Nasrapur 1953

Appendix II

Nasrapur 1953

By Frank Engel

As the Grand Trunk Express rushes southwards from Delhi and Agra through the centre of India to Madras, I try to write an account of what was one of my most thrilling experiences – the General Committee Meeting of the World's Student Christian Federation at Nasrapur from January 9 to 22. Seeing the Taj Mahal and other monuments of the Moghul power and artistry in Agra and Delhi, which I have visited since the General Committee, is an unforgettable experience. None of the publicity or commercialism that thrives on tourist attractions can deprive one of that breath-taking moment when the Taj in all its softened splendor is glimpsed through the great arch of its red sandstone gateway by the light of the full moon. One knows then the power of real beauty.

The power and beauty of Christian Fellowship is, however, not something fixed and predictable. It has to be created and constantly re-created, for it is a dynamic complex of personal relationships. I had heard often of the wonder of such fellowship within the world community of the Federation. I was also aware it was not something, which happened automatically or according to a set pattern. It was therefore exciting and thrilling, to find oneself one of a company of people, who were part of the family of the Federation, and were yet, at the same time, becoming a living, responsible fellowship of persons out of many nations and races learning to understand each other and work together.

“Understanding” and "work" summarize two major processes that went on throughout General Committee. General Committee is primarily a working body (hard working, too), made up of official delegates from each national SCM. It is the supreme governing body and as such elects the officers and executive for the next three-year period, admits new movements to the Federation, determines policy formulates the main lines of thought and action to be developed

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From The Australian Collegian, March 1, 1953

over three years. But to do such things effectively there has to be understanding of the life of national movements and of the people with whom one is working. So we began not only with the job of electing the executive, but also with panel presentations of student life in representative areas.

In the first panel on "Student Dilemmas" Mathai Zachariah, a traveling secretary of the Indian SCM gave a glimpse of the conflict in which Asian students are involved between their traditional setting in rural Asia and the new Asia that is struggling to be born between their village homes and their city-centered University training. Some results of this conflict are the loss of moorings and of the ethical basis of knowledge, the growth of cynicism and apathy, and the rising influence of Marxism. There is a hungering for leadership, which is often sought outside the University because University teachers do not understand the grimmer world in which students have to live. So the Christian student lives not only in the face of the great non-Christian religions, but also in the face of a revolution that challenges his faith and in a situation where Christianity is bypassed rather than attacked frontally by its radical opponents.

Leo Radja Haba, of Indonesia, then spoke in terms of the dilemmas facing students in the newly independent countries of Asia. He said, "My heart and mind is a battleground of ideas and forces. Silence is our major need for the haste of the day is our major problem". He then went on to point out the difficulty the Asian student has of obtaining that essential period of silence when, in addition to the pressure of student time-tables, there is no possibility of privacy in crowded homes or relief from the pressure of social problems. The only answer for some is to rise at 5 a.m. He spoke also of the demand of his country for doctors, teachers, engineers, and the lack of any similar demand for philosophers, theologians and litterateurs. The latter appear irrelevant in the face of the mass of daily problems. Similarly, he added, "I never doubt the Lordship of Christ in the Church, but I find it difficult to see it in the world, i.e., in the University. So worship becomes barren because it does no help us over this intellectual conflict. Independence means leader' ship and service, responsible thinking, decision and action. Is the Christian faith relevant to the nation? Has it power in the material realm? The church must become a problem in student minds.

Other glimpses of the student situation and dilemmas as various parts of the world were given by Bola Ige of Nigeria; Roberto

Rios of Puerto Rico, who spoke of the student problems in Latin American countries dominated as they are by a politically powerful and religiously – effete Roman Catholicism and pervaded by anti – religious secularism; Horst Bannach, of Germany, who opened our minds to understand the situation of Christian students in the East Germany; George Crespy, of France, who showed the influence of nihilism in western European Universities; and Bill Stringfellow of USA, who spoke out of personal experience in the American Army in Europe. The last two walks brought us to face with the disillusionment and disintegration whish are now features of western universities.

In an army that was trained to fight but was only sitting in Europe, Bill Stringfellow saw the full effects of existence without purpose. Men could not stand it nor the realization that there was nothing left for them to trust in. The disintegration of their personalities became almost visible. Almost daily, someone was reported as having "cracked". Others became brutal. The significance of this experience is that it unveils what happens when men have no purpose and no faith. It reveals what is going on all the time in Western countries and especially in America. If such disintegration spreads, it can result in a paralysis of all democratic institutions. At the same time, "redemption becomes clear when men are helpless". The SCM and the Church need to be more alert to what is going on in the minds of people, and more active in preparing students and youth to meet critical situations.

As well as these panel talks, we had four major addresses. Philippe Maury spoke on Evangelism as the task of the WSCF; Visser't Hooft on "Bound up with the World"; Tsunegro Nara (Japan) on "Ambassadors for Christ"; and M.M.Thomas (India) on A Redeemed Life". It is impossible to give an account of these addresses here. It can only be indicated that they had an important bearing in the development of the two emphases which characterized the whole work of the General Committee - witness to Christ and involvement in the life of the world as Christians (or engagement, as the French would say). Hence, there was much discussion on the relation of the Church and the world, the sacred and secular, the meaning of secular and even the value of the secular.

These ideas and the task of grappling with student problems worked out in five commissions. The 130 or so members of

General Committee were divided up into the following commissions: Our Pastoral Needs as Students, Our Witness in the Secular Student World, The Christian Mission and our citizenship in the World, The Place and Responsibility of the SCM in the University and Our participation in the Church and the Ecumenical Movement During five sessions each commission discussed its subject and prepared a document on it. It was here that the major thinking of General Committee took place as the commissions came to grips with their subjects and with the diversity of thought, experience and outlook of their individual members. The discussions were absorbingly interesting and often exciting. Then came the hard work of trying to formulate a statement, which adequately summarized the discussion. The completed documents were presented to the General Committee in a series of plenary sessions. They were criticized and discussed there (and sometimes sent back for re-drafting) and finally adopted. These five documents will form the basis for discussion and action in the Federation during the next three years.

In addition, the General Committee was also divided into subcommittees: Survey of Movements, Finance, Publications, and Our task of Theological Education, which worked in a similar manner to the commissions.

The Chairman was Dr. Robert Mackie, retiring chairman of the WSCF, whose wit, fairness, insight and judgment was a major contribution to the success of the meetings. D.T. Niles, of Ceylon, who becomes the WSCF is first Asian Chairman, now succeeds him as Chairman. The ASCM will rejoice in his election and wish him God's richest blessing, I am sure. The Australian delegation was also delighted to witness the appointment of an Australian to the staff of the federation. Leila Giles will take up her appointment in July, and our sincere good wishes are extended to her.

There is much more to be written about Nasrapur, but it will have to wait till a later issue.