Marbaniang, Domenic

Two unmatched strands of a future story Seem (un)resolved, but not too clear; Felt 'twas one; but, now feels divided Between the now and the coming then. Hoped 'twas one, the tale was unmixed, And the future unraveled this form of the best; But, though 'twas two, and the latter come true, This thing will happily come to rest. © Domenic Marbaniang, March 30, 2010

The Book of Proverbs in the Bible presents Wisdom as the first of all things (Prov.4:7). Wisdom existed before the worlds existed, for by it were the worlds created, it says. Therefore, King Solomon advices the youth to first seek for wisdom above all things, above rubies, pearls, and whatever categorized material blessings in those days. For, when wisdom comes it comes with these and more. Interestingly, the word “philosophy” actually referred to the Greek quest or love for wisdom ( phileo meaning “to love” and sophia meaning “wisdom”). Sadly, in the two millenia and half that rolled out after Socrates, skepticism, relativism, agnosticism, and nihilism scribbled their characters over the scroll of this discipline. Ironically, “philosophy”, in modern parlance, is far from being considered “a love for wisdom”. As G. K. Chesterton wrote: “..the new rebel is a sceptic, and will not entirely trust anything. He has no loyalty; therefore he can never be really a revolutionist. And the fact...

Why Gandhi Didn’t Become a Christian Quotes from Mahatma Gandhi’s An Autobiography or The Story of My Experiments with Truth Translated from Gujarati by Mahadev Desai, Navajivan Publishing House, Ahmedabad, 1927 Online Book: http://www.mkgandhi-sarvodaya.org/autobio/autobio.htm Chapter 20: Acquaintance with Religions About the same time I met a good Christian from Manchester in a vegetarian boarding house. He talked to me about Christianity. I narrated to him my Rajkot recollections. He was pained to hear them. He said, 'I am a vegetarian. I do not drink. Many Christians are meat-eaters and drink, no doubt; but neither meat-eating nor drinking is enjoined by Scripture. Do please read the Bible.' I accepted his advice, and he got me a copy. I have a faint recollection that he himself used to sell copies of the Bible, and I purchased from him an edition containing maps, concordance, and other aids. I began reading it, but I could not possibly read through the Old Testament. I rea...

Message delivered at Pentecostal Church, Itarsi. Tuesday, March 16, 2010. "looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God." Hebrew 12:2 He despised the shame.... The consciousness of shame that the world has is warped, distorted, confused; its values are determined by the shame culture. Luke 16:15: "what is highly esteemed among men is an abomination in the sight of God." Note: It says "abomination in the sight of God", NIV - "detestable": it denotes the extent to which man's system of beliefs, world-view, is opposed to the mind of God. The Evil Spring: Autonomous Heart: "Now when He was in Jerusalem at the Passover, during the feast, many believed in His name when they saw the signs which He did. But Jesus did not commit Himself to them, because He knew all men, and had no need that anyone s...

IDOLATRY © Domenic Marbaniang, May 2007 Published in the Light of Life Magazine, Mumbai, 2007 INTRODUCTION ‘ Idolatry’ may be defined as the practice of worshipping and serving images (pictures, sculpts, etc) as identical with, as representative of, or as deity. In almost every major religion, idolatrous misrepresentation of God has been denounced at some point or the other by religious reformers. Judaism, Christianity, and Islam are blatantly against idolatry. Though Roman Catholicism practices reverence to icons, such practice is nowhere endorsed in the Bible, even in a limited form. Sikhism also believes that God is formless and rejects idol worship. Hindu reformers such as Raja Ram Mohan Roy and Swami Dayananda Saraswati spoke against idolatry. From the Biblical point of view, idolatry is symbolical of rebellion against God and indulgence in the world of passions (Rom. 1: 18-25). I. SINFULNESS OF IDOLATRY A. The Commandment The second commandment of the Decalogue demands: ‘Thou sha...

Churn, Lord... May the Sword of Your Spirit pierce through my conscious and subconscious, stirring, churning, and bringing to surface all that Your grace has worked, warned, and willed in me. Bath my memory with the cream of Your goodness and mercy! In Christ's Name, Amen!

From Lectures given at Grace Covenant Church Short-term Bible School, Shillong. April, 2008 India Motley of religions Birth soil of major religions: Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikkhism Modern Problems - Pluralism, Fundamentalism Modern Issues - Religious Conversions Meaning of Religion The word comes from the Latin "religare" and means "to bind" Religion: -Binds a community together to some authority -Binds the adherent to the religious creed -Binds people to customs, rituals... Functions as a kind of social adhesive - Religion is the soul of culture Origin of Religions The Boundaries Neither is worshipped with men's hands, as though he needed any thing, seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things; And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation; That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find h...

A Matter of Faith ZERO REINTERPRETED Dr. Domenic Marbaniang Professor, CITS.  “Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God….”  (Heb. 11:3) One distinctive tenet of Christian faith is the doctrine of creatio ex nihilo or creation out of nothing. Contrary to many other cosmogonies, the Bible teaches us that God did not create this world out of some primordial substance; the universe is not eternal, but God created the world out of nothing. This is contrary to the natural principle that something cannot come out of nothing. Obviously, this doctrine, though unpalatable to reason, is acceptable to faith. This is not meant to say that faith contradicts natural philosophy, but that it transcends the natural and, therefore, can connect to the reality that gives significance to this universe. Creatio Ex Nihilo The writer of Hebrews tells us here that it is by faith that “we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God”. Obviously, the doctri...