TIME Cover Depicts the Disturbing Plight of Afghan Women - TIME

Aisha had her nose and ears cut off by Taliban sentence for running away from abusive in-lawsTIME Cover Depicts the Disturbing Plight of Afghan Women - TIME.If forgiveness is not a divine virtue, then humanity is lost forever. Doesn't "to have a heart" refer to possessing virtues such as mercy, pity, sympathy, and compassion? Where ruthless and heartless legalism governs the lives of people, fear and terror are widespread and freedom disappears....

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Presenting Christ as Relevant to Our People

Written for a friend, January 2009Factually speaking, there is nothing more relevant to the life and destiny of any people than the Gospel of Jesus Christ; it delivers them from the pit of destruction and places them on the path of salvation originally charted out for them. Therefore, there is nothing more relevant than the Gospel of Jesus Christ.However, the problem of relevance revolves around the people’s lack of awareness of Christ...

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Good Friday Ka Mahatva - All India Radio 2001

SPEAKER - REV. R. VENKATA RAO PAULUSSTATION - ALL INDIA RADIO, SHAHDOLDATE - GOOD FRIDAY, 2001LANGUAGE - HI...

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Biblical Qualifications of Choir (Band) Members

1. They should have the calling and anointing for worship (Acts 6:3; 1Chronicles 25). Unless they have the calling, they cannot have dedication for service.2. They should be obedient to the Choir leader (IChronicles 25:6)3. They must be submissive to the Church authority (IChr.25:6)4. They must be skillful in singing or in playing different instruments (25:7)5. They must be instructed in the songs of the Lord (not attracted by worldly music) (25:7).6. They must be dedicated to the service of the House of the Lord (25:6). When it comes to Church...

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Pure and Undefiled Religion - Sermon (James 1:27)

Pure and Undefiled ReligionMessage by Domenic MarbaniangItarsi Church, Sunday, August 29, 2010.Text: James 1:27 "Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world."Synopsis of MessageThe usual picture that one has of a religious and pious person is of some solitary sage standing aloof from the world and steeped in deep meditation. We have had people in history who lived lives like that thinking that spirituality is something that is related to...

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Faith is Final Evidence (Hebrews 11:1)

© Domenic Marbaniang, Explorations of Faith (2009), Chapter 1.Hebrews 11:1 - "Faith is...the evidence of things not seen."------------------------------The second part of this statement is parallel to the first. It modifies the first clause. Thus “substance” is “evidence” in the same manner that “things hoped for” are “unseen”. A significant truth of revelation here is that faith doesn’t need further evidence for its existence than its presence itself....

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Religious Tolerance in the Old and the New Testaments

© Domenic Marbaniang, January 10, 2008.The Old Testament idea of religious nationalism is deeply based on God’s covenant relationship with the people of Israel. The nation of Israel is seen as existing because of God’s covenant with Abraham and the people of Israel on Mount Sinai. Instances of religious intolerance find explanation in God’s relation to Israel as a husband’s to his wife. As infidelity in marriage is intolerable, so is infidelity in religion. The covenant relationship, however, required wilful commitment.The New Testament, however,...

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The Laughing Philosopher & the Significance of Truth in Belief

© Domenic Marbaniang, December 19, 2007.“All men by nature desire to know,” said Aristotle in his Metaphysics. Curiosity is instinctive to man. Anxiety, boredom, frustration, and bewilderment often accompany one’s failure to know what one wants to know. If there are shocks that upset the mind, then there are also shocks that excite the mind. Unexpected pleasures are as shocking as unexpected pains, though with opposite results. Therefore, when the...

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The Boomerang of Belief - Problems in Religious Epistemology - An Introduction

© Domenic Marbaniang, December 19, 2007.‘The sense of the world must lie outside the world,’ said Ludwig Wittgenstein (1889-1951).[1] The human problem is seeking sense of the world within the world or within one’s own self. But can man go beyond himself by himself? Can someone lift himself up by pulling up his bootstraps? The epistemic predicament of man has been just that in several cases: when he started from himself or nature he returned to himself or nature, to the extent that ‘man is the measure of all things’ was reflected in all his cogitations...

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Why Study Major Religions

The study of major religions of the world does help us to become both a better human being and a better follower of our own faith.After studying briefly the various major religions of the world, I could realize the universality of this quest for meaning and the eternal, despite of the many scientific developments. The further development of religions is an indication that even though we have developed materially we still are in need to develop spiritually....

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Islam: Main Teachings and 5 Pillars

The Teachings of IslamThe teachings of Islam resemble much the teachings of Judaism and Christianity. Authoritatively originating from Mohammed’s acclaimed revelations, they stood in stark contrast to the prevailing beliefs of the people of his own time. The people of Arabia were superstitious, polytheistic, and idolaters. Their lives were steeped in blind beliefs, immorality, blood-drenched wars, and purposeless living. In the midst of such chaos,...

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Hinduism - 4 Stages of Life and 3 Ways of Salvation - Parallels with Christianity

The Four Goals of LifeThe four goals of life according to Hinduism are dharma (righteousness), artha (worldly prosperity or material well being), kama (enjoyment or pleasure), and moksha (liberation).[i]1. Dharma:    Dharma is translated as righteousness, duty, law, and religion in English. In Hindu mythology, Rama, Yudhistra, and Harishchandra are all symbols of dharma – ones who symbolized the dignity and power of dharma through their lives.Dharma is a relative term – relative in the sense that it has sense only in its practical...

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Origin of Religions

The subject of the origin of religions is not free from debate. Perspectives differ along presuppositions. Even the scientific versions are not beyond dispute. Novel discoveries are forcing us to re-examine these scientific theories of religion that were considered to be axiomatic.Much of the problem involved in the study of pre-literary religions arises because of the lack of sufficient historical information dating back to the time when religion...

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