Paper Presentation

on
Topic: M.M. Thomas places “praxis before orthodoxy” Critically analyze and explain his
understanding of the Mission of the Church.

Submitted to: Rev. A. G. Jude

Submitted by: Teniush Ch. Momin (B.D-3)
Submitted on: 21st April, 2022.

IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENT FOR THE COURSE OF

INTRODUCTION TO CHRISTIAN THEOLOGIES IN INDIA (BTT12)

LUTHER W. NEW JR. THEOLOGICAL COLLEGE, DEHRADUN

 Table of Contents

1. Introduction ................................................................................................................... 3

2. A Brief sketch of the life of M.M. Thomas .................................................................... 3

3. M.M. Thomas statement “praxis before orthodoxy” ....................................................... 3

3.1. His Understanding of praxis ................................................................................... 3

3.2. His understanding of orthodoxy ............................................................................. 4

4. M.M. Thomas understanding of the Mission of the Church. ........................................... 5

4.1. Traditional mode of mission .................................................................................. 6

4.1.1. Pietistic model ................................................................................................... 6
4.1.2. Legalistic model ................................................................................................ 7
4.1.3. Ecclesiastic oriented mission .............................................................................. 7
4.1.4. Orthodoxical mission ......................................................................................... 8

4.2. Thomacian model of mission ................................................................................. 9

4.2.1. Mission as Participation ..................................................................................... 9
4.2.2. Mission as dialogue ......................................................................................... 10
4.2.3. Mission as Communicating the message of salvation ....................................... 11
4.2.4. Mission as a prophetic Ministry ....................................................................... 11

5. Revolutionization of Christian mission ........................................................................ 12

5.1. Humanization ...................................................................................................... 12

5.2. Towards secular Christ ........................................................................................ 13

5.3. Actualization of new humanity ............................................................................ 13

6. Reflect on “Penultimate commitment” ......................................................................... 14

7. Conclusion .................................................................................................................. 14

8. Bibliography ............................................................................................................... 15

2
 1. Introduction
This paper is an overview of M. M. Thomas praxis before orthodoxy and his understanding of
the Mission of the Church in India. The purpose of this paper is to comprehend his thoughts
and theology about the Church’s Mission and how to apply them in our day-to-day life.

2. A Brief sketch of the life of M.M. Thomas

Madathiparampil Mammen Thomas was born into a middle-class Syrian Christian family on
15 May, 1916 at Kavungumprayar in central Kerala. 1 Along with Willem Visser’t Hooft, M.
M. Thomas has had the greatest influence on the modern ecumenical movement. 2 In 1962
Thomas chaired the World Council of Churches (WCC) working committee of Church and
Society and in 1966 the Geneva conference on ‘Christians in the Technical and Social
Revolutions of Our Time.’3 In 1968, while attending the WCC fourth Assembly at Uppsala as
a delegate from the Mar Thoma Church, Thomas became the first non-westerner and lay person
to be elected Chair of the WCC central committee, fulfilling this role at the Fifth Assembly in
Nairobi, 1975.4 He died on December 3, 1996. Robin Boyd notes that Thomas was a man,
“deeply and intelligently committed to Christ, to the Church, to social and political justice, to
Christian unity, and ultimately to the unity of the whole human race.” 5

3. M.M. Thomas statement “praxis before orthodoxy”

Thomas’s theology is action-oriented. Like the liberation theologians of Latin America, he
places praxis before orthodoxy. So, for him, responsibility for others is a key word. He finds
support for this in the New Testament, where “faith working through love” is described in
Galatians 5:6.6
3.1. His Understanding of praxis
His understanding of the praxis is an action-oriented. That is why Boyd in his book
titled “An Introduction to Indian Christian Theology” labels his theology as “The Way

1
T.M. Philip, The Encounter Between Theology and Ideology: An Exploration into the Communicative
Theology of M.M. Thomas (Madras: CLS, 1986), 1.
2
Jesudas M. Athyal, George Zachariah, and Monica Melanchthon, The Life, Legacy and Theology of M. M.
Thomas: ‘Only Participants Earn the Right to be Prophets.’ (New York: Routledge, 2016), 1
3
Paul Abrecht, “M.M. Thomas and Paulos Mar Gregorios,” in M.M. Thomas: The Man and His Legacy, ed.
Jesudas M. Athyal (Kerala: The Thiruvalla Ecumenical Charitable Trust, 1997), 21
4
Abrecht, “M.M. Thomas and Paulos Mar Gregorios,” 22.
5
Robin Boyd, The Witness of the Student Christian Movement: Church Ahead of the Church (London: SPCK,
2007), 90
6
Sunand Sumithra, Christian Theologies from an Indian Perspective (Bangalore: Theological Book Trust,
1990), 175.

3
 of Action.”7 For him, any approach that does not produce action has no value. This
action-orientedness is relevant for Thomas’ concern for Christian responsibility. 8
The context of theology is not merely a religious and philosophical one; it is above all
the context of a revolutionary, modern world. And the response to the Gospel cannot
be mere passive understanding or acceptance or mystical experience; it means sharing
in the love of Christ, and passing on that love to the world, in active, loving service and
suffering. Thomas has drawn together many different strands, from East and West, from
past and present, and woven them into an attractive and convincing way of action–a
Christian karma marga. 9
 Christianity as karma marga: Karma marga is a path towards union with God,
relating to action in the world in order to attain liberation. It is one of the Hindu
margas, that comes closest to Thomas’s thought. Thomas considered
‘humanism’ and not ‘divinism’ to be the most appropriate theological meeting
point between Christianity and Hinduism, and sought to relate theology to
responsible action within the context of the world towards humanization and
social transformation. 10 Because humanism can transform the people, if they
are to serve the humanity of man and not betrayed it. Robin Given Thomas’s
desire to essentially relate faith and action, Boyd investigates the possibility of
describing Thomas’s approach as an ‘enriched karma marga,’ recognizing his
endeavor to seek a path of ‘loving, self-sacrificing service.’11
M.M. Thomas regarded action as a path of witness to the salvation offered in
Christ. He writes: “In Christianity the only one path to God’s presence is Christ;
that means faith in Christ. Knowledge, devotion and action are means of
expressing this faith in Christ; they are not paths in themselves to reach God.”12
3.2. His understanding of orthodoxy
According to Thomas, orthodoxy means ‘to express the wholeness of the faith.’ 13 For
Thomas, we need to understand orthodoxy in a new way. He says, even the best

7
Robin Boyd, An Introduction to Indian Christian Theology (ISPCK, 1998), 311.
8
M. Dominic Savio, “M. M. Thomas (1916-1996),” in Indian Christian Thinkers, ed. Anand Amaladass
(Chennai: Satya Nilayam Publication, 2005), 241.
9
Robin Boyd, An Introduction, 330.
10
M. M. Thomas, Salvation and Humanization: A Crucial Issue in the Theology of Mission for India
(Bangalore: CLS, 1971), 35-36.
11
Boyd, An Introduction, 314.
12
M.M. Thomas, Spiritual Body, Contextual Theological Bible Commentary: 1 Corinthians, trans. T.M. Philip,
(Thiruvalla: CSS, 2005), 36
13
M. M. Thomas, The Acknowledged Christ of the Indian Renaissance (London: S.C.M, 1969), 318.

4
 theological definitions of the faith are necessarily fragmentary, one-sided, situation-
bound and inadequate to express the plenitude of God in Jesus Christ.14 According to
him, Orthodoxy lies in the preparedness of the theologian and any theological
community to stand within the historical community of ‘the Great Tradition’ and to
affirm unity with the universal community of the faithful, namely, the Church. 15
Therefore, orthodoxy is defined as dialogue with theological tradition, deposit of faith
handed down, and submission to the consensus of the Church within the situation in
which theologizing is done. 16
Thomas accepts only those aspects of Christ, Church, etc. which are relevant to the
situation, which speak to the situation; other aspects are neglected as irrelevant, as not
belonging to proper theology. The content of living theology is the discernment of what
God-in- Christ is doing in the situation and the interpretation of the truth and meaning
of Jesus Christ in terms of the situation and its self-understanding.17

4. M.M. Thomas understanding of the Mission of the Church.

His theology of mission is grounded in Christo-centrism. Robin Boyd notes that Thomas was
a man, “deeply and intelligently committed to Christ, to the Church, to social and political
justice, to Christian unity, and ultimately to the unity of the whole human race.” 18 Thomas
recognized the redemptive work of God in the person of Christ and the proclamation of this
message for the salvation of humanity. He says, God was and is a work in Christ reconciling
this world to himself and God calls men to become actively involved with him in the world for
its redemption.19 Therefore, it is in this context, according to him, we must rethink the mission
of the Church to the world. This evangelistic dimension of mission, for Thomas, was essential
and the cutting edge of Christian mission. However, he did not confine mission only to this
concept, what he called the ultimate destiny, but believed that mission must be understood in
a broader perspective of the struggle for humanization, the historic destiny—human rights and
social justice. For him, the mission of the Church is not only to be a philanthropist or nurse to
humanity, but to be a sign lifted up among the nations for Salvation and Judgment.20

14
Thomas, The Acknowledged Christ, 310.
15
Thomas, The Acknowledged Christ, 310.
16
Thomas, The Acknowledged Christ, 310-311.
17
Thomas, The Acknowledged Christ, 308
18
Robin Boyd, The Witness of the Student, 90.
19
M. M. Thomas, Revolution and redemption (New York: Friendship Press, 1955), 42.
20
M. M. Thomas, Christian Participation in Nation Building (Bangalore: NCCI and CISRS, 1960), 318.

5
 4.1. Traditional mode of mission
Here we will be discussing about four traditional modes of mission, such as; pietistic,
legalistic, ecclesiastic and Orthodoxical mission.
4.1.1. Pietistic model
Spirituality is a new understanding of the integral relation between self, God and
World and the path of self-fulfillment.21 This is a common attitude among those who
believe in “pure spirituality” or “pure individuality.” 22 This method entails
“withdrawing into a shell of retreat from the confusing and complex realities of
politics and social change.”23 But Thomas criticizes the one-sided interpretations of
the gospel message that focused on ‘pure spirituality.’ The flaw of pure spirituality
according to Thomas is that it is indifferent to human existential problems while pure
existentialism overlooks the spirituality of the person. 24 Thomas considers
individualism and pure spirituality that isolates social responsibility an obstacle for
humanization of people in the society. He emphasizes the need for a new spirituality
that would enhance humanization of humanity. He is concerned that individual
pietism is a common Christian approach to spirituality, viewing “professional and
social involvement as God’s call to uphold personal moral integrity supported by
personal religion which does not give spiritual meaning to the profession itself.” 25
While such an attitude may lead to personal moral integrity, there is also a danger of
separating individual morality from corporate morality and responsibility. 26
Therefore, Pietism is a denial of true piety and holiness, which should not mean a
withdrawal from the realities of the revolutions of our time, but engagement with
them in the name of the salvation offered in Christ.27

21
M.M. Thomas, “Identity and Credibility of Action Groups,” in With Us Without Us in spite of Us (Thiruvalla:
Program for Social Action, 1989), 26.
22
Mohan Chacko, Interpreting Society: A Study of the Political Theology of M.M. Thomas and Its Implications
for Mission (Dehradun, India, 2000), 269.
23
M. M. Thomas, “Towards a Christian Interpretation of Nationalism in Asian,” in Towards a theology of
contemporary ecumenism: a collection of addresses to ecumenical gatherings, 1947-1975 (Madras: Christian
Literature Society, 1978), 44.
24
M.M. Thomas, New Creation in Christ (Delhi: ISPCK, 1976), 70.
25
M.M. Thomas, “The Use and Place of the Bible for Christians in their Professional and Social Involvement,”
in The Bible in Today’s Context, ed. S. Emmanuel David (Madras: Senate of Serampore College, 1994), 39
26
Adrian Bird, M.M. Thomas: Theological Signposts for the Emergence of Dalit Theology (Ph.D. Thesis,
University of Edinburgh February, 2008), 167.
27
M. M. Thomas, “Church’s Promise within the Revolution and the Christian Mission,” in Towards a theology
of contemporary ecumenism: a collection of addresses to ecumenical gatherings, 1947-1975 (Madras: Christian
Literature Society, 1978), 64.

6
 4.1.2. Legalistic model
Legalistic model, places a strong focus on church doctrine as the primary source of
knowledge on the objective elements of morality. It considers the magisterium
(teaching Church) to be the most important source of moral truth. Furthermore, it
argues for the existence of absolute and universal moral principles. 28
Moral idealism is defined by a legalistic ethics that ignores the reality of sin and the
need for divine redemption on all levels. 29 Thomas say, moral idealism prevents the
Church from having a ‘serious evangelistic encounter in political life.’ 30
4.1.3. Ecclesiastic oriented mission
Thomas’ ecclesiology is inextricably linked to his mission ideas. According to
Thomas, Church is a fellowship of the people of God and she doesn’t exist for
herself. It is only an instrument for the purpose of God in the world. 31 For him, the
concept of the Church has two meaning: (1) The action of God in Christ and (2) The
world where God’s action takes place.32 He says, “the Church of Christ cannot
therefore, be open to God in Christ without being open at the same time to the world
where God is at work through his spirit seeking to sum up all things in Christ (Eph.
1: 10). A Church which is closed to the world which God has loved and redeemed
also closes itself against God’s spirit.”33
Therefore, Thomas develops his understanding of the Church in terms of the
“Christian community within the human community.” 34 His conviction is that the
Church is not itself the new humanity and that the new humanity in Christ, that is
the humanity which responds in faith and receives the liberation of Jesus Christ as
Lord and Saviour, transcends the Church. 35 He argues that, “the more Christ-
centered we are, the more able we become to break down or lower partition walls in
circumferential matters and open ourselves to one another across the boundaries and
build unity in diversity.”36 The church’s mission involves its engagement with socio-

28
Linda Hogan, Confronting the truth: conscience in the Catholic tradition (New York: Paulist Press, 2000), 28.
29
Mohan Chacko, Interpreting Society, 222.
30
M. M. Thomas “The EACC Committee in Bangalore; Inter-Asian Relations; Asia's Political Development;
Christian Involvement,’ NCC Review 81/12 (December 1961): 455.
31
T. Jacob Thomas, M.M. Thomas reader : selected texts on theology, religion and society (Thiruvalla:
Christava Sahitya Samithi, 2002), 134.
32
Godwin Shiri, Contextualization: A Re-reading of M. M. Thomas (Bangalore: CSS & ISPCK, 2007), 96.
33
M. M. Thomas, “The Open Church,” in The Church: A Peoples Movement, ed. Mathai Zachariah (Nagpur:
NCCI, 1975), 61.
34
Shiri, Contextualization, 96.
35
M. M. Thomas and Philippe Maury, Some Theological Dialogues (Madras: CLS, 1977), 128.
36
Thomas, Salvation and Humanization,70.

7
 political issues of the society. Thomas strongly stresses the church’s need to address
issues of social justice with the resources available in the world. 37 He strongly
believes that “the Churches dare not assume a purely passive, indifferent or neutral
attitude towards crucial political and social issues of the times…It is the
responsibility of the Church to rediscover and proclaim both to its members as well
as to those outside, the basic truths declared in the Bible concerning the life of men
in society and in the State, which no individual or government can disregard with
impunity.”38
Thomas also summarized Church’s mission in its four aspects: kerygma (preaching),
didache (teaching), diakonia (service), and koinonia (fellowship).39
 Firstly, the ‘kerygmatic’ task, –in which the Church declares ‘the power of
Christ’ over the demons in the ‘second nature’ (industries, state, social
institutions, etc.);
 Secondly, the ‘didache’–the Church’s task of developing a realistic social
philosophy suitable for our times;
 Thirdly, ‘diakonia,’–where the Church offers her service of love to the
community around and in which she lives.
 Finally, her ‘koinonia,’–in which the Church encourages and offers fellowship
to those serving the society. 40
4.1.4. Orthodoxical mission
Orthodox mission holds that mission and ecclesiology closely together, as Thomas
says. 41 Ion Bria says it is “ecclesiology which determines missiology.” 42 Like other
traditions, the Orthodox tradition affirms the missionary nature of the church: “The
proclamation of the kingdom of God lies at the very heart of the church’s vocation
in the world. Mission belongs to the very nature of the church…for without mission
there is no church.”43 The Orthodox church views its role as being primarily focused

37
M. M. Thomas, Ideological Quest within Christian Commitment: 1939-54 (Madras: Christian Literature
Society, 1983), 72-73.
38
Thomas, Ideological Quest, 224.
39
M. M. Thomas, A Diaconal Approach to Indian Ecclesiology (Rome and Thiruvalla: Centre for Indian and
Inter-religious Studies and Christava Sahitya Samithy, 1995), 10.
40
Ashish J. Chrispal, An Indian perspective on the nature of the Church in the context of poverty and religious
pluralism, with special reference to the works of M.M. Thomas (Thesis (PhD)--University of Aberdeen 1990),
139.
41
Bar, The Spirit Shaped Church, 208.
42
Ion Bria, Martyria/Mission: The Witness of the Orthodox Churches Today (Geneva: World Council of
Churches, 1980), 8.
43
Ion Bria, Go Forth in Peace: Orthodox Perspectives on Mission (Geneva: W. C. C, 1986), 3.

8
 on church unity. Disunity “is a scandal and an impediment to the church’s united
witness.”44 In the Orthodox tradition, love as the theological starting point for
mission shapes the Christological emphasis on incarnation, cross and resurrection. 45
4.2. Thomacian model of mission
Mission for Thomas is a participation, dialogue with other faiths, communication
message for the salvation of the people and the prophetic ministry.
4.2.1. Mission as Participation
Thomas advocates the theological justification for considering participation in the
humanization of the world as an essential aspect of the Church’s mission in India. 46
According to him, “the mission of the Church is to participate in the movements of
human liberation in our time in such a way as to witness to Jesus Christ as the source,
the judge and the redeemer of the human spirituality and its orientation which are at
work in these movements, and therefore as the Saviour of man today.” 47
For M.M. Thomas, participation of the church in nation-building with people of other
faiths and no faiths is one of its true mission and ministry. This participation of
Christians in the life of the nation and its people could be taken as an expression of
Christian discipleship. 48 He famously said that “Only participants can be prophets.”49
Therefore, only through the participating in the larger struggles of the community will
the Church become a prophetic core.50
Thomas says, “participation in the struggle of people for a fuller human life in state,
society and culture, in the real partnership with men of other faith or no faith, is the
only context for realizing the true being of the church and exercising the church’s
ministry and mission.”51 Only participation earns the right to be prophets, and
participation is a prerequisite of dialogue since participation creates dialogue. Along
with secularists, the church should be present where the action is, protesting against
dehumanizing conditions of life and joining in the political struggle for social justice
and personal dignity. Thus, church should make participation effective. 52

44
Bria, Go Forth, 70.
45
Michael W. Goheen, Introducing Christian Mission Today: Scripture, History and Issues (Downers Grove,
Illinois: InterVarsity Press Academic, 2014), 177.
46
Godwin Shiri, Contextualization: A Re-reading of M. M. Thomas (Bangalore: CSS & ISPCK, 2007), 96.
47
Thomas, Towards a theology of contemporary ecumenism, 182.
48
M. M. Thomas, Christian response to the Asian Revolution (London: SCM Press, 1966), 104.
49
Thomas, Christian response…,108.
50
Swarup Bar, The Spirit Shaped Church: A Spirit Ecclesiology in India (Minneapolis: Broadleaf Books, 2021),
210.
51
Thomas, Christian response, 104.
52
Laji Chacko, Introduction to Christian Theologies in India (Kolkata: SCEPTRE, 2014), 146.

9
 4.2.2. Mission as dialogue
It is essential to note that in Thomas’ ecclesiology, dialogue plays a very important part.
His understanding moves beyond Devanandan’s thinking. While Devanandan saw that
Christ was at work within renascent Hinduism and secular Hinduism, 53 Thomas sees
Christ forming a fellowship around him as a result of renaissance. Thomas has carried
forward Devanandan’s experiments in dialogue when he speaks of three different levels
at which dialogue with Hinduism must be carried on: First, there is the dialogue which
studies the contribution of each faith to man and society, a secular conversation which
should lead on to the possibility of a common culture not a ‘Christian culture,’ but an
‘open’ culture based on a common humanity. Secondly, there is the type of dialogue
which seeks to come to grips with the central theological issues of each faith. And
thirdly there is a dialogue at the level of interiority. And among the three Thomas’ own
special interest is in the first type, where Christian and people of other faith meet
together in the context of modern, secular India in order to find common fields of action
and service for the good of the nation as a whole and of individual ‘persons.’ 54 For him
the Church must be involved at all these levels, but primarily her mission is the first
one.55 He also believes that the theme of humanization provides the most relevant point
of entry for dialogue with Hinduism. He strongly argues the need for dialogue with the
renascent religions because “Christ is breaking down the wall of partition between
Christians and non-Christians, as He did once to the partition wall between Jews and
Gentiles.”56
According to him the continuous dialogues with the renascent religions and ideologies
will help the Church to convey the Christian concern for the creation of a genuine
humanism and Jesus Christ as its ground and goal, within the contemporary Indian
cultural milieu. This new understanding of dialogue will also help the Church to make
the message of Jesus Christ intelligible and to make the choice for or against Christ
inescapable. 57 He believes that understanding the church as koinonia in Christ and
committed to diakonia to the larger community could make a very important
contribution in the dialogue with people of other faiths. 58 It is the common historical

53
Thomas, Christian response,101.
54
Boyd, An Introduction, 312.
55
Thomas, The Christian response, 116.
56
M. M. Thomas, “Christ-centred Syncretism,” in Religion and Science, 25 (March 1978): 31.
57
Chrispal, An Indian perspective on the nature, 157.
58
Thomas, A Diaconal Approach, 13

10
 responsibility of building a genuinely human community that brings peoples of all
religions and cultures within the dialogue framework of pluralism. 59
4.2.3. Mission as Communicating the message of salvation
M. M. Thomas in his book Salvation and Humanisation defines Mission as “the
communication of the message of salvation through Jesus Christ to the end that men
may respond in faith and be saved.”60 According to Thomas “the Church of Christ is
called to communicate the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the whole world, so that all men
may believe and be saved. If this communication is to be effective as communication,
it is important that we seek in each generation to know the world in which men live and
to understand their basic thoughts, hopes, aspirations, and the urges of their lives within
which they become aware of self and God.”61 Our mission is to make clear that
salvation is the spiritual inwardness of true humanisation, and that humanisation is
inherent in the message of salvation in Christ. 62 Speaking of the mission of the Church,
Thomas defines it very positively as ‘communicating the gospel of the crucified and
risen Jesus Christ to all men, to the end that they may accept him as Lord and Saviour,
and enter into the fellowship of his Body the Church which is the bearer of witness to
him.’63
4.2.4. Mission as a prophetic Ministry
Thomas identifies the church as that part of the world which knows the nature and the
historical destiny of the whole world and hence the call for proclamation, to proclaim
the gospel of the crucified and risen Lord as the only basic for true humanity. 64 Thomas
calls this as ‘prophetic ministry.’65 According to Thomas, Christians are called to a full
exercise of their prophetic ministry as a contribution to the development of a truer
humanism, and indeed it may be argued that the process of secularization which is
already at work in the world, and the secular patterns of understanding human existence
which have already emerged, are themselves the product of the ferment of the Gospel

59
M.M. Thomas, “Mission of the Church in the Pluralistic Context of India” in Issues in contemporary
Christian Mission, compiled by K.S. Imchen (Kolkata: SCEPTRE, 2015), 305.
60
Thomas, Salvation and Humanization, 2.
61
M. M. Thomas, “Partners of Modern Man’s Search for Salvation,” in Towards a theology of contemporary
ecumenism : a collection of addresses to ecumenical gatherings, 1947-1975 (Madras : Christian Literature
Society, 1978), 93.
62
Thomas, Salvation and Humanization, 10
63
Thomas, Christian response, 93.
64
Mathew Illathuparampil, The Contemporary Theologians: Context and Contributions (Bangalore: ATC,
2006), 519.
65
Chacko, Introduction to Christian, 145.

11
 working in traditional societies.66 Thomas believes that the greatest way for Indian
Christianity to contribute to the development of the indigenous foundations of the new
humanism in India is for it to insist on its own fundamental prophetic core. 67 The core
of the Christian faith is ‘the message that God has acted in a unique way in a secular
historic event, namely the incarnation, life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, to
inaugurate his kingdom.’68 Therefore, the core of the faith is a definite act of God, and
without that central act of the Cross there can be no realization of salvation. 69 The cross
represents God’s identification with the suffering humanity and God’s presence in the
struggle of humanity to build a new human society.70

5. Revolutionization of Christian mission

According to W.C.C. the meaning of the Christian Mission is “proclaiming the kingdom in
relation to world-life and Church-life.”71 According to M. M. Thomas, “the mission of the
Church is not to save itself from the revolutions of our time, but to discern to promise and
judgment of Christ in them and to witness to his kingdom in it, waiting for the day of final
consummation.”72 So, Thomas sees the Church as engaging the world (rather than escaping
from it) in a continuous dialogue on the ultimate meaning of life. The mission of the Church
within the revolution is a most urgent task because by providing opportunities of meeting Christ
in a realistic way, the revolution is a preparation for the gospel. 73 The Christian Mission is to
test the spirits in the world from the perspective of the divine-humanity of Jesus Christ and in
the name of Christ to exorcise the evil spirits and to let the Spirit of God renew and reconstruct
that world in the pattern of the New Humanity in Christ. 74
5.1. Humanization
Thomas coined the term humanization in 1971.75 For Thomas, humanization means
making the human genuinely and fully human, liberated from all social, political and
religious dehumanization. 76 Humanization is integrally related and interwoven with
salvation and is “the penultimate human destiny” which means the destiny of the

66
Thomas, The Acknowledged Christ, 306.
67
Thomas, The Acknowledged Christ, 187.
68
Thomas, The Acknowledged Christ, 117.
69
Thomas, The Acknowledged Christ, 53.
70
M.M. Thomas, ‘Context for Development’ Seminar on Development (Bombay: Sept 20- 24, Examiner press,
1976), 24
71
Thomas, Revolution and redemption, 6.
72
Thomas, Towards a theology of contemporary ecumenism, 77
73
Mohan Chacko, Interpreting Society, 296.
74
M. M. Thomas, Religion and revolt of the oppressed (Delhi: ISPCK, 1981), 16.
75
Robin Boyd, An Introduction, 314.
76
Thomas, M.M. Thomas reader, 82

12
 temporal earthly life of people.77 The inwardness of humanization is salvation and the
outwardness of salvation is humanization. Thomas writes “Salvation has always been
seen by Christian missions in India in close integration with humanization.”78
According to him salvation and humanization are inseparable. 79 Thomas believed that,
humanization is possible in and through Christ, 80 as Christ is the source and foundation
of true humanization. 81 Therefore, Thomas’ theology of humanization is Christocentric.
5.2. Towards secular Christ
Thomas argues that Christ is working in other religions, and the growing awareness of
these religions, especially Neo-Hinduism, so that they must be involved in nation-
building. So, Thomas believes that Christ is present and active in the history of world
religions, engaged in a continuous dialogue with humanity, affirming his Kingly rule
over them through the power of His law and His love. 82 Therefore, for Thomas, Christ
remains final, normative, the universal ultimate truth among the world religions.83
Thomas insists that Christ is at work not only in and through the church but also outside
the Church and its preaching.84 The kingdom of God cannot be identified totally with
the church. Thomas argues that faith can discern the work of Christ in contemporary
secular history. This discernment of faith is the basis of Christian spiritual
discrimination and Christian ethical responsibility in secular life. 85 Thomas saw Christ
at work in revolutions, and he called upon the church to discern it and participate in this
mission for an increased human dignity and fuller humanity. 86
5.3. Actualization of new humanity
Church is powerful force to actualize the new humanity. For Thomas the aim of mission
is the fuller realization of humanity as a “new humanity.” 87 As mention above, we need
to know that, Christ is the source and foundation of true humanization, because he is
the new and perfect humanity; through his death and resurrection he offers a fuller and

77
M.M. Thomas, The Church’s Mission and Post-Modern Humanism: A collection of essays and talks, 1992-
1996 (Delhi: CSS & ISPCK, 1996), 101.
78
Thomas, Salvation and Humanization, 18-19.
79
Thomas, Salvation and Humanization, 8.
80
Thomas, Salvation and Humanization, 10.
81
Shiri, Contextualization, 97
82
Shiri, Contextualization, 92.
83
Shiri, Contextualization, 93.
84
Thomas, M. M. Thomas Reader, 32.
85
Thomas, M. M. Thomas Reader, 33.
86
P. V. Joseph, Thomas, Madathilparampil Mammen (1916-1996): Indian church leader and world ecumenical
leader https://www.bu.edu/missiology/missionary-biography/t-u-v/thomas-madathilparampil-mammen-1916-
1996/ (accessed on 2nd April, 2022).
87
Shiri, Contextualization, 95.

13
 a richer life.88 For Thomas, Christ is the ultimate source of everything: “all things,
spiritual and material, earthly and heavenly, the whole cosmos, come under the creative
and redeeming activity of Christ.”89 Therefore, for Thomas, the Church’s mission is to
create a new humanity of Christ which is the spiritual foundation, the source of
judgment, renewal and ultimate fulfilment of the struggles of humankind today for its
humanity. 90 Therefore, church cannot escape from the reality of human values.

6. Reflect on “Penultimate commitment”

In M. M. Thomas’s understanding of the pluralistic world, he believes that our ultimate
commitment is to belief in Jesus Christ as a revelation of God, but this ultimate commitment
is, of course, accompanied by a penultimate commitment to ‘the search for human community.’
(Thomas also believes there are other penultimate commitments.) So, this “the search for
human community” is a rational-objective study of religion and the subjectivity of a person's
belief is Jesus Christ as a revelation of God, which could be termed theological and rational
interpretation. Eventually, it becomes difficult for a person to keep the “ultimate-penultimate”
boundary line intact, and often there’s a certain tension between the ultimate and the
penultimate. In short, Thomas wants to say that every faith commitment must reckon with the
penultimate commitments, and the ultimate is present in the midst of these penultimates of
morality, rationality, community, and so on.91

7. Conclusion
This paper has only scratched the surface of Thomas’ theology of mission. He believed the
search for humanization was embodied in the contemporary revolutions in which he discovered
the mission dimension. Thomas saw Christ at work in revolutions, and he called upon the
church to discern it and participate in this mission for an increased human dignity and fuller
humanity.

88
Thomas, Salvation and Humanization, 10.
89
M.M. Thomas, The First – Born of All Creation: Colossians, Philemon, Contextual Theological Bible
Commentary, 2 Trans. T.M. Philip (Thiruvalla: CSS Books/BTTBPSA, 2005), 93.
90
Thomas, Salvation and Humanization, 4
91
M. M Thomas, Risking Christ for Christ’s Sake: Towards an Ecumenical Theology of Pluralism (Geneva:
WCC Publications, 1987), 5-7.

14
 8. Bibliography
Primary sources
Thomas, M. M. A Diaconal Approach to Indian Ecclesiology. Rome and Thiruvalla: Centre
for Indian and Inter-religious Studies and Christava Sahitya Samithy, 1995.
Thomas, M. M. Christian Participation in Nation Building. Bangalore: NCCI and CISRS,
1960.
Thomas, M. M. “Christ-centred Syncretism,” in Religion and Science, 25 (March 1978): 31.
Thomas, M. M. Christian response to the Asian Revolution. London: SCM Press, 1966.
Thomas, M.M. ‘Context for Development’ Seminar on Development. Bombay: Sept 20- 24,
Examiner press, 1976.
Thomas, M. M. Ideological Quest within Christian Commitment: 1939-54. Madras: Christian
Literature Society, 1983.
Thomas, M.M. “Identity and Credibility of Action Groups,” in With Us Without Us in spite
of Us. Thiruvalla: Program for Social Action, 1989.
Thomas, M.M. “Mission of the Church in the Pluralistic Context of India” in Issues in
contemporary Christian Mission, compiled by K.S. Imchen. Kolkata: SCEPTRE,
2015.
Thomas, M.M. New Creation in Christ. Delhi: ISPCK, 1976.
Thomas, M. M. Religion and revolt of the oppressed. Delhi: ISPCK, 198.
Thomas, M. M. Revolution and redemption. New York: Friendship Press, 1955.
Thomas, M. M. Risking Christ for Christ’s Sake: Towards an Ecumenical Theology of
Pluralism. Geneva: WCC Publications, 1987.
Thomas, M. M. Salvation and Humanization: A Crucial Issue in the Theology of Mission for
India. Bangalore: CLS, 1971.
Thomas, M. M. and Philippe Maury, Some Theological Dialogues. Madras: CLS, 1977.
Thomas, M.M. Spiritual Body, Contextual Theological Bible Commentary: 1 Corinthians,
trans. T.M. Philip, Thiruvalla: CSS, 2005.
Thomas, M. M. The Acknowledged Christ of the Indian Renaissance. London: S.C.M. Press,
1969.
Thomas, M. M. The Church’s mission and post-modern humanism: A collection of essays
and talks, 1992-1996. Delhi: CSS & ISPCK, 1996.
Thomas, M. M. “The EACC Committee in Bangalore; Inter-Asian Relations; Asia’s Political
Development; Christian Involvement,’ NCC Review 81/12 (December 1961): 455.

15
Thomas, M.M. The First – Born of All Creation: Colossians, Philemon, Contextual
Theological Bible Commentary, 2 Trans. T.M. Philip. Thiruvalla: CSS
Books/BTTBPSA, 2005.
Thomas, M. M. “The Open Church,” in The Church: A Peoples Movement, edited by Mathai
Zachariah, 61. Nagpur: NCCI, 1975.
Thomas, M. M. Towards a theology of contemporary ecumenism : a collection of addresses
to ecumenical gatherings, 1947-1975. Madras : Christian Literature Society, 1978.
Thomas, M.M. “The Use and Place of the Bible for Christians in their Professional and
Social Involvement,” in The Bible in Today’s Context, ed. S. Emmanuel David.
Madras: Senate of Serampore College, 1994.

Secondary sources
Abrecht, Paul. “M.M. Thomas and Paulos Mar Gregorios”, in M.M. Thomas: The Man and
His Legacy, edited by Jesudas M. Athyal, 21. Kerala: The Thiruvalla Ecumenical
Charitable Trust, 1997.
Athyal, Jesudas M, George Zachariah, and Monica Melanchthon, The Life, Legacy and
Theology of M. M. Thomas: ‘Only Participants Earn the Right to be Prophets.’ New
York: Routledge, 2016.
Bar, Swarup. The Spirit Shaped Church: A Spirit Ecclesiology in India. Minneapolis:
Broadleaf Books, 2021.
Bird, Adrian. M.M. Thomas: Theological Signposts for the Emergence of Dalit Theology.
Ph.D. Thesis, University of Edinburgh February, 2008.
Boyd, Robin. An Introduction to Indian Christian Theology. ISPCK, 1998.
Boyd, Robin. The Witness of the Student Christian Movement: Church Ahead of the Church.
London: SPCK, 2007.
Bria, Ion. Go Forth in Peace: Orthodox Perspectives on Mission. Geneva: World Council of
Churches, 1986.
Bria, Ion. Martyria/Mission: The Witness of the Orthodox Churches Today. Geneva: World
Council of Churches, 1980.
Chacko, Mohan. Interpreting Society: A Study of the Political Theology of M.M. Thomas
and Its Implications for Mission. Dehradun, India, 2000.
Chacko, Laji. Introduction to Christian Theologies in India. Kolkata: SCEPTRE, 2014.

16
Chrispal, Ashish J. An Indian perspective on the nature of the Church in the context of
poverty and religious pluralism, with special reference to the works of M.M. Thomas.
Thesis (PhD)--University of Aberdeen 1990.
Goheen, Michael W. Introducing Christian Mission Today: Scripture, History and Issues.
Downers Grove, Illinois: InterVarsity Press Academic, 2014.
Hogan, Linda. Confronting the truth: conscience in the Catholic tradition (New York: Paulist
Press, 2000), 28.
Illathuparampil, Mathew. The Contemporary Theologians: Context and Contributions.
Bangalore: ATC, 2006.
Miyamoto, Ken Christoph. God’s mission in Asia : A comparative and contextual study of
this-worldly holiness and the theology of Missio Dei in M.M. Thomas and C.S. Song.
Eugene OR : Pickwick Publications, 2007.
Phillip, T.M. The encounter between theology and ideology : An exploration into the
communicative theology of M.M. Thomas. Madras: the Christian Literature Society,
1986.
Joseph, P. V. Thomas, Madathilparampil Mammen (1916-1996): Indian church leader and
world ecumenical leader https://www.bu.edu/missiology/missionary-biography/t-u-
v/thomas-madathilparampil-mammen-1916-1996/ (accessed on 2nd April, 2022).
Savio, M. Dominic. “M. M. Thomas (1916-1996),” in Indian Christian Thinkers, edited by
Anand Amaladass, 241. Chennai: Satya Nilayam Publication, 2005.
Shiri, Godwin. Contextualization: A Re-reading of M. M. Thomas. Bangalore: CSS &
ISPCK, 2007.
Sumithra, Sunand. Christian Theologies from an Indian Perspective. Bangalore: Theological
Book Trust, 1990.
Thomas, T. Jacob. M. M. Thomas Reader: Selected texts on Theology, Religion and Society.
Thiruvalla: CSS, 2002.

17