Indian Christian Approaches to Theologizing:Lessons from the Seashore

‘Inculturation of theology’ was the key phrase for a long time since Vat.II in theological discourse. It rightly pointed to the reality of the alienation of Christianity and Christian theol­- ogy in India. Later, theological discourse took up the theme of ‘contextualised theology’. The key question here is not ‘how to inculturate theology’, but rather ‘how and where do people expe­- rience the divine, and articulate that experience and use it for wholeness and wellbeing’. Authors indicate two main orientations in contemporary theological discourse in India: the socio-cultural orientation and the socio-political orientation. The present paper is an attempt to cull out some methodological directions relying on the positive cultural and religious resources that lie dormant in Christian communities. Authentic and relevant theology has to have a life context and a lived-experience as its point of refer­ ence. Doing theology in India is not simply a matter of express­ ing the Christian faith in culturally intelligible categories, but rather a question of understanding and articulating the living the­ ology that sustains and supports diverse Christian communities, and responding to their concerns and challenges within a faith matrix in the direction of human liberation and wholeness. The author believes that an interpretative presentation of the religious experience and practice of the Mukkuva community could con­ tribute in no small way to our theological enterprise in India