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1. Relevant and Effective
Theological Education
for Twenty First Century
India
United Theological College
Bangalore
Pre-council Seminar

2. Paper from the Faculty
Paper prepared by Rev Dr Joshva Raja
With the help of:
Rev Dr Sathianathan Clarke
Dr Lalsankima Pachuau
Rev Dr John Samuel Raj

3. PURPOSE OF THEOLOGICAL EDUCATION
- The United Theological College
“seeks to provide students with conceptual
tools, spiritual discipline and practical skills which
will equip them for a relevant ministry in the
church and in society…”
- Ross Kinsler:
- To motivate, equip and enable the people of
God to develop their gifts and give their lives
in meaningful service

4. Oslo Consultation (1997):
We acknowledge that some patterns of
theological education have not assisted
the churches to move forward, to
respond to hurting people, to relate
holistically to the earth or to be
people-focused and Christ-centered.

5.  Standardized and fixed curiculum
 Meanings flow from teacher to
students – Top-down model
 Campus and Class Room based
 Less space for students’ meanings

6. C.S. Song defines theological education
“as a process through which a person
learns to be human through what God has
been and done in Christ”
In this paper it is defined as an ongoing
process in which participants (teachers
and students) are engaged in creating,
sharing, interpreting, mediating and
analyzing their faith experiences and
religious meanings in relation to their
contexts. It is dialogical and interactive.

7. Students’ exodus
student
Church context
Social context
Education
BA/BSc
Come with meanings
With or without
Experience

8. Professional Faculty
With a PhD/MTh
With Teaching experience
With Pastoral experience
Other educational
qualifications
Only to impart meanings?

9. Dialogical and Interactive Theo.edu
 Dialogical - Learning together through an exchange of meanings
– encourages theological teacher to recognize meanings in the
students – through dialogue teacher might enable the student
to critically reflect upon his faith and context – partners share
and reflect upon each other’s faith and socio-cultural
experiences
 Interactive – Learning together by identifying and selecting from
a wide range of meanings that evolve during the interaction –
meanings are not necessarily exchanged but negotiated,
differed and mediated among the participants (teacher and
student) – teacher though well qualified and experienced
professional person attempt to begin from student’s meanings
and engages in his or her search for meanings

10. Context of the Church
The interaction occurs within the context of the church
Interaction
Dialogue
context
Churches’
teacher Student
Minsterial Needs and
expectations

11. Church and Theological Education
Church Theological Institutions
servant
evangelist
prophet
Shepherd
Ecumenists
Diverse ministries
People’s faith and church
traditions
Academic standard
Theological concerns for contexual reality
Transition?

12. A Theology of Creative Tension
 Helicopter versus Bullock-cart Theology
For Samartha Helicopter Christology makes a lot of
missiological noise and kicks up a lot of dust that
prevent people around from hearing the voice and
seeing the vision of the descending divinity
A Bullock-cart Christology has its wheels with continued
friction with the ground moves on even when the
driver sometimes fall sleep.
 An equal emphasis on faith experience and the
experience of the social reality around us
 Lay ministry and theological college’s involvement

13. Theology of Creative Tension
 Church and Theological Institution in
continued dialogue to listen to each
other and mutually enrich faith
 Selected congregations to interact and
to get feedback
 A few courses church ministers and lay
in order to introduce them the
contemporary theological issues

14. Context of the People
student teacher
Churches’ context
Context of the people

15. Context of the People
 Context of Globalization and new ways of
exploitative tendencies
 ICE age – We are in serious danger of
becoming a nation where cable and optic
fibre will reach most urban homes long before
portable water and drainage, and where
children in remote areas will have easier
access to movies than schooling
 Religious fundamentalism as a threat to the
multi-cultural society

16. People’s search for meanings
 Teacher’s participation in students’
search for meanings
 Both of them engaging in churches’
search for meanings
 Theological community along with the
churches need to engage in people’s
search meanings
 Socio-cultural and religious meanings

17. Text, tradition and context
 A student attempt to participate in the
ongoing process of theological education by
merging his or her horizon with that of the
text (Biblical) and its author.
 Fusion of horizons is achieved when the text
and tradition are interpreted and their claim
upon the present is acknowledged
 Community participates in the event of
tradition in which past and present are
constantly mediated.

18. Models for Doing theology in contexts
Transcendental
model
Anthropological Praxis Synthetic Translation
Model Model Model Model
-----------------------------------------------
Cultural Gospel message
Social change Tradition

19. Relevance of models
 Translation model – Kraft – to elicit the same
reaction in contemporary hearers or readers
as in the original hearers or readers
 Anthropological model – establishment or
preservation of cultural identity of a person of
Christian faith
 Interactive model – starting point is people’s
faith and context – no starting point actually
– engaging in people’s search for meanings19

20.  Bangalore Theological Forum and Masihi
Sevek as platform for such discussions
 Considering a revision of curriculum to reduce
the load for the students and to include new
emerging fields
 We wish to co-operate with the churches
 While retaining academic standard and
professional interaction, we are committed to
spiritual and ministerial formation of students
 Task of learning, reflecting and evaluating
together is ahead of us

21. Thank you for your attention
to this paper
 Please visit United Theological College
Web page
 WWW.utcbangalore.com