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Jahangir on Jesus
Aug 22 2007 | Views 55 |
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The Jesuit missionaries at Jahangir's (and also Akbar's) court had a one point objective: to make large parts of India a Christian country through the 'top down' fashion, by first converting the Mughal Emperor and then getting him to start propagating Christianity in his kingdom. In this objective, they failed, but fortunately they have left behind some wonderful memoirs in the form of letters, missives, books, etc.
From the book 'Jahangir and the Jesuits' , specifically from the chapter titled 'A dispute on the divinity of Christ', pg 60-62, in this book. (Note that Moors = muslims.) of Father Guerreiro, translated by C.H. Payne:
But the Moorish Captain said 'if Jesus Christ died on the cross with so much ignominy, how can you say that he was God?'.This led to a discussion on the divinity of Christ...As the King[Jahangir] was as yet unable to comprehend such matters, lacking the light of true faith, and being anxious, as it seemed to to explain or qualify the Christian doctrine, said by way of defending it,
'The Fathers, in calling Christ God, use, as it were, a figure of speech, meaning thereby to show their great love for him. In just the same way I may call any one of whom I am very fond my brother, or my soul, though, in fact, the person is nothing of the kind. In the same way, the Christians call Christ God because they love him, though he is not so in reality.'
This was his answer to all the instances and proofs which the Fathers brought forward. He held forth with such impetuousity that the latter could not get a word in, though they repeatedly begged to be allowed to speak. At length, to pacify them he said, 'Leave it to me, Fathers! I am on your side.' And continuing he said, 'As to their calling Christ the Son of God, that is because he had neither father nor country, and was miraculously born of the Virgin Mary'.....
Then, evidently very proud of his oration, he asked the Fathers if his explaination of their doctrine was not correct. They told him it was not, at which he was a great deal annoyed, as he had been endeavouring to speak in their defence....He asked them if they had understood what he had said. They replied that they had, and repeated the words he used.
Then, evidently very proud of his oration, he asked the Fathers if his explaination of their doctrine was not correct. They told him it was not, at which he was a great deal annoyed, as he had been endeavouring to speak in their defence....He asked them if they had understood what he had said. They replied that they had, and repeated the words he used.
'Then what do you say to it?' he asked
'We say,' replied one of the Fathers, 'that Jesus Christ was the actual Son of God, and that he is in very truth God.'
'Is that in the Gospels?'
'Yes, Sire'...
The King asked if in the Gospels Christ said of himself that he was God:
'Many Times' was the reply; whereupon the King repeated his favourite argument, that the Fathers said this because of their great love for him.
'Sire,' said a courtier, 'what you say is very reasonable; but these people will never confess as much. They do nothing but say that Christ is actually God. Ask the Father, and your Majesty will see what he says.'
'There is no need to ask them,' said the King. 'They cannot help speaking of Christ in this manner because of their love for him. If they were threatened with death they would still say the same, because they have consecrated their lives to him.'
'Sire, not only those who are consecrated to him, but all Christians are the same. How do you explain this?'
'It is,' said the King, 'because they are all, from their infancy, brought up to love the Lord Jesus Christ, and to believe that he is God. Nor is this very strange. Here in our own mountains there are, as you know, certain dervishes who after drinking two cups of bhanga begin to perform such feats and antics that all people run after them and acclaim them as saints.
p.s. In reading the books, letters, etc. of the good Fathers, one must always analyze the writings critically before accepting anything they say. Just after the last quote of Jahangir i give, this is what the Fathers would have Jahangir say 'And if I who have not seen the miracles which Christ did, love him much only because i have heard of them, and commend all my affairs to him, why is it surprising that those who with their own eyes saw him raise the dead, called him God?'; this appears to be a fictional quote to me designed to inspire awe for Christ in the mind of the reader.
p.s. In reading the books, letters, etc. of the good Fathers, one must always analyze the writings critically before accepting anything they say. Just after the last quote of Jahangir i give, this is what the Fathers would have Jahangir say 'And if I who have not seen the miracles which Christ did, love him much only because i have heard of them, and commend all my affairs to him, why is it surprising that those who with their own eyes saw him raise the dead, called him God?'; this appears to be a fictional quote to me designed to inspire awe for Christ in the mind of the reader.
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