A Call for the Church of Christianity

A Call for the Church of Christianity



Presentation made at the International Conference on Christ Consciousness in the Millennium Year, Auroville, Pondicherry, India, on Sunday, January 02, 2000.

Babu George
Masters’ Student,
Center for Tourism Studies, School of Management,
Pondicherry University, India.


You may or may not believe in Jesus,
Jesus may or may not have lived,
Jesus may or may not have been divine,
You may or may not care about the Old Testament,
What not, you may even be an atheist!

Notwithstanding all these, if you agree that Christianity in its present version has finally become a positive change agent in a world troubled otherwise, you are onboard with me. In fact, I tend to think that millions of people living in different parts of the world, divided among castes, creeds, conventions, and faith systems do agree with this.

Given this, our strivings should be for the continued evolution of Christianity in such a way that it will progressively bring even more benefits to the humanity in the future. It is also our responsibility to ensure that Christianity of the future will not slip back to the crusaders, genocide mongers, science deniers, or other regressive forces.

The Church of Christianity I envisage is a global community of togetherness of people who want to lead spiritually filled lives while not constrained by dogmas. It will provide people ample spiritual nourishment for leading meaningful lives in their own unique ways while offering opportunities for them to contribute back to humanity's shared future.

The Church of Christianity will embrace intelligence as a superior manifestation of divine forces and will not denigrate it. Also, advances in science and technology will be celebrated to the extent that these improve the overall human condition.

Vision

A new humanity, progressively being transformed by the shared spiritual awakening of a global community of people who appreciate the relevance of Christianity, not necessarily the reality of Christ, in shaping a better world. 

Guiding Principles

The Church of Christianity does not insist upon invariable universal moral values. However, certain general principles are recommended to followers in guiding their conduct:
  1. Commitment to our collective progress over personal gain.
  2. Acceptance of personal responsibility for actions, whenever possible.
  3. Constant curiosity. Embrace of ambiguity and be willing to suspend judgment than be driven by dogma. 
  4. Conscious awareness that it is ideas and not people that need to be tried and tested. Do not entertain hatred against people because of the ideas that drive them.
  5. Seek nonviolent and peaceful solutions to problems. 
  6. Compassion for the disadvantaged and willingness to uplift others, if you have an opportunity. 
  7. Humility -  acceptance that factors outside of you played a role in your success. Also, if someone else failed, it could be despite their best efforts, due to forces beyond their control.
  8. When newly available knowledge makes you think otherwise, feel free to disavow your previously held convictions. Do not feel the need to fight for something just because that was dear to you once.
  9. Be welcoming of diversity of traditions. Invite everyone to your feast – you don’t necessarily need to agree with them. Also, do not attempt to convert them.
  10. Follow the principles of sustainable living. Care for nature and culture, except when a strong exception could be reasoned out. Economic considerations alone should not guide your actions.
  11. Recognition of universal interconnectedness among all living and nonliving forms. 
  12. In general, seek truth, beauty, and justice. 
Recommended Church Activities 

  1. Open yet sympathetic reading and discussion of the Bible - including texts classified as Apocrypha. 
  2. Study of the historical development of Christianity around the world, particularly with a view to learn how to anticipate and avert regressive trends in the future.
  3. Meditations over spiritual texts from various traditions that have over time become the shared treasures of humanity.
  4. Brainstorming of current global events, especially in the context of how those will affect our future(s).
  5. Invited lectures by experts in various fields that are of interest among the Church followership.
  6. Community Action Project: Take up a project that will bring material improvement to the lives of people living in a community. This could be the local community where the Church is located or another community where help is most needed. 
  7. Locally relevant cultural activities that boost the spirit of togetherness of the members of the Church. 


Year 2000. No right reserved.



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