Gandhi on Christianity.

Gandhi is one of the most important ecumenical figures of the modern world. He came to know Christianity during his days in London when he was in touch with Christian socialists (many inspired by a Tolstoyan vision of the faith) who were convinced pacifists. In South Africa, and later in his native India, he drew deeply from the New Testament and other Christian sources (his favorite hymn was Newman's "Lead, Kindly Light") for his own spiritual enrichment. Many of his most devoted followers were Christians.

Ellsberg's anthology draws from many of Gandhi's writings in order to sketch out what might be called a Gandhian Christology. Christ was, for Gandhi, a true avatar and a Son of God but not, he insisted firmly, the Son of God. Christ, in the eyes of Gandhi, is best understood in terms of his unconditional love, forgiveness, and willingness to sacrifice; hence Gandhi's interest in the meaning of the cross.

Gandhi had clear criticisms of Christianity. He criticized its cultural imperialism; he perceived it to be a destroyer of Indian culture with its aggressive missionary work. His constant plea was for Christians to become more Christian and, in that process, to help Muslims and Hindus to be more faithful to their own traditions. In a curious--and nonsystematic fashion he anticipated the intense contemporary discussions among Christian theologians over a whole range of issues: inculturation; the Christian view of salvation; the nature of the missionary enterprise; the uniqueness of Christ as savior of the world. One cannot but help think of those issues while reading the selections Ellsberg has culled for this volume.

To flesh out this rather slim collection, Ellsberg provides essays by Diana Eck (of Harvard), peace activist James Douglass, and the Indian Jesuit Ignatius Jesudasan on various aspects of Gandhi's thought in relation to Christ and Christianity. The final essay, by the Maryknoll missionary (in Bangladesh) Bob McCahill, on his mission of "presence" among a largely Muslim population, is a moving and edifying description of Gandhian principles in action.

We hardly need reminding that Gandhi had an enormous influence on people like Martin Luther King, Jr., Dorothy Day, Thomas Merton, Cesar Chavez, and thousands of other 1overs of peace and reconciliation, For that reason alone any work on Gandhi is welcome, not so much for the originality of his thought (his views on Christianity were simple, straightforward, and oft repeated as this anthology shows) but for the power of his example.