Christian Education and Contextual Realities: Poverty
Introduction
The challenge of poverty as a social problem has become an important concern and issue for the society at large. In this paper, we will focus on the concept, causes and consequences of poverty, and then try to understand the biblical implications, and the role and response of Christian Education to bring about social change in the context of poverty.
1. Understanding Key Concepts:
1.1
Poverty
1.2 Poverty and Christian Education
The ultimate aim of Christian education is to make the person, a Christ governed person, to foster the relationship of fellowship with Him and to cultivate an attitude of interest and sympathy for other persons. Christian education is the activity in which the Bible is taught as the written revelation of God through Jesus Christ his son, obedience to the Holy Spirit is encouraged, the ethical standards of the Kingdom of God are made known and emphasized, and personalities are enriched and nurtured in accordance with the mind of Christ.[2]The Christian life should be a life of devotion to the enhancement of personal and social living, particularly trough knowledge and adherence to the will and purpose of God for individual life and for the life of society. Christian personality is marked by an understanding of God’s purposes, will and plan, and of their working out in the world.[3]
In
order to grasp what the Christian attitude to poverty should be, it is
important to understand God’s concern
for the poor which is exemplified and affirmed many times in the scripture.
Deuteronomy 15:11 says, “ There will
always be poor people in the land. Therefore,
I command you to be openhanded toward your brothers
and toward the poor
and needy in your land. ” Jesus’ mission is to set the oppressed
free and restore the sight of the blind. He instructs that eternal damnation awaits those who do not feed the hungry, clothe the naked and visit prisoners (Matthew
25:31-46). The church
then as the community which is called to exemplify
the ideals of the Kingdom of God should set forward to eradicate the evil of
material poverty. It must proclaim the good news of the kingdom to the
materially poor and welcome them into the fellowship[4]
2. Causes of Poverty:
There are a number of reasons and factors that contribute to the problem
of poverty. We will look at
three important causes of poverty:[5]
2.1 Economic causes:
The economic causes may be examined in terms of four important factors namely, inadequate development, lack of capital, lack of skill in workers and unemployment.
2.2 Demographic causes:
Population growth is an important factor in poverty.
If the population can be restricted, it would reduce the pressure on food, education and health services.
Poverty is related to health also, if a person is healthy he is able to earn as well as spend less on his
sickness. If a large number
of people in the country
suffer from chronic
malnutrition or live in unsanitary environment, they suffer from many
diseases which make them incapable of working and earning.
2.3 Social causes:
Discrimination, prejudices, Casteism, communalism and
parochialism are some of the major challenge which further affects and adds to
the problem of poverty. In the Indian context, because of the caste system, the
low caste people are subordinated by the higher caste and thus restricted to
participate in the field of economic progress. In the rural sectors, money lenders exploit
the poor by charging exorbitant rates of interest and by acquiring the mortgaged
land in the event of non-payment. Indebted poor farmers also cannot free
themselves from the clutches of money lenders and their poverty is further
accentuated.
3.
Consequences of Poverty
3.1 Social discrimination and Social condemnation:
3.2 Housing:
Hungry persons are those who are chronically short of the nutrients necessary for growth and good health. During pregnancy, poor nutrition leads to low birth-weight babies which itself poses numerous health risks to the child. For children, poor nutrition leads to poor growth and functional impairment.[8]
4. Biblical Perspectives on poverty
4.1 Poverty in the Old Testament
There are six different Hebrew words to denote ‘poor’, which is rendered in Greek mainly by Ptochos and seldom by Penes. The main Hebrew words are ani, dhal, and ebyon. The word ani denotes a dependent because of his inferior position of answering to the one who demands the answer. Ani also denotes a state of submissiveness or distress. In the Pentateuch ani indicates without inheritance of one’s own (Ex 22:24; Lev 19:10; 23:22; Dt 15:11; 24:12, 14, 15). Ptochos, when it translates the Hebrew dhal, refers to physical weakness (Gen 41:19; 2 Sam 13:4) and to a low and insignificant social status (Lev 19:15; 1 Sam 2:8). The Hebrew word ebyon denotes ‘the one who seek alms’ the beggar or the poor man. Ebyon also refer to the very poor, ‘those with no roof over their heads’ (1 Sam 2:8). The term ‘poor’ also has a religious tone, indicating the attitude of the one who prays to God (Ps 35:10; 37:4; 40:17); etc. In (Amos 4; 6:1-10 and Hosea 8; 10:3) poor seems to have a social- economic sense. In (Zechariah 9:9) where the messianic king is described as ‘righteous’ and ‘poor’, the spiritual sense of humility is in focus. In wisdom literature the ‘poor’ mostly used in social and economic sense (prov 22:2), poverty in the wisdom literature is associate with moral character laziness (prov 6:6-11), pleasure seeking (prov 21:17), drunkenness and greediness (prov 23:21).[9]
4.2 Poverty in the New Testament
The word ‘poor’ used in the New Testament about 34 times. There are numerous passages in the New Testament use ‘poor’ to refer to the people who are deprived in social status, hungry, bagger, politically vulnerable and who have to depend on others sympathy (Mt 25:34-36, 41-43; Mk 10:21, Lk 7:22;14:13-21; Rev 3:17). ‘Poor ‘in Lk. 4:18-19 is to be understood in a strong social sense, the salvation Jesus announced is primarily a liberation from the pressures of social, economic and societal oppression.[10]
The ‘poor’ in the Luke 6:20-21 “Blessed
are you poor, for yours
is the kingdom of God”. According to the Luck, Jesus public
ministry begins in the Nazareth synagogue with the word of the prophet Isaiah,
Is 61:1-2 .The salvation Jesus announces in Luke 4:18-19 is mainly liberation
from the pressures of social, economic and societal oppressions.[11]
The ‘Poor’ in Matthew 5:3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” the idea of ‘poor in
spirit occurs also in the old
testament passages, in the light of the old testament
passages, poverty of spirit may be described
as “ the personal
acknowledgement of spiritual bankruptcy ” . It
is the conscious confession of unworthiness before God. As such it is the deepest form of repentance.[12]
of
Cana, Jesus was present to help the poor
family which could not afford enough
wine and hence which was facing dishonor and embarrassment (Jn 2:1-11).
Jesus concern for the hungry is well portrayed in the Johannine
sign of feeding the multitude
(Jn 6:1-5). Jesus Death on the cross is not only the moment of victory
over the oppressor who dominated the world Jn 12:31, but also the final and
decisive moment of revealing God’s glory to the oppressed
(Jn 3:14-15; 12:23-24,
32-33; 13:31-32).[13]
The ‘poor’ in the early church, the early church
followed the commission of the master and established communities of sharing. “ The group of believers was one in mind and heart.
No one said that any of his
belongings was his own but they all shared with one another everything they
had” acts 4:32. So they have enough resources and there was no poverty.[14]
5 Understanding of Poverty in the Post New Testament Era
5.1 Catholic Tradition:
It was the Marxist movement in the wake of industrial revolution that caused the church to response to the situation. The development of capitalism and industrialization in Europe in the 19th century led to a polarization of society into two antagonistic classes. On the one hand was the rich and on the other hand a new working class of people expelled from their and who had joined the ranks of an urban proletariat which barely earned enough to live. This was the challenge for the church, the same poor now had organized not to demand charity but the power needed to abolish the structure of oppression.[15]
5.2 Ecumenical Tradition:
The Wheaton Declaration (1966) challenged “ all evangelicals to stand openly and firmly for radical equality, human freedom and forms of social justice throughout the world”.[17]
5.4 Protestant Mission
Protestant missionary activity
in India began only in the early 19th century by William Carey. The
protestant missionaries saw idolatry as a curse from which stemmed poverty,
depravity and all the accompanying evils. So for them the only way of the
removing the misery and the suffering of the people
was the destruction of idolatry.
The poor and socially oppressed saw conversion as a means of gaining
protection from oppressors, material aid and self- identity. Thus it was that
the emerging Christian community was not just a poor one but one that was
escaping from an oppressive socio- religious system.[18]
6. Response and role of the Church:
6.1 Hope for the Poor:
ourselves
as men and women. A large part of the human situation maybe described in words
of wonder, joy, and gratitude, there is much that makes life good to many.
Discrimination, despair, darkness, hatred and violence
are in and around us. In one form
or another poor in the country suffer these more than others among us. It is in
struggle with this human predicament that the Christians mission and ministry
becoming meaningful and good news. Love
and compassion (Matt: 25:31-46, Luke: 10:29-37) steer much of Christian mission
and ministry.[19]
6.2 God Identifies with the poor:
When the Son of God Jesus came to earth, He was fully
God, but He was also fully human. It means that He was a man, who experienced
everything like humans suffer, and therefore he can completely identify
with everything that humans go through. He personally knows what it’s like to
suffer, and to experience hardships. He understands, and can empathize with us
in ways that no one else can. Jesus identifies poor and needy people he knows
their pain and sufferings. God
understands what it is like to go to sleep hungry and cold. However, Jesus knew
what it was like to be poor. After all, He was homeless, so He can identify
with those who have to do without. Jesus
knows what it is like to experience heartache, sadness, and sorrow. Jesus knew
exactly what it was like to suffer. He confided His emotional pain to His
disciples, saying, “My soul is very sorrowful, even to death” (Matt. 26:38).
Jesus understands our humanity and what it is like to live as a human. He got
hungry, He got thirsty, He slept, He was taught,
He grew, He loved, He was glad, He was angry, He was troubled
at times, He prayed, He hurt,
He exercised faith, He read the Scriptures, He hurt when He saw another
person’s illness, and He cried when he saw death.[20]
6.3 The Church serving the poor:
· Importance of evangelism: The church gives first importance to the ministry of preaching and spreading the gospel. The "great commission" (Mk.16:15-16, Matthew 28:19-20) is the Lord's primary directive to the church. We can't preach the gospel by ignoring the poor and needy people. We have to try to help them. The church is the custodian and propagator of the gospel.
·
Caring for One's Own: The
church expects its own members to look after them own and not burden the church
with what is their own duty. The
Christians, who are able to look after their own family members,
yet expect the church to provide
instead, are "worse than
infidels". The church should not be doing for people what they can do for
themselves.
·
Providing for Oneself:
The church expects individuals to look after themselves and provide
their own needs if they can. People should "eat their own bread" (2Thessalonians 3:10-14) and "work
with their own hands... so as not to be in any need" (1Thessalonians 4:11-12) and "have something to share with one who is in need" (Ephesians 4:28). The rule is, "If a man will not work, neither let
him eat" (2Thessalonians 3:10).
· Urgent
and Pressing Needs: The good works of the church are directed toward urgent and pressing needs,
not to non-essentials. The circumstance that church
benevolence addresses is "a
brother or sister without clothing and in need of daily food" (James 2:15-16) or "the
fatherless and the widows in their afflictions"(James 1:27). However the
church listens to Jesus who said, "Only
a few things are necessary" (Luke 10:38-42).[21]
6.2 How can church eradicate poverty:
The church can eradicate poverty in following ways-
1.
The Church tries to build
healthy communities in impoverished areas, often times through hand-outs or one
time gifts that do not help families out of poverty. By providing work opportunities, the Church
can build communities in Jesus’s name.[22]
3.
Awareness building and
encouraging people to meaningfully participate in the life of the national and
political process is the way to contribute to the eradication of poverty rather
than having petty project in the village.
4.
The church should join hands with others in contributing towards
this uprising of the
poor. [23]
5.
The church should assist
in sustainable production of food. It is not enough to preach only the Good News. The church should
empower the poor so as to enable
them to produce their own food consistently.
7. Christian education and Social change
7.1 Preparing Curriculum to Address the Issue of poverty
The history of Christianity in India clearly points to
the fact that majority of Christians come from a poor socio-economic
backgrounds. Christian mission in India have always been involved in working
among the poor and the needy. Sadly the church in India is not
informed to take this challenge seriously.
The church has many research and higher educational
institutions with high in the secular world for quality of education. These
institutions must undertake analytical and action-oriented research, building
up replicable models challenging the government in particular to apply their
mind and resources to remove poverty. Christian education should be encouraged
people to meaningfully participate in the life of the national and political
process by supporting them as it is one of the ways to contribute to the
abolition of poverty.[24]
7.1.1 Educating the local congregation
Educating the local congregation through Christian education should also concern for certain issues like injustice which is one of the main causes of poverty which creates severe situation of the poor. Including this issue in Christian education can contribute to the solution of poverty. [25] According to Samson Prabhakar “learning should be an activity of empowerment and Christian education should support the activity which can challenge the common perception of the church, society, and system of education as systems dominion controlling the structural relations, resources, law, and communications, characterized as tools of control. ” Christian education should also challenges the economic systems that controlled by the so called powerful.[26]
7.1.2
The need for dialogue
Through dialogue, or interaction with others, we discover a Social process. According to Freire commitment to dialogue that he considered the moment of dialogue to be the moment of transformation. Freire saw the dialogue of the elite as vertical whereas true dialogue is the horizontal relationship based on love, respect and tolerance which encourages liberated learning in all situations. It implies a reciprocal trust and communication between the educator, who also learns, and the student, who also teaches. Thus, education becomes two-way interactive dialogue rather than the unilateral authoritarian communication of teaching methods in oppressed societies. Therefore, dialogue should be even more of a message for us Christian educators concerned to make a difference. In fact, the content of this kind of education cannot be determined in advance through the expertise of the educator, but instead, must arise from the lived experiences or reality of the student.[27]
Conclusion
God’s concern for the poor plays an important role for our mission. If God identifies the poor and cares for them then we must also show our concern and care for them. To bring a social change we must bring change among ourselves as well in our church. Therefore in our witness, we have to pursue a ministry that also deals with social change in order to deal with the factors that have created impoverishment. Thus, Christian education must have a witness that addresses the challenges of poverty in bringing about personal and social transformation so that systems and processes can be changed for common benefit.
Bibliography
Ahuja, Ram.Social Problems in India. Jaipur: Rawat Publications, 2011.
Carlton, Mason Harold.The Teaching Task of the Local Church. Indiana: Light and Life
Press, 1960.
Campbell, Wyckoff D.The Task of Christian Education. Philadelphia: The Westminster Press, 1955.
Kim C.H. Sebastian
and Marak C. Krickwin, eds., Good News to
the poor: the challenge to the church Delhi: ISPCK, 1997.
Ninan, George A. Church
and Society, Mumbai, Kalpana Printing House,2001.
Santa Ana Julio de, Good News to the Poor: the Challenge
of the poor in the History of the
Church Lausanne: ISBN, 1977.
Stott, John.New Issues Facing Christians Today. London: Marshall Pickering, 1984.
Scarpitti, Frank R and Margaret L. Anderson. Social Problems. New York: Harper and Row, 1989.
Webliography
http://www.alreadyam.com/7-incredible-ways-that-jesus-identifies-with-you/ http://www.simplybible.com/f984.htm
http://missionsbox.org/essay/churchs-role-eradicating-poverty/#.WXjNNoiGPIU
[1] Ram Ahuja, Social Problems in India (Jaipur: Rawat Publications, 2011) 27.
[2] Harold Carlton Mason, The Teaching Task of the Local Church (Indiana: Light and Life Press, 1960) 18-19.
[3] D Campbell Wyckoff, The Task of Christian Education, (Philadelphia: The Westminster Press, 1955) 19.
[4] John Stott, New Issues Facing Christians Today (London: Marshall Pickering, 1984) 269-272.
[5] Ram Ahuja, Social Problems in India (Jaipur:Rawat Publications, 2011) 37-41.
[6] Ram Ahuja, Social Problems in India (Jaipur:Rawat Publications, 2011)47.
[7] Ram Ahuja, Social Problems in India, …47.
[8] Frank R. Scarpitti and Margaret L. Anderson, Social Problems (New York:Harper and Row, 1989) 195.
[9] Sebastian C.H. Kim and Krickwin C. Marak , eds., Good News to the poor: the challenge to the church
(Delhi :ISPCK,1997), 35-37.
[10] Kim and Krickwin C. Marak , eds., Good News to the poor,…41.
[11] Kim and Krickwin C. Marak , eds., Good News to the poor,…42-49.
[12] Kim and Krickwin C. Marak , eds., Good News to the poor,…49.
[13] Kim and Krickwin C. Marak , eds., Good News to the poor,…50-52.
[14] Kim and Krickwin C. Marak , eds., Good News to the poor,…49.
[15] Kim and Krickwin C. Marak , eds., Good News to the poor,…155.
[16] Kim and Krickwin C. Marak , eds., Good News to the poor,…183.
[17] Kim and Krickwin C. Marak , eds., Good News to the poor,…197.
[18] Kim and Krickwin C. Marak , eds., Good News to the poor,…211.
[19] Kim and Krickwin C. Marak , eds., Good News to the poor,…212.
[22] http://missionsbox.org/essay/churchs-role-eradicating-poverty/#.WXjNNoiGPIU
[23] A. George Ninan, Church and Society,(Mumbai, Kalpana Printing House, 2001), p-269, 277, 278
[24] Ninan, Church and Society…, 276.
[25] Ken Ganakan,
Learning in an integrated
environment (Bangalore: Theological Book
Trust,2007), 122.
[26] Samson Prabhakar, Essays on Christian Education and liturgy,(Bangalore: SATHRI,2003), 88.
[27] Ken Ganakan, Learning in an integrated environment (Bangalore: Theological Book Trust,2007), 123-124.
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