by Charles R. A. Hoole
From the beginning of the 16th century to 1948, Sri Lanka was ruled by European colonial powers. For four and a half centuries, a political and military hegemony was formed by three successive powers: the Portuguese (1505-1658), the Dutch (1658-1790), and the British (1796-1948).
The church, amid human dukkah,1 experiences persecution, revival.
From the beginning of the 16th century to 1948, Sri Lanka was ruled by European colonial powers. For four and a half centuries, a political and military hegemony was formed by three successive powers: the Portuguese (1505-1658), the Dutch (1658-1790), and the British (1796-1948).
Independence from colonial rule in 1948 coincided with a powerful wave of enthusiasm that was spreading across the Theravada2 Buddhist lands. This wave was in anticipation of the Buddha Jayanthi celebrations to mark the 2,500th anniversary of the Buddha’s parinibbana.3 According to Theravada belief, the teaching of the Buddha, his dhamma, would last 5,000 years after his parinibbana, and that the year 2,500 of the Buddhist era would mark a great turning point, giving rise to the rejuvenation of the dhamma and a worldwide expansion of Buddhism. The full moon day of May, 1956, was set as the exact date.
In Sri Lanka, this highly charged atmosphere gave birth to a new, millennial style of politics that visualized the establishment of a Buddhist Utopian state after the completion of 2,500 years:
Then, the faith will shine in glory and be a beacon to the whole world, and Lanka itself will be prosperous and joyful.4
An election victory in 1956 gave S.W.R.D. Bandaranayake the mandate to inaugurate this new state based on the Buddhist dhamma.
Unlike India, Sri Lanka quickly abandoned multiracial polity in favor of a theocratic or near theocratic state. Bandaranayake’s political program was based on the supremacy of the Sinhala Buddhist identity over the non-Buddhist cultural image in language, religion, and dress. He carried out his own version of the classic "Buddhist Reconquest"5 in two stages. First, a campaign was launched to exorcise alien cultural encroachments, which were held responsible for undermining the prestige of Buddhism. Second, efforts were made to restore the primacy of Buddhist cultural symbols, which finally led to the introduction of the "Sinhala Only" language act.
MINORITIES UNDER SEIGE
Successive governments have, through various gestures, endorsed the validity of this program, which rests on the assumption that Sri Lanka is exclusively a Sinhala Buddhist nation.6 In the 1960s, under Mrs. Bandaranayake’s leadership, the Christians7 became targets of attack. (Previously the Buddhists had fought against the "privileges" of the Christians in the 1950s.) Christianity was associated with immorality, drunkenness, and alien vices.8 The government’s takeover of the denominational schools in 1960 was a big blow to the Christians. During this period, Christians were denounced and vilified as anti-national. Although the churches, too, had received their independence with the collapse of the vast colonial system, they continued to be identified with colonialism, and were therefore labeled as foreign.
Also, from 1956 the ethnic problem, beginning with the language issue, escalated and dominated the politics of the country. Instigated by Buddhist bhikkhus,9 the first serious anti-Tamil riots broke out in 1958. In the post-independence era these sorts of outbursts of intercommunal violence have been occurring at progressively shorter intervals. The most destructive ones took place in 1958, 1977, 1981, and 1983.
The use of state power to progressively deprive the Tamil minority of its territory, language, citizenship, economic life, and opportunities of employment and education directly contributed to the rise in Tamil separatist sentiment. The assertion of Tamil Eelam10 became the Tamil response to Sinhalese concepts of Dhammadipa and Sihadipa. Under President J.R. Jayawardene’s highly centralized dharmishta state inaugurated in 1977, the conflict escalated into a full-scale ethnic war in 1984.
MORAL VACUUM
In Sri Lanka, the ethnic conflict has pulverized the traditional social order. Widespread social dislocation has led to breakdown in the traditional authority and kinship structure and the bases of communal solidarity. Separatist-inspired "ethnic cleansing" and state-sponsored "extra-judicial killings and disappearances" have contributed to the general militarization of social life, evidenced by the emergence of a "gun culture." The cultural heroes of today, in both word and deed, embody the value of himsa (violence); and the newly invented tradition bears little or no relation to the past, which embodied ahimsa (nonviolence) as a core religious value.
The inversion of values in Sri Lankan social life invariably reflects the dramatic changes occurring within the Buddhist and Hindu pantheons. In the Buddhist scene, the meteoric rise of the demons Kali and Huniyam confirm this. These are two of the most dreaded deities of the Indian subcontinent. Kali is usually depicted sticking out her tongue, engaged in a gory decapitation of the buffalo demon; Huniyam, meaning "sorcery" or "black magic," has tusks and matted locks, both apparently dreaded attributes. The incorporation of Kali and Huniyam into the Buddhist pantheon and their elevation to the status of devas11 (beneficent deities) is a striking example of the erosion of traditional moral values.
REVIVAL AND GROWTH
Against this rather dark and bleak background, the door of the church began to open to others. In the early ’80s the Spirit of God began to move powerfully across the land, bringing revival to the churches. During that decade of terror and lawlessness, ordinary Christians found great courage and boldness to move outward, reaching Buddhists, Hindus, and Muslims for Christ. In spite of great adversities, men and women of great passion took the gospel to the poor and lost.
They represent an essentially lay movement that has now taken the gospel to almost every village in Sri Lanka. The converts come from all walks of life, including Buddhist bhikkhus, Hindu samis, village leaders, businessmen, farmers, and housewives. The movement’s primary goals have been evangelism and church planting. Most of the evangelists operate without a guaranteed income, though they have a support scale they try to maintain.
PROTESTANT DENOMINATIONAL CHURCHES
The growth of the revival movement within the older, denominational churches has to a large extent been stunted by the liberal establishment. Under the influence of Western liberal mentors, the mainline church hierarchy, with a few notable exceptions, has succumbed to theological skepticism and the widest doctrinal pluralism, a stance that has moved the National Christian Council leadership to endorse cultural and moral relativism.12 The mindset of the hierarchy is therefore ardently opposed to the apostolic affirmations about God, Jesus, and salvation. Kenneth Fernando, the Anglican bishop of Colombo, is a prominent spokesman for the establishment. Closely following Raimundo Panikkar, Bishop Fernando adopts an advaita Vedanta framework for affirming "that truth is a many splendored thing" in opposition to "those of us who say arrogantly that salvation is through Christ alone."13
It is not at all surprising that Margaya, originally a vibrant Anglican lay missionary movement, having brought life and hope to numerous Buddhist villages in the south, has not continued to find the necessary support base within the well-endowed Anglican Church. Margaya has, since its beginning in 1982, planted 13 "base" churches and is now constituted as an independent church led by an ex-Anglican, Rohan Ekanayake. However, within the Anglican Church, Archdeacon Patrick Fernando’s ministry in the Galle district is proving to be a notable exception, with a number of new churches in formerly "unreached" villages.
While the Anglican Church, owing to a loss of shared belief, is showing signs of disintegration,14 the Methodist Church is making good progress, with deep commitments to evangelism and social justice. President Dulip Fernando has been largely instrumental in guiding the church in new directions, often by responding creatively to the spiritual, social, and political challenges. Unlike the Anglicans, the Methodists have proved to be far more receptive to lay initiatives. The recent establishment of the Evangelism Training College at Valaichenai in the troubled Batticaloa district is considered bold and far-sighted for a truly national church.
ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH
The Roman Catholic Church is by far the largest church in Sri Lanka, holding the loyalties of nearly 90 percent of the Christians. Unlike the Protestants, the Roman Catholics remain deeply divided along ethnic lines, severely undermining the church’s witness to intercommunal peace in Sri Lanka. Until Vatican II, the ethnic identities of the members remained encompassed by a cohesive Latin identity. The subsequent erosion of the Latin identity has steadily pushed the Sinhala and Tamil Catholics in different directions.
By adopting Buddhist calendrical rituals and customs, the Sinhala Catholics have gradually subordinated their "Catholic" identity to the Sinhala Buddhist identity. The new identity led to an unlikely alliance in the 1980s. During the anti-Tamil riots of July, 1983, in predominantly Catholic areas like Kotahena, Sinhala Catholics and Sinhala Buddhists for the first time joined forces to attack Tamil Catholics.15 All this meant that within 20 years, the Roman Catholic Church had moved from Latin captivity into another form of captivity, namely, nationalism.16
Ethnic and caste divisions within the Roman Catholic Church stem from uncritical cultural adaptations, which are rooted in the Portuguese era, when the padroado missionaries incorporated the caste-based worldview and lifestyle of contemporary religions. As a result, the dominant religious strain has always remained a Hindu-Buddhist pattern, thinly overlaid with Catholicism.17 There is, in fact, a high degree of correspondence between the Buddhist, Hindu, and Catholic "pantheons." Most striking are the parallels between the Virgin Mary cult and the Pattini-Kannaki18 cult, the latter being the chief deity of the fisherfolk castes.
INDEPENDENT CHURCHES
The Assemblies of God and the Ceylon Pentecostal Mission are the oldest of the 20th century "independent" type of churches sprouting all over the island. Until 1980 their growth was slow, and mainly by transfer from the mainline churches. Since then, the evangelical-Pentecostal churches have been growing rapidly. Within Greater Colombo alone are about 400 independent churches. Some are very small, while others are huge. The AOG church in Kollupitiya is expected to become the first megachurch in Sri Lanka. During a period when the denominational churches-including Dutch Reformed, Anglican, Methodist, and Baptist-are declining in numbers, these churches are winning converts and spreading into areas hitherto unreached by any Christian mission. Their growth has been a cause for alarm both for the non-Christians and the traditional Christians.
OPPOSITION TO CHRISTIANITY
As in the late 19th century, there is, among the Buddhists, an organized attempt to resist Christian penetration. At a local level, incidents of arson and assault appear routine, and the perpetrators often receive sanction from law enforcement. At the national level, a number of proposals to curtail incoming funds, restrict places of worship, and criminalize "unethical" conversions have been presented to the government. The new constitution may incorporate elements of these anti-Christian proposals, which have been endorsed by a few prominent mainline church leaders.
PROBLEMS AND PROSPECTS
The Sri Lankan church can no longer be labeled as the "most nominal" in Asia, as it was just over two decades ago.19 Tremendous spiritual vitality exists in church life, and all over the island the churches are continuing to grow. However, the church could easily become complacent and fail to address issues that might affect its spiritual vitality, as well as its future prospects.
If, as Toynbee says, "history is a story of unlearned lessons," then the church must reflect on its past. Just over 100 years ago, between 1860 and 1885, the churches in Sri Lanka experienced phenomenal growth. By the turn of the century, however, growth had tapered off to zero, followed by a long period of decay. The last two decades of the 19th century were marked by organized opposition to missionary Christianity and new economic opportunities in the colonial civil service; the combination of these two factors contributed to the decline. As the anti-Christian movement gathered momentum, the church succumbed to the pressures and changed its missionary strategy by pandering to the popular cravings for wealth, power, and prestige. Inadvertently the church became the most important vehicle for worldly success, having become the handmaid of the British Raj, producing clerks, teachers, and judges for the rapidly expanding colonial service. But such an undertaking would in due course transform the very character of the church.
Similar pressures are at work today. To avoid past errors, the church, above all, needs to urgently address the inadequacies in the theology of the revivalist movement. The present revival is influenced by a combination of Western pietist, holiness, and Pentecostal traditions, which are being continuously fed and nourished by the influential and indigenous bhakti marga.20 Within the movement, the pietistic search for the "higher life" has been further reinforced by premillennialist interpretations of the Bible that have led many devout believers to conclude with Schofield that there is "no hope for humanity except in the personal return of the Lord in Glory."21 Some of the obvious theological inadequacies are:
1. Inadequate view of sin. The revival doctrine of sin underestimates the power and depth of evil and, by focusing on personal morality, is quite inadequate to tackle the power of structural evil and corporate sin manifested in Sri Lanka’s "killing fields." The challenge to repentance must therefore move beyond a fairly limited range of private morality-lying, stealing, adultery, drunkenness, the adornment of pottu (a mark on the forehead of an Indian woman) and tali (a pendant worn around the neck).
2. Converts, not disciples. The revivalist movement has been strong on the evangelistic task but often weak on Christian training and discipleship. There are many calls to "repent and believe the gospel" (cf. Act 2:38), but little teaching on how to "live out Christian discipleship" (cf. Acts 2:42f.).22 Mere growth in numbers, without costly discipleship, is powerless to confront the pressures of evil.
3. Substitution of testimonies for biblical teaching. Within the revival, fellowship meetings put great emphasis on the sharing of testimonies, and this is a great encouragement. However, this has led to a lack of biblical input and instruction, with the danger that persona! experience becomes more important than the Word of God.
4. Uncritical obedience. Obedience to authority is inculcated within the Indian culture. In politics, the people tend to support those in power, whether they be tyrants or not. Within the Anglican tradition, the clergyman knows that it is wise to obey one’s bishop, because his livelihood depends on his goodwill. An authoritarian teaching style that encourages little reflection has further reinforced members’ attitudes to authority. The church cannot tackle the crucial issues troubling the society without also learning that "we must obey God rather than men" (Acts 5:29).
5. Leadership lifestyle. The tragic irony of Sri Lanka is that as the country under the current regime of Chandrika Kumaratunga is being pushed politically toward more democratic structures, the structures of the church and the style of leadership remain authoritarian. There is very little accountability of church leaders to the whole people of God. In most churches no mechanisms are available for the people of God to challenge and, if necessary, change their leaders. Having access to foreign currency for projects, many leaders have developed lifestyles that are alienating them from the mass of the people who, in a country like Sri Lanka, are very poor. This problem is acute in the mainline churches, where a tiny group of "limousine liberals’"’ 23 with an eccentric, way-out theology remains out of touch, and, often at odds, with its conservative congregations.
Developments in the ’90s show that the above inadequacies are beginning to be addressed. Churches on the whole are investing more in theological education and discipleship training. Seminaries and Bible schools are growing in size and number. Established in May, 1994, Colombo Theological Seminary is already the largest Protestant seminary, having 65 full-time and 45 part-time students. Increasing numbers of inter-church consultations are being held, with a view to addressing public issues collectively.
HOPE FOR THE NATION
The church is the great, and only, hope for the nation. In a divided and conflict-ridden world of dukkha, the church in Sri Lanka occupies a unique place and ministry. Under the banner of Christ stand a people gathered from diverse caste, ethnic, and class backgrounds, visibly representing Christ’s new humanity on Sri Lankan soil. The church needs so grow in numbers and maturity so that it may effectively pursue its ministry, being salt and light in this land of strife, embodying and proclaiming the message of the gospel of peace and reconciliation.
Endnotes
1. Suffering, disorder, sorrow.
2. Theravadins focus on the teaching of the Buddha, whereas the Mahayanists focus on the person of the Buddha.
3. Release from dukkha, extinction of self, final exit.
4. Revolt in the Temple (Colombo: Sinha Publications, 1953).
5. D.E. Smith, "Religion, Politics and the Myth of Reconquest," Modern Sri Lanka: A Society in Transition, Tissa Fernando, ed. (New York: Maxwell School, 1979), p. 83-100.
6. Defined by the twin concepts Dhammadipa (Buddhist island) and Sihadipa (Sinhalese island).
7. Buddhists comprise 69 percent of the poulation, Hindus 15 percent, Muslims 8 percent and Christians 8 percent (Roman Catholic 7 percent and Protestan 1 percent). All Buddhists are Sinhalese, and all Hindus are Tamils.
8. Kumari Jayawardena, Ethnic and Class Conflicts in Sri Lanka (Colombo: Centre for Social Analysis, 1985), p. 79-80.
9. Saffron-robed monks.
10. A separate Tamil homeland in the northeast.
11. Gananath Obeyesekere, Buddhism Transformed (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1988), p. 124.
12. Perhaps the strongest indictment of this position is found in "Anglican Bishops Worldwide Ponder Their Sexuality," The Sunday Leader, August 31, 1997.
13. Kenneth Fernando, "Truth is a many splendoured thing," Crosspoints, vol. 3, no. 1 (Sept. 1992), p. 13. A rejoinder by Vinoth Ramachandra in the same issue, pp. 10-12.
14. See, C.R.A. Hoole, "A Church Bent on Self-destruction: An Anglican Example," Direction, Sept. 1997. The most visible signs are (1) doctrinal pluralism—encountering chanting of Buddhist/Hindu prayers, (2) centralization—keeping everyone, especially the clergy, on a short leash, (3) homogenization—elemination of dissent and divisiveness.
15. R.L. Stirrat, "The Riots and the Roman Catholic Church in Historical Perspective," Sri Lanka in Change and Crisis, James Manor, ed. (New York: St. Martins Press, 1984), pp. 196-212.
16. S.R.H. Hoole, "The Ethnic Conflict in Sri Lanka: The Christian Response and the Nationalist Threat," Dharma Deepika Vol. 2, No. 2 (Dec. 1996), pp. 39-66.
17. C.R.A. Hoole, Modern Sannyasins, Portestant Missionary Contribution to Ceylon Tamil Culture (Bern: Peter Lang AG, 1995), pp. 171-176.
18. Goddes Kannaki is known to the Hindus as katpakkarasi, the queen of chastity; chastity is the source of her supernatural power.
19. Operation World, 1974 edition.
20. An ecstatic form of religiosity that puts personal devotion above al else. Proof of such devotion is given by unquestioning submission to a religious authority, who is capable of mediating salvation or "the higher life."
21. Quoted in D.A. Carson, ed., "Biblical Interpretations and the Church," Text and Context (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1984), p. 200.
22. Last year, a record 100,000 Christians came together to see Reinhard Bonnke in a healing crusade, but only 16 turned up to hear Saphir Athyal speak on theological education and training. Both events were organized by the Evangelical Alliance, Sri Lanka.
23. Those who enjoy modern amenities and have no fixed belief. For clarification, see S.R.H. Hoole, "Ethnic Conflict in Sri Lanka," op. cit.
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Charles R. A. Hoole is lecturer at Colombo Theological Seminary, Sri Lanka. He is author of Modern Sannyasins, Protestant Missionary Contribution to Ceylon Tamil Culture (1995); and a graduate of McMaster University (Ph.D.) and Hull University (M.A.).
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