Christian and Knannaite 6

Growth in Knanaya organisations is being stalled by group activities and dissident movements, dissident may not be the right word for many occasions  but any group movement other than official is  a dissident activity. Every community organisation is prone to this undemocratic or anti-development movements, reasons are simple,  it’s not easy to satisfy everyone’s needs or ambitions. Forming a duplicate or  alternate organisation or association should have been the last resort, unfortunately many Knannaites are impatient and short tempered.

In 2003, thirty years old Delhi Cannanite Society, the oldest Knanaya Laymen Association was forcibly divided to form KCYL. Ignoring the fact that for thirty years, Delhi Cannanite Society provided all  development support to its youth without a KCYL.  One fine morning, a Knanaya priest felt the need of KCYL and associated himself with few unhappy Knannaites (may call dissidents) and created KCYL. Fine Justification, straight forward reasoning and intention, KCYL is official and Delhi Cannanite Society is unable to provide needy services to its Youth and  KCYL is capable of meeting all those needs.  Immediately few inactive members became very active, may be to prove their community worthiness, which was a positive gesture. But within six months, few other unhappy members grouped to form Delhi Knanaya Catholic Congress, third division from the parent organisation within a year.

All the three Knanaya organisations competed each other to put up their best performances, unfortunately there weren’t enough  Knanaite’s participation for all three groups.  For thirty years Delhi Knannites remained happy with one organisation and when it became three, majority walked out,  not only from Knanaya associations but also from active social life. All Knannaites are closely knitted and none wants to hurt their own brethren.  Thus Knannaite started to hate the groups or those who support these groups, because they loved their brothers and friends above forced Knannaite groups.

Within  three years, our supreme boss decided to create another umbrella organisation to unite all these three, called it as Knanaya Mission and ordered all other three associations to work under this new mission. He also established new supreme committee for this new mission, effectively making four Knanaya associations and I recently heard none of the laymen volunteering to lead or to be part of these associations. Because of someone's impatience and short temper, many more knannaites walked away from their active community life, and the same is  being repeated all over the world.

When we will learn from our past?,  when we will accept our own brethren?, when we will realise that a Knannaite cannot be replaced with any other living thing in this world?,  think yourself who is benefitting from this ever hated group work, why we can’t control our emotions and feelings.

When we promote hatred within our own community, it's our children, who is our future are silently suffering. After all, we are only a negligible number against the whole world, 2.5 lakhs is nothing against the 700 crore (2,50,000 against 700,000,000,000).

Being Christians and then Knannaite, our Holy Bible states the fundamental causes for division in any community are:

1.  Rejection of fundamental beliefs and commandments in the Bible

St. Paul lists Faith as the  basic fundamental on which unity depends – Ephesians 4:4-6;  1 Corinthians 15:3,4.  If a person rejects or compromise this essential, one cannot remain united.   

2.  Our sinful nature, “the flesh”

Paul and John described the actions of the sinful nature – Galatians 5:19-21;  3 John 9,10.  We justify our divisions by saying they are about scriptural beliefs, but often the underlying cause is a struggle over power, or perhaps resentment and unforgiveness, or pride in our superior righteousness.  Our superior “identity” becomes more important than Christ’s wider body and the welfare of the church and the community.

3.  A love of quarrelling over foolish and vain questions

Paul said some religious discussions are not only profitless but engender strife and division - 1 Timothy 1:3-7;  4:7;  6:3-5,20,21;  2 Timothy 2:15-17,23-26;  4:3,4;  Titus 1:10-15;  3:9-11.  Our fallen nature enjoys that kind of strife, but Paul says it eats away at the church like gangrene.

4.  Not understanding the Bible’s teaching about unity or the nature of Biblical unity

Though the doctrine of unity is among the major, foundational doctrines of our faith, it has often been the neglected orphan child in doctrinal study.  We need to deeply understand such passages as Ephesians 4:1-6;  Romans 14:1-15:7; 16:18;   1 Corinthians 1-3;  Galatians 5:19-23.  Biblical unity is not just “everybody agreeing with me.”  We will never agree on everything, but we can have the unity the Bible talks about.

5.  Making other things bigger than Christ and the cross

See 1 Corinthians 1:10-4:1.  The Corinthians divided because they followed different preachers more than they followed Christ.  We might glory in an eloquent preacher, a wise teacher, a name, a building, a pet doctrine, a tradition. All of these could divide Christians.  Anything (even a valid doctrine) that replaces Christ at the center of our attention becomes an idol.  All the other teachings in scripture get their meaning from the central truth of the cross and the Lordship of Jesus. 

6.  Legalism, the belief that we are saved by our correctness rather than by the grace of the cross

In our flesh we like to feel righter than others and that we have made it by ourselves.  It is hard to admit our failure and our total dependence on the Lord.  So our fallen, fleshly nature always wants to take the gospel system of grace and turn it into a mere legal code, a system of law-salvation.  We appear to accomplish salvation by our own effort rather than by depending on the cross.    People who fight to preserve a legalistic system often mistakenly believe they are contending for the gospel and for the Christian faith.

To be continued..