Dalit Creed (A)
A Dalit Creed
We believe in God the Creator, the sustainer and the redeemer of the whole of human
kind and the cosmos. We believe that God has created all in God’s own image.
We believe in Jesus Christ, who was born and lived as a Dalit during his earthly life;
who was born of the so-considered lowly Mary; who suffered unjust discrimination in
the context of the Roman Empire. He suffered humiliating crucifixion for his voice of
resistance against the hegemonic Empire. He part-took in the death of the martyrs to
identify himself with death and the death-like lives of the Dalits. He ascended into life
to bring about fullness of life in all.
We believe in the Holy Spirit who functions as an advocate and a counsellor to those
who are marginalised, and empowers them towards liberation. We affirm our faith in
the Holy Spirit, the Living Spirit of God, who empowers her children to break
inhuman barriers, and the obstacles that negate life, justice and peace. It is this Spirit
that strengthens us to suffer for justice, inspires us to stand against life-negating forces
and prejudices, shaping us into a community of forgiven and freely accepted brothers
and sisters, set apart for God’s service. Raised with Christ, we share in his work for
God’s world of everlasting love, justice and peace.
We believe in the Church that rises above the caste-based structures and which
overcomes prejudices by crossing boundaries and building bridges. We believe in One
Holy Catholic Church that is called to risk its life to cross boundaries to incorporate
everybody into the Body of Christ, irrespective of caste, creed, class, colour and
gender; and to be in solidarity with the wounded communities.
We believe in the community of saints who share a common stance of acceptance of
all in the sight of God and all humans; We believe in God’s forgiveness of sins when
we repent of our dominant nature and seek forgiveness wholeheartedly from the
victims of our oppressive nature; We believe in the resurrection of the body as a
witnessing voice to liberation from oppressions; We believe in the life-everlasting,
which ensures the restoration of an egalitarian cosmic family
Amen
(Prepared by the National Council of Churches, India – Commission on Dalits, 2009)