A PENTECOSTAL EXPERIENCE

I recently went to my sleepy small village in Central Travancore for a few days of peace and solitude. It is a small typical farming community with majority Hindus and a sizable Christian presence mostly orthodox Christians. A few years ago when Malankara Catholic Church came into being several orthodox families moved over; after that it is only recently that the aggressive evangelization by Pentecostal churches pulled away several orthodox families.

The Pentecostal church decided to have their convention next door to us. It was a high voltage experience with a music system blaring out high decibel music and a very aggressive preacher giving the lead. It was amazing and unbelievable; the simple meek village folks, some women in the traditional “chatta and mundu” reacting to the blaring music clapping hands and shouting hal el uah, almost hypnotised. Then the preacher takes over mesmerizing the folks with his wizardry with words, commenting on the traditional churches about their fasting and other customs, in between hal eluah rending the air. For me it was the God Channel experience in typical kerala village setting. In the end the folks went home with glowing faces leaving us, the unbelievers, bewildered.

What is it that drives such programmes? It is not cheap; the music group has to be paid for; the preacher also needs money. The simple folks cannot afford it even though they compulsorily give the tithe which they never did earlier.

The poor women of the village who come for these get-togethers must have been leading an oppressed life; the husbands come home drunk everyday; the drudgery of taking care of the children, the day to day struggle with nothing to look forward to. You go every Sunday to the church to hear the same sermon recycled. Nobody tells them that it is in order to feel relaxed at least for some time. You are told that poverty is a virtue; suffering in silence is good for your after life. Then this preacher comes along tells them that it is ok to sing aloud, clap your hands etc. while you pray. For the simple folks this is unbelievable. They go with some doubt for the first meeting; they feel relaxed after the experience; it then pulls them along. I think it is not belief alone which is helping the growth of such churches; it is the informal atmosphere of the 21st century that drives such churches. For the husbands also this is good; the wives are not grumbling; they do not have to drink to get a peaceful evening; they can get the same high by going to such get-togethers.

Do the traditional churches have an answer for this?