Month: September 2015

5.9.15

– I don’t understand my fondness for my medical college colleagues….!

– Myth-busters
E.g. The eagle’s rebirth story

– “In short, the world such (great) men live in, tends to reject them insofar as they insist upon the art of making things visible, which that world has learned to ignore.” – Robert Creeley
Seers are not just those who have visions inside themselves, but those who manifest them in the world around!

6.9.15

– Worship is service,
& service is worship!

– 3 kinds of activities:
1. Edification
2. Chores
3. Entertainment
1 may have 2 & 3 as side-effects.
2 may have 1 & 3 as side-effects.
3 may have 1 & 2 as side-effects.

– Songs of the Kingdom

– Love/compassion (realization of universal solidarity) –> justice (joy for one & all!)

– Climate change, economic disparity, political corruption, violent separatism, sexual/racial discrimination, etc.
“GOD is good all the time,
Even in the darkest night, his light will shine.
GOD will make a way where there seems to be no way…”
Amen!

– Slaving in the world-system, & then thanking GOD for his provisions…!

– Invisible blessings & dangers

– “Know that the LORD is God indeed;
Without our aid he did us make.”
Why should I praise him?
“For it is seemly so to do”!

– Empty hands outstretched – show both our utter dependence on GOD for everything, & the sharing of our all with others.

– The Christian/biblical GOD is NOT the one, true, living “God” (as that word is understood & perceived by our own personality & culture), who fulfills all our desires-expectations, but the great & wonderful anti-god who saves us from ourselves!

– Subscribe to your favorite genres @ Goodreads

– In this our worldly church:
Festival ~ sale
Celebration ~ consumption
What about me??

– Whenever I attend church, I feel like I should get involved in some form of youth ministry.
And whenever I am driving in heavy traffic, I feel like I should leave Chennai to live in a more laid back place.

– If you don’t believe in this cause, & if you have strong reservations about the strategies, then why are you participating in these activities??

– The Kingdom of GOD
&
Land reform

– Narrative theology >> Virtue ethics
Spiritual disciplines >> life-skills

– “Christ for the world we sing,
The world to Christ we bring.”

– “Dear pastors,
Isn’t the drive toward church-buildings theologically unsound & spiritually problematic??
Please seriously reconsider what “Christian mission” means for us today!
GOD BLESS”
“Raising a building for the future use of that (needy) congregation would be a worthy charitable cause, but is it right to compare this project with Solomon’s Temple??
– Immanuel Joseph”

– Civil religion
“A sociological theory that there exists a nonsectarian quasi-religious faith, with sacred symbols drawn from national history. Scholars have portrayed it as a cohesive force, a common set of values that foster social and cultural integration.”
Robert Bellah

– “With passionate commitment to God, the book strongly criticizes the Jesus of Religion. In this respect it is more religious than atheistic, more philosophical than religious and more real-life than philosophical.” – from a book review

– GOD-Christ — Church-Word — Nature-culture
What binds them all together?
The Holy Spirit!
What is the whole?
The Kingdom!

– Distinguish:
“I love GOD”
&
“I enjoy singing devotional songs”

– Movies:
“John Doe Vigilante” (hit)
What is the Christ really like?? The line between greatness & evil is only imaginary!
“Naduvula konjam pakkatha kaanom” (Tamil – hit)
A postmodern take on identity. Memory is protected & sustained by the social dimension of the person.
Who is sober & who is disillusioned – what would happen if Prem stopped trying to remember?!

7.9.15

– Rhythm:
Sunday – Sabbath (p)
Monday – systematic study + chores
Tuesday – random learning + chores
Wednesday – fasting + contemplation
Thursday – freak out (p)
Friday – systematic study + chores
Saturday – random learning + chores
Exercise – included in chores (4 days a week)

– “You don’t have to fight or make yourself belong,
To be a revolution…
You gotta begin with who you know you are,
To be a revolution!” – Jars of Clay

– GOD as clay (that shapes),
& man as Potter (that is shaped)!

– Christ Family Cell (Yaseva, etc.):
Good governance & the Church
Small groups of people who can embody these concepts & methods…
A new model for Church
Family – biological &/or spiritual
Tension between groups
Start small, grow & have big impact
Individual differences & communal divisions
Corporate witness??
Pseudo-spiritualities
Church as the overflow & interchange of Spirit between individuals called out of death into resurrection!
Kuriakos ~ Kirk (circle) – pagan theology!
Is Christ divided? One Body, meeting as many assemblies in various places & under different banners…
Spiritual reality –> physical gatherings (not the other way around!)
Every cell is a micro-presentation of the body!
Yeshua + paganism = Christianity. Depaganizing ourselves.
Strategizing vs. Martyrdom – there is no ready-made, fool-proof blueprint!
Wherever you are, make disciples BY being witnesses!
Progressive Christians, conservative Christians & non-Christians – GOD is at work in all these 3!
The Christian family as a nucleus/nidus of the church.
Conversion (spiritual) WITHOUT extraction (cultural).
Integrating faith with the natural context & local processes.
A reductive distortion of spirituality.
Christians who are clueless about Christ, Gospel, Church, etc.
Stiffling & equipping structures

– Normalizing (adj.) forces

– A different register

– The dynamics of the gay struggle

– Sexual politics

– Disruptive style – “using Molotov cocktails for scalpels”!

– “Enigmatic gesture” – deliberate obscurity…

– Theorist
Vs.
Experimenter

– “Adopting critical indexes in presentation”
“Recasting frameworks of perception”
“Providing tools to examine institutions, practices & concepts”

– Adopt, develop & adapt!

8.9.15

– Truth, beauty & goodness (transcendent ideals) ~ “Sat” (being), “Chit” (consciousness) & “Ananda” (bliss) – (mystical experience) ~ Father, Son & Holy Spirit (perfect person) ~ Spirit, Word & Body (vocational existence)

– Assessment, evaluation, examination

– Cultural psychology

– Theorising faith

– Mystical society

– Virtual faith

– Feminism & females:
If you want equality in freedom (privilege), then are you also ready for equality in independence (responsibility)?!

– It doesn’t matter if you get a six-pack or not, what really matters is if you can keep up the regular ab-crunches (indefinitely)!

9.9.15

– Aggressor
Vs.
Counter-puncher

– Perfect chaos
In India, you must learn to ride the wave (no matter how orderly/disciplined/organized you are), otherwise you will go mad, bro!

– Footwear:
Have 2 pairs & use them alternately

– Such attractive bodies must be outlawed in public, as a threat to social order & calm!  😉

– Would
Vs.
Could
Vs.
Should

– For GOD, will & desire are the same, right?
For GOD, plan & action are the same, right?
Does GOD experience contingency &/or probability?

– The pairing of a dark, beautiful girl with a fair, handsome guy is really sexy!

– I love Chennai, & I hate Chennai!
I want to live & work here, & periodically visit other great places in this world…

– The Voice from the sky in the Gospels:
“This is my son in whom I am well pleased” – unconditional acceptance (radical grace)
+
“Listen to Him” – the Call to join the divine mission of humanization.
+
Silence – carrying the Cross (dark night of the soul)!

Baptism – free adoption.
Feet-washing – humble service
Eucharist – death & resurrection!

If this is not the very essence of Christianity, what is?!

– Orthodox mystic
&
Heterodox activist
Heterodox mystic
&
Orthodox activist

– Does character have anything to do with appearance?

– Me time
We time
You time
They time
All time!

– Fast walking & slow jogging
Slow deep & fast shallow breathing
Free, copious & reflective, sparse speaking

– A prophet (who is one) among the exiles!

– “In the thirteenth year, at the Kebab river, the heavens opened…”
History & revelation!

– Is monotheism more violent than polytheism?

– Eze.3:14 – do you want the hand of the LORD to be upon you?!

– The opening of the heavens ~ the unveiling of the face of GOD

– My Bibles:
NET version with full notes
New Oxford Annotated Bible (with the Apocrypha – NRSV)

10.9.15

– Spiritual formation – remember that change is sandwiched by learning & growth!

– I’m developing a swagger, is it good or bad?
Do I care?

– Babe
Vs.
Baby

11.9.15

– I must beware of letting my life be hijacked by the ethereal/cyber/mental (opposite of spiritual/eternal/real) world. I must put the physical/social/vocational front & dead center!
This is the danger I face, in contrast to most other people, who might be enchanted & trapped by the mundane/business/troubleshooting dimension…

– Look at me, searching for the free tracks on iTunes, when Apple Music (free trial) is out! 😉

– Take micro-breaks between work to breathe & move.

– “Break the mould – the traditional boundaries created by disciplinary straitjackets – & unfold a new geography, that unsettles all contemporary maps……!”
– Jeremy Carrette (from “Foucault & Religion”)
What can someone like me who is into spirituality/theology gain from performing mundane chores or studying cold logic?

– Compare the messianism of the Jews and the Christians.

– The historical Christ and the theological Jesus

– Diplomatic immunity – fuck it!
Bureaucratic apathy & arrogance
Vs.
People’s fury & solidarity

12.9.15

– Work:freak ~ 3:1

– Distinguish:

The fool
&
The clown

– “In behalf of…”

– Healing cultural traditions
Adjective or verb?

– “Curanderismo”

– Imaginations, representations & differences

– Division of labour, social control & urban culture

– Introduction – definitions, questions & models

– “…the effort to escape from totality, in order to understand the politics of control.”

– The formation & performance of identities

– Intensity & the ordinary
The search for the ‘really real’ & the return to the everyday…
Pragmatism & playfulness

– iPad is not good for multi-tasking!

– Investigative & communication skills for engaged citizens

– New Media

– Participative ecology

– Morality, legality & ethicality

– Disclosure, privacy & consent

– debrief

– Impartiality & public interest

– Humanities – Social Sciences – Natural Sciences

– Global epidemiology of domestic violence

– Policy research, ethical guidelines, best clinical practices & health outcomes

– Contextualizing applications of the core curriculum

– Prevention & response
Competencies & interventions

– Evidence-based approach

– Distinguish:
Good/loving
&
Nice/kind

– Philosophy:
Classical
Vs.
Enlightenment
Vs.
Postmodern

13.9.15

– The usual contemplative rhythm must be maintained even on the freak-out day & Sabbath.

– Gospel emphases:
Mission for salvation
Vs.
Salvation for mission

– Distinguish:
Disbelief
&
Misbelief

– Male infanticide (biblical)
&
Female foeticide (contemporary)

– I despise their values/standards, so I don’t mind being considered as a brute/clown, in their midst!

– Yesterday – Keerthika (Devi’s – the maid – daughter) & Murugan’s wedding reception
Today – Abigail Eterna’s (Danny/Augustine’s daughter) baptism

14.9.15

– Your key question is “Who are you following/worshipping?”
My key question is “What kingdom are you seeking/serving?”
Discipleship
Vs.
Teleology

– My email subscriptions:
Daily Manna (from Biblica)
World Wisdom – Weekly quote
Pocket – recommended reading
Brain Pickings newsletter
School of Life
Coursera

– Jesus Christ:
Person > Work > Teachings

Daily

❏ 15 min. silence, solitude & stillness ★
❏ Be positive, creative, flexible, farsighted & realistic ★
❏ Be present/dependent, open/aware & willing/yielded: GOD-consciousness, enjoy Grace & manifest Glory! ★
❏ Bing/NatGeo/Lightstock pic ★
❏ Contemplative lifestyle – relax, enjoy, focus & balance ★
❏ Cystone/Stone1 ★
❏ Equality ★
❏ Exercise – floor, weights, cardio (walking & skipping), TT, yoga/mindfulness (posture, stretching, relaxing, breathing, balancing), etc. ★
❏ Journaling/Blogging ★
❏ Mind-games, word/verse/quote/news/weather/song/proverb/poem/medical of the day ★
❏ Minimalism ★
❏ Pacifism (qualified) ★
❏ Vegetarianism (qualified) ★

Sent with Wunderlist. Available free for your phone, tablet and computer – http://www.wunderlist.com.

via Immanuel Joseph – Academia.edu.