: whether or not our prayers are more than demonstrations of our submission to Gods overwhelming authority. Suppose, for example, a community is suffering from severe drought. Will it help matters for the people to pray for rain? Rain comes, we know, only when physical conditions warrant it--that is, when the relative humidity, temperature change, and wind are proper. Under certain conditions, rain cannot be prevented. Without them, rain cannot be produced. Even cloud seeding requires favorable conditions to be successful. But the real question is not one merely of rainfall. It is a total situation with which we are dealing. Gods will cannot be isolated in regard to the matter of rain alone. It involves that, but also people. This entire constellation of factors becomes the setting in which Gods will is carried out. It seems hardly likely that any one of these is absolute. In this sense our prayers do affect Gods will, but not necessarily in getting Him to do something He otherwise would not do29. Study of Scripture In Protestantism, certainly, the emphasis is on the "proclamation of the Word." This is a much fuller concept than appears from the superficial meaning of the words. In fact, it has several ramifications. For one thing, it does refer to the preaching of the biblical message. The idea involved is not that God cannot make Himself known by other means, but that the logical place to meet Him is through the book that is a testimony to His dealings with men: the Bible. Other literature is certainly inspiring. But if other literature in any sense is to lead us to Christ, it must be grounded in the written Word. We have already noted at several points that the words of the Bible become to us Gods living Word when they are attested to by the Holy Spirit speaking within us. But this cannot happen unless we give ourselves to a study of those written words30. It is as we read them or hear them read that God can make Himself known to us--not in some effusive, immanent feeling, but as He has declared Himself in history31. This is one of the reasons Christians generally, and Protestants particularly, have been interested in education for the masses as well as the clergy and the elite. Each person, it is felt, ought to have the opportunity of knowing for Himself that God does speak through the Bible. Most modern literacy movements, as a result, have had their origin in Christian mission programs. But the Bible was not written by individuals solely for individuals. It belongs to the whole Church, and its message must be heard in the context of Church life. Conclusion The case of Jats ethnical group in India shows that “unreached” people need support from ministry in order to improve their life and understand the divine power of God. The ministry essentially is the community which shares the memory of Christ and the Spirit of God. As such it transcends denominational lines. No single denomination is the Church. And yet denominations are not constituent parts of the Church, for the Church exists wherever there is the fellowship of believers. The Church is a society, and a society is as truly manifest in small groups as in large. Moreover, as a society it is visible, even in the context of denominationalism. The Church is always personal, not in the sense that it is entirely a matter of private judgment, but in the sense that it is a fellowship of persons. Bibliography Jacobus Bosch, D. Transforming Mission: Paradigm Shifts in Theology of Mission. Orbis Books, 2001. Jat, Hindu of India. The Joshua Project. Retrieved 15 February y2009 from http://www.joshuaproject.net/peopctry.php?rop3=104206&rog3=IN Jat population 1988. Hukum Singh Pawar (Pauria):The Jats - Their Origin, Antiquity and Migration.1993. Nussbaum, S. Readers Guide To Transforming Mission (American Society of Missiology Series). Orbis Books, 2005. Robert, D. L. Christian Mission: How Christianity Became a World Religion (Blackwell Brief Histories of Religion). Wiley-Blackwe, 2008. Walls, A.E., Ross, C. Mission In The Twenty-First Century: Exploring the Five Marks of Global Mission Orbis Books, 2000. Welcome to Jatland - The online home of the Jats. Retrieved 15 February y2009 from http://www.jatland.com/ Appendix Jats in India Sourse: http://www.joshuaproject.net/peopctry.php?rop3=104206&rog3=IN Read More