Marbaniang, Domenic

The Arabic Letter "N" that stands for "Nasrani", i.e. Christians. ISIS used this letter to mark the homes of Christians left in Iraq. “N”, or ن, is the first letter of the Arabic word for Christian, “Nasrani” or Nazarene. The letter has become as symbol of global solidarity with Mosul Christians. The Nazarene taught that it is impossible not to love when He loved the world so much that He gave Himself into the hand of the violent in order to save them for their sins. The depth of estrangement and contortion was manifest in the kind of death administered: the death of the Cross. It was the world that failed to recognize Him – the world that belonged to Him. Yet, the real story is not that the world rejected Him; the real story is that He was willing to let the world reject Him. Divine self-emptying, divine servanthood, and divine crucifixion are powerful themes that shock the philosophy of religion. Nietzsche called the greatest of all sins to be the murder of God (d...

Published in the Contemporary Christian, Bangalore: CFCC, 2011 In one of his sermons, the revivalist preacher Leonard Ravenhill mentions an incident in which an elderly lady was asked by someone which church she went to. She, perhaps reading the issue of denomination in the question, and not certain of the right terminology, answered abruptly, “Oh no, I go to a different abomination!” While the modern era has been able to pull down many of the denominational walls, there are still some lessons that must not be forgotten. We have learnt that many differences are not really essential, which means that unity can become essential. Yet, while we consider newer ways to bridge relationships, we must be cautious not to burn important bridges down. Questions of Authority The first instance of schismatic feelings in the Church is recorded in Acts 6, and it was, not very surprisingly, an issue of food and tables, a catering issue to be precise. The Hellenist Christians were the first protestants ...

On Monday, July 14, the Church of England voted to allow women to be ordained as bishops. Reuters in London reported: Two years ago, a similar proposal failed narrowly due to opposition from traditionalist lay members, to the dismay of modernisers, the Church hierarchy and politicians. But after a five-hour debate on Monday, the General Synod, the governing body of the Church of England, voted overwhelmingly in favour of an amended plan at its meeting in the northern English city of York. Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, commented: "Today is the completion of what was begun over 20 years ago with the ordination of women as priests. I am delighted with today's result." There are others, of course, who consider this move as not being theologically correct. Bishop John Goddard of Burnley is reported to have said that he could not vote in favor of the legislation “out of obedience to God.” “Out of theological conviction, I must vote no,” he said, according to The Press...

The Mirror recently reported another case of a UFO sighting and, this time, the head of an alien was supposedly sticking out of the UFO captured in a picture on Google Earth. ( The Mirror ) A year ago, a few videos on YouTube claimed to have been taken from various angles showed images of a brilliant object descending on the Dome on the Rock in Jerusalem and suddenly shooting up. There have also been reports from the Vatican of interest shown in the extra-terrestrials. (See Vatican, Aliens, and LUCIFER (Excerpts) ). There are those who suppose that stories of supernatural events reported through mythology and legends might have connections with visits of aliens on earth. Some like Van Daniken have accrued much fame through such themes that went viral through his book Chariots of the Gods . Number of theories have sprung up since then. History Channel has been showing a program called Ancient Aliens that tries to look at mythical stories for traces of aliens in the past. UFO sightin...

On Thursday, June 19, 2014 (Yesterday), the Presbyterian Church USA voted in favor of gay marriages and to allow the clergy to preside over gay weddings. Reportedly, "the authoritative interpretation passed 371-238 (61 percent in favor), and the constitutional amendment passed 429-175 (71 percent in favor)." ( Pres-Outlook ). According to Jeff Karoub and Rachel Zoll, The top legislative body of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) voted by large margins Thursday to recognize same-sex marriage as Christian in the church constitution, adding language that marriage can be the union of "two people," not just "a man and a woman." The amendment approved by the Presbyterian General Assembly requires approval from a majority of the 172 regional presbyteries, which will vote on the change over the next year. But in a separate policy change that takes effect at the end of this week's meeting, delegates voted to allow ministers to preside at gay weddings in states wh...

One thing that painfully marks the face of humanity is divisiveness. We are severely fragmented. Among the many things history has bequeathed us are divisions - divisions that seem eternally fragmentary--linguistic divisions, cultural divisions, political divisions, social classes, and so on. Each of these trickles further down into innumerable divisions. For instance, with regard to religious divisions, it is no longer just a matter of being divided over being a Christian or a Muslim or a Hindu; the fragmentation rifts further into Protestant-Catholic, Sunni-Shia, Varna-Avarna, ad infinitum. Historical Overview of The Present Crisis in Iraq In Iraq, the present crisis is religio-political. The Sunni-Shia conflict goes back to the 6th century AD. The bone of contention was about the legitimate successor of the Prophet Mohammed. On the death of the Prophet Mohammed, Abu Bakr, was elected as the Caliph. The Prophet's son-in-law, Ali, opposed it, but didn't press furthe...