Selma Cardoso

The time has come for Goan Christianity to emerge from its spiritual cocoon into religious maturity. The intelligentsia, the clergy and the educators of our society must all take a firm stand without fear of recriminations, reprisals and retribution (divine or otherwise) and walk on a path of true spiritual independence rather than meander along a road of spirituality in dependence.

Goa is in the midst of an epidemic of spiritual dependency; desperately in search of miracles, messages and mirages. The road to God makes a detour at Potta first or at least the nearest faith healing gathered in Margao. A slightly more stylized version of a magic show minus the sawing of the girl in half.

Why have our religious institutions in Goa failed us so miserably? Nothing exists in a vacuum. Religion is one spoke in the wheel of evolution. Like all living organisms it has to adapt, change, mutate and evolve, if it is to adequately serve in the development of the human heart and mind. Instead of encouraging this evolution, we Goans have regressed in our religious development. We have imported some cheap form of hocus pokus from evangelising missions born in the heart of middle class Protestant America, added our own twist of paganism and hailed it as the next best thing to the Second Coming.

Evangelism in America, can trace its roots back to the 18th century, but this conservative religious movement only really gained momentum after World War II, led by the likes of Billy Graham, Jerry Falwell and Pat Robinson. A reactionary movement that challenges the progress of scientific discovery and believes the Bible to be the only source of truth.

By the mid-fifties, Evangelism had gained a foothold in the small-towns of America. Most of the preachers were semi-literates and their audiences were farmers on their way to prosperity. These small-town side-shows began to galvanise into spectacular events whipped into a frenzy by so-called miracle healings, casting out devils and messages received from the Divine. Never mind that the Divine was cajoled into “testimony” by healthy monetary donations and contributions. By the 70s, the movement had a national audience with live broadcasts on television and ministries that were rich beyond imagination. It was poised on top of a metaphorical Mount Calvary, ready for international export. Could it have asked for a better market than India? If ever there was a country in need of a few good miracles, India was it.

Christianity arrived in India, in 52 AD when purportedly St. Thomas landed in Kerala and became the founder of the now Mar Thoma Syrian Church. The ministry thrived but found it difficult to counter native superstitions and muster funds to adequately train its clergy. That was until, a British colonel called McCauley took an interest in Indian Christianity. Thus the Anglican Church of India was born as a direct result of missionary efforts by the Church of England through the Church Missionary Society (CMS). CMS worked with the Syrian Orthodoxy for a while but soon began to insist that its Protestant theology take precedence over other teachings. So began the "evangelisation" of Kerala. Already indoctrinated, by the 1970s, US Evangelical ministries found fertile ground in Kerala. It was easy to “recruit” members to “spread the word of God” in Evangelical or Charismatic style which typically meant giving testimony, miraculously healing the sick, preaching the Bible, casting out devils and speaking in tongues. If such astounding miracles were not enough to convince the “non-believer” the money these ministries invested in Kerala mollified even the most hardened skeptic.

The Catholic Dioceses in Kerala, not to be outdone stepped up their own efforts. The Mission of St. Vincent De Paul, otherwise known as the Vincetians, had a strong leaning towards “evangelizing the world”, preferably by Year2000. In 1977, the Vincentians established Potta Ashram as a retreat house in an obscure village of Kerala called Muringoor.

Although the Ashram was a retreat, it began to draw a crowd from those suffering drug and alcohol addiction, physical disability or even just bankrupt of any emotional happiness. Potta did not disappoint. Soon, news would spread like wildfire of miraculous healings taking place in Potta. It was but natural that a fountain of miracles discovered in the depths of Kerala would flow onto the next bastion of Christianity, that being Goa.

You may ask, what’s wrong with miracles? A little sliver of hope in a world of black and white realities. The problem arises when these miracles become the panacea in our lives. The Church in Goa has failed in its responsibility to instill in us a sense of inquiry, discovery and ultimately true religious independence, instead making us slaves to religious dogma and parasitically dependent on superstition and cheap parlour tricks. Goans are lured by droves to “healing sessions” and "divine encounters" by charlatans and crooks promising quick-fixes to their problems, and all the while, the real work of over-coming addiction, treating disease that needs medication, dealing with financial and emotional problems is left undone.

We have absolved ourselves of the responsibility of “true endeavour”. When we substitute religion for rational thought, personal responsibility and action, we are living a spiritual lie. When we depend on a “Saviour God” to save us from every calamity in life, we give up our right to think, our freedom to question, our spirit to fight adversity and our will to create a more profound understanding of religion and the world around us. We give up our right to be infinitely Human.

So why isn’t the Church in uproar? Why hasn't it strongly condemned that which it surely knows to be an aberration of religion? Why aren’t there more priest encouraging us to delve into the bowels of our spirituality to discover God? Perhaps they’re afraid. Afraid that if they don’t sell “magic potions” and “quick-fixes“, they’ll lose control and risk abandonment. Perhaps the Churches will remain empty and the people will grow restless. Perhaps the Archbishop ensconced away in his Palace in Altinho Panjim, maybe called upon to give real answers as to why there’s a vacuum in our lives and moral decay in our country. That’s a risk every true leader has to take. Every leader has to be a visionary, leading his flock into the next phase of spiritual development. It’s easy to cave in to populist sentiment. It’s harder to blaze the trail but blaze it we must if we are to emerge from the cocoon of “mis-spirituality” that has enveloped Goa. If Jesus were alive today, he would hang his head in shame.

 

Selma Cardoso
June 23, 2003

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