Marbaniang, Domenic

Definition The word “theology” means the Science of God or the Study of God. It is the religious systematization of such beliefs as that involve God and the viewing of the universe with such a theology of God. Thus, it also involves every such doctrine in the universe that streams from or streams towards God, e.g., anthropology, soteriology, etc. Basically, it is the study of the divine things. Ground Deciding a starting point for theology is often dilemmatic. Should it be Scripture, nature, experience, or God Himself? The theologian attempting to develop a systematic treatment of Christian theology early encounters a dilemma regarding the question of starting point. Should theology begin with the idea of God, or with the nature and means of our knowledge of him? In terms of our task here, should the doctrine of God be treated first, or the doctrine of Scripture?” [1] The dilemma is more intensified by the intrusion of evidentialism, which may even endanger the concept of absolute God....

1. Sinlessness of Christ. The sinful nature was absent from His human nature. 2. Divinity. The Virgin Birth made Incarnation possible or else He'd have been a mere human. 3. Uniqueness. Not as Hercules, having 2 fathers, on divine, one human. 4. Miraculous. The supernaturalness of the event. Not natural. 5. One Person. 2 Natures but one person. If born of a human father and mother then a new person (dual personality is contradictory) 6. Divine Act. Prophesied beforehand by Isaiah.

I am convinced that we can trust the Bible: trust it as the true revelation of God. The pluralism of “revelations” calls for the exercise of the law of non-contradiction. The modern relativistic, pluralistic mood looks at the Bible as another “truth”. But the fact is that there can never be an absolute infrastructure for relative truth. They always differ in their infrastructure though the superstructure might appear to be the same. The trustworthiness of the Bible is a very important issue, since it addresses issues of ultimate concern: Theology, Cosmology, and Teleology (purpose, salvation). And it supercedingly differs from other “revelatory” sources. Either the Bible is true or false; it is either trustworthy or non-trustworthy. How do we know if we can trust the Bible, then? The Philosophical Test of Internal Consistency. In depth study shows that the Bible is never self-contradictory or self-defeating. As a matter of fact, though the books of the Bible were written over a time ...

MDiv, CITS, Sept 11, 2000 THOUGH there may be a way of depending on the Scripture (i.e., the Bible) without any adherence to or trust in its content (e.g. one may depend on the Bible for knowledge concerning what the early Christians believed and how they behaved, etc), dependence on Scripture, here, means dependence on the infallibility of and the reliability of Scriptural truth—and so to live life on the basis of what the Bible says concerning life. I contend, then, that the true basis of depending on the Scripture is the real fulfillment of the ultimate existential necessity of life in experience. It is not what can be known by experience or reason that the Bible is depended for, but more for what it says concerning the unknown – concerning the Infinite, the origin and destiny of man and the cosmos, the significance of life, etc. The Bible, then, is a revelation – and this is generally accepted as a fact. Thus, the accounts of history and other writings are not mere accounts but a r...

© Domenic Marbaniang, 1999. India is a democratic country; and by that we mean it is governed by us, its people [“democracy”, from the Greek democratia: demos, people, and kratia , government or rule]. Ethics refers to the study of moral conduct, of “what one ought to do”. Our nation recognizes the ideals of Justice, liberty, Equality, and Fraternity in its constitution. With the complexity of religious beliefs, its diversities, secularistic views, and the influence of the media ethical decisions are becoming more and more difficult in our society. The film producer defends his stance of overloading his film with sex as right, while a religious or even a secular man opposes it as morally depraving and detrimental to society. The advertisement agencies technically propagate lies deluding people to believe something which is not true. Our nation has found itself in a closet of ethical relativism – subjectivism and conventionalism. Variant religions assume their own moral standards. The W...

Father, You are the artist of canvas and paint, Color my life with your blue skies and rain, In places of sunshine and places of pain, Till I am a picture of Him. Chorus: Make me a portrait of Paint His love o’er my sin, Make Him ashine, like a light through Till I am a picture of Him Father, I am a canvas for you to create Capture the look of Your smile in my face, But when You paint problems, Lord fill with Your grace, Till I am a picture of Him. Father, You paint my future according to Your plan, I trust You though sometimes I don’t understand, The rainbow of reasons that flow from Your hands, Till I am a picture of Him. - Sigi Varghese (Shared by Thomas T. Varghese)

From Marbaniang, Domenic. Ethics (1998). Published as Philosophical Ethics (2012) 2.1.1.3. Christianity and Normative Ethics Christian ethics, as the author believes, is a mean between Teleological and Deontological Ethics. The concept is that of a God who wills a universal law for all humans, at all times, a Will that is in accordance to His own nature and, therefore, a necessary , for all existence contingent on Him. Any being that rebels against this Will rebels against its own well-being or good , that is contingent on the Creator. The good expresses the teleological dimension and the necessary will expresses the deontological dimensions of Christian ethics. Since this Will is of Divine nature, it must be revealed by the illumination of the Spirit in man. Since man, as the Revelation (Scripture) tells us, is created in the image and likeness of God, he is able to know and choose this will for his life. However, the fallennes of man has alienated him from the divine will. Therefore,...