CASTE OR CHRIST

Ramesh was a new Christian. Till recently he was a person from one of the “lower castes.” He was told by the evangelist who shared the good news about salvation in Christ to him that once he became a believer every Christian would treat him as his or her brother. Ramesh was thrilled, after a lifetime of discrimination and oppression he was finally happy. He was now a child of God and he belonged to a community that treated everyone equally. His identity was derived from his relationship with Jesus Christ. The problem started the Sunday he went to church for the first time.
“You cannot sit on this side of the church! There are seats that are meant for people like you!”said the angry old man. “But sir, I am Christian” said Ramesh, not understanding what the old man meant. “So what?” the old man asked with a sneering voice, “It doesn't change your caste, does it?” “What, what do you mean?” asked a brokenhearted Ramesh. “I thought that when I became a Christian I became a child of God. You and I are equal in God's sight!” “Never!” shouted the old man, “even your shadow is unclean to me! Get out and go to a church where people like you meet. But never come back here. This church is only for the high caste.” Ramesh ran out in shock and pain, his eyes blurred with tears as he stumbled away into the dusty lane. “It is a lie! Everything that the evangelist told me was lie! It was better if I had remained a non-Christian, at least there people don't say that I am your brother and treat me like a dog...”

Are you angry? Is your face a mirror of disbelief? Are you saying, “this doesn't happen in the Indian Church?” Think again. The above story is a daily occurrence in the lives of people who come to Christ from “lower caste” backgrounds all over India.
The question is, “Can caste and Christ coexist? The Bible is very clear about this – Paul says, in Galatians 3: 28, "There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus." In other words, in this context, there can be no discrimination on the basis of race (Jew or Greek). What is casteism but a form of racism or apartheid? We just have to look at the matrimonial column in Christian magazines to understand the enormity of the problem.
"Christian bridegroom (particular caste) is looking for bride from the same caste." Churches congregate on the basis of caste, pastors and office bearers are selected and elected on the basis of caste, even communion in certain churches is administered on the basis of caste.

What about you? And what about me? Do we secretly hold to this practice that is dehumanizing and discriminatory? Is caste identity more important that Christian identity?
This is not an appeal to abandon cultural identity, it is to abandon the practice of casteism because it is contrary to everything that Christ stands for.