Abstract
Believing without Belonging is a lucid description of Hindu devotees of Christ in Varanasi, India. In his study John addresses the question, What are the beliefs, practices, and self-identities of these Christ-followers, and how might these contribute to a contextual mission and ecclesiology for Hindu Christ-followers?
In chapters 1–3 John describes aspects of the context and mission history of North India and Varanasi. He also reviews seven 19th- and early/mid-20th-century caste Hindu-background Christians, including persons such as Brahmabandhab Upadhyay and Sadar Sundar Singh, who did not completely belong to or find their place in the institutional church.
Though the Christian church in Varanasi remains small, in chapter 5 John discusses the many Hindu devotees of Christ that are part of a wider “movement” outside of the institutional, denominational churches of the area. For his study John interviewed 250 of these to understand their beliefs, practices, and approaches to various issues. He finds that devotees fall into three main groupings: those associated with the Matri Dham Catholic ashram (which he describes), those that have formed smaller, autonomous groups (often influenced by Matri Dham), and various “independent devotees.” Though each group is unique, they also share common concerns and responses to important issues, including not taking baptism (chapter 5), retaining their Hindu socioreligious identity (chapter 6), and working out new forms of ecclesiology (chapter 7).
There are many points of John’s study that stand out, including his concise reviews of the histories of mission in Varanasi and of Matri Dham. His core focus—examining the contextual possibilities for baptism practices, alternatives to “Christian” identities, and ways of being and organizing “church”—bring together key historical, theological, and social scientific discussions for each of these issues.
There are also some points that could use more clarification. For example, John implies, and at times states, that Hindu Christ-devotees are aware of and build on the theology and ministry of the early Hindu-background Christians like Upadhyay and Singh, though he does not provide evidence for this. I wonder if these early leaders, as important as they are historically, are known more to scholars than to the Varanasi Hindu Christ-devotees themselves. Also, though John’s analysis of baptism, identity, and ecclesiology helps him make recommendations for ministry among Hindu Christ devotees, I would like to hear more of the voices of his interviewees themselves in these discussions.
Believing without Belonging is a graduate-level study helpful for those interested in North India mission history as well as alternative models for mission and church.