God’s Suffering in the Hindu-Christian Gaze

This essay reflects on the Christian (Catholic, Jesuit) effort in India to explain and emphasize the importance of the atoning death of Christ. Arguments in defense of the unique and saving atonement of Christ can be narrowly apologetic and exclusory, based on moral grounds (Christ as the exemplar of selflessness for the sake of others), or efficacious grounds (Christ’s taking upon himself the sins of others to free all from the penalties of sin). Beyond the exemplary and efficacious, however, the aesthetic (visual, poetic) and contemplative gaze upon the crucified still more powerfully communicates what that death is about: One ought to see Christ crucified, contemplate him in his suffering. Along the way, I also take note of some Hindu views on vicarious suffering, challenging or resonating with fundamental Christian sentiments and commitments. The essay concludes that a recognition of the power of the aesthetic and contemplative appropriation of Christ’s death invites a certain mutuality and also a Christian appreciation of the suffering of divine persons in certain strands of Hinduism.