Challenges of gender injustice, conflicts, poverty and marginalization

Table of Contents

The Gospel of John is quite flexible in its relationship to time and space. Though it was written twenty centuries ago in a context quite different from that of present-day India, its message does not seem strange to a contemporary Indian reader. Richard Burridge describes the Gospels as documents “about people, by people, for people.”¹ A gnomic reading of the Fourth Gospel, one that explores its message for all times and places, will help us to understand its significance for the people of India today. This paper tries to understand whether and how John’s message relates to the contemporary socioreligious and politico-cultural realities of India and the daily lives of Indians. This paper particularly deals with the challenges of gender injustice, conflicts, poverty and marginalization through the reading of Johannine literature in Indian multi-faith and pluralistic context.

1. Social Context of Johannine Community

The Gospel of John reflects the history, theology and sociological concerns of the Johannine Community. The evangelist reinterprets the “Jesus’ traditions” in the light of the life situation of the Community.²

Johannine Community as an emerging group, had to undergo constant existential struggles. As a newly emerged community i.e., without having canonized scriptures and a highly organized ecclesiastical set-up, it had to suffer persecution both from the conservative religious Jews and from the imperial authorities. The attitudinal trends of the religious Jews described in the Gospel of John provide explicit details pertinent to: How does the Judaism of the day tolerate minority faith/religious communities? How were the Johannine sectarians persecuted extensively? How were the minority communities affected due to religious intolerance? The very existence of the Johannine community was in danger as it was a minority community without power and influence. The members of the community would have been people like fisherfolk, Samaritans, Galilean peasants, and the healed ones. The bossy attitude of the Jewish religious authorities towards the emerging Christian community led the situation to violent and traumatizing ends.³

Towards the end of the first century CE, John’s community started to flourish circumscribed around a leading person called the Beloved Disciple. As Martyn (1968) explains, the story of Jesus was used as a paradigm to reinterpret and implicate to the Johannine situation where the community had to undergo persecution at the hands of ‘the Jews’ and the Empire of Rome.⁴

2. Political and religious condition of Johannine Community

The imperial cult played a vital role in the political and religious scenario of the Roman Empire. The empire had an autonomous political and administrative system. The emperor cult was intimately linked with the power of the state. Being a Christian was a horrible thing at that time. Moreover, the Roman Emperor was described as ‘benefactor,’ ‘savior,’ and ‘son of God.’ In Short, Christians had to worship the Roman Emperors. Christianity was a growing power in the first century Roman world. Perhaps the Roman emperors wanted to suppress the growing power of Christianity. Scholars are of the opinion that the imperial cult was only superficially a religious phenomenon; fundamentally a secular institution of practical politics and the conventional formula is that it was simply an expression of political loyalty. During this time Christians of all ranks and ages and of both sexes and people living in cities, villages and rural districts were severely attacked, punished, persecuted and banished. Boring says that, “Death was one of the six options that were before Christians in John’s time and John affirms death as the only Christian response.”⁵

3. Gender and John

John’s description of the role of women has an important place within its narrative framework. The author of the Gospel portrays women with prominent roles in the Gospel. Many major themes of the Gospel are revealed through a series of encounters between Jesus and Women. These encounters and dialogues, in a way, make the Fourth Gospel distinct from the Synoptic gospels. The women characters are used by the evangelist to present his theology. The important roles given to women characters are among the factors which make the Fourth Gospel distinctive. They contribute much to illustrate the purpose of the Gospel (John 20:30,31).⁶

Johannine woman had unique roles in Jesus’ mission of saving the suffering world. At a time when the Jewish society treated women as house-bound, John boldly presents them as models to be followed. They took initiative to serve in and outside their homes out of their bhakti to Jesus and awareness of human needs. In their service, they were readily willing to make costly sacrifices, although men with selfish ambition expressed it as a waste. The women of John were keenly engaged in theological discussions based on the scripture and the religio-social situation of the day. This was the case while study and teaching of the Torah were forbidden for women in the Jewish world. Some of them were so loyal to Jesus that they participated in his suffering, crucifixion, and resurrection-the climax of the revelation of God’s glory, whereas almost all the male disciples had fled away from Jesus at that point. Their witness to what they had seen made an impact in the society and led many, including the disciples, into the disciples, into the first-hand knowledge of Jesus and stronger faith in him. Therefore, they are known as the apostles, missionaries, and leaders of the church.

When John presents most of the male disciples as passive observes of Jesus’ deeds, the women are portrayed as active respondents to Jesus’ words and deeds. They did virtuous deeds such as hosting dinner, serving at the table, overseeing the feast, and anointing Jesus’ feet-all challenging works that no other persons took initiative to do. They performed such deeds well in advance of Jesus’ instruction to the disciples to do so. The Johannine women acted thus with the prophetic spirit and clear vision. True, almost all of them were busily engaged in household works, but at the same time they were remarkably bound with Jesus. Since Christ had liberated them from male-dominated culture and set them as model leaders, the women became challenging figures more than men. They were empowered by Jesus Himself, who, as the Sophia incarnate, is the female expression of God. The recognition of women in John’s Gospel as model figures in a male dominated Jewish society makes the Gospel a Gospel of revolution and restoration.⁷

John’s delineation of the role of women has an important place within his narrative framework. In John 2:1-11, Mary the mother of Jesus exercises great influence, making her son aware of the needs of a wedding party in Cana. In 4:1-42, the Samaritan woman plays a unique role as Jesus crosses religious, ethnic, and gender barriers in order to redirect her Samaritan religiosity toward worship “in spirit and truth” (V. 24). Formerly alien to Jewish religiosity, now she begins to bear witness while growing in her own understanding of the Jews’ prophesied Messiah. Her testimony about Jesus to the people of her village challenges them to recognize the presence among them of “the Savior of the world” (V. 42). In chapter 11, Mary and Martha, the sisters of Lazarus, play a pivotal role with their appeal for their brother. In 12:1-8, the same two women are again central to the story, one of them serving Jesus while the other uses expensive perfume to anoint his feet.⁸

The narrative technique of characterization by contrast is conspicuous in John’s juxtaposition of Mary of Bethany with Judas Iscariot. Mary rhetorizes her presence through her silence and superabundant generosity, while the presence of Judas is signaled by his hypocritical speech and self-interested stinginess. Jesus praises the former, but the latter he condemns. In 20:1, the narrator notes Mary Magdalene’s boldness in coming to Jesus’ tomb in the early morning. Because John presents her as the first to proclaim the good news of Jesus’ resurrection (20:18), early Christians will even hail her as an “apostle to the apostles.” In this Gospel, Jesus is presented as empowering such women, setting up a sharp contrast with misunderstanding, unbelieving, unfaithful men. ⁹

4. Johannine women in the Indian Context

In the Indian Context, atrocities against women are on the rise and the rights of the women are not protected. Women are considered inferior to men and are treated with low esteem. John frequently describes Jesus as empowering women, setting their belief against the unfaithfulness of men. In the Indian context, women’s empowerment is one of the significant concerns, as they are often illiterate, without political power or voice in religion, and ostracized by leading elements of the society. Like the Johannine women, the women of modern India can be effective agents of liberation and transformation.¹⁰

The following roles of Johannine women are influential in the Indian Context:

As Mary the mother of Jesus played a significant role during the wedding banquet and near the cross, Indian women should take initiative to lead the country in order to fulfill the divine tasks
As Samaritan woman at the well, Indian Women should be instrumental in bringing the Gospel to her own people. The village woman of India can play transformative roles in their respective areas of life
As Martha and Mary believed and ministered to Jesus in Bethany, Indian women should take challenges in fostering the missionary tasks and ministerial duties entrusted unto them
And as Mary Magdalene shared the good news of Jesus’ resurrection with her male counterparts, women of India should take active steps in gospel propagation.

Women like Panditha Ramabhai, Mother Teresa, and others devoted themselves for the tasks of Christ and used their intrinsic power in the areas of leadership and missional engagements. They followed the path of Johannine Women and introduced radical transformation in their respective areas of life.Just as these Johannine women exemplified their leadership roles, devotion to Jesus, progress in understanding Jesus, and witnessing Christ to diverse walks of life, Indian women at varied life situations can demonstrate their intrinsic qualities to transform themselves and the society.¹¹

5. Conflicts in Johannine Community

Johannine community is in a context in which emerging Christian communities were denied religious freedom and were widely persecuted and the community realized that their very existence was at risk. The community was undergoing persecution from the hands of both the Jewish religio-political authorities as well as from the Empire of Rome. The Johannine community’s antilanguage and its antisocial outlook placed it well over against the Jewish and Roman power structures. The narrator portrays Jesus as the incarnated Word, the agent of God, the Savior of the world, and the glorious Son of Man. This portrait of Jesus introduces a conflicting situation between traditional Judaism and newly emerged Christian Community. The Johannine Community, which probably developed within the context of a Jewish Cradle, was unable to continue within the protected status of Judaism as a religio licita (a licensed religion) in the Roman world.¹²

5.1. Synagogue-and-Church Conflict within the Story of John

In the story of the blind man turned healed (Chap. 9:1-41), the synagogue-and-church conflict comes out. One of the conspicuous factors is the progress of the man in his apprehension about the person of Christ: first, “the man called Jesus” (v. 11); second, “He is a prophet” (v. 17); third, he talks about fearing God and being obedient to his will (vv. 30-33); fourth, he calls him ‘Lord’ and tells him ‘I believe’ (v. 38); and fifth, he ‘worshipped him’. As a member of the local synagogue, he makes all these assertions and comprehensions; but the religious authorities categorically reject them all. This situation introduces a conflicting situation within the synagogue.¹³

The motif of ‘newness’ in the deeds and discourses of Jesus and its further propagation by the Johannine community usher a conflicting situation between the ‘old’ hierarchical system of Judaism and the newly advancing group of John. The introduction of the new Genesis (1:1-18), new wine (2:1-11), new temple (2:19-22), new birth (3:3), new water (4: 13-14; 7:37-38), new life (4:46-54; 11:1-54), new exodus (6:16-21), new manna (6:22-59), new Moses (6:22-59), new bread (6:22-59), new light (8:12; 9:5), and like were severe attacks on the existence and sustenance of the age-gold Jewish hierarchical system.¹⁴

The “sending out of the synagogue” and the struggle of the newly emerged Johannine community are vividly portrayed by the narrator with the help of both explicit and implicit terms. Painter says that, “In the diaspora” the Johannine Christians were excommunicated from the synagogue. The threat of excommunication was a fearful weapon as is evidenced by John 9:22; 12:42. The dualistic contrast and the performative linguistic phenomenon of the Johannine text dramatically foreground the community conflict in the first century context. The contrast between the ‘believing’ and ‘unbelieving,’, ‘sons of light’ and ‘sons of darkness,’ and ‘world from above’ and ‘world from below’ rhetorically introduces the Jewish-Christian conflict with the help of figurative language and with the help of socio-political and religio-cultural phenomenon.¹⁵

5.2. Johannine conflicts and Indian context

The Indian Constitution provides freedom to express and propagate one’s religion, the Hindu fundamentalist groups so against the very rights of the minority religions. In that sense, the struggles of the Christian communities in India are in several ways equivalent to the struggles of the Johannine community. In the multi-religious Indian context, politicization of religion and communal tendencies are at the increase and minority rights are not at all protected. In the contemporary context, John’s Gospel can be better understood by way of aligning the Sitz-im-leben Jesu (Context of Jesus) and the Sitz-im-leben kirche (Context of Church time) within the Sitz-im-leben-India (Context of India).¹⁶

The BJP-led Indian government under Narendra Modi does not protect minority rights. Christian communities are persecuted throughout the country by way of aggressive ghar wapsi campaign and other anti-conversion means. These issues and others at the local and national levels called into question the very nature of religious freedom and conversion. This situation invites the reader of the Gospel of John to merge the story of Indian Context with that of the story of the Johannine community. In that sense, John has the accommodative power to encompass the feelings and existential struggles of the Indian masses. As in the case of Johannine community, the Indian Church suffers from the minority-and-majority issues. In the Johannine narrative framework, Jesus’ dialogue with his interlocutors foregrounds the antonymous trends, verbal duel, and the violent attitude of religious leaders. The same is obvious in the contemporary Indian context as the bossy and dehumanizing tendencies of the Hindu fundamentalists are categorically manifested. In a context in which freedom of expression and freedom of belief are at risk, the Johannine narrator persuades the reading community to develop a rhetoric of difference rather than a rhetoric of distance.¹⁷

In today’s context, the church should take advantage of the ongoing antagonism of the Hindu fundamentalists by placing Jesus at the Centre of the Christian discourse. The Johannine narrator does not background the person and work of Jesus even in the face of growing opposition. He foregrounded the messiahship of Jesus in dramatic and rhetorical terms in order to stabilize the kernel of his story. The Indian church should adopt the same (i.e., a Christ-centered missiology and ecclesiology) irrespective of the growing antagonism against its missions and ministry. Thus, the Gospel of John can be considered as a tri-level drama in order to encompass the struggles and aspirations of the Christian communitites in the India context.¹⁸

6. Poverty and Marginalization in Johannine Tradition

It could be argued that John’s Gospel was written to a multi-ethnic community. The members of the community belonged to mixed economic classes. Wes-Howard Brook argues that the Johannine community was “relatively prosperous group” though he notes the presence of the poor (12:8; 9:40; 18:5,18). Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea- representing economic and religious elite-move towards participation in the Johannine community in a way that relinquish the privilege and protection their positions afforded. The bias of the Gospel towards the marginalized is visible in the narratives of the Samaritan woman and illness of official’s son (4: 1-42; 46-54), paralysis (5:1-18) and blindness (9: 1-41). The community faced marginalization and threat of death as a consequence of their discipleship and witness (cf. 12:10,11). The opposition could also be understood as an economic and social struggle internal to the Jewish population of Palestine (2:13-22). Orchard explains the situation of the community stating, “It is clear that the experience of the community was characterized by severe hostility from its surrounding environment, rejection by its spiritual parent and physical threat, possibly death.” Carter is thus locating Johannine Jesus- believers as participating citizens of two worlds: a synagogue community and the Roman Empire. Therefore, it could be argued that, the Gospel is mirroring a community struggling between Roman imperial power and Jewish nationalistic collaborators.¹⁹

6.1. Samaritans as Marginalized in John’s Gospel

The Samaritans were an outcaste group since their origin in 722 BCE and they underwent a series of conflicts and struggles under different empires of their period. ²⁰The Jews used to consider and treat the Samaritans as an adulterated, polluted and impure community. The Samaritans were considered racial half-breeds whose religion was tainted by various unacceptable elements. The Jews considered and treated the Samaritans as unclean and impure right from birth. The Samaritan women were considered to be perpetually in a state of ceremonial uncleanness. Since the Jews considered Samaria and Samaritans as impure, many measures of exclusion and prohibition were imposed on Samaritans. Marriage of the Jews with the Samaritans was totally prohibited in order to safeguard their purity. ²¹ But, the Samaritan mission of Jesus was path-breaking and trend-setting in the history of the early Church. Jesus broke the social barrier of uncleanness or untouchability. Jesus as a Jew drank water from the Samaritan woman (John 4). Jesus bridged the social distance between the Jews and Samaritans by knocking down the social blockades. Jesus strikes at the root of the problem. His action is not to be interpreted as just crossing a socio-cultural barrier of ritual prohibition. But it is directed more to the very treatment of the marginalized basically as humans.²²

6.2. Indian Context of Poverty and Marginalization

Poverty in India is largely found in India among the marginalized groups i.e., SC, ST, Dalits, tribals and Adivasis. The state of Poverty and lack of access to basic social institutions is largely due to the hegemonic system of Caste and the modern market regime. Caste System is the main institution, which is responsible for Poverty in India. Due to the Caste System people are not allowed to change their occupation because of Caste restrictions, which is a great hindrance in the division of labor. The Caste System is effectively utilized by the upper castes (Brahmins, Kshatriyas and Vaisyas) for their own advantage and the lower caste or Dalits (Shudra and outcaste group) who are the social and economic minorities have been kept to the lowest Status. ²³ Modernization, Marketization and Globalization has not changed the traditional dichotomy of higher and lower castes. Poverty therefore is a man-made phenomenon, in the sense that it is the result of the self-interest of the few powerful who have established a type of socio-economic structure, which necessarily created and perpetuates poverty. The mass of the poor in India are not only economically disadvantaged but a larger section of them is also socially discriminated against.²⁴

6.3. Johannine Poor and Marginalized in Indian Context

The Gospel of John provides us with insights into Jesus’ attitude toward the poor and oppressed. His outreach to the Samaritan woman, overcoming her lifelong marginalization, should be a model for mission in Indian Context. Through him, the invalid of chapter 5 and the blind man of chapter 9 receive new identities. ²⁵

In India, we live in a context of pluralism of different peoples, cultures and religions, there is a temptation today to live without even relating or reaching out to others, especially those who are different from us. Jesus’ method of reaching out to the Samaritan woman and through her to many more Samaritans who were different and with whom the Jews had even hostile relationship is both relevant and challenging. In this approach we are inspired to take the initiative as Jesus took the first step to begin his dialogue with the woman by reaching out to her and asking for a drink. It is in reaching out to others that meeting and exchange with others take place, respect and esteem for others grow and relationship and unity are promoted.²⁶

Prejudices and biases are a common block to dialogue. Cultural prejudices, social biases and preconceived religious ideas do not allow anyone to enter freely and frankly into dialogue with others. Jesus’ method in John’s Gospel had the freedom to go beyond the cultural and gender biases of his times to enter into a fruitful dialogue with the Samaritan woman. Jesus’ respect for others was not based on what they had or what they belonged to. He respected them basically as human persons. Therefore, we all have the more compelling need to adopt in our interreligious dialogue the approach of freedom to go beyond cultural, social and religious biases and prejudices.

Solidarity method employed in the dialogue of Jesus with the Samaritan woman is of immense importance today to our interreligious dialogue. Jesus and the Samaritan woman were engaged in this solidarity method of dialogue. Jesus respected her search for the right place of worship and the Messiah. Both of them exchanged their own opinions and beliefs and from their own faith experiences and journeyed with her in respectful solidarity in discovering the truths of life.²⁷

Conclusion

The Gospel of John has genuine global significance. It speaks equally to secular Americans and Europeans, to pluralistic Indians, to Hindu Nepalis, and to Muslim Bangladeshis. Its message of peace, love, faith-centered life, holistic salvation, and the mission of God has the potential to liberate and transform the societies of India and all other nations. In India, Injustice is prevailing especially in the case of women, there are many conflicts between religions, and also there is a lot of discrimination to poor and marginalized. In Such a context, Gospel of John sheds a light to solve these issues from the perspective of Johannine community.

Bibliography

Burridge, Richard A. “About People, by people, for people: Gospel Genre and Audiences.” In The Gospels for All Christians: Rethinking the Gospel Audiences. Edited by Richard Bauckham. Michigan: Eerdmans, 1998.
Chacko, Biju. “Engaging with the Powers of Domination: An Intercultural and Subaltern Reading of the Prologue of John’s Gospel.” Doon Theological Journal Vol. 14.1 (March, 2017): 8.
Irudaya, Raj. Mission to the Marginalized. Bangalore: Asian Trading Corporation, 2007.
Joy, C.I.David. Hermeneutics: Foundations and New Trends A Postcolonial Reading of John 4. Delhi: Allianz Enterprises, 2012.
Kanagaraj, Jey J. “The profiles of Women in John; House-Bound or Christ-Bound?” Bangalore Theological Forum Vol.XXXIII (December, 2001)2: 74-75.
MANJALY, Dr. Sandhya HCM. “Women in the fourth Gospel Mouthpieces of Johannine Theology.” VidyaJyothi Journal of Theological Reflection Vol.82/7 (July, 2018): 504.
Mathew, Mr. John V. “Poverty and Minority Issues in Rural India.” ABS Journal Vol. 1\2 (August, 2009): 18.
RA, Rekha Chennattu. “Women in the Mission of the Church: An Interpretation of John 4.” Dharma Deepika Vol. 9/1 (January-June, 2005): 23.
Sukumar, Binu. “Johannnine Apocalyptic Christology and its Relevance for a Christology in the Indian Context.” New Life Theological Journal Vol. 2/1 (January-June, 2012): 109.
Thomaskutty, Johnson. “Religious freedom and conversion in India Today Reading John’s Gospel as a Jewish-Christian Conflict Narrative.” SATHRI Journal Vol. XI (April, 2017): 53.
Thomaskutty, Johnson. “Reading John’s Gospel in the Bangladeshi Context.” Journal of Asian Evangelical Theology Vol.21 (March-September, 2017): 60-62.
Thomaskutty, Johnson. “Johannine Women as Paradigms in the Indian Context.” SATHRI Journal Vol. XIII (April, 2019)1: 16-18.
Thomaskutty, Johnson. “Reading John’s Gospel in the Nepali Context.” Journal of Asian Evangelical Theology Vol. 20\1 (March, 2016): 20.

Footnotes

Richard A. Burridge, “About People, by people, for people: Gospel Genre and Audiences,” The Gospels for All Christians: Rethinking the Gospel Audiences, edited by Richard Bauckham (Michigan: Eerdmans, 1998), 113-145. ↩
Rekha Chennattu, RA, “Women in the Mission of the Church: An Interpretation of John 4”, Dharma Deepika Vol. 9/1 (January-June, 2005): 23. ↩
Johnson Thomaskutty, “Religious freedom and conversion in India Today Reading John’s Gospel as a Jewish-Christian Conflict Narrative,” SATHRI Journal Vol. XI (April, 2017): 53. ↩
Thomaskutty, “Religious freedom and conversion in India Today Reading John’s Gospel as a Jewish-Christian Conflict Narrative”, SATHRI Journal Vol. XI (April, 2017): 58. ↩
Binu Sukumar, “Johannnine Apocalyptic Christology and its Relevance for a Christology in the Indian Context,” New Life Theological Journal Vol. 2/1 (January-June, 2012): 109. ↩
Dr. Sandhya MANJALY, HCM, “Women in the fourth Gospel Mouthpieces of Johannine Theology”, in VidyaJyothi Journal of Theological Reflection Vol.82/7 (July, 2018): 504. ↩
Jey J. Kanagaraj, “The profiles of Women in John; House-Bound or Christ-Bound?” Bangalore Theological Forum Vol.XXXIII (December, 2001)2: 74-75. ↩
Johnson Thomaskutty, “Reading John’s Gospel in the Bangladeshi Context”, Journal of Asian Evangelical Theology Vol.21 (March-September, 2017): 60-62. ↩
Johnson Thomaskutty, “Reading John’s Gospel in the Bangladeshi Context,” Journal of Asian Evangelical Theology Vol.21 (March-September, 2017): 60-62. ↩
Johnson Thomaskutty, “Johannine Women as Paradigms in the Indian Context,” SATHRI Journal Vol. XIII (April, 2019)1: 16-18. ↩
Thomaskutty, “Johannine Women as Paradigms in the Indian Context”, SATHRI Journal Vol. XIII (April, 2019)1: 16-18. ↩
Johnson Thomaskutty, “Religious freedom and conversion in India Today Reading John’s Gospel as a Jewish-Christian Conflict Narrative”, SATHRI Journal Vol. XI (April, 2017): 51-52. ↩
Johnson Thomaskutty, “Religious freedom and conversion in India Today Reading John’s Gospel as a Jewish-Christian Conflict Narrative,” SATHRI Journal Vol. XI (April, 2017): 57. ↩
Johnson Thomaskutty, “Religious freedom and conversion in India Today Reading John’s Gospel as a Jewish-Christian Conflict Narrative,” SATHRI Journal Vol. XI (April, 2017): 59. ↩
Johnson Thomaskutty, “Religious freedom and conversion in India Today Reading John’s Gospel as a Jewish-Christian Conflict Narrative,” SATHRI Journal Vol. XI (April, 2017): 61. ↩
Johnson Thomaskutty, “Religious freedom and conversion in India Today Reading John’s Gospel as a Jewish-Christian Conflict Narrative,” SATHRI Journal Vol. XI (April, 2017): 66-67. ↩
Johnson Thomaskutty, “Religious freedom and conversion in India Today Reading John’s Gospel as a Jewish-Christian Conflict Narrative,” SATHRI Journal Vol. XI (April, 2017): 67-68. ↩
Johnson Thomaskutty, “Religious freedom and conversion in India Today Reading John’s Gospel as a Jewish-Christian Conflict Narrative,” SATHRI Journal Vol. XI (April, 2017): 70-71. ↩
Biju Chacko, “Engaging with the Powers of Domination: An Intercultural and Subaltern Reading of the Prologue of John’s Gospel,” Doon Theological Journal Vol. 14.1 (March, 2017), 8. ↩
C.I.David Joy, Hermeneutics: Foundations and New Trends A Postcolonial Reading of John 4 (Delhi: Allianz Enterprises, 2012), 121. ↩
Raj Irudaya, Mission to the Marginalized (Bangalore: Asian Trading Corporation, 2007), 108-114. ↩
Raj Irudaya, Mission to the Marginalized (Bangalore: Asian Trading Corporation, 2007), 139. ↩
Mr. John V. Mathew, “Poverty and Minority Issues in Rural India”, ABS Journal Vol. 1\2 (August, 2009): 18. ↩
Mr. John V. Mathew, “Poverty and Minority Issues in Rural India”, ABS Journal Vol. 1\2 (August, 2009): 20. ↩
Johnson Thomaskutty, “Reading John’s Gospel in the Nepali Context,” Journal of Asian Evangelical Theology Vol. 20\1 (March, 2016): 20. ↩
Raj Irudaya, Mission to the Marginalized (Bangalore: Asian Trading Corporation, 2007), 108-114. ↩
Raj Irudaya, Mission to the Marginalized (Bangalore: Asian Trading Corporation, 2007), 274. ↩

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