Paul and the Church

 In this exploratory article the author deals with the ecclesiology
of Paul and its relevance for India. Today we are witnessing in our country
a scenario where basically two kinds o f politics are at play: the politics of
division and the politics of unity. The former is by far the more popular
even in this age of growing hate and terror campaigns spreading in many
parts of the country. The politics of division seeks to form small configu­
rations o f caste, language and religion, the better to appeal to particularist
identities for vested interests. Aggressive claims of dominant castes and
disastrous conflicts resulting from cultural and religious differences are
fomenting worldviews o f exclusivism and distrust, with transcendent val­
ues giving way to pragmatic ones. There is also a new social configuration
emerging, due to large-scale migration, unprecedented xenophobia, fun­
damentalism and terrorism.
In this context, the author opined that an examination of Paul’s under­
standing of Ekklesia, o f the local ecclesiologies that he developed and his
theology of ‘communio’ will offer significant insights for questions on
identity, unity and a relevant way of being church today in pluralistic In­
dia.