CLEANSINGOT & NTHoly Unholy; Clean & UncleanOnly the Clean can be Holy; but, in order for the clean thing to be holy, it must be sanctified by the altar.Jesus said that the altar sanctifies the gift. The clean vessels had to be sanctified by water and blood.For example, clean and unclean animals.....Interestingly, about animals etc.. Jesus declared them clean by His wordActs 10:15And, they are sanctified made holy by word and prayer (1Tim.4:5)Jesus made it clear that the things from outside don't make us unclean; but, uncleanness proceeds...
Happy Republic Day 2014 India!!
Last year, I wrote about the three F's of our great Constitution.Our Constitution asserted our1. FREEDOM. We were a sovereign republic.2. FORM. The word “Constitution” itself speaks of form and identity. The Constitution declared the nature, form, and identity of the nation. It answered questions like “What is this nation?” “What is its form?” “Who is its citizen?” “Who are the officials?”3. FUNCTION. The Constitution established the various functions of the State: of the governing officials as well as the citizens. As responsible citizens, we...
Sensus and Imagino (from STRANGER)
He walked groping for the ground; by which I discerned that he must be blind. He held an umbrella open in his other hand, which did slow his motion.He crossed the road and came to where we were.“Who is he?” Inno asked.“Oh, so there’s really someone there?” he remarked. “A sweet little one, I presume. And who is your friend there?”“I’m her uncle, Sir… just two of us here. It does seem to be a rather very lonely road,” I answered.“Yes, it is. All the citizens were summoned to the Gula’s Banquet, you know. She has arranged a magnificent treat for...
Is Dialetheism True?
Dialetheism is a thesis about truth that certain statements can be be both true and false at the same time. Motivations for such come from cases such as the Liar's Paradox:"This sentence is false."To assert that the sentence above is true is to also assert that it is false at the same time. Similarly, to assert that it is false is to also assert that it is true at the same time.Similarly,The statement in this box is false.Other motivations include the paradoxes of Zeno in which both reason and experience seem true (The arrow seems to be moving,...
Christian Mission in the Midst of Violence - Review
Arles, Siga & Thomas, Joy. Christian Mission in the Midst of Violence, Bangalore: CFCC, 2013. Pages – 232Price – Rs.300/- US$20Christian mission is always mission in context, to a context, towards a context. The towardness of mission stirs context to a particular shape which in turn forces mission to take shape - the dynamic interactions continue. One of the contexts in which mission occurs is the context of violence. Certainly, one cannot do mission in such a context without properly analysing the situation and also finding means to accomplish...
Beatitudes for a Bewildered World
Written 19 June, 2012.Forthcoming in Festschrift for Dr. Siga Arles. I am a newcomer to Dr. Siga Arles, and I must confess that I haven’t read much of his writings either. But, we have had few moments, first at a Seminar in Andhra University, then on two of the 4/14 Window Consultations at Patna. This month I had the privilege of joining his tact-team of resource persons for an MTh/PhD module at CFCC and was greatly enriched by his life and input. So, when I was told that a Festschrift was due in honor of him, I was very keen to also pen down something...
The Gospel Must Rapidly and Honorably Spread
"...pray for us that the message of the Lord may spread rapidly and be honored, just as it was with you." (2The 3:1)The Gospel must spread rapidly and be honoured! We are in the 21st century now where anything can spread across the globe at lightning speed. Consumer brands like coca cola have reached to the ends of the world. They can't save the world; only the Gospel can. It's no use just sitting with the same 99 righteous sheep at home while the world is perishing in sins. It is evil to be immersed in our petty little domestic dreams and neglect...
Democracy Is Not Meant to Be Mobocracy
Basically, there are two kinds of government or rules: the rule of people and the rule of law.The rule of people is manifest in democracy (mobocracy) where majority rule or in dictatorship where the whim of a single man pilots the state. Obviously, the rule of law is preferred above the rule of the mob. - The Rule of Law Vs The Rule of People Today, women protested against the Delhi Law Minister, Somnath Bharti's "raid" in the night hours against women being accused of running a drug and prostitution racket. The police didn't want to cooperate...
Idolatry's Logical Failures
Idolatry is a visible religious phenomena in India, despite the fact that some religious reformers like Nanak, Dayananda Saraswati, and Raja Ram Mohan Roy opposed it. One of the most sympathetic apologetics that anyone ever presented was Swami Vivekananda. The story goes that once when he visited a king, the king who disbelieved in idolatry questioned Vivekananda's support of idol worship. The king argued that an idol is just an image and was nothing but clay, stone, and metal. Swami Vivekananda was not disturbed by this. He looked at a painting...
The Upper and Lower Story Problem in Theologically Secularizing Politics
Francis Schaeffer had geniously pointed out the problems with compartmentalizing theology. He observed that Thomas Aquinas' division of theology into natural and revelational was what propelled a history that ended up in the secularization of theology: the lower story (nature) ate up the upper story (grace). The basic problem was the failure to establish a proper connection between the lower and the upper story. He talked of the division as a house made up of the lower and upper story, but having no connecting stairs. The problem seems similar...
Is it Ethical for Kejriwal to Refuse Police Protection?
Kejriwal is a bit theological when He brings his faith in God to issues of personal security.But, what about the police concerns? Obviously, there is no atheistic prong of approach taken. Nobody seems to have hurled a skeptical or agnostic concern arguing that we don't know if God exists and if He does whether He is interested enough in the affairs of mortal men. Not that India is not ripe for atheism; but, I think it has tried and abandoned atheism in the far distant past. We are a people, despite the various religious traditions, who believe...
Doesn't matter if it's just a drop; many drops make an ocean
Doesn’t matter if it’s just a drop… We may be a drop.. But many drops make an ocean.Don't be dismayed by your size;You are the right size for the spot God wants you in...Each life is a chapter in God’s book,Written in His book..He wrote our biography before the world began.(Psalm 139:16)Every flame has a name…A special name that no one else knows;God relates to us personally.(Acts 2:3; Rev. 2:17)Jesus was not fascinated with the big buildings. He said that not a stone would remain upon another;He had no home to call His own; but, He has prepared...
Overthrow of the Devil, BIG SHOT, God's Dream, Faith, Anxiety, and Moving On
On the Cross, the devil was totally deterritorialized, disinherited, deprived, and destroyed. The crucifixion of Christ meant the judgment of the world and the overthrow of the devil. In one shot, our Lord atoned for our sins, pleased the Father, reconciled us to God, justified sinners, condemned the world and abolished the kingdom of darkness. Let's be light, walk in the light, and spread God's light in all the world!!~Now is the time for judgment on this world; now the prince of this world will be driven out. But I, when I am lifted up from the...
The Vocation of the Christian Scholar
Published in Journal of NATA, Vol. 3. No.1,2. 2013. Bangalore, pp.37-43.Christian scholarship is a strong theme of the Bible. For instance, the Old Testament commends Ezra a skilled scribe in the Law of Moses (Ezra 7:6) and one who had prepared his heart to seek the Law of the Lord, to do it, and to teach statutes and ordinances in Israel (Ezra 7:10). The four qualities of a scholar are already present in that one statement: preparation of faculties, study, practice, and communication. Certainly, these disciplines were what defined the vocation...
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Secularism and the Kingdom of Christ(167.6 K)Religious Fundamentalism and Social Order(123.9 K)Symbolic Logic(117.5 K)Systems of Offences and Leaders of Change(199.8 K)The Crime of Silence(16.4 K)The Major Approaches to Religions(203.0 K)Rational Epistemics of Divine Reality(89.1 K)Psychology of Religion(44.4 K)Mercy Seat(44.3 K)Biblical Theology of Revelation(30.8 K)Public Speaking(65.3 K)Developing Patriotism in Children(34.5 K)Plato on Parmenides(82.1 K)Culture of Shame(126.8 K)God is Not Silent(28.6 K)Pentecostalism - A Historical Overview(58.6...
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January
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- Cleansing by Christ
- Happy Republic Day 2014 India!!
- Sensus and Imagino (from STRANGER)
- Is Dialetheism True?
- Christian Mission in the Midst of Violence - Review
- Beatitudes for a Bewildered World
- The Gospel Must Rapidly and Honorably Spread
- Democracy Is Not Meant to Be Mobocracy
- Idolatry's Logical Failures
- The Upper and Lower Story Problem in Theologically...
- Is it Ethical for Kejriwal to Refuse Police Protec...
- Doesn't matter if it's just a drop; many drops mak...
- Overthrow of the Devil, BIG SHOT, God's Dream, Fai...
- The Vocation of the Christian Scholar
- Articles and Papers Download
- Do not worry! - Banner
- The Limits of Evangelisation - Dietrich Bonhoeffer
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