The failure of churches: Gospel given the go-by

KOCHI: Concluding his judgement in Orthodox -  Jacobite churches case, Justice  Subramaniam Poti wrote: “This case is the sixth sacred  scar on the body of Christ. It will ultimately end only when the  two factions  realise this fact.” If one dares deconstruct this case and   the history of  Christianity down through 2000 years, one can read new  dialectical meanings  and dimensions in this problem which elude solution.When  Christ was born, angels proclaimed the good news ‘Peace unto all men on  earth’ which  reverberated in the hills and valleys of Palestine. But  history says peace  always eluded Palestine which was tormented by persecution,  Roman domination, crusades, inquisition, Ottoman conquest, exile of Jews, Arab -Israel wars, terrorism etc.In the epistle, St. Paul asks,  “Is Christ divided” . Yes.  According to statistics given by  Rev. Gosbert Byamungu,   a Catholic priest who works as a liaison officer between Vatican and WCC,  there are over 2 lakh  denominations, sects and orders   in Chistendom,  with their own versions of theology.Liberation  theology, Christian humanism, charismatic movements etc are divergent strands in Christendom which are at loggerheads  with one another. One has to  say after Mathew Arnold, “Things fall apart, The centre   cannot hold.”The leaders and followers of Orthodox and Jacobite  factions drag the dispute to courts, government, police and  mediators. Is it not possible  to find a solution to the problem within the gospel of the  Lord Jesus Christ ? The gospel says, “Blessed are the pure in   heart, for they shall see  God.  .... Do unto others as thou would have others do unto  you ...’’But factional feuds like these give the clear message that  practical- minded  leaders and followers are not led by sermonising on purity or love or  forgiveness, but by more mundane concerns of economic  determinism.Christ’s advice not to set your heart on material possessions, but on  heavenly possessions falls on deaf ears.It is high time the leaders and members of Churches in  India learned lessons from the Church history of Europe. Right  from the time of Emperor  Constantine who declared Christianity the state religion,  numerical  and worldly strength of Church showed a rising graph, but  spiritual  decline also set in. From 19th century onwards the religion  was declining  fast with members deserting Church, vacant pews, ancient  churches being  sold, clergy going astray. People gravitate to philosophies like existentialism, Darwinism, and agnosticism.The basic error of religions  is that they over-emphasise rites and rituals ignoring  fundamental doctrines. The very fact that modern world which  has witnessed awe-inspiring progress in scientific and  technological fields is beset with  hunger, poverty and disease speaks volumes for the failure  of ancient  religions.Chaucer, the father of English poetry, asked a  poignant question,  “If gold rusts, what will the poor iron do ?” The tragedy  of churches is that Christians took over where the Jews left off. Hypocrisy and self- righteousness fill their lives instead of  love, compassion, forgiveness  and positive virtues of life.(The writer is a former professor of Christian College, Chengannur)