Author: Immanuel Joseph

15.1.15
– Equality doesn’t mean that all are level. It only means that those who are above should also respect those who are below them, just as those who are below are expected to honour those who are above them. Inequality is a fact of life, but hierarchy must be avoided.
– The street dog that we used to feed has been hit by a car & has a broken leg. Should I take it to the veterinary hospital?
– J.I.J – spirituality >> theology >> ministry
– If you’re gonna play with points, then you must have clear lines. Otherwise, just play for fun!
The world today is like a football game with more than 2 teams, no umpire and no fixed goal posts! And all the founders are dead too……
– Do a course in hermeneutics (philosophy)
– When I sleep, I (who I am) exist, but not my ego (what I feel, think & do – the conscious self or my personality). The superego (what I believe) & the id (what I want) are just the 2 polarities of my unconscious self. The ego is an outgrowth/product of the creative tension between these 2 poles.
– Instead of living slow, why don’t you just live fast, with adequate periods of stillness in between?
– Life – dance (yield – carried along by the music) > play (relate to & compete with another) > fight (kill to survive)

16.1.15
– Thought policing
Moral policing
– Hot-button issues
– Bigotry & hypocrisy
– Illegal policing
– Self-proclaimed defenders of the people
– The freedom of expression & the freedom to be offended & to dissent
– Freedom within constitutional boundaries
– Arbitrary criminalization
– An artist cannot take middle ground!
– Creative, constructive criticism
– Pushing the boundaries
– The complicit state
– Intimidation as pacification
– Contemplation is the opposite of complacency!
– Moving from caste to class
– The abettors
– Responsible expression
– Literary suicide
– The power of story-telling
– Coalition of interest parties
– Retrospective proscription
– The self-respect movement has utterly failed to uproot caste from our society!
– Progressives association
– Prophetesses
– Breach of peace
– Demonstration of solidarity
– No sustainable development without good governance – food & security for all
– Integrity, efficiency & transparency
– Self-interest & social welfare
– Doing the right things
&
Doing things right
– Centre for Good Governance
– Politicians are in the business of selling better governance
– Anti-incumbency factor
– Response to corruption more important than just prevalence of corruption
– Thirst for strong leadership in uncertain times
– Felt needs of the public – important & powerful
– Necessity of constant remedial measures
– Humble, critical & candid
– Representative government
Vs.
Efficient service-delivery by institutions
– Ceding space through inaction
– Systems & processes
– Politicians
&
Bureaucrats
– Relative judgments with limited options

17.1.15
– Say NO to uncritical creativity & uncreative criticism.
– It is time for a festival of (Christian) theology/spirituality in India/Chennai.
Global, yet Indian!
– Attending these cultural festivals is more about just immersing yourself in, & assimilating, the spirit of the event (personalities/works), rather than in what you learn/understand from specific sessions…
– Art – can the popular & the serious go together?
– There are far more (number of) great works than just the classics!

18.1.15
– A secular reading of the religious
&
A religious reading of the secular
– Edification – enlightenment, conviction & inspiration (with entertainment, of course!)
– Order these according to their priority/influence in your life:
1. Individual identity
2. Interpersonal relationships
3. Social justice
– Resource person – character Integrity, passionate for a cause and skilled in a craft

19.1.15
– Movies:
“Dead Calm”
I don’t want to kill you, & I don’t wanna die either. But I wanna live/enjoy by controlling & using you! And I’m not gonna stop at anything until I get (& keep) what I want.
“Whiplash”
You become a legend, not by seeking personal greatness, but by completely losing yourself in the Art! Ugly ego-clashes is a necessary evil that lies along this path…

20.1.15
– A team must have very few (1 or 2) leaders, mostly specialists & few all-rounders.
Can an all-rounder also be a leader?

21.1.15
– Cursed – full of leaves, but no fruit!
– Political, religious & business powers go hand-in-hand, in plundering & oppressing!
– Reconciliation – confession + repentance + forgiveness + restitution
– “By what right do you do these things? Who do you think you are?!”
– The liberal leaders (elite)
Vs.
The conservative masses (proletariat)
– “They feared him, because the whole crowd was amazed at his teaching.”
– Democracy – the awesome & fickle power of the crowd!
– “Don’t you care that we are not convinced about you? Don’t you want to prove yourself to us?”
– Jn. 2:22 – “After he…… then they……”
– The greatest miracles are visible only to those who have faith!
– The biggest problems of this world will not (or cannot) be solved by dramatic demonstrations of Power, but by the slow & efficacious working of the Spirit……
– Either/or >> Both/and >> Neither/nor!
– Learn & growing must go hand-in-hand with breaking & mending!
– What does fasting have to do with flatulence??
– What do you believe about who I am?
What do you think about what I say?
And how are you going to respond to what I have done?
– Jesus bears witness for John!
– Mat. 21:28-32 – Liberals & Evangelicals?
Sexual morality & political correctness
Vs.
Spiritual responsiveness & character integrity
V. 32b: The politics of spirituality – but even if it’s true, how can we also walk in the same way with these dirty & stupid people?!
– Sexy photographers
&
Beautiful artists
– Subconscious experience
Unconscious knowledge
– Not all physically attractive people are intelligent, & not all intelligent people are virtuous.
– What happens when light & darkness come in contact with each other?
– Mat. 21:37 – What a foolish owner!

15.1.15

Natural affection
Vs.
Spiritual devotion

Charismatic/liturgical
Mystical/contemplative
Prophetic/activistic
Critical/theological
– arrange these dimensions of Christian spirituality according to their respective places (degree of importance) in your faith-life. Mix & match allowed!

“According to GOD……”

Faith-love
Reason-conscience
Emotion-body
– arrange these psychological elements according to their respective places (degree of influence) in your personal life.

The saintly
&
The morbid
The mystic
&
The lunatic
The great
&
The inhuman
The genius
&
The eccentric

Salvation/eternity/divinity is the meeting of the opposites!
Contemplation – sleep & alertness merged into one – a super-trance/conscious-dream!
What is the meeting of life & death?
What is the meeting of light & darkness?
What is the meeting of truth & falsehood?

Righteous ~ self-controlled
Brave ~ magnanimous

What is it like to have holy parents?

If you cannot empathize with the other’s suffering, at least be careful so that you don’t do anything to worsen their pain.

One cannot be both a faithful family-man and the savior of the world!

Nation/law/religion
Vs.
Family/emotion/body

There are 2 kinds of victory – one is a narrow escape from the jaws of defeat, the other is a complete & confident triumph.
There are 2 kinds of defeat – one is a perfect thrashing without stiff competition, & the other is to put up a tough fight until being overwhelmed.

How come love (not peace) & war (not hate) are so similar??

Death for the sake of religion => rebirth unto immortality!

How different is the conversion of people through threat of physical violence, from the conversion done through the fear of an eternal Hell?

4Mac. 16:18-25 – the theological rationale that provides the spiritual morale (for martyrdom)!
Hagiography => martyrology
What does GOD have to say about what is being said about him?! Will he not defend himself from his own devout followers??

Religious law ~ ancestral tradition ~ national culture ~ GOD’S honor

20.1.15

What does the Christian “victory over death” mean for us today?
Moving from physical resurrection to the confronting, resisting and overcoming of death-dealing structures!

8.1.15
– Imputation ~ insinuation
– 2Esdras 7:29
– Apostles as living epistles of Christ!
– If being an ethical vegetarian is the right thing according to you, then why can you not also see exclusive monogamy as the correct sexual ethic? Isn’t man a ‘natural’ omnivore &  promiscuous creature? Isn’t culture all about taking nature forward?
Yes, but promiscuity doesn’t involve bloodshed! Gen. 1:29-30 + Gen. 9:4
Plants – green life
Animals – breath + flesh + blood (soul)
Human – breath + flesh + blood + divine image!

9.1.15
– Theology of sleep & the reality of evil
– Is it possible to be steady without being slow?
– Blood > wine > water
Water >> wine >> blood
– “We are forced to live as if we were free.”
The sovereignty of GOD guarantees human responsibility. We have no choice but to exercise our freedom… Not to do so would be to blaspheme our maker & commit spiritual suicide!
– Law – I love the world, so I am going to prohibit everyone from doing anything that would either harm themselves or others, and make it compulsory to live in such a way that would benefit all concerned.
– Distinguish:
Freedom
Liberty
Independence
Autonomy
– Salvation – healing, liberation & transformation
– Just as this life is beyond the imagination of the fetus in the womb, so will the afterlife be to us!
– Why is it that the one thing we need to do to renew ourselves is the one thing that is always beyond our reach?
– Only the ones who take the leap of faith can know the Hand underneath them, in the midst of the chasm!
– In the end, when you stand before the One, you will be naked – without any covering (deeds, possessions, recommendations, etc.)!
– How can I get out of this death called life, & get into the life called death??
Caught in between life & death, stuck in the rut……
– “Even in the Jewish sacrificial system, it is highly doubtful whether the sin-offerings were meant to change God’s attitude (from justice & wrath, to love & mercy) toward his sinful people. Man has, of course, to carry out the ritual, but it is GOD himself who has provided this means of reconciliation!”
– A psychoanalytic reading of the Bible
WOW!
– Some forms of theism are more deicidal/homicidal than atheism!

11.1.15
– Grace = GOD’S greatness in my life or in my experience or in my perception
– GOD as the watcher.
YES! There is an audience.
Amen.
– Forgiving as the essence of giving.
– Travel narrative (toward the Passion)
– How are Christians to respond to the challenges facing (Indian) society today?
Entering into education outside of the limited circle of institutional religion. Dissolving like salt into the soil of the future generation!
– Consider HOW you hear His words!
What is the response desired by the speaker from the hearers?
– MY faith IS the (evidence of the) power of GOD (to me).
– Try to connect your heart with the heart of the author as you read/listen to his words.
Let the Source reach & touch you!
– What does it mean to tell (yourself or another), “Be strong!”?
– Word >> root >> fruit!
– WHICH light are you living by?
WHAT is that which gives meaning, purpose & value to your life, especially when the going gets tough/dark?
– GOD > Jesus > Scripture > Church
Church >> Scripture >> Jesus >> GOD
– Submitting & surrendering to Him, because you are captivated by His glory (beauty, wisdom & love)!
No adoration, no obedience

12.1.15
– No more feasting, & eating only half-stomach, until I get rid of this tummy and attain an ideal body structure.
The moderation rhythm is for those who have already attained a reasonable level of excellence & want to maintain it, not for those who are still striving to break out of mediocrity.
– Maybe despair and salvation are NOT that far apart! Complacency is more remote.
Just like the opposite of life is not death, but like-warmness.
– I think the Law is not about what we should not do, but all about what we CANNOT do (& still prosper as humans). It is NOT GOD trying to limit our freedom, but GOD reminding us of our own finitude, fallibility & fragility.

9.1.15

Passion – take up your cross, carry it, and finally die upon it!

The inner mystery of the divine life
Love ~ unity ~ fellowship
Trinity – nature, history & personality

Jesus Christ – each of us is also in the divine image, but not in the same sense/equal level.

Person ~ persona ~ personality

Revelation & mystery
Knowledge & faith

Love:
I am fully yours,
I belong to you, and you to me.
But I can never be completely possessed…
Nor can I comprehensively know you!

Understand ~ control

Yes, the (one) self/person is greater than its (many) identities. But the (contextual) self cannot be (fully) realized without (the aid of) these (concrete) roles!

Without death (evil), there can be no suffering (ugliness). And without suffering, there can be no passion, or compassion (beauty)!
Without good, there can be no evil,
And without evil, there can be no greatness.
Right?
Evil > suffering
Sin > immorality
Evil as spiritual deprivation

I can progress as an individual, only if I am able to stick to the plan I have made (in the past), even when my present state of mind is not conducive for it – pressing into the (envisioned) future.
“Faith is all about continuing to believe what you found reasonable (in the past), even when your (current) senses & emotions don’t agree.” – C.S. Lewis

Trinity – being, personality & action

Distinguish:
Faithfulness
&
Dogmatism
Holding on to the original faith, but open to reinterpretation.

Faith is to believe that one is free – can be free & destined for freedom – even when one is still a slave!

Allergic rhinitis & psychological depression – clear that fucking nose!

“The great mystical work of the Holy Spirit is in the dim, nether regions of our personality which we cannot get at.” – Oswald Chambers

13.1.15

Taking life as it comes, one day at a time, focusing on momentary devotion, faithfulness & love – piety, role-playing & responding to needs as they arise, without any well thought out theology or futuristic plan – may also be a legitimate form of spirituality! This does not imply a lack of intentionality.
But this is not suitable for a leader/thinker.

Movies:
“Ladies and Gentlemen” (Hungarian)
The last scene is important! 😉

Be sharp, hot & bright!

Is the entire solar system revolving around something else?!

Psychology is not just about feelings, thoughts & behavior, it’s also about the heart, the conscience & the will!

I think that Liberals & Evangelicals are just two constitutionally different types of people who worship the same GOD. But this might just be a liberal opinion!

Liberal Evangelicals
Evangelical Liberals
I am one of the latter. Right?

How can one be candid & bold, without being loose & rash??
I don’t know! 😔

Is there a proper place for shame (like guilt) in (my) life, or should it be completely eliminated?
Being confident without becoming impudent…

14.1.15

Al Jazeera – this is what I call news!

Politics
Vs.
Governance

Strongman

Hobbesian

Vivekananda
Vs.
Hindutva

I am not Charlie!

Bookmarklets:
Evernote Clearly for Chrome (Windows)
Readability for Chrome (iOs)