Domenic Marbaniang

Pardon that is neither recognized by the pardoned nor acknowledged as such by the same adds to the prevalence of injustice. To say "I have been pardoned" is to acknowledge the authority of the Pardoner, the condemnation of self in sin, and the total surrender to the mercy of the Lord.  To say "I have been pardoned" also means to acknowledge that the Pardoner (being the Ultimate Authority) has incurred the cost of the pardon.  Unsolicited pardon is an aggravation of injustice and evil. If it were not for the Mediator, the High Priest, there would not have been intercession for the sins of the world; for the flesh is at enmity with the Law of God and would not acknowledge it. The intercessor must provide the price for appeasement of justice. Pardon must be received in order to be restored and reconciled.

 It was the case in the OT that the prophet was the message. His very life (that included his family) bore the burden of the message. That unity somehow gets split in a post-postmodern world of clicks, likes, selfies masquerade.  I sadly reflect on those who are "forced" by the socio-religio-political system to assume a multi-face,- confusing themselves and the world. It is even more saddening when one face that seems to carry the message of inner-outer unity suddenly is revealed to be a mask and the unveiled real beneath it is a thorough mess.

Some people ask why God allows evil in the world; the fact is that He allowed the greatest of all evils ever possible - the murder of God, evil against Himself. That is the tragedy of the Cross; but, that is the reality as well of His goodness. He allowed Himself to be utterly and thoroughly rejected, so that He could embrace us in that pit of sin. How can we forget that at this Christmas! The very fact that He chose to be born into the most vulnerable situation speaks against all human confidence in human virtue. Through the Virgin Birth, He exposed Himself to social rejection and possible illegitimization! Through the Star of Bethlehem, He exposed Himself to political violence and possible murder! Through His deeds and words, He exposed Himself to religious hatred and possible abandonment by all friends! Through His love for His disciples, He exposed Himself to the most insidious betrayal! Through His silence at His trial, He exposed Himself to the worst intentions of violent men! To...

 Prov 2:16 To deliver you from the immoral woman, From the seductress [who] flatters with her words,  Prov 2:17 Who forsakes the companion of her youth, And forgets the covenant of her God. "the covenant"  Gill thought that "the covenant" here did not refer to Noah's covenant nor to Moses' covenant, but to the marriage act of covenant itself. But, it seems to me best to also relate it to the seventh commandment - Thou shalt not commit adultery - for the following reasons: The woman is part of the covenant people and violation of the seventh commandment is violation of God's covenant This is neither her covenant nor her husband's but God's. She forgets the impermissibility of divorce/forsaking within the covenant membership of God.  This "forsaking" as adultery is elaborated by Christ: “Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery; and whoever marries her who is divorced from her husband commits adultery." (Luke 1...

It doesn't seem that the US people have lost faith in democracy. It appears distinctly that a great number of them do not trust (a) mail-in ballots and (b) machines. Whether this public call get respect from the judiciary is the question. Ultimately, people must not lose faith in the judiciary; for where the measuring limb of the government is compromised, injustice prevails and people return to a state of nature...

 If you find that your video appears on your screen, but other participants inform you that your video doesn't appear, then try unchecking the Hardware Acceleration for Video.  Go to Audio & Video in the meeting screen Select Camera and then Advanced Settings Uncheck Hardware Acceleration for Video If the webcam is not functioning at all, you may need to perhaps  Check if the camera is connected (if external) Check if it is working in other apps Update the drivers.

Quick reflections: While some are turning to "prophets" and "prophecies" for some clue or answer (Nostradamus included), other's are turning to science (or quasi-science) and maths. Prof. Lichtman's prediction that Biden would win seems almost to have come true, while some are now turning to Benford's Law for forensic evidence to whether voter fraud has really occurred.  But, how fool-proof are any of these? Not all "prophecies" can be 100% true for we see through a dark glass as Apostle Paul said. That also can mean that prophetic consonance cannot be treated as proof. Lichtman's prediction assumes a pattern of mass psychology and behavior. But, does it appropriately incorporate factors such as fraud and mediacracy? Needs check.  Benford's Law proves successful in detecting fraud in several areas; however, experts are skeptical if it applies to election results due to population variances involved. At the same time, application of the ...

Tweets, likes, and shares Brainwashing masses unawares As post-postmodernity thrives On virtual reality vibes. They feared effect-domino During the Cold-war you know? Now, they begin to realize That anybody can believe in lies. Where mediacracy reigns Through ideocracy's reins, Democracy is shamed And, liberty is baned. Democracy should refuse to be overrun by mediacracy.

  As the US elections 2020 wraps up, allegations of voter fraud are being raised by the GOP. A number of defensive arguments use the following premises: Voter fraud rarely happens (historical evidence) The instances are so low that they cannot affect the election outcomes (historical evidence) The cost of committing the fraud outweighs the benefit from it that people would avoid it (tight laws, time-consuming procedures - psychological evidence) Biden got more mail-in votes because he encouraged it as part of the social-distancing commitment. Trump didn't do that so got what the walk-ins could bring. (logical evidence) Concerns: Just because it happened rarely in the past cannot guarantee it cannot happen massively in the future If the benefit could be greater and the act made securer through loop-hole exploitation and strategic coordination, why wouldn't massive and systemic power-abuse become possible? How is it possible that all or almost all of mail-in ballots favored the s...

  Educational institutions have turned to Zoom, WebEx, Teams and several other applications to keep teaching alive amidst this raging pandemic. Teachers are now contending with a new problem: classroom without eye-contact (as students usually prefer to turn their cameras off). Though it might pose an increased challenge to the teacher, I don't think it poses any problem to the student, unless s/he has got distracted with other things in her/his surrounding. That could be resolved by revisiting the class video, in case it was recorded. Where class attendance is not mandatory, the very fact that a student is attending the online class is a positive factor - which assures of at least some 30-60% of attention (adjusted to mind-wandering every now and then). Participation and learning experience can be enhanced by quizzes, google docs team work, games, and other interesting activities . I suspect if breakout rooms will efficiently work without someone with a leader role in the room....

  The Pro-Choice argument usually goes something like this: (a) The fetus at or before a certain point is not a human invested with human rights (is subhuman) (b) Therefore, abortion at or before that point is not an ethical question (c) At that point, the mother has the priority of right to decide whether to keep or abort the pregnancy Problematic Case: In India, abortion is illegal, so is determination of sex by ultrasound, especially due to the high risk of female feticide. Moral Logic: Abortion on the basis of sex determination is evil. (which can be determined as early as 7 weeks) Anomaly: How can it be evil if the fetus is subhuman? OR How can a human/female rights issue apply to the fetus?  Possible response: Abortion based on sex determination violates not the ethics of life, but the ethics of sexual equality. Counter: How can equality be possible without life in the first place? Conclusion : The Pro-Choice argument suffers from practical-logical inconsistency

APOLOGETICS DISCUSSION ON CHRISTIAN RESPONSES TO COVID-19 TOPIC: Intelligent Design VS Irrational Disease? Join Dr. Mark Boone, Rev. Luther Li,Dr. (Sr.) Mudita Sodder, Dr. Joseph Hiwale, Bro. Keneth Pervaiz, Dr. Domenic Marbaniang, and Dr. J. B. Jeyaraj on a Live Conversation on Covid-19 questions for Christianity that rage across the globe. Posted by Faith and Philosophy on Friday, August 28, 2020 Moderator: Dr. Domenic Marbaniang Panelists: Dr. Mark J. Boone (Hong Kong Baptist University) Rev. Luther Li (Emmanuel Christian Church) Dr. (Sr.) Mudita Sodder (RSCJ, Sophia College, Fellowship of Indian Missiologists) Bishop Dr. Joseph Hiwale (Koinonia College of Theology, Koinonia Church Fellowship) Bro. Keneth Pervaiz (Southern Baptist Theological Seminary) Dr. Domenic Marbaniang (Hong Kong Baptist University) Dr. J. B. Jeyaraj (Jubilee Institute) QUESTIONS: 1. Did God create malevolent viruses? 2. Should we consider COVID-19 as God's judgment of international sin in t...

Love, crucified by Hate, Has broken Hades' Gates And, vanquishing Hatred, Now pronounces us Sacred, Our darkest sins forgiven Our dead spirits enlivened To life born from above Dead to Hatred, Alive to Love! HAPPY RESURRECTION CELEBRATION!

Based on a literal interpretation of prophecy (which has more credence) and based on direct evidence of the historical narratives in the Bible (which make the question even worthwhile), the following observations may be inferred: 1. COVID-19 pandemic is not a God-sent apocalyptic plague. All evidence shows that it is a man-made pandemic. It began at a wet market in Wuhan, now identified as 'ground-zero' of the virus' first impact. The  Torah  lists out some food restrictions for the Jewish community, which are today considered as being crucial for prevention of plague-inducing conditions for those times when scientific understanding was not highly advanced. If the Jewish community had violated the restrictions and contracted a disease that turned into an epidemic wiping off a large portion of its populace, that epidemic would be considered as a consequence of negligence and not a direct God-sent pestilence. There were many human-created conditions that escalated the s...

GREEK SANSKRIT HINDI PUNJABI TELUGU KHASI ου, ίας, ων अस्य , अयोह, अनाम; :, ओ:, अनाम           का, की, के   ਦਾ , ਦੀ , ਦੇ డి , అ,   యొక్క , Jong ou, ias, on asya, ayoh, anam; ah, oh, anam ka, ki, ke da, di, de di, a, yokka Jong

Q. Isn’t the Bible patriarchally prejudiced, therefore, towards homosexuals? Ans. The Biblical condemnation of homosexuality is not patriarchally based. It is based on the creational nature of sexuality. Sexuality is essentially procreative and sexual attraction has an affectionate dimension that is essentially related to the procreative function. Sexual love is not the same as friendly love or parental love. It is not matriarchal to say that a woman must not have sex with woman in the same way as it is not patriarchal to say that sex between two men is a fundamental aberration. Homosexuality is wrong because it severs desire from its natural directive/objective and grants it autonomy; in other words, it let’s desire lead. Q. Paul in Romans 1, 1Corinthians 6, and 1Timothy 1 is referring to nonconsensual homosexual practices between older men and constrained young boys or slaves. It doesn’t refer to homosexuality in the modern sense, right? Ans. Paul is not referring to rape or sexu...