Biblical Hospitality & the Problem of the Caste System: Redefining Community in Hindu Background Believer Churches

Abstract

The church in India is growing in almost every area geographically and among a diversity of people. The Hindu population is no exception with the Lord Jesus calling thousands unto himself. They are forsaking the false gods and goddesses of their people and following the one true God. As a result, new local expressions of the church are forming throughout the subcontinent. It is a beautiful thing but not without complications. When new churches are planted with new believers, regardless of the location in the world, there are a number of issues to work through. Hinduism offers a worldview much different than seen in Christian Scriptures. When the new Christians are coming out of a worldview distinctly different than the biblical worldview, it is even more challenging for the church to become healthy.  The caste system is one among the many opposing worldviews. Hindu Background Believers (HBBs) enter into a new community of faith, the church, with the caste system as part of their worldview. It is not uncommon for HBBs from various levels of the societal hierarchy to form a local church. Disunity and strife often follow. The social structure of the culture pervades the church leading to divisions among the body. The Bible addresses this problem in many ways. This paper will focus on one: hospitality. The Bible exemplifies hospitality as an honorable characteristic from Genesis to Revelation. It is also very important in South Asian Hindu culture; however, the caste system soils it as well.  A biblical understanding of hospitality, as seen in the character of God, the narrative of Lot, the life of Jesus, and the churches in the book of Acts, combats a worldview perverted by the caste system, strengthening the health and growth of Hindu background churches.