E. Stanley Jones
Apostle of the Indian Road
E. Stanley Jones spent his missionary life trying to free Jesus, in Indian eyes, from the trappings of Western civilization. Rather than defend Christendom, he invited Hindus, Jains and Muslims to meet Christ directly — in frank Round Table Conferences and in Indian-style Christian ashrams — and became a world-known evangelist who counted Gandhi and Nehru among his friends.
- Designed his ashrams to break down the caste and political barriers that otherwise divided Christians. tucker-jerusalem-irian-jaya p.339
- Argued that Christ should be 'naturalized on the Indian road' — presented apart from Western civilization, with the Indian interpretation left to Indians. jones-christ-indian-road p.7
- Pioneered Round Table Conferences, sitting with Hindus, Jains and Muslims to discuss Christ frankly as a form of evangelism. tucker-jerusalem-irian-jaya p.338
- Founded the Christian Ashram movement, an Indian-style community offered as an alternative to the Western-style church. tucker-jerusalem-irian-jaya p.339
- 1907Arrived in India as a Methodist missionary. tucker-jerusalem-irian-jaya p.328
- 1940His Christian Ashrams had multiplied to some two dozen across India. tucker-jerusalem-irian-jaya p.339
Jones became a world-renowned evangelist and ecumenical voice who insisted that Jesus — not Western institutional Christianity — be central; his ashram movement and round-table method modelled an Indian way of following Christ and won the respect of leaders like Gandhi and Nehru.
- Christian Ashram movement — Across India still active
“Christ is becoming naturalized upon the Indian road.” — E. Stanley Jones jones-christ-indian-road p.7
Jones's 'generous view' of other religions and his accommodation to Indian and nationalist culture drew sharp criticism from fundamentalists, who charged that he was compromising Christianity to make it more appealing.
jones-christ-indian-road— pp. 7tucker-jerusalem-irian-jaya— pp. 328, 338, 339
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