Jesus was not American

E. Stanley Jones (1884-1973) was an American Methodist missionary to India. In 1925 he published a book called The Christ of the Indian Road, which emphasizes the need to detach Jesus from Western culture. Under British rule it was easy for Indians to associate Jesus with the white man and the Western world, especially since many missionaries came from the West. But Jones argued that Jesus could not be fully accepted unless this link with colonialism, materialism, and Western society was broken. Jesus was not American or British. Even more, people in India needed to see him deeply connected to their lives. They needed to see Christ walking on their roads.

Shortly before Jones’ maiden voyage to India in 1907, Sadhu Sunder Singh (1889-1929) became a follower of Jesus. From a village in northern India, Singh was raised as a Sikh, but he had a vision of Christ and his life was transformed. Dressed as an Indian holy man (sadhu) wearing a turban and robe and walking barefoot, he then went from village to village sharing the good news of Jesus. (He became known as the apostle of the bleeding feet.) Although Singh was encouraged to wear European clothes, he refused. He knew that Western dress had nothing to do with the gospel and could even be a detriment to its acceptance.

In chapter 2 of Jones’ book, he recounts Singh’s encounter with a European professor in a Hindu college. He writes,

The professor was an agnostic as far as Christianity was concerned and interviewed the Sadhu with the evident intention of showing him his mistake in renouncing another faith for Christ. He asked, “What have you found in Christianity that you did not have in your old religion?”

The Sadhu answered, “I have Christ.”

“Yes, I know,” the professor replied, a little impatiently, for he was hoping for a philosophical argument, “but what particular principle or doctrine have you found that you did not have before?”

The Sadhu replied, “The particular thing I have found is Christ.”

Try as the professor might, he could not budge him from that position. He went away discomfited—and thoughtful. The Sadhu was right. The non-Christian faiths have fine things in them, but they lack—Christ.

What a simple yet profound exchange. The goal is not to convert people to our culture, but to help them find Christ. That is all Singh had found and that is all he needed.

Les Bridgeman

After graduating from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, I served as a high school Bible teacher in Asia. I enjoy traveling, writing, and playing the drums. My latest book focuses on Paul’s work as a tentmaker and what it means for today.