Marbaniang, Domenic

Communication is a bi-way event ; both the communicator and the receiver are actively involved in determining what the communication comes to be. There is nothing like passivity in the communication process. Some form of active involvement is always present. For instance, one cannot say about a listener that his mind is a blank slate (a tabula rasa ) upon which everything that a person is saying or communicating is exactly imprinted in the way that the person intended to say. The listener is also very actively involved in trying to understand what is being said. And, if the hurdles of communication are not properly and skillfully tackled, the results could be grave misunderstanding if not blankness or sense. Thus, we know cases of people having a false memory of an event; it's because their mind was actively involved in resolving whether a color was red or orange or it was a particular person that they had seen passing by. Preconceptions and assumptions play significant role in wha...

The term "example" comes the French essemple and the Latin exemplum , which meant "a sample" or an instance of a thing. An example belongs to the same kind of the thing being discussed. For instance, if I go to a shop and ask him what rice qualities he got, he'll show me samples (examples) from different bags. In theological discussion, it is important to make a difference between examples and illustrations. Examples qualify as evidences and proofs of a subject; however, illustrations are not proofs; they only help understand (throw light upon, illustrate) an idea or concept. Thus, there are no examples of God's existence except God Himself. There is also no example of the Trinity except the Trinity. We can find some illustrations that help us understand these in some way, but the illustrations are not to be regarded as exemplary proofs (that is, to argue that since the illustration is possible, therefore, the doctrine is also possible). In such discussions...

2 NOTES 1. PERSUASION. Public speaking or rhetoric is an art of persuasion. One must keep in mind that it is more important to win a person than to win the argument; therefore, humility, gentleness, and meekness count a lot. Jesus, when giving the call to discipleship, said “Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls” (Matthew 11:29). He made the learning situation easy and bereft of all egotistic tensions. How we treat the audience determines how they take us. An Indian maxim avers “Do not cut someone’s nose [i.e. insult him/her] and then give a rose to smell.” The speaker’s attitude speaks louder than his words. 2. IMPACT. “There are three kinds of speakers,” says Indian Christian Leader and International Speaker Dr. Matthew Thomas, “the first are those who speak from their intellect – they reach the intellect, the second are those who speak from their heart – they touch the heart, the third are those who speak...