Domenic Marbaniang

The Young Messiah is a 2016 movie ​directed by Cyrus Nowrasteh and  based on Christ the Lord: Out of Egypt by Anne Rice.  The movie tries to imagine several events in the seventh year of Jesus. It begins with an episode where Jesus raises a young Jewish boy from the dead after a religious crowd surrounds His house accusing Jesus of witchcraft. The family is forced to leave Egypt, and Joseph is willing to leave because he knows through a dream that Herod is dead. Meanwhile, the new Herod comes to know of this miracle in Egypt and commissions a centurion to find and kill the seven year old Young Messiah. The devil is shown throughout the movie trying to incite people against Jesus. The movie aims to show the development of the Messianic consciousness in Jesus at this age. Perhaps, age 7 is chosen with some symbolic significance, bearing on the theology of numbers. James, Jesus's cousin, begins to break the untold tales of the Magi and events surrounding the birth of Jesus....

by Jess Suen Following are some approaches to Chinese character formation: 1. Pictorial . It is the simplest and most basic method. The character is based on a pictogram or form. For example, 人 is human, the upper part is made of head and body and the lower part has the two legs. 口is mouth. 羊is sheep. The sheep character is seen with the two horns on its head, then face and feet. 馬is horse. 手is hand. 木is wood. When it is 林, it's woods. 森 means forest. Normally, forest can be written as 森林, i.e. combined with so many woods. Very interesting. 2. Action Based. These are based on some action. For example, 皿 is dish but something in the dish is blood 血. 男is man, which is a combination of 田 and 力, 田is field or farm. 力 is work force; meaning men need to work with energy as Adam. 婪is greedy, which is a combination of 林and 女. 林is forest, 女 is woman. She is greedy as Eve. 3. Combination of Symbols.  Some characters are formed from symbols. For example, 一is one. ...

(Multiverses. Screenshot from Google Image Search)  Theologically, it is not an impossibility, given the notion of the "three worlds" or more as some tend to subdivide each. However, one must choose between whether to look atthe various "realms" as part of the one Universe or look at reality as containing multiple Universes not closed to each other.  It is apparent from the biblical narrative that the gateway (or stairway as in Jacob's dream) between the three worlds is open for angels, and Satan is said to ascend from the pit and move to and fro. The Genesis narrative tells us that the gateway to Eden is closed to man and he is specifically designated as dust that must return to dust. However, there are exceptional cases of Elijah and Enoch taken away to God.  The term "above" (that also includes pictorial language of dreams and visions) relates to God and life, while the term "below" relates to death and the grave, also pointing to gravitat...

The 7th century Indian philosopher and proponent of Purva Mimamsa (realistic view based on the pre-upanisadic Vedas) argued in favor of Vedic fideism in lines similar to what the Reformed Epistemologists, especially the Foundationalists, are arguing. Following is an excerpt from an article on this philosopher in Standford Encyclopaedia of Philosophy: ...if it is thought that any cognition finally counts as a reliable doxastic practice only insofar as it can be demonstrated to be such (for example, by appeal to a subsequent cognition of the causes of the initial one), infinite regress ensues; for the subsequent, justifying cognition would, as itself a cognition, similarly require justification, and so on. Or, as Kumārila here suggests, if the initial cognition isn't credited with the intrinsic “capacity” for conferring justification, then no further cognition could be able to bestow that, either—unless, of course, the further cognition is itself credited with immediately having that...

Forthcoming in Revive Magazine   Humans are made of body, soul, and spirit. In 1 Thessalonians 5:23, Paul prays that the “whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless.” The body signifies the physical dimension of man; the soul, the psychological; and, the spirit, the spiritual. The following are characteristics of the body (physical): It is Spatio-temporal (i.e. it extends and can be located in physical space-time continuum) It is Material (i.e. it is made up of matter) It is Mortal (i.e. it is destructible) It is Natural (i.e. it is subject to the laws of nature) It has Sensory Consciousness (i.e. the physical sensory system detects and processes sensory stimuli) It has Physical and Sensory Development The following are characteristics of the soul (psychological): It is Intellectual It is Emotional It is Volitional It is Self-Conscious It is Self-Determinating It has Cognitive-Affective-Conative development The following are characteristics of the...

A placebo is a non-therapeutic substance administered under the camouflage of medication to deceive patients into believing that they are receiving medications; this done solely for psychological and not for physiological effects. Placebo may usually be used to compare its effects with the effects of other drugs in drug research. Let's take the case of an experiment that tries to establish whether a particular drug, say to treat weariness, is genuine or merely has the effects of a placebo. Suppose 20 candidates are chosen for this experiment. 10 are given the drug and the rest are put on a placebo while they are told that the placebo is a genuine medication. They need to make sure that the deception is well carried on for the success of the experiment. If both the groups make similar improvements after taking the treatments, the new drug seems to only function as a placebo in effect. The basic hypothesis of the placebo raises the question of mind over matter. Of course, this pushes...

JOHN 8:1-12 Jesus went unto the mount of Olives. And early in the morning he came again into the temple, and all the people came unto him; and he sat down, and taught them. And the scribes and Pharisees brought unto him a woman taken in adultery; and when they had set her in the midst, They say unto him, Master, this woman was taken in adultery, in the very act. Now Moses in the law commanded us, that such should be stoned: but what sayest thou? This they said, tempting him, that they might have to accuse him. But Jesus stooped down, and with his finger wrote on the ground, as though he heard them not. So when they continued asking him, he lifted up himself, and said unto them, He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her. And again he stooped down, and wrote on the ground. And they which heard it, being convicted by their own conscience, went out one by one, beginning at the eldest, even unto the last: and Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the mids...

"Last Supper" by Giovanni Domenico Tiepolo (1750) Yes, it is. Water baptism identifies one with the redemption work of Jesus Christ, with His death, burial, and resurrection. It is anticipated of visible identification with Christ and His Church. Every person has the personal responsibility to examine him/herself before deciding to partake in the Lord's Table. The Bible makes it clear that those who chose not to be baptized were rejecting the counsel of God (Lk.7:30). In a mixed congregation, it is not possible to always know who is worthy to partake of the Table; however, the minister must encourage only those who have been baptized for remission of sins (not just as a ritual but by faith in Jesus Christ) to partake of the Table. Before Jesus sat down to dip bread in the cup, He washed His disciples' feet. He makes the statement that they are already "washed" and only need feet to be washed. Of course, this may not explicitly/only refer to their baptism, fo...

FATHER Like the sky that burns red so that the earth stays cool, And its bluest color tells how hot is the noon; Like the lightning rod that takes the bolt to the ground, And the concrete slabs that take the beatings of storms, He stands to cover, to comfort, and to calm, And asks for nothing, giving all. MOTHER Her womb is God's crucible where a child is formed, Her bosom is the place where comfort is found, Her lips pour wisdom that guards our soul And sets it on track to reach life's goal. "My son, hear the instruction of your father, And do not forsake the law of your mother" (Pro.1:8) (c) June 13, 2017

"Therefore do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you." (Mat 6:31-33) The original sense of nakedness was from that deep insecurity of autonomy that sprung from man's first alienation from God due to sin-- spiritual death. Seeking God marks man's refusal to stay alienated by turning towards His Maker in whom alone is Covering and true Security and no reason to be ashamed anymore.