Acts of Apostle Thomas

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XIII THE THOMAS WAY: SAIVISM AND NASRANEES: M.M.NINAN ___________________________________________________________________________ XIII THE THOMAS WAY: SAIVISM AND NASRANEES What form of Church did Thomas Institute? The question now is, what happened to these churches? Looking at the story of Thomas as a rationalist doubter turned believer, who unhesitatingly declared Jesus as “My Lord, and My God “, we should have no doubt about the theology of the churches he established. He certainly emphasized the God incarnate as the Jesus ben Joseph, the Carpenter, his Lord and Master. He was no Gnostic. Jesus of Nazareth was indeed God and Lord. The first Council of the Churches at Jerusalem (49 AD) under James set the standards for gentile churches. It was Paul of Tarsus who proposed the model for Gentile Churches. The Council decided that the central core of the Gospel is not to be confused with the cultural forms of worship and life of the Christians. The Church was to interpret the Gospel, which was revealed in the Jewish cultural context to the other cultures in a culturally relevant manner. Paul illustrated the working of the model in transferring the gospel in Greco-Roman culture. This was already in process before Thomas left Jerusalem and Middle East. Thomas therefore knew the Apostolic mission and must have established norms and standards, which were culturally relevant to the Indian context. Hence we should not expect Thomas Churches of India to have the ritualism and structures of Greco-Roman or Asia Minor. There would be no church building with a cross on the top, no altars nor candles and candle stands. We should expect a replication of the events of the early Christian Churches in Jerusalem soon after the resurrection. These emphasized communal living, fellowship, sharing, singing, worship, common meals with God and Man. For a very long time Christianity left no artifacts. Institutionalization came most probably after a century of Christian existence. Symbols and church buildings and rituals came into existence as a means of communication. In the Bible we do have these initial stages of the Christian Church in the Greco-Roman Churches under the leadership and 155
XIII THE THOMAS WAY: SAIVISM AND NASRANEES: M.M.NINAN ___________________________________________________________________________ guidance of Paul and Peter. While the embedding of the message of salvation through Yesua is central to every mission, how it plays out in different cultures vary. How was this working out in India? Thomas found a people who were very similar to the Hebrews in the Dravidians who were at that time concentrated in the Southern States. We have reason to believe that at least a part of the blood of Dravidans came from Abraham through his second wife Keturah. They worshipped a God of love who was 156
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ACTS OF THE APOSTLE THOMAS THE STOR
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Foreword "This Thomas preached the
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Dedicated to My Father & Mother Who
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THE ACTS OF APOSTLE THOMAS : M. M.
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II AD 30 - 40 PARTHIAN MISSION APOS
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III AD 40 ARRIVAL OF APOSTLE THOMAS
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IV DORMITION OF MARY : M. M. NINAN
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V AD 51 SOCOTRA MISSION : M. M. NIN
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VI KERALA TRADITION : M. M. NINAN T
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VI KERALA TRADITION : M. M. NINAN N
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VI KERALA TRADITION : M. M. NINAN T
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VI KERALA TRADITION : M. M. NINAN 6
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VII CHINA EVANGELIZATON : M. M. NIN
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VIII CHINA EVANGELIZATON : M. M. NI
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THE DREAM OF EMPEROR MINGDI Kong Wa
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X 72 AD APOSTLE ST. THOMAS 99 MARTY
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X 72 AD APOSTLE ST. THOMAS 101 MART
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X 72 AD APOSTLE ST. THOMAS 103 MART
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XIV SIGNIFICANCE OF SANSKRIT: M. M.
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XV CHRISTIAN INFLUENCE ON BUDDHISM:
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XVI DEVELOPMENT OF VAISHNAVITE HERE
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XVII MAHABALI CONNECTION : M. M. NI
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XVIII SURAYA IMMIGRATION : M. M. NI
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XIX SYNCRETIZATION : M. M. NINAN __
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XX RECENT HISTORY : M. M. NINAN ___
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HISTORY OF THE EARLY CHRISTIANITY I
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Acts of Apostle Thomas

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