Category: Journal

Musings

23.3.14

– Eucharist – a GOD who gives himself for us to eat, instead of demanding ‘human sacrifice’ on the altar of divine worship. Loving GOD = Consuming Christ (receiving Grace)!

The Lion who becomes the Lamb, so that we creatures might become sons & daughters of GOD……

– The New Commandment supercedes the Great Commandment(s)!

WOW  🙂

– Does GOD want us to please him or does he want to serve us?

Does GOD want us to become more like him or does he love us as we are?

Does GOD take pleasure in us doing what he says or in us enjoying & sharing all that he freely gives us?

– The burning bush

Vs.

Playing with fire

– GOD as commander-in-chief

Vs.

GOD as conversation partner

– Whimsical cinema

– Movies:

Nymphomaniac (I & II)

Reflections

21.3.14

– What is the opposite of payback?

NOT forgiveness!

– “Undoing the destruction of pleasure” – thank you J.P!  😉

– The Second Awakening!

– Eros/libido – let the life-instinct prosper in us, & make us a positive energy in this dying world!

– The Pandora’s box has been opened! Controlled & channelled lust – even nuclear energy can be used to generate electricity! We need to learn (intellectual education) & adapt (physical self-control) so as to harness this fire to warm & brighten our lives…

Hmmm… The burning bush??
HOW can we say yes to this & still identify with the rejected Christ?!

Let the radical re-conversion & scandalous revolution continue & spread!!

– A thorough (inside-out) retraining is in order! Let’s GO……

Life can be so much MORE, when are just willing to LET GO for a while!!

This is our next revival! Let’s see how we can integrate it into our future and make it brighter……

– Teach me how to party –

Do it well, do it right!  😉

– Live according to your (true/deep/divine/spiritual/human) nature, & don’t let your faith-conscience or emotion-desire take over completely.

22.3.14

– But isn’t indulgence the precursor of addiction? Mmm… Not if you are mature!

– 70% – moderate & balance the flesh (sleep, food, sex, etc.) & spirit (prayer, study, service, etc.)

15% – feed the spirit & starve the flesh.

15% – feed the flesh & starve the spirit.

Equip the mind and strengthen the will to follow this pattern – based on Sabbath rhythm (5/7 + 1/7 + 1/7)

(Indulgence & abstinence should be equal)

– Joy > happiness > pleasure

– Holiness (character) » health (lifestyle) » positive effect (social contribution)

Experiences

19.3.14

– Dr. Brooke Magnanti

– I think he was tempted/attracted by my New Theology, & fearing that he would succumb, he fled the scene in haste!  😉 Mmm… Looks like it…

– Divine Women on BBC

– elide          elision

20.3.14

– Buddhist hedonists (Tantra) & Hindu materialists (Charvaka)!

– Erotic philosophy, sexual psychology & sensual spirituality

– “The human spirit is prey to the most astounding impulses. Man goes constantly in fear of himself. His (erotic) urges terrify him. The saint turns from the voluptuary in alarm; she does not know that his unacknowledgeable passions and her own are really one…” – George Bataille

– Rhetoric & reality

Intuition & argument

– The New (understanding of the eternal) Law:

1. Be reverent – toward GOD/spirit (Life/truth/world).

2. Be self-aware (not acting out of identity-vocational unconsciousness).

3. Be thoughtful (not acting out of sheer impulse).

4. Be loving – respect & care for the other.

5. Be responsible – concern for justice (includes planet & social-cultural welfare).

– ‘Random acts of kindness’

‘Pay it forward’

– ‘Corporate slavery’

‘Brain-drain’

– Break the blinders & shackles, to recapture the energy & wonder!

– Private, personal & public

– Do not let the ego (will) act by itself, or to be taken over, either by the id (desire) or by the superego (faith). But let the ego express the outcome of a dynamic interaction of the id & superego, moderated by reason!

– Purpose is nothing but focused passion (self-expression) & clarified burden (world-response)!

– Sea-change

Seismic shift

Vertical panorama!

– Distinguish:

Productive

&

Fruitful

– Redefining chastity

– Distinguish:

Communitarian

&

Communist

– Collectivism

– “I shouldn’t give up” » “I must go on” » “I keep pushing myself” » “I am so tired” » “I want to give up” » shut-down/freak out » “I can’t give up!” » “I must go back & keep on” » restart!

– Korazin & Bethsaida

Vs.

Tyre & Sidon.

Capernaum

Vs.

Sodom

– Seasonal – during summer, close the windows & curtains in the day and open them at night. During winter, open the curtains & windows in the day, & close them at night.

– Could death be a man’s greatest achievement?!

– “WHAT is written in the Law?” he (Jesus) replied. “HOW do YOU read it?”

– If you lived in faith & love, then you can die peacefully, as you joyfully look forward to a glorious future!

– “And who is my neighbour?”

– “The religious leaders (chief priests & experts in the law) stood up to test Jesus.”

– “Go & do likewise” – pay it forward!

Glory » Grace

Grace » gratitude

Gratitude » generosity!

– Neighbour-ing!

– “Quickly” according to GOD means “surely” according to us.

– Holocaust – Did Hitler have a conscience? Did he feel any guilt or remorse at all?

– GOD in myself,

GOD in the other,

GOD in all nature &

GOD, beyond life & death!

– Scripture & Psychology ~ Theology & Interpretation

– “The one who CAN accept this SHOULD accept it.”

– Place his hands on them & pray for them.

Bless them & teach them.

Embrace them & heal them.

– HOW did the little children RECEIVE Jesus?

– Who knows/loves/has the REAL Jesus??

– Peter

Vs.

The rich young ruler

Who is more favored/rewarded by the Lord?

– Betrayed, accused, condemned & handed over!

– Bishops, theologians & lawyers stood up against Him!

– So what is YOUR version of the Gospel?

– Angels, demons & strange quirks!

– His voluntary slavery has become the ransom & atoning sacrifice, that has set me free from all bondage!

– The one who loves power/position is NOT fit to be a leader. And the one who loves to serve others is fit for holding authority.

– ……impoverishing & punishing ourselves so wantonly!!

We are all closet sado-masochists……

All beliefs that produce guilt, shame, hatred (of self & the other) & fear – FUCK them all!

“I like the word limits/control instead of lines/laws”

“WE set down the rules based on our (evolving) beliefs/values! GOD is the one who sets us free (from bondage to fear) to do it, enables us with courage & guides us with wisdom in this serious adventure & exciting challenge……”

“Spiritual childhood to adulthood!”

My Stuff

10.10.12
– The Good Life – David McCarthy

29.10.12
– Donald G. Bloesch, “A Response to Elmer
Colyer,” 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

Notes

18.3.14

– “He who has a why to live for, can bear with almost any how.”

– Voluntary slavery is an oxymoron. So is involuntary freedom!

– The heat is on! Are you ready??

– Patriarchy, (women as) property & (prohibition against) covetousness.

– Nobody knows & understands me as well as me.

And nobody knows & understands you as well as you

Psychological hygiene

Libretto

“It did not really matter what we expected from life, but rather what life expected from us.”

“Life ultimately means taking the responsibility to find the right answer to its problems and to fulfil the tasks which it constantly sets for each individual.”

Your destiny is what you make of your fate, & what your fate makes of you!

“The questions & tasks that form man’s destiny, are different and unique for each individual, and at each moment. Thus it is impossible to define the meaning of life in a general way. ”

Life = growing + suffering + dying

What meaning do I give to life?
Vs.
What meaning does life give to me?

The Gift of obligation! The threat of eternal consequences protects us from giving up even in the face of a meaningless, excruciating existence &/or death……

“The greatest courage is the courage to bear/endure (even embrace) suffering!”
Suffer-ing

Words from Nietzsche used for psychotherapy, in the concentration camp of a war fought by Hitler!

How does man seek, find & make meaning, when GOD seems to be anything but present?

“…they should keep their courage, in the certainty that the hopelessness of our struggle did not detract from its dignity and its meaning.”

“There are only 2 kinds of people in this world – the decent & the indecent. No group consists entirely of one or the other kind.”

“Life in a concentration camp tore open the human soul and exposed its depths.”

Jottings

17.3.14

– My speciality/expertise:

Spiritual darkness, religious doubts, existential struggles, moral dilemmas, identity crisis, career frustration, relational conflict, social disillusion, economic disparity, political apathy, cultural decay, philosophical confusion, psychological boredom, personal stagnation, etc. etc.

Ha ha…… Just kidding… Seriously?!  😉

– Lord, please have mercy on x (who has left our fellowship), & grant her peace.

Amen.

– Disclaimer – please DON’T make the mistake of assuming that all my journal entries are based on personal experience!

I have a vivid imagination (hypothesizing)…  😉

– Spiritual religiosity

&

Religious spirituality

Once in 2 weeks – church worship; small group fellowship meeting; ministry activity.

Once a week – reading, sharing & prayer for couples.

2-3 times a week – family devotion.

5 days a week – personal quiet time.

Once in 3-4 months – meet mentor/confidant/soulmate (one-to-one)

Annual vacation – family picnic, group & personal retreat.

– Is he self-righteous or just ‘highly principled’?

Is it possible to be orthodox without becoming legalistic?

– Diagram xyz – 3 axes:

1. Vertical – spiritual:

a. Transcendent (upward) &

b. Introspection (inward).

2. Horizontal – personal/career time-line:

a. Past (backward)

b. Future (forward)

3. Diagonal – social:

a. Relational (inter-personal)

b. Structural (issues)

…Junction point/box – the body, the present moment, daily schedule & home!

– Queen:

Did she do right by ‘dumping’ him?

The movie should’ve been half hour shorter.

The link between (traditional) sexual morality & societal control of women (esp. their bodies).

Education ~ travel ~ empowerment ~ liberation. The value of the cross-cultural experience. Self-understanding & realization through wide exposure!

– Respecting (other’s) sentiments

– Religious orthodoxy, sexual morality & social injustice – big-time partners in crime!

– Is sexual frigidity as serious a problem as sexual addiction?

– “More power to ya!”

– Ideology, controversy & tension

– Tackling the hard questions graciously

– Salience

Pieces

16.3.14

– A quarrelsome spirit may be even more damaging to a marriage than an adulterous lifestyle, right?

I guess it all depends on the degree of the problematic attitude/behaviour, & how the other handles it…

– ‘Deliberate disappearance’!

– Psychology of religion – internalization & projection

– Are you seeking what you (really) desire?

Are you living what you (really) believe?

Are you thinking of what you (really) need?

– “Anyone who does not want you to think (for yourself) is not (truly) your friend.”

– Evoke

Invoke

Incant

– “Maybe the Devil is just GOD’s alter-ego!” – RFC

– Movies:

The Shining

– “Lauda Anima”

Mercy » praise!

– “There’s no one like Jehovah”

“There is no rock like our GOD”

Mmm……

– “With my whole heart I seek thee,

I will praise thee with an upright heart.”

“Blessed be thou, O Lord!

In thy word I delight, as much as in all riches.”

– Glory » pleasure » creation » delight!

– God-like creatures

&

Man-like God

– Conflict, chaos & despair

– “Lord, save our nation!”

– ‘Servant of (the people of) GOD’

– Acknowledging GOD

The absent-minded clergy!

– Anti-cult ministries

– What do holiness & hope have to do with each other?

– Self-examination & consecration

– Prayers, songs & sermons

– Hortatory

Vs.

Dialectical

Encouraging by inciting!

– The logic of fallacy

&

The fallacy of logic

– Oath/vow/pledge

&

Swearword/cuss/expletive

– Sexuality, morality & religion

– Immanuel Joseph

&

The biblical Joseph

– Uninterested in adultery

– Possession & position

– Gen. 39:9

vv.14,17 – “came in to laugh/mock at me”

Woman as property of the man (father/husband/?GOD)

&

The objectification & abuse of the female body

– GOD, the masses, leadership, structures & authority

– Placement

– Peter

Vs.

Judas

Vs.

Thomas

Whom do I resemble (in my faith)?

– Grace & morality; sin & salvation

Anything radical is scandalous; & anything divine is paradoxical!

– Movies:

Queen (Hindi)

– The best way to read my blog is to read one line at a time, & take a minute or two to reflect on it, before going to the next one…

– I am a tweeter, disguised as a blogger!

Facebook

Vs.

Twitter

You cannot love & serve 2 masters!

– Vital – regular journaling, slow pace of living & annual personal retreat

Drops

15.3.14

– Am I (becoming) the founder of a new (self-made) religion?!

Isn’t everyone (doing) the same, to a greater or lesser degree??

Am I a revolutionary or an apostate?

Am I a prophet or a heretic?

Am I a genius or a charlatan?

Am I inspired by GOD or by the Devil?

Maybe I am neither……!

– Active suffering (discipline) & passive love (forbearance)

– As soon as you wake up in the morning, look into the sky & stare at the sun, blinking often…

– I am accused of imperilling the souls (eternal destiny) of some people in my circle of influence!

– Why do certain people never learn from their mistakes?

Why do some failures never turn into stepping stones for success?

– How can such divergent metaphysical beliefs lead to such similar ethical codes?!

– Interpersonal relationship (love)

Vs.

Doctrinal agreement (truth)

– Distinguish:

Challenge/argue/criticize

&

Undermine/attack/discourage

– Sleeping in the sunlight

Vignettes

14.3.14

– One man’s shit is another man’s gold!

– Social inclusion & integration

– CIPD Diversity Calendar

– Neo-pagans

– The Baha’i

– Desiderata – Max Ehrmann

Prose poem!

– Download – the best short films

– Auto-sync

– Marked special days/important dates on my calendar – from UN, Indian holidays, religious festivals, etc.

– “How can we dance when the earth is turning…?”

– “In this age, there is a new life stirring in all the peoples of the earth…”

– “World peace is not only possible, but inevitable.”

– Individuals, families, society, social institutions, the natural world & man-made infrastructure

– Transformation:

Spiritual » moral » cultural » social » material » ecological!

Pensees

13.3.14

– Alternative lifestyles – divine law, social order & individual freedom

– What can one gain (learn) by stripping life down to its bare essentials?

– Alyssa Siegel’s response to her father

– Human nature:
Total depravity
Vs.
Potential goodness

– Intrinsic motivation
Vs.
External locus of control

– Personal referents
Mythical signifiers

– Moral norms (social)
Vs.
Ethical convictions (personal)

– Emulate – moving from admiration to imitation.

– dulcet

– Jesus/Bible/Church
Vs.
Christ/Scripture/Spirit!

– BF

– Shanthuru Premkumar, Julie Goldberg & Chandran – Brussels.
Wow!

– Discernment » discretion

– I ridicule, condemn & curse the IPL (Cricket)!

– How can anyone live in lust or greed or anger or pride or cruelty??

– Pensees – my blog does not have articles which preach/say something, only vignettes which suggest/ask something!
Goads to provoke your soul…… launching pads for you to take-off on your own jumps, & points of departure for your own wanderings……
The dance of intersections & divergences!

– Desire-believe » feel-think » express-respond » belong-relate & build-repair!

– Blogging about blogging,
Movies about cinema,
Talking about communication…

– Words, images & impressions

– Light, texture & colour

– Observation & articulation » analysis & synthesis » evaluation & inferences » implications & application

– Advocating a message
Vs.
Insinuating a mood
Artful ~ subtle ~ indirect!

– Ingratiate with…

– Item numbers & comedy pieces

– Empowering women
&
Female-objectification

– Fucking socialites!
Culture » celebrity,
then
Celebrity » culture!
It’s a vicious circle…

– Love:
Passion
Vs.
Commitment

Studying a theology in its own religious, philosophical & cultural milieu

Martyrdom & atonement
Substitution ~ ransom
Mercy-seat, blood-sacrifice & forgiveness-cleansing

Dead works
Vs.
Vital worship
Pious frauds!

Demonic evil, cosmic catastrophe, divine victim & human redemption

Tenets – clear, coherent & concise – basic definitions, principles & instructions

Apologetics & accommodation
Adaptation & compromise

‘Devout reason’ & ‘Basic instincts’

Voluntarism & automatisation

State, church & school

Rational judgment & virtuous conduct

Spiritual knowledge, religious doctrine, virtuous character & practical reason

Anger, fear & grief always go hand-in-hand!

The value & danger of sensuality

No self-control, no justice
Equanimity ~ wisdom
Discipline, discernment & love (in that order!)

Reality, ideality & reflectivity

No passion/anger, no conviction/courage!

Faith vs. Impulse

Noble ~ honourable

The martyr, the tyrant & the land
4 Maccabees 1:11

“Jesus is Lord!”
Yes, but what does this mean & signify for us today? How do we understand its truth & seek to practice the implications of this belief?

Spirit/reason/mind OVER flesh/emotion/matter
From ruling factor to ordering principle!

Pleasure – love, joy, peace, faith (clarity/confidence), hope
Pain – anger/hatred, grief, fear/anxiety, confusion, despair
Where does doubt & wonder fit in here? Maybe they are just the 2 sides of the experience of Glory (which is greater than even Goodness, and transcends the dichotomy of good-&-evil!)……
How are virtue & vice related with the positive & negative emotions?

Gormandize

4 Maccabees 1:25

GOD is NOT good, he is great!

Rationality & affectivity
Personality & morality
Discourse ethics

“The jungle of emotions”
Mental desires & physical habits

Law/GOD, faith/spirit & will/mind

Yoga poses, emotions & benefits
Insecurity >> imbalance
Breathing, posture, balance & stretching
Destressing by concentrating (on your breath)!