Domenic Marbaniang

That surge of joy In the heart of a boy At the sight of his toy Is greater than The smugness of man Who won't understand That life isn't a game Of dime, dame, or fame; We leave as we came.

Character is Carved by Choices Faith Flourishes by Favor Love Looks Beyond Lacks Truth is Tested on Temperance Silence Succors Sometimes Fear Fills up Folly Reverence Reflects Royalty Reliance Reassures Rest Intent Inspires Imagination Godliness Goes Before Glory Pride Precedes Perdition Discipleship Demands Denials Honor comes by Honoring Suretyship is a Sure Snare Frame no Thought on Fragmentary Talk Snobbery Secures Segregation The Devil's Patience Doesn't Postpone his Perdition Doubt Confuses, Faith Convicts Battles are won by Bravery and Belief Seduction can Steal the Stand The Sagacious Save in Summer Companionship Constructs or Corrupts Excellence comes through Endeavor Faith is Foundational; Doubt, Demolitional Prejudice Prevents Perception Bitterness Breeds Bitterness Thanksgiving is the Language of Trust To Love means To Listen Humility is the Health of one's Heart To Love a N...

Ever since the dawn of Darwinism and the subsequent rise of Evolutionism, theologians have tried to wrestle with objections posed by science to the Creation account. The enormous amount of fossil records and proven accuracy of dating methods that try to figure out dates of each fossil along with other scientific researches are seen as a real issue that intellectual Christianity cannot be blind to. Many of the modern theologians and apologists have given in to some form of accommodation of evolutionary thinking, though trying to keep God in picture as the Prime Cause of all things. Most of them prefer a mythical or figurative interpretation of the Genesis account. The Catholic Church doesn't ignore the possibility of biological evolution; however, it makes it clear that the theory of biological evolution cannot explain the creation of the human spirit that distinguishes humans from beasts. In his Message to the Pontifical Academy of Sciences on Oct 22, 1996, Pope John Paul II sa...

The poem as quoted in Oswald J. Sander's (not to be confused with Oswald Chambers (1874-1917)) Spiritual Leadership (1967) credits it to an "Author Unknown". The poem as he quotes it is as follows: When God wants to drill a man    And thrill a man    And skill a man, When God wants to mold a man    To play the noblest part; When He yearns with all His heart    To create so great and bold a man That all the world shall be amazed,    Watch His methods, watch His ways! How He ruthlessly perfects    Whom He royally elects! How He hammers him and hurts him,    And with mighty blows converts him Into trial shapes of clay which    Only God understands; While his tortured heart is crying    And he lifts beseeching hands! How He bends but never breaks    When his good He undertakes; How He uses whom He chooses    And with every purpose fuses him;    By ev...

And God saw the light, that it was good; and God divided the light from the darkness. (Gen 1:4) The usual way has been to look at this along with the statement that "God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night." (Gen.1:5). So Barnes notes: God then separates light and darkness, by assigning to each its relative position in time and space. This no doubt refers to the vicissitudes of day and night, as we learn from the following verse: Gen 1:5 Called to the light, day, ... - After separating the light and the darkness, he gives them the new names of day and night, according to the limitations under which they were now placed. But John Gill saw this division as original division of light and dark particles: "and God divided the light from the darkness: by which it should seem that they were mixed together, the particles of light and darkness" Of course, the scientific views in the 17th century were quite different from the views now. Today, scienti...

There are a number of Christian movies that have tried to tackle the issue of human suffering in the face of faith in an all-good and all-powerful God. The Shack , based on the 2007 novel by William P. Young, is a serious attempt towards the same. The movie shows Mack who is in deep shock from the sudden loss of his youngest daughter struggling with the issue of faith and forgiveness. By a turn of events, He meets the Trinity which manifests to him in a homely setting as Mother-Son-Sarayu (a young lady as the Spirit). The Trinity don't look European (white) in this movie. The traditional image of the Father as someone aged (here, first shown as Mother (Papa) and later as Father-figure ) is kept intact. Of course, we may think the Ageless One need not be depicted as an old aged. But, the movie maker tried to not disturb the traditional imagery too much. The movie draws a very homely, friendly, and lively scenery of the conversations between Mack and the Trinity. There are a numbe...

Then God said, "Let there be light"; and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good; and God divided the light from the darkness. God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. So the evening and the morning were the first day. (Gen 1:3-5) Then God said, "Let there be lights in the firmament of the heavens to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs and seasons, and for days and years; and let them be for lights in the firmament of the heavens to give light on the earth"; and it was so. Then God made two great lights: the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night. He made the stars also. God set them in the firmament of the heavens to give light on the earth, and to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good. So the evening and the morning were the fourth day. (Gen 1:14-19) On Day 1, pure physical light was created. Th...

Jesus ministered in word and in deed. He said His works testified of Him. The Gospel is not only communicated by words but also by deeds. Preaching, talking, apologetics, discourse, conversations exemplify the Gospel in words. But, the Gospel can and is expected to also be communicated by deeds. One may confess with his mouth that Jesus is Lord (Rom.10:10). But, they may deny the Lord by their works. They profess to know God, but in works they deny Him, being abominable, disobedient, and disqualified for every good work. (Tit 1:16) Many times, the Gospel is more effectively communicated with great conviction by actions, without words. Wives, likewise, be submissive to your own husbands, that even if some do not obey the word, they, without a word, may be won by the conduct of their wives, (1Pe 3:1)

Life is an interweaving of stories. We hear stories all the time and stories help us to experience the experiences of others, though vicariously, though in a personal way feeling together with the other. One of the greatest gifts given to humanity by God is the gift of imagination. It is saddening when this is used vilely and foolishly, but humans need imagination to transcend their own world-frame and enter another world-frame to experience learning and benefit from the experiences of others. Stories cannot be told or listened to without the use of imagination. Stories can help to shed light on ideas. Jesus used stories to teach great truths in simple terms. The Bible is filled with stories to help us understand God, this world and ourselves better. Stories can be realistic or fantastical. Unrealistic fictions may not always be useful. Educators such as Plato tried to suggest state censorship on stories that could confuse citizens on issues of absolutes, truth, and values. If it w...