Wanderings

7.2.15
– Do anything whatsoever, but without addiction, deception or coercion.
Evil is bondage, falsehood & violence. Everything else is kosher!
Core values – Freedom, truth & life.
– Spiritual formation & counseling psychology
– “First, they ignore you,
Then they laugh at you,
Then they fight you,
Then they kill you,
And then you win!”
– Movies:
“The International”
If you want justice, then you need to break some rules!
Your ideals
Vs.
The common good
Fatalism Vs. Idealism Vs. Realism
– Choose – would you have the everyday inner emptiness of a routine, respectable job, or the embarrassment of having to answer others occasionally about “What you do”?

8.2.15
– Pray & praise – all day, every day & forever!
Trying to appease & please the majestic & terrifying divinity……?
The infinite beauty & power of the (THIS & each) moment!
– “We are the promise divine,
We are the glorious new wine.”
WOW! Really??
– Never believe the thought that whatever you are doing is insignificant or worthless. That is the Devil’s whisper!
Never give up believing in, & working for, the apocalyptic Gospel, the eschatological Kingdom & the teleological community – irrespective of the scale or style.
Your life will never be in vain, if only you stay the course – persevere!
Amen.
– The structural (cultural & economic) factors that make being a Christian today almost impossible…
What is the spiritual dimension of this conundrum & what will be our response?
– How can busy, insecure & clueless people be ‘witnesses’?
– “So what do you do?”
Changing my answer from’ Christian ministry’ to ‘spiritual work’!
– “The Call to rise, for such a time as THIS.”
– Life
&
Living
– Grow & give, or decay & die!
– Recognizing the signs of the time, paying the cost required & representing what/whom you worship.
– The implicit GOD – read in between the lines written by man, to hear the Word!
– Multi-tasking >> blindness!
– Moving from the emotional & factual, to the rational & volitional, & ultimately to the spiritual!
– Addressing only the mini sub-plots, while the mega big-picture goes unacknowledged!
Your approach (& therefore your diagnosis & solution) is not radical enough.
What is the difference between social work & Christian ministry?
– Awareness of need + self-understanding + faith in GOD =
– Distinguish:
Involvement
&
Engagement
– Realism
Vs.
Reality!
“A thing is a thing, not what is said of that thing. ”
– “Once earthly joy I craved, sought peace & rest, but now…
Let sorrow do its work, come grief & pain…”
– Is it possible to be both independent & attached?
– Making the real Jesus known!
– Be an opportunist!
– This world needs me –> I need this world
– Hand-in-hand with the Creator, Sustainer & Redeemer of all things, & with each other!
– No prayer, no discipleship,
No discipleship, no fellowship,
No fellowship, no ministry,
No ministry, no mission!
– Distinguish:
Credulity
&
Credibility
– Distinguish:
The possible
&
The explicable
– Eating limits:
Regular – light/half stomach
Weekends – satisfactory/70%
Feasting – full/100%

9.2.15
– From anti-porn crusade to sex-positive spirituality!
– Incorrigible
– Belief-forming mechanism

– READINGS
10.10.12
– The Good Life – David McCarthy
29.10.12
– Donald G. Bloesch, “A Response to ElmerColyer,” Journal for Christian Theological Research
2.11.12
– Surprised by Joy – C.S. Lewis (audiobook)
13.11.12
– Earning the right to be heard – Anthony Campolo (30 Good Minutes)
23.11.12
Challenges from Islam – Sam Soloman
Dhoni’s wish can prove to be dangerous – Makarand Waingankar
Two deaths & a common chorus – Gopalkrishna Gandhi
30.11.12
The Gospel & Culture in my Religious Life – Susumu Akahoshi (from the book Healer of the Mind)
3.12.12
Escape from Freedom by Erich Fromm – foreword, toc & chapter 1 (“Freedom, a psychological problem?”)
4.12.12
Memorialising Thakeray
Wake up & smell the ink – Markandey Katju
Mr.Cool (Dhoni) feeling the heat
The Mahatma’s Strange friend
7.12.12
George MacDonald: Nourishment for a Private World – Madeleine L’Engle
8.12.12
Expulsive power of a new affection – Thomas Chalmers
28.12.12
Introduction to Dostoevsky’s Idiot by Joseph Frank
Consuming Fire by George MacDonald
Mother Teresa’s crisis of faith – Time Magazine
11.1.13
Prolegomena to Analogy of Being
Prolegomena to the Body Politic
Prolegomena in Tribute to Stanley Grenz
Prolegomena to Theology & the Church after Google
15.1.13
Prolegomena to Richer Soil, Stronger Roots
Prolegomena to GOD, Death & Afterlife
Prolegomena to Ecumenics & Mission
Prolegomena to On the Atonement
18.1.13
Rene Girard & Hans urs von Balthasar
Prolegomena to That They All May Be One
Prolegomena to Theological Exegesis
Prolegomena to Theology & Global Conflict
Prolegomena to Theology & Race
Prolegomena to Thology & Art
Prolegomena to Tribute to T.F. Torrance
25.1.13
Christ Plays in Ten Thousand Places: A Conversation in Spiritual Theology by Eugene Peterson
1.2.13
Christian experience continues – Adam Kotsko
12.2.13
Capitalism as monstrous religion – Michael Lowy
Interview with Robert W. Jenson
Entrepreneurs & money-changers – Morgan Guyton
Theology & capitalism – interview with John Milbank
Contemplation – Catholic Encyclopedia
23.2.13
Change, changelessness & hope – Madhepuraeha
Unforgivable – Nirmal Shekar
Pilgrim’s battle with sloth – John Piper
25.6.13
– Spirituality: theology or philosophy?” – Howard Herman (Proof & Possibility lecture series)
– “Why study philosophy?” – Philip Goodchild
– “Why study hermeneutics?” – Anthony Thistleton
13.7.13
– “Designed for Desire – God’s design for sexuality” (RBC Discovery Series booklet)
28.9.13
The Third Testament – Introduction
27.1.14
– Mind-body medicine – lecture 1
28.1.14
– Metatheology
31.1.14
– Socrates & self-confidence
12.4.13
– Article on Kangana Ranaut in India Today Woman
30.1.15
– Lecture 1 in Philosophy of Religion course “Faith & Reason” by Peter Kreeft

– Readings:
“Five Views on Apologetics” – Introduction & Glossary
– A Liberal apologetic!?
– When the mice are away, the cat will play!  😉
– Most of the people who were responsible for the giant leaps in human history were considered either as villains, lunatics or fools in their time!
– Excuse me, ma’am… How do you manage to live with your spouse, who is spiritually dead, psychologically boring, & socially insignificant?

10.2.15
– The teaching-learning environment
– Knowledge transformation
– System – categories, concepts & procedures
Goals, processes & factors
– Eat primarily for the body/energy, only then for the stomach/satiety & the tongue/taste.

11.2.15
– Update is not always the same as upgrade.
– Why do I always make myself miserable by doing only what I like?!
– I know only 3 things:
1. Survival – it is better to live than to die.
2. Conviction – it is better to stand & fight for something greater than oneself, than to live only for me & mine.
3. Sacrifice – it is better to die for the life of the other, than to just use the world & then leave it a little lesser.
(Maybe only the Christian gospel is sufficient to sustain these eternal values…)
And of course you must enjoy yourself & have a good time in all this!
– Useless, pointless, worthless……….
How do I motivate myself to do anything at all?!
What is all this for: Is it only “much ado about nothing”? Then why all this “sound & fury”??
– “Just do it!” => “Be true.”
– THANK YOU for this (my) beautiful body!
Sex is a wonderful thing. But then, isn’t love essential? Of course! No need to mix the 2 too much…
– Yes, the outdoors is beautiful, but it is also ridden with mosquitoes… Nothing is simple!
– What am I doing to myself?
What am I doing with others?
What am I doing in this world?
What am I doing for GOD?
– If there is anything worth doing, it’s worth doing imperfectly!
– Being good is more important than being correct,
And being correct is more important than being nice,
And being nice is more important than being rich…
– I am not living a contemplative life,
I am not living a scholarly life,
I am not living a ministerial life,
I am not living an athletic life,
I am not living the technical life,
I am not a home-maker,
So what does a little of all this constitute?
I am not a professional…. But what am I?
I am human – just me – Immanuel Joseph!

12.2.15
– Eyes, face, body, mannerism, soul
– Acquire, acquaint, use, maintain, repair, renovate……
– Babudom
Is it OK if I give money to a salaried government official for doing his job? Is that a bribe?? Then how could I ever get things done in this country?!
– Overcrowding – more people should move out of the metros and settle in tier 2 & 3 cities. That is an ethical (& healthy) decision!
– What do I do when my ideals & my strategy conflict?
– Sometimes it takes more courage to run away than to stay the course!
– “How then can we avoid (being found by) GOD?
It is extremely easy – avoid silence, avoid solitude, avoid any train of thought that leads off the beaten track, keep the television on, stay busy.
Concentrate on money, sex, status, health, & above all, your own grievances.
If you must read, stick to the newspapers…”

13.2.15
– Distinguish:
Metro, city, town, village, wilderness
– Profession & hobby
The latter is not a competitor to the former, but a distraction that ultimately facilitates it!
Can this analogy be applied to marriage too??
As hobby or profession?! 😉
– What advantage does the amateur have over the professional?
– Spiritual work – the anti-virus/booster app is unlike all the other apps installed in a mobile…
– He refers to girls he finds attractive as “She is very smart!” 😉

15.2.15
– Meaning – subjective & fideistic!