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11. Asian Interpretations of Philippians 2:5–11

Author

Rakesh Peter-Dass

Subjects
Cultural Studies, History, Anthropology, Religious studies, Asian studies
Abstract

Interpretations of Philippians 2 have a conspicuous place in the theological imagination of Asian Christians. This is a paradoxical state of affairs. The biblical pericope is kenotic in content, but its function in Asia has been to assert liberation. Asian scholarship on the passage has generated a variety of goals: economic justice, social equality, interfaith relations, and national development. The choice of the passage as a catch-all anchor is not an accident. Its kenotic content constitutes the very ground used by marginal voices to theologize for influence. As a result, a study of theological interpretations of Philippians 2 in Asia reveals the particular goals of Asian theologies and constitutes a case study on the religious imagination of Christians in Asia.

Published
2020
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21. Hindi Christian Literature in Contemporary India

Author

Rakesh Peter-Dass and Rakesh Peter-Dass

Subjects
Hindi literature--Christian authors--History a, Christian literature, Hindi--History and critici, Hindi language--Religious aspects--Christianit, Religion and culture--India, Language and culture--India
Abstract

This is the first academic study of Christian literature in Hindi and its role in the politics of language and religion in contemporary India. In public portrayals, Hindi has been the language of Hindus and Urdu the language of Muslims, but Christians have been usually been associated with the English of the foreign ‘West'. However, this book shows how Christian writers in India have adopted Hindi in order to promote a form of Christianity that can be seen as Indian, desī, and rooted in the religio-linguistic world of the Hindi belt. Using three case studies, the book demonstrates how Hindi Christian writing strategically presents Christianity as linguistically Hindi, culturally Indian, and theologically informed by other faiths. These works are written to sway public perceptions by promoting particular forms of citizenship in the context of fostering the use of Hindi. Examining the content and context of Christian attention to Hindi, it is shown to have been deployed as a political and cultural tool by Christians in India. This book gives an important insight into the link between language and religion in India. As such, it will be of great interest to scholars of Religion in India, World Christianity, Religion and Politics and Interreligious Dialogue, as well as Religious Studies and South Asian Studies.

Published
2019

27. Language and Religion in Modern India: The Vernacular Literature of Hindi Christians

Author

Peter Dass, Rakesh and Clooney, Francis X.

Subjects
Religion, General, Literature, Asian, Language, Modern
Abstract

A persistent interest in a particular type of Christian witness is found in a substantial amount of Hindi-language Protestant (hereafter, ‘Hindi Christian’) literature in modern India. Across a range of texts like Hindi translations of the Bible, theo-ethical works, hymns, biblical commentaries, and poems, this literature calls attention to a form of Christian witness or discipleship that both is credible and recognizable and is public. This witness aims to be credibly Christian: as I will show, Hindi Christian texts have regularly rejected a Hindu concept like avătār in favor of a neologism like dehădhāran to communicate a Christian notion of incarnation in a predominantly Hindu context. Yet, the variety of polytradition (or, shared) words found in Hindi Christian texts suggests a comfort with loose religious boundaries. The witness aims also to be recognizably Christian. For instance, Hindi Christian texts on theology and ethics persistently reflect on a virtuous Christian life with a view toward perceptions in multifaith contexts. Perceptions of Christians matter to the authors of these texts. The attention to Christian witness in such literature, then, is to a very public form of witness. A reading of the works of three prominent Hindi Christian scholars – Benjamin Khan, Din Dayal, and Richard Howell – will show how a focus on the pluralistic context of Hindi Christian witness has shaped influential texts on ethics, theology, and evangelism in Hindi. This dissertation is a first attempt in the academy of religion to study Hindi Christian texts in modern India. As a result, it seeks to achieve two goals: provide an introduction to Hindi Christian literature, and understand a prominent theme found in such literature. It is by no means an exhaustive study of Hindi Christian literature. Rather, it maps a literary landscape and subjects one trope therein to further examination. Protestant Christian literature in India has generally portrayed the purpose of Christian discipleship in two ways: by describing it as a response to salvific grace and by denying it is works righteousness. Hindi Christian texts shed light on another rationale: to present a credible and recognizable witness in a multifaith public context.

Published
2016

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