B. J. Christie Kumar

B. J. Christie Kumar, STBC
The Reverend; B. J. Christie Kumar, STBC; Ayyagaru
Born	Bontha John Christie Kumar; October 18, 1944; Madhira, Khammam district, Telangana, India
🏳️ Nationality	India
Other names	Telugu: క్రిస్టీ కుమార్ అయ్యగారు
🏳️ Citizenship	India
🏫 Education	B. A. (Osmania),; B. D. (Serampore),; M. Th. (Serampore),
🎓 Alma mater	Osmania University, Hyderabad (Telangana),; Ramayapatnam Baptist Theological Seminary, Rajahmundry (Andhra Pradesh); United Theological College, Bangalore (Karnataka),
💼 Occupation	Priesthood
📆 Years active	1970-
🥚 Twitter	Twitter=

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Some use of "" in your query was not closed by a matching "".Some use of "" in your query was not closed by a matching "". Christie Kumar (18 October 1944) is a Priest of the Samavesam of Telugu Baptist Churches known for his teaching from 1977 through 2008, for more than three decades, at the Protestant Regional Theologiate in Secunderabad, Telangana, India where he taught Systematic theology.

Kumar joined as a faculty member in 1977 during the Principalship of the Old Testament Scholar, Victor Premasagar at the Andhra Christian Theological College, affiliated to the nation's first^[4] University, the Senate of Serampore College (University) {a University under Section 2 (f) of the University Grants Commission Act, 1956^[5]}^[6]with degree-granting authority validated by a Danish Charter and ratified by the Government of West Bengal.

Contribution[edit]

Christie Kumar's work entitled An Indian Christian Appreciation of the Doctrine of the Holy Spirit: A Search into the Religious Heritage of the Indian Christian^[7] which appeared in 1981 in the Indian Journal of Theology was simultaneously listed in international scholarly academic journals in the Elenchus of Biblica^[8], the Religious and Theological Abstracts^[9] and the Ecumenical Review^[10].

The Religious and Theological Abstracts introduces the work of Christie Kumar as,

(Adapted)...Traces the development of the doctrine of the Holy Spirit among Christians in India, especially in the thought of Chenchiah, Appasamy, and Chakkarai^[11]

Over the decades, Scholars have continued to access this major writing of Christie Kumar beginning with Siga Arles (1990),^[12] who researched at the University of Aberdeen, Scotland in the latter half of the eighties, followed by Veli-Matti Kärkkäinen (2016)^[13] of the Fuller Theological Seminary, Pasadena, California who has included the work of Kumar in a major 5-volume series on Systematic theology.

In a recent writing by Ivan Satyavrata (2016)^[14] of the Assemblies of God in India, Calcutta, about the understanding of Trinity and Holy Spirit by the early Indian Christians, references have been made to the writing of Kumar. Ivan writes,

(Adapted) - Trinity: As Christie Kumar is careful to note, "here the very idea of Christian Trinity as persons is missing".^[14]
Holy Spirit: Shakti is an energy coming into individuals by means of which people are able to do unique things and utter certain predictions.^[14]

Writings[edit]

The writings of Christie Kumar span over three decades beginning from the Eighties and the initial writings appeared in the compilation by Ravela Joseph and Suneel Bhanu entitled Bibliography of original Christian writings in India in Telugu published by the Board of Theological Education of the Senate of Serampore College which appeared in the Nineties.^[15]

Articles[edit]

1981, An Indian Christian Appreciation of the Doctrine of the Holy Spirit: A Search into the Religious Heritage of the Indian Christian,^[7]
1990, The Concept of Man according to Swami Vivekananda: A Christian Theological Appraisal,^[16]
1998, A Study of the Concept of the Servant Model: a revised ecclesiology in the context of national integration,^[17]
2001, Theological Foundations and Theological Aspirations,^[18]
2003, Ministerial Formation - Towards a Contemporary Understanding,^[19]
2006, Book Review:The Interpretive Diary of a Bishop,^[20]

Books[edit]

In English

Undated, My Heart Beat,^[21]
2003, Prem Sadhana,^[22]
2007, Destroy "This" Temple,^[23]

In Telugu (తెలుగు)

1980, Acts of God (దేవుని క్రియల),^[24]
1989, Thou art that Man (ఆ మనుష్యుడవు నీవే),^[25]
2000, Siluvopanishad (సిలువోపనిషద్),^[26]
2003, Devaaraathramulu (దివారాత్రాములు),^[27]
2004, Theology - A Dalit Christian's Point of View (దెవ శాస్త్రం - క్రైస్తవ దళిత అవగాహన),^[28]

Studies[edit]

Spiritual studies[edit]

Christie Kumar chose the path of Priesthood and became a ministerial candidate of the Samavesam of Telugu Baptist Churches and enrolled at the Ramayapatnam Baptist Theological College in its B.D. section, which in 1967 relocated from Ramayapatnam to Rajahmundry to the campus of Andhra Christian Theological College overseen by Louis F. Knoll. Kumar happened to be one of the first students in the newly-shifted campus and studied for a three-year Bachelor of Divinity degree under the Senate of Serampore College (University). In addition to the faculty^[29] of the Ramayapatnam Baptist Theological College led by Louis F. Knoll, G. Solomon, S. Joseph, R. Joseph, K. Wilson, Tracy G. Gipson, D. Daniel, Muriel Spurgeon Carder, B. R. Moses, Alice M. Findlay, K. Prasada Rao, Gordon Carder and others, Kumar was also taught by the faculty of the adjacent Andhra Christian Theological College comprising M. Victor Paul, G. Devasahayam, Waldo Penner, W. D. Coleman, W. P. Peery, Eric J. Lott, R. R. Sundara Rao, B. E. Devaraj, Victor Premasagar and others^[30] and completed the course requirements by 1970 and was awarded the B.D. degree in the ensuing convocation of the Senate of Serampore College (University) through the Registrar, Chetti Devasahayam.

Advanced spiritual studies[edit]

In 1975, Kumar enrolled at the fully^[31]-Ecumenical United Theological College, Bangalore during the Principalship of the Systematic Theologian, Joshua Russell Chandran and specialized in Systematic theology submitting a thesis entitled The understanding of man in the writings of S. Radhakrishnan^[32] and completed his studies by 1977 and was awarded the postgraduate degree of Master of Theology by J. T. Krogh, then Registrar of the Senate of Serampore College (University).

During his study period in Bangalore, Kumar was also taught by the co-faculty from the Carmelites of Mary Immaculate-Dharmaram Vidya Kshetram, Bangalore^[31] and his companions hailing from the graduate and postgraduate section included P. Surya Prakash, S. W. Meshack, D. Dhanaraj, D. N. Premnath, M. Mani Chacko, and others.

Ministry[edit]

Pastoral[edit]

When Christie Kumar completed his Spiritual formation in 1970 at the Protestant Regional Seminary in Rajahmundry, the Samavesam of Telugu Baptist Churches led by its General Secretary, B. Victor Emmanuel, assigned him a pastoral assignment in Chennai at the Waterbury Memorial Telugu Baptist Church in Perambur where Christie Kumar pastored the congregation for nearly five years until he was recalled and sent for advanced spiritual studies in 1975.

Teaching[edit]

In 1977 after Christie Kumar underwent advanced Spiritual formation at the United Theological College, Bangalore, the Samavesam of Telugu Baptist Churches assigned him the role of a Spiritual Formator at his alma mater, the near-Ecumenical Andhra Christian Theological College which by then had relocated from Rajahmundry to Secunderabad then led by the Old Testament Scholar, Victor Premasagar.

Meanwhile, in 1979, the Andhra Christian Theological College partnered^[3] with the de:Kirchliche Hochschule Wuppertal/Bethel in Germany leading to sharing of faculty to experiment with teaching of Indian Christian Theology for which Christie Kumar was sent to Germany in Summer Semester of 1979 to teach in Wuppertal^[3] for a year and returned in 1980 to Secunderabad.

In 2002, when the cycle of Principalship was passed on from the Convention of Baptist Churches of Northern Circars to the Samavesam of Telugu Baptist Churches which was represented on the faculty by four members comprising S. Joseph, R. Joseph, A. John Prabhakar and Christie Kumar. During the Board of Governors meeting held in 2001 to decide the next Principal, the Samavesam of Telugu Baptist Churches chose B. J. Christie Kumar to represent it as Principal for the next four years and in 2002, he was appointed as Principal, a position which he continued until 2006 when the four-year cycle was passed on to the Andhra Evangelical Lutheran Church Society.

Christie Kumar continued to teach Systematic theology until 2008 when he resigned on attaining superannuation.

References[edit]

↑ ^1.0 ^1.1 K. M. Hiwale (Compiled), Directory of the United Theological College 1910–1997, Bangalore, 1998. Past students of the graduate course, p.33; Postgraduate course, p.106.; D.Th., p.142.[1]
↑ R. Joseph, A History of the Telugu Baptist Churches (American Baptist Telugu Mission), ACTC, Secunderabad, 2003.
↑ ^3.0 ^3.1 ^3.2 Ecclesiastical Archive Centre Berlin - Online search.[2]
↑ Sankar Ray, The Hindu (Business Line), 11 April 2008 Almost a century later, the charter was endorsed officially under the Bengal Govt Act IV of 1918. Internet, accessed 30 November 2008. [3]
↑ "UGC Act-1956" (PDF). mhrd.gov.in/. Secretary, University Grants Commission. Retrieved 1 February 2016.
↑ The Senate of Serampore College (University) is a University within the meaning of Section 2 (f) of the UGC Act, 1956 under which a University means a University established or incorporated by or under a Central Act, a Provincial Act or a State Act, and includes any such institution as may, in consultation with the University concerned, be recoginsed by the Commission in accordance with the regulations made in this behalf under this Act. The UGC took the opinion that the Senate fell under the purview of Section 2 (f) of the said Act since The Serampore College Act, 1918 was passed by the Government of West Bengal.[4]
↑ ^7.0 ^7.1 B. J. Christie Kumar, An Indian Christian Appreciation of the Doctrine of the Holy Spirit: A Search into the Religious Heritage of the Indian Christian, Indian Journal of Theology, Volume 30, Issue 1, 1981, pp.29-35.[5]
↑ Elenchus of Biblica, Volume 62, Pontifical Biblical Institute Press, 1981. p. 383.[6]
↑ Religious and Theological Abstracts, Volumes 24-25, 1981, pp. cxxxix and 17.[7]
↑ Ecumenical Review, Volumes 33-34, 1981, p.95.[8]
↑ Religious and Theological Abstracts. [9]
↑ Siga Arles, Theological education for the mission of the church in India, 1947-1987: theological education in relation to the identification of the task of mission and the development of ministries in India, 1947-1987, with special reference to the Church of South India, Peter Lang, Frankfurt, 1990, p.527.[10]
↑ Veli-Matti Kärkkäinen, Spirit and Salvation, Volume 4, p.447.[11]
↑ ^14.0 ^14.1 ^14.2 Ivan Satyavrata, The Spirit blows where it wills: The Holy Spirit's personhood in Indian Christian thought in Gene L. Green, Stephen T. Pardue, K. K. Yeo (Edited), The Spirit over the Earth: Pneumatology in the Majority World, Langham Global Library, Carlisle, 2016, pp.34-57.[12]
↑ Ravela Joseph, Suneel Bhanu (Compiled), Bibliography of original Christian writings in Telugu, Board of Theological Education of the Senate of Serampore College, Bengaluru, 1993. pp.22 and 29.[13]
↑ B. J. Christie Kumar, The Concept of Man according to Swami Vivekananda: A Christian Theological Appraisal, Reflections on Theology Today: Papers presented by the ACTC faculty during the academic year 1988-1989 on Theology and Mission and Ministry of the Church, Secunderabad, 1990.[14]
↑ B. J. Christie Kumar, A Study of the Concept of the Servant Model: a revised ecclesiology in the context of national integration, National Council of Churches Review, Volume 118, 1998, pp.183-188.[15]
↑ B. J. Christie Kumar, Theological Foundations and Theological Aspirations in Vinod Victor, Leslie Nathaniel (Edited) Ecumenism : Prospects and Challenges - a festschrift to the Rev. G. Dyvasirvadam, Indian Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, New Delhi, 2001, pp. 208-286. [16]
↑ B. J. Christie Kumar, Ministerial Formation - Towards a Contemporary Understanding, National Council of Churches Review, Volume 123, National Council of Churches in India, Nagpur, 2003, p.25.[17]
↑ B. J. Christie Kumar, Book Review:The Interpretive Diary of a Bishop, Religion and Society, Volume 51, 2006. pp.9, 59 and 60.[18]
↑ B. J. Christie Kumar, My Heart Beat, Published by the Author, Secunderabad.
↑ B. J. Christie Kumar, Prem Sadhana, Indian Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, New Delhi, 2003.[19]
↑ B. J. Christie Kumar, Destroy "This" Temple, Published by the Author, Secunderabad, 2007.
↑ B. J. Christie Kumar, Acts of God (దేవుని క్రియల)
↑ B. J. Christie Kumar, Thou art that Man (ఆ మనుష్యుడవు నీవే)
↑ B. J. Christie Kumar, Siluvopanishad (సిలువోపనిషద్), Published by the Author, Secunderabad, 2000.
↑ B. J. Christie Kumar, Devaaraathramulu (దివారాత్రాములు), Devaaraathramulu, Published by the Author, Secunderabad, 2003.
↑ B. J. Christie Kumar, Theology - A Dalit Christian's Point of View (దెవ శాస్త్రం - క్రైస్తవ దళిత అవగాహన), Telugu Theological Literature Board, Secunderabad, 2004.
↑ B. R. Moses, Ramayapatnam Baptist Theological Seminary Centenary Report 1874-1974, in K. J. W. Jayakumar (Compiled), The Lights That Never Quench - Baptist Missionaries, Self published by the author, Nellore, 2008, pp.107-114.
↑ Talathoti Punnaiah, My Memoir, Ministry and Message: (60 years Life Experiences 1950-2010), Kakinada, 2010.
↑ ^31.0 ^31.1 Shared Search - Souvenir of the inauguration of the academic collaboration between the United Theological College, Bangalore and the Dharmaram College, Bangalore, 1975, Bangalore, available at the Archives in the library of Karnataka Theological College, Mangalore.[20]
↑ Zaihmingthanga (Compiled), Thesis Titles - M.Th., M.R.S., D.D., D.Th., Published by the Board of Theological Education of the Senate of Serampore College, Bengaluru, 1991. p.14