Summer School of Theologies of Life

Summer School of Theologies of Life The Summer Institute of Theologies of Life (SITL) is a joint program of the Mennonite Brethren Centenary Bible College and the CODECS We seek to;
1.

The Summer Institute of Theologies of Life is a joint program of the Mennonite Brethren Centenary Bible College and the Collective of Dalit Ecumenical Christian Scholars (CODECS). Create Informal Spaces of Learning
2. Make Justice & Peace as Central Themes in Our Theological Commitment
3. Open Opportunities for Continued Education to Christian Ministers
4. Interface Theology and Social Activism

“Now there stood by the cross of Jesus his mother…” John 19:25
29/03/2024

“Now there stood by the cross of Jesus his mother…” John 19:25

Day 9 last day at the Summer Institute I feel so hopeful about the future of theology in India. These young women and me...
25/05/2019

Day 9 last day at the Summer Institute
I feel so hopeful about the future of theology in India. These young women and men have brought in a lot of energy, a great deal of creativity and immense passion for God and God’s world. In the midst of anxieties of life these participants have tried to access biblical and theological resources to articulate hope. We were all deeply concerned about the way India unveiled its religious-nationalist face as the election results were declared. Refusing to yield to despair these participants mustered courage from faith to articulate defiance to powers that deny life. I am inspired by their commitment to service and by their prophetic spirituality. I am glad we did the Summer Institute. We were assured that it is worth investing our energies into this initiative. We had the best resource persons, and a collective of friends to volunteer their time and generously share their resources. Bangalore provided the needed ambiance and the occasional showers made life pleasant. I am back home feeling grateful.

Day 6It was a day of tracing roots, engaging with our roots critically, and re-imagining our idea of history that discer...
23/05/2019

Day 6
It was a day of tracing roots, engaging with our roots critically, and re-imagining our idea of history that discerns sites of grace and articulates hope.

Drawing insights from John 8, read in conversation with Ambedkar, Rev. Christopher invited to reimagine Christ as an iconoclast and thereby understand our theological task as an imaginative iconoclastic engagement.

Our discussion on (re)thinking history continued as Dr. I P Asheervadam mapped historiographic practices in writing history of Christianity.

Rev. Christina Asheevadam shared her insights on peace practice culling clues from the historic legacy of the Mennonite Churches.

Ms. Christina Dhanaraj engaged us in a conversation on Dalit Feminism as intersectional Feminism with her scientific analysis and poetic expression.

Dr. Peter Smith expounded Anabaptist theology of Peace and invited us to consider its resourcefulness as we imagine a contextual theology of peace.

Day 5 at the Summer Institute of Theologies of Life: It was a day of intellectual immersion into the Dalit world, while ...
21/05/2019

Day 5 at the Summer Institute of Theologies of Life:
It was a day of intellectual immersion into the Dalit world, while Fr. Selvaraj passionately and prophetically analysed Dalit politics, Dr. Lourdunathan expounded the philosophy of Babasaheb Ambedkar with his characteristic wit and wisdom. It was day of unlearning and re-learning. Rev. Rueben Manohar led us in a Bible Study on Mathew 27: 57-61 and offered a theology of the Holy Saturday as God’s solidarity with the human suffering. Grateful to these friends for their support and investment of time and knowledge into SITL.

Day 4 at the Summer Institute... Juxtaposing the stories of r**e in our times and the story of r**e in Judges, Ms. Irene...
20/05/2019

Day 4 at the Summer Institute...

Juxtaposing the stories of r**e in our times and the story of r**e in Judges, Ms. Irene Preetha called us to discern the cross of Christ where women are r**ed and experience the resurrection by raising our protest against a culture that turns women’s bodies into battle fields.

As Dr. Aruna Gnanadasan continued her lectures on Feminist Theology and raised some pertinent questions: Is Feminist theology becoming exclusive? Is there danger in the churches to concentrate on ordination of women as “the” issue?
And thereby called us to redefine and reconstruct the idea of priesthood as the ministry of all believers.

Church historian Dr. James Elisha placed before us various images of a historian to enable us to understand the task of historiography; and encouraged us to consider the local stories as pertinent as the larger stories of the Church.

Day 3 at the Summer Institute of Theologies of Life“The task of theology is to deepen our commitment to God and to the g...
18/05/2019

Day 3 at the Summer Institute of Theologies of Life
“The task of theology is to deepen our commitment to God and to the gospel of Jesus Christ and to understand that commitment as grace.”
- Dr. Origen Vasanth Jathanna
“The purpose of theology is to challenge the consciousness of the Church; and the church needs to allow itself to be changed in order to suggest to the society that affirmation and celebration of life is possible.”
-Dr. Aruna Gnanadason
It was a treat listening to these iconic theologians as they shared with us their experiences in theology. Deeply grateful for their generosity in sharing their time and presence with us.

Summer Institute, day 2 As we read the story of the disciples’ encounter with the risen Christ on their way to Emmaus, w...
18/05/2019

Summer Institute, day 2
As we read the story of the disciples’ encounter with the risen Christ on their way to Emmaus, we were invited to consider new possibilities in discerning the meaning of resurrection to our understanding of the divine. A fascinating Bible Study by Rev. Immanuel Nehemiah that suggested that resurrection is God’s insurrection against God’s own loftiness, and resurrection as the death of divine transcendence and the rise of divine immanence.

As we continued with our conversations on Liberation Hermeneutics, Dr. Balakrishnan helped us gather insights from philosophical Hermeneutics.

Dr. Amitha Santiago brilliantly mapped feminism as she walked us through various important feminist texts.

We are gifted with participants who were passionately there to engage in conversations.

Quite an eventful first day at the Summer Institute of Theologies of Life. We had the privilege of having renowned human...
16/05/2019

Quite an eventful first day at the Summer Institute of Theologies of Life. We had the privilege of having renowned human rights defender and Dalit theologian Rev. Dr. Vincent Manoharan awakening us afresh to the realities of contemporary India and to challenging us to do theology that is accessible to people in its language and content. Rev. Christy Gnanadasan provoked us to new thinking as he led a Bible Study on “Nakedness as embodiment of Divine glory” based on Genesis 3. Dr. Balan Balakrishnan passionately placed before us possibilities in Liberation Hermeneutics. I am personally encouraged by the enthusiasm of the participants and the passion of the resource persons.

Excited about the quality of students who enrolled for the SITL. Ten days from now we begin our journey of learning from...
04/05/2019

Excited about the quality of students who enrolled for the SITL. Ten days from now we begin our journey of learning from one another and being woven into a community that is passionate about justice and peace. Grateful for the support of friends.

Excited to announce the Summer Institute of Theologies of Life 2019. More details to follow soon.
06/03/2019

Excited to announce the Summer Institute of Theologies of Life 2019. More details to follow soon.

22/04/2018

Since the MBCBC is renovating its existing facility, and a new building is under construction, we are unable to organise the Summer Institute of Theologies of Life during this summer. However, we hope to host a similar institute sometime in October 2018. Please watch out for the announcement.

An eventide at the Mennonite Brethren Centenary Bible College, Shamshabad....
06/05/2017

An eventide at the Mennonite Brethren Centenary Bible College, Shamshabad....

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