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production ofa series of commentaries on the books of the Bible until his death in 1996.<br />
As an ecumenical theologian and a social thinker, Thomas was deeply concerned about Christian<br />
mission. Thomas located his framework for mission in the person of Jesus Christ, the God-man, the<br />
God-for-Man, and thus his theology of mission is grounded in his Christocentrism. He recognized the<br />
redemptive work of God in the person of Christ and the proclamation of this message for the salvation<br />
of humanity. This evangelistic dimension of mission, for Thomas, was essential and the cutting edge of<br />
Christian mission. However, he did not confine mission only to this concept, what he called the ultimate<br />
destiny, but believed that mission must be understood in a broader perspective of the struggle for<br />
humanization, the historic destiny—human rights and social justice. For Thomas, salvation was<br />
eschatological, but the eschatological framework must embrace “the task of humanisation of the world<br />
in secular history.” Therefore, he maintained that humanization is an integral part of the Christian<br />
message of salvation, and it was intrinsic to salvation. He believed the search for humanization was<br />
embodied in the contemporary revolutions in which he discovered the mission dimension. Thomas saw<br />
Christ at work in revolutions, and he called upon the church to discern it and participate in this mission<br />
for an increased human dignity and fuller humanity.<br />
by P. V. Joseph<br />
Bibliography<br />
Primary<br />
Thomas, M.M. The Christian Response to the Asian Revolution. London: SCM, 1966.<br />
. The Acknowledged Christ of the Indian Renaissance. London: SCM, 1969.<br />
. Salvation and Humanisation: Some Crucial Issues of the Theology of Mission in Contemporaiy<br />
India. Madras: CLS, 1971.<br />
_. The Realization of the Cross. Madras: CLS, 1972.<br />
i. Man and the Universe ofFaiths. Bangalore: CISRS & Madras: CLS, 1975.<br />
_. New Creation in Christ. Delhi: ISPCK, 1976.<br />
_. The Secular Ideologies of India and the Secular Meaning of Christ. Bangalore: CISRS, 1976.<br />
_. Some Theological Dialogues, Madras: CLS, 1977.<br />
. Towards a Theology of Contemporary Ecumenism: A Collection of Addresses to Ecumenical<br />
Gatherings (1947-1975). Madras: CLS, 1978.<br />
. Religion and the Revolt of the Oppressed. Delhi: ISPCK, 1981.<br />
. Ideological Quest within Christian Commitment: 1939-54. Madras: Christian Literature Society,<br />
1983.<br />
. Faith and Ideology in the Struggle for Justice. Bombay: Bombay Urban Industrial League for<br />
Development, 1984.<br />
. Risking Christ for Christ’s Sake: Towards an Ecumenical Theology of Pluralism. Geneva: WCC,<br />
1987.<br />
. My Ecumenical Journey, 1947-1975. Trivandrum, India: Ecumenical Publishing Centre, 1990.<br />
. The Gospel of Forgiveness and Koinonia. Tiruvalla, India: CSS, 1994.<br />
. A Diaconial Approach to Indian Ecclesiology. Rome: Centre for Indian and Inter-religious Studies<br />
& Tiruvalla, India: Christava Sahitya Samitha, 1995.<br />
. The Church’s Mission and Post-Modern Humanism: Collection of Essays and Talks, 1992-96.<br />
Delhi: ISPCK, 1996.<br />
i. God the Liberator, trans. T.M. Philip. Tiruvalla, India: CSS, 2004.