Does Motive Matter for Redemption?

Does motive matter for redemption? In examination of this question, we consider the notion of redemption and the various interpretations that Bellevue Church and Isasi Diaz utilize in their theological arguments. The women that Bellevue Church work with in India receive Christianity as a means of survival, in exchange for saris, food and a promise of an eternal life far different from the one they experience on Earth. These goods, given over a one week period, do very little to address the everyday conditions and oppressions of the women of the lower castes, however their souls are considered saved through Jesus Christ. This ideology is in sharp contrast with Isasi Diaz’s view, that missionary work and salvific ends must be achieved through solidarity and continuous social awareness and empowerment, something Bellevue never addresses in India. These contrasting perspectives challenge the reader to examine the notion of redemption in Christian mission work.
Each year, Bellevue Baptist Church donates “$5.5 million—one-fourth of its $22 million annual budget—for missionary work around the world” (Aaronson, 1). For this church, such a substantial sum is validated as they are financing salvation. At Bellevue, redemption is seen as salvation through baptism, the cleansing of sins for individuals who come to “know” Jesus Christ. For this Satisfaction model-based faith, baptism is a coping mechanism to justify suffering in this life and gives the promise of eternal life. At the Grace Sathuluri Conference for Women, held in India, women are baptized by being immersed in a pool of water while the missionaries from Bellevue observe the culmination of the conference off to the side, some offering tears, others camera flashes (Aaronson, 6).
The need to evangelize the “10/40 window,” located between the 10th and 40th parallels, is Bellevue’s main motivation in sending missionary money to India (Aaronson, 2). As one Bellevue member, Donna Gaines puts it, “India is dark with sin,” explaining her “eagerness to bring this country to the Lord” (Aaronson, 7). While it is true that there is immense poverty and hunger in India, it is also true that it is illegal to use monetary gifts to bribe people to convert to Christianity. The paper does not make the claim that Bellevue missionaries does this, simply stating that there are “certain missionaries who are trying to convert people to Christianity by doing things that are illegal, such as giving money or gifts” (Aaronson, 5). It is true, however, that attendees of the Grace Sathuluri Conference receive a free sari and meals for the week (Aaronson, 7). Despite these incentives and Bellevue’s eagerness, the missionary approach between the American and Indian women at the conference is distant, with Bellevue missionaries being provided separate eating and sleeping quarters (Aaronson, 9). Although the connection between the two groups of women is distant, the focus of the Bellevue ministry is not on the tangible worldly incentives but rather the promise of eternal life through baptism.
For Isasi Diaz, redemption is not necessarily connected to baptism but a salvation achieved only through love of one’s neighbor, expressed through solidarity. This concept of solidarity is paramount to responsible and true redemption. Solidarity focuses on “understanding the interconnections that exist between oppression and privilege…it also refers to the cohesiveness that needs to exist among communities of struggle” (Diaz, 89). Thus, redemption is not a passive act of baptism or conversion but the active, everyday opposition to the repression and subjugation that is present in a community or nation. Redemption can only be achieved through the liberation of all people, freeing both the oppressed and oppressors while simultaneously uplifting the community onto the plane of the divine.
Her given definition is in sharp contrast to Bellevue’s missionary ideals. As the Commercial Appeal article describes, “The Bellevue missionaries watch [the baptisms] from a viewing area next to the pool…none get close to the baptismal pool and wet women” (Diaz, 6). The separation between Indian and American women, even within the personal and spiritual conference, is pronounced. For Isasi Diaz, missionary work and solidarity relies upon an interconnectedness, which leads away from “naïve understanding” of a problem, leading to a superficial solution, but a “critical awareness, which delves in to problems…replaces magical explanations with real causes and tends to dialogue” (Diaz, 94-5).
In her work, Mujerista Theology, the motivation for redemption is solely that of liberation. She argues that in order to fully obtain the Kin-dom (Kingdom) of God, one must reverse the alienation that has occurred in one’s communities, separating people from each other through societal oppression (Diaz, 90). As Guiterrez, a Bolivian author, writes, “An atheist is someone who fails to practice justice for the poor.” (Diaz, 91) According to Isasi Diaz, conversion to Christianity is a lesser motivation as compared to struggle for social justice and the salvific nature of community.
With this definition in hand, the question of the nature of salvation becomes two-fold: One, is redemption solely achieved through daily struggle and, eventually, the end of societal oppression? And two, is the motive for social justice the sole crux of Christianity in the modern world? Under the Moral Exemplar model, prominent in Isasi Diaz’s theology, it is safe to argue that Jesus’ works and mission are the key component to eternal life in Heaven. It is only through this struggle through life, as she mentions, that one can truly bring redemption to oneself and the masses. By living out Jesus’ message of social justice, one is truly modeling Christ and bringing about salvation.
From this, however, the distinction between Isasi Diaz and Bellevue’s mission is blurred; both claim to use work to redeem and save Christian followers. The nuances between the two become distinct in their motives. For Bellevue Baptist, it is essential for salvation to be brought to as many individuals as possible with little or no regard to the affect that being Christian entails in this life. For Isasi Diaz, the emphasis does not lie with quantity, but rather producing concrete social change. This primary distinction juxtaposes models that emphasize the importance of reward on Earth versus the reward in Heaven. Thus the moral question becomes, is religion beneficial to a woman if the emphasis is on ensuring eternal life rather than meeting the needs and well-being of the whole woman?