Category: Journal

“Madras” film review (3.5/5 – Hit)

What a refreshing and exhilarating experience to watch a Tamil movie after so long!

Compare with “Aayudha Ezhuthu” – the good guys need to fight tooth and nail with the powers that be, to both enter into the political class and to raise political awareness among the masses through critical, conscientious education.

Superb acting by the leads; the songs were awesome too.

Humanity/nobility/hope survives and even flourishes in the toughest and darkest places, if you only have the eyes to see……

Compare and contrast the leadership styles of Anbu & Kali. What are their respective strengths and weaknesses? Who do I resemble more?

The ‘Johnny’ character is analogous to Gollum in ‘Lord of the Rings’…

Review

Trailer

 

THINGS

27.9.16
– The Holy Spirit – the in-you GOD
How do I glorify him with my body?
By never letting my freedom to become slavery!
– No comparison, no jealousy/pride.
Between individuals – you Vs. me.
Between groups – us Vs. them
– Interpretation & application
Another false dichotomy
– There are certain things you cannot do well if you don’t understand them properly. And there are certain things that you cannot understand rightly if you’re not living properly.
– Argue, not about who is better/greater, but what true life is.
– In the world, the greatest among a people becomes their representative. But Jesus says that the way we treat the least among a group is what really shows our attitude toward them.
– “… we tried to stop him, because he does not follow (you) with us. But Jesus said…”
Hmmm… the classical fundamentalist-liberal clash.
Jesus takes different sides at different times…!
– Distinguish:
Conflict/tension
&
Division/violence
– ‘Might be’ – optative mood
– Mind-thoughts
&
Heart-thoughts
– Distinguish:
Glory
&
Vanity
– From lesser/greater –> least/great
The one who doesn’t care about ‘Who is the greatest?’ (& therefore doesn’t engage in comparison/competition), is the one who is least (content to be unrecognized), & therefore the one who is great (honored by GOD)!
– ‘Who is great?’ ~ ‘Who is right?’
Following the same One, but in different ways/styles/modes!
– Anti-busy activism
Agitating against restlessness!
– Healthcare – caring for health. What else?!
– Is reality unavoidable??
Doesn’t seem that way……!
– rank-&-file
– Visual aids for Scripture
– The apostate church
– desultory
– William Blake’s art from the Book of (St. John’s) Revelation
– Distinguish:
Conclusion (of the book)
&
Ending (of the story)
– Announce/declare/proclaim/testify to the eternal in what we have experienced!
– Apocalypse – a catastrophic ending to the (way the) world (works)!
– The Book of Enoch (OT apocalypse/pseudepigrapha) is not part of the deuterocanonical Apocrypha
– “Blessed is the one who reads the words of this prophecy aloud, and blessed are those who hear and obey the things written in it, because the time is near!” – Rev. 1:3
“Write down what you see”
Translating the unfamiliar vision into familiar idioms, without compromising the strangeness of the revelation!
– ridded
– Rev. 1:19 – both… and…
From the heavenly/eternal/divine/spiritual perspective, time (past, present and future), space (here and there) and persons (me/us & you/them), all lose their distinctiveness & get mixed up!
– Sexual purity (chastity/virginity) is symbolic of spiritual life, just as adultery is used to connote idolatry.
– Comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable
– ‘G-d instead of God’
– Disuse as misuse
– A prophetic pastor
– stiffed
28.9.16
– I guess, as Christians, we need to find a balance in the tension between living according to our (God-given) personality, and trying to change ourselves according to the demands of the Gospel/Kingdom.
– Jn. 14:26 + 21:25
So, what if the Spirit ‘reminds’ me of things that Jesus said/did, but which are NOT recorded in the Bible?!
– Irreverent faithfulness ๐Ÿ˜‰
– Liberal Utopianism
Vs.
Christian Existentialism
– Compare the early with the late Dostoevsky!
29.9.16
– Have early breakfast & early dinner
– The prudery in promiscuity (reactionary – sensual overcompensation)
&
The promiscuity in prudery (lewdness – repressed lust)
– My triangle of spiritual formation:
1. Inward work/self-development
2. Theoretical exploration
3. Relational ministry
All done in the context of nature-culture!
– redolent
inky
– “It Follows” – it’s not about HIV you dummy, it’s about death (origin unknown)! What is life, but sex + death??
It creeps up on you ever so slowly, but you can never finally escape it, no matter how fast you run!
And if you’ve not lived for anything bigger than yourself, nor raised any children, then you will be completely erased from this world, with no trace left behind……
– Cavalry ~ Calvary
Confident ~ confidant
– Who is Elon Musk?
– Yes, I wanna have a few girlfriends… ๐Ÿ˜‰
So what?! ;-[
– Rename:
Spiritual Edutainment Group
30.9.16
– The Glory departs from the Jerusalem temple & moves to Babylon.
The return to Israel is, not yet……!
Fiery & cloudy pillar –> throne on wheels surrounded by angels –> one human being –> dove & voice from heaven –> Cross –> flaming tongues –> ……!
– Does the Septuagint use the koinรฉ Greek?
– Resurrection > immortality
– “It is the duty of every believer, man or woman, to seek knowledge.”
โ€” Hadith
Hadith – a collection of traditions containing sayings of the prophet Muhammad which, with accounts of his daily practice (the Sunna), constitute the major source of guidance for Muslims apart from the Koran.
– Whoever says I am lazy is just a fool, & doesn’t deserve my response!
– The labor theory of value
The marginal utility theory of value
Consumption
&
Satisfaction
Classical & Modern Economics
Demand function & supply function
Theoretical revolutions
A mathematical social science
Partial equilibrium analysis
Classical mechanics
Simplified general equilibrium theories
Axiomatic system
Neoclassical economics
Welfare theory
Old & new institutionalism
Transaction costs
The varieties of market structure
Differentiated products
Monopolistic/imperfect competition
Multi-national firms
Orthodox price theories
Keynesian economics
Effective demand & productive capacity
Inflation & depression
Macroeconomic aggregates
Human capital & equipment
– Magna Carta – great charter
– Round Table
Teach for India
– brandish
– “The idea had got into his mind that he would some time die unexpectedly and always when he got into bed he thought of that… The effect in fact was quite a special thing and not easily explained. It made him more alive, there in bed, than at any other time.” – Sherwood Anderson
– scroll
codex
– Aztec pictogram
– Horologist – watchmaker
Chatterbox – magpie
Involution ~ elaboration
Palmist ~ chiromancer
– It’s amazing how quickly one can move from self-abasement to arrogance, & vice versa!
– Calm/relaxed & wakeful/aware
– Distinguish:
Vipaasana
&
Zen
Mindfulness
&
Yoga
– The eyes/ears/skin/mouth/nose of the heart
– Seek/search/desire/cry out/ask/focus/pursue/investigate/hunt/dig ~ acquire/obtain/attain/achieve/extract/discover/find ~ Insight/wisdom/understanding/sense/discernment/perception ~
Upright/blameless/just/faithful/right/fair/integrity/honest/good/true/sincere/obedient/straightforward ~ Success/health/prosperity/peace/blessing/joy
Fear of the LORD ~ Knowledge of GOD ~ wisdom for living well ~ the Tree of Life!
– If theology is ‘faith seeking understanding’, then can philosophy be ‘understanding seeking faith’?
– The being/person of GOD > the name/doctrine of GOD
– Treasure – seek, buy, store & guard
– tumbleweed
Amaranth
– Protasis & apodosis
– Intensification through parallelism
– Shaping attitudes
– epexegetical
– Attentive ~ responsive ~ obedient
To incline/stretch/turn, your heart/mind, away from, toward…
Repent & follow! U-turn + move in another direction
– particle
adversative
perfective
substantive
Do I need to go back & learn English grammar again?! :-l
Basic or advanced?
– Interjection/ejaculation
– Personification & objectification
– cognate ~ conatus
– From GOD to man
Grace/revelation/promise/glory/presence –> joy/faith/hope/love/peace
– Metonymy of cause
Causal clause
Habitual imperfect
colon
apposition
Noun phrase
Genitive of manner
– True ~ effectual
– From anthropomorphism to incarnation!
– Receive >> store up >> give
– Targum
Vulgate
– Sound counsel >> abiding success
– When she is tired/upset/ill, pamper her!
Somato-psychic
– hypocatastasis
1.10.16
– The dynamic/tension between sexuality & friendship/family is fascinating! ๐Ÿ˜ƒ
– Watching movies instead of reading novels.
Listening to music instead of reciting poetry.
– เฎจเฎฒเฏเฎฏเฏ‹เฎšเฎฉเฏˆ
เฎฎเฏ†เฎฏเฏเฎžเฏเฎžเฎพเฎฉเฎฎเฏ
เฎชเฏเฎคเฏเฎคเฎฟเฎฏเฏ€เฎฉเฎฎเฏ
เฎชเฎคเฏเฎคเฎฟเฎฐเฎชเฏเฎชเฎŸเฏเฎคเฏเฎคเฏ
เฎตเฏˆเฎคเฏเฎคเฏเฎตเฏˆเฎคเฏเฎคเฎฟเฎฐเฏเฎ•เฏเฎ•เฎฟเฎฑเฎพเฎฐเฏ
เฎจเฎฟเฎคเฎพเฎฉเฎฎเฏ
– ‘The primitive as paradisial’
Insurmountable alterity
Writing as embodied agency
Encounter with the other as the utopic site of transcendental excess
The aesthetics of absence
Divine calling –> spiritual walking
The civilized perspective
The possessed, the insane & the inspired
The demonic cry & the mystic silence
The Name that cannot be named
Spatializing the grids of intelligibility
Authoritative discourses that seek to interpret & therefore constrain the rupturing diabolical event.
Power is always on the move!
The anonymity of power
Archeological strategies to expose the architecture of control
Explain ~ manipulate
The spiritual porosity of language that keeps it permeable to the divine
Subversive ~ psychotic
Social inquietude
Practice ~ tactic
Displaced affects & disseminated effects
Distensive space
Expansive heterospatiality
Instaurational act
Heterological plenitude
Theological watermark
The garden of delights is a place to get lost in
– You change cultures, & the prude becomes the prick & the prick becomes the prude!
– “It Follows” is definitely a better/greater film than “Don’t Breathe”.
It is critical that we don’t really understand the nature & origin of the phenomenon, except a few clues, just helping us to survive longer, which only prolongs the torture of not knowing why or what……!
3.10.16
– For the dogmatist, the pluralist looks like a relativist.
And for the relativist, she looks like a dogmatist!
– For the subjectivist, there is no subjectivity!
– Lawyer – expert in interpretation (of the law) & (legal) argumentation
– “What must I do to be saved?” ~ “How do I inherit eternal life?”
Let the Good Samaritan take care of you!
– “How do you read?” ~ “What do you understand?”
– How was Jesus able to argue with the experts & beat them at their own game??
He had the wisdom of the heart, whereas they only had the intellectual qualifications!
But not every Jew will agree that Jesus won.
– Future indicative used with imperatival force
– Content, style & intent
– Emphatic syntactical position
– participle
– Contemporary requirements
– Finite verb
– Body – my own animal/pet/instrument/vessel/vehicle
– From being to becoming
‘Who we are called to be’
– Mercy/love > obedience/follow
– Love –> extremities!
4.10.16
– “Planned Parenthood”
Stock market, forex, commodities
modular
Neutralizing the terror infrastructure
Top brass
Surgical strikes
PoK & LoC
Serious & sustained diplomacy
Joint statement
UN Resolution
Result-oriented engagement
Targeted strategies
Substantive dialogue
Back-channel
National Security Adviser
Most Favored Nation
unboxing
– autophagy
whinge
behest
– Evidence > allegations
– Walk – sick & tired of s(h)itting
– Pronounce ‘white’ – h-wite!
– First + last = fast!
– Ideological gulf
Ethical monotheism
Animism
Vs.
Salvation history
Revolutionary conservatism
A history of misinterpretation
Popular misconceptions
Cherished presuppositions and astonishing claims
Theological monolith
Sublime depravity
No hagiography in the Hebrew Bible!
The call of duty
Is there such a thing called biblical religion?
Distinguish:
Israelite
&
Jew
Ethnic religion
Naturalization
Moral & existential issues
No philosophical/dogmatic/catechetical/systematic theology in the OT
No word for ‘religion’ in the Hebrew language
The interaction of literature/culture and religion/politics
Oracular writings
Former (stories) and latter prophets (sermons)
Temporal events that reveal an eternal covenant
BC ~ BCE
AD ~ CE
Canons
Distinguish:
Apocrypha
&
Pseudepigrapha
12 minor prophets = 1 book
24 books = Hebrew Scripture
Jewish Study Bible
Secondary readings
Law – past; Wisdom – present; Prophets – future
– Sedentism and nomadism
– Events –> Scripture –> events!
– ‘Song of Songs – an erotic multi-voiced love poem’
What?!!
6.10.16
– The Trinity (note the order of persons)
1. Father/Id/biology/passion/life
2. Son/superego/culture/purpose/reason
3. Holy Spirit/ego/psychology/personhood/ individual uniqueness
– Compare & contrast:
Holiness
&
Prudery
And I’m not talking just about sexuality.
– Wormhole
Supernova
Unnova
Singularity
Event horizon
String Theory
– First episodes watched:
‘The Preacher’
‘True Detective’
‘House of Cards’
– Evangelicalism is NOT a monolithic or homogeneous entity. And that’s good!
– ‘Cut off from the land’ (Judaic expression)
– Not keeping one’s word is the essence of evil!
Adam & Eve should’ve just gone back to GOD, and discussed & clarified with him about what the serpent had told them (before they decided what to do about the desire to eat the fruit of knowledge)…
– From ‘Six Feet Under’!
– Perverse, twisted, crooked, dark, uneven, wayward, immoral, wrong,
– Distinguish:
Promiscuous
&
Immoral
Slutty ethics
– Think twice or thrice before making a promise, but once you’ve made it, don’t even consider cancelling it.
You can modify it later, but with only with good (enough) reason.
– The tried-&-true path is made by good people who’ve gone before us, including those who are walking with righteousness now!
– “Whoever goes to be with her never comes back to the way of life”!
Why so hard??
– เฎฎเฎพเฎฑเฏเฎชเฎพเฎŸเฎพเฎฉ เฎชเฎพเฎคเฏˆเฎ•เฎณเฏ
เฎจเฏ€เฎคเฎฟเฎจเฏ†เฎฑเฎฟเฎ•เฎณเฏ
เฎชเฎฐเฎธเฏเฎคเฎฟเฎฐเฏ€
เฎ…เฎฑเฏเฎชเฏเฎชเฏเฎฃเฏเฎŸเฏเฎชเฏ‹เฎตเฎพเฎฐเฏเฎ•เฎณเฏ
7.10.16
– surmisable
– “The road of excess leads to the palace of Wisdom.” – William Blake
Aaah…ย an anti-Proverbs proverb!
No extreme, no balance.
No heat, no light.
No dream, no vision.
– Differential equations
Econometrics
Civil rights & environmental pollution
Imperialism & poverty
Social relevance, analytical rigor & aesthetic elegance
Standardised syllabus
Value judgments, philosophical preconceptions, and ideological biases
Progressive taxation, price stability & full employment
Positive & normative economics
Special interests
Peer-review
Statistical inference
Mathematical model
Isolate, abstract & simplify
Logical deductions
Personal preferences
Scientific conclusions
Testing theories
Established facts
Empirical verification
Confident predictions
Undisproved hypotheses
Uncertain accuracy of competing theories
Human labs & experimental economics
Product market & factor market
Goods & services
Macroeconomics & microeconomics
Input-output analysis
Balance of payments
Profit-maximization
Technical constraints
Factors of production
Firms & households
Efficiency choices
Strategic interaction of complex forces
Utility functions
Consumption patterns
Paired alternatives
Supply curve, demand curve
Price determination
Equilibrium/market-clearing price
Reasonable forecasting of the direction &/or magnitude of change
– snide
– Hieronymus Bosch – Garden of Delights triptych
Netherlandish
Glossography & calligraphy
Interlinear commentaries
Lettering
Writing as a visual art
Social atomism
Theological bodies
Grapheme
Brownian motion
ch = \t\ + \sh\
Distinguish: Minute & Indivisible
Efficient, final, formal & material cause
Pluralization/diffusion
vs.
Homogenization/totalization
– Lost, between the Garden & the City, in our own wildernesses (desert-jungles)!
8.10.16
– The freedom of simplicity
&
The simplicity of freedom
– ‘The intimate universal’
– The religion of Philosophy
10.10.16
– The very fact that someone like Donald Trump is a presidential candidate, is a matter of great shame for the USA!
Were the 30,000 odd emails deleted by Hillary Clinton, personal or official?

MISCELLANEOUS

โ€‹14.9.16

– Morning – breathe in the sky, the trees & the birds!

Traffic – sometimes, expiration is more important than inspiration…

– Onam – off-white & gold!

– Using time to make money

Vs.

Using money to make (more) money

Vs.

Using money to make time

Vs.

Using time to make (more) time!

– Restart one-to-one meetings with SFG members – at least once a month

– Consider starting (alternate) Sunday morning church services, for SFG members, etc. (whoever is unhappy with their respective churches)!

– I don’t feel depressed the past one month or so… ๐Ÿ™‚

The drug (Escitalopram) is working!

– The hardships of the easy life (Why……?)

Vs.

The easiness of the hard life (How……?)

– Instead of having a Paralympics, why not scrap it, and raise funds from the Olympics for the uplift of handicapped people instead?

– “HEAVY” – the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD!

What in the hell is GOD doing in Babylon??

– Sexual immorality become evil/sin only when it also involves social injustice.

Hmmm… okay. But isn’t all impurity also one form of violence or another?

I don’t think so.

– Physical sermons!

– The unfortunate privilege of being Called to teach people who don’t want to learn!

– Animated videos that graphically depict the prophetic visions in the Bible!

– Vision –> task –> suffering –> vindication!

– “Ichabod”

– Jerusalem –> Israel –> Samaria –> the nations –> all creation!

– Fasting, watching & adrenaline!

– Rebellion –> idolatry –> immorality/injustice

– Exile ~ refugee ~ captive

– How does the overall biblical pattern of judgment/punishment followed by restoration/reconciliation, affect our view of Hell?

Punishment is never complete & final……

– Social reformation through transformative leadership that becomes a renewing spirit among the people!

– “New hearts” – again, it is vital to distinguish ‘miracle’ from ‘magic’!

Hmmm… is this promise (‘New Israel’) fulfilled in/by the church today? Doesn’t seem like it!

– Magog (‘from Gog’)

Evil can never be fully explained, or accounted for, by human sin… a supernatural/mysterious/spiritual element always remains!

– vaudeville

– The Temple expands to include those outside (New)

Or

Everyone outside comes into the Temple (Old)?

The New Jerusalem is not (this) Jerusalem!

– Holiness –> love –> justice –> peace –> prosperity!

– Universalism – unitarian & trinitarian

– I should increase my night sleep (from 6 to 7 hours) & reduce my day sleep (from 2 to 1 hour)

– Radical Monotheism (Reinhold Niebuhr) + Generous Orthodoxy (Brian Maclaren) = Generous Monotheism (Immanuel Joseph)!

– Hand-shake, face-to-face conversation & walking side-by-side

– Try going anti-clockwise!

– From sight to insight:

Sensation –> perception –> discernment –> revelation!

The trained eye

15.9.16

– Dont hesitate to pay for high quality software.

– ingenuous

priggish

– I guess, being poor is integral to seeking the Kingdom…

Makes me question myself.

Nah… not really!?

– From now onwards, just choose good films to watch, instead of looking for action, horror, thriller or drama movies!

16.9.16

– Dream:

I am trying to fix a door broken off the car. I am annoyed, & scold others around me.

Praveen Livingstone (Christian Fellowship church) comes, and I let him sit inside the car & switch the AC on…

– I remember Sam Siddharth telling me that (some) movies influence him too much, so he tries to avoid watching them.

This I recently experienced, when I went into a megalomaniacal rage on the road, while watching “Steve Jobs”!

I am not as mature as I need to be. But I don’t think his strategy is good…

– Reasons why someone might leave the spiritual formation group:

1. This is not helping me grow.

2. It is too demanding.

3. I found another better option.

4. Spiritual growth is no longer a priority for me.

5. I have a personal problem with the leader or other members.

6. I am going through a crisis, so would like to take a temporary break.

– I have still not figured out how to spend my off-days well. Must keep wrestling……

I need to find a new way of inward entertainment to counter this obsession with outward recreation!

– Could it be that Jesus was as different from the Apostles (Gospel-writers, & especially Paul), as was Socrates from Plato?!

Who was the real founder of Christianity (religion) & the Church (institution)?

– I must confess, this contemporary brand of pietism disgusts me… Nauseating!

17.9.16

– Distinguish:

The beautiful

&

The sublime

Reason + imagination = understanding

Pure & practical reason

The unconditional/absolute/unpresentable presence/suprasensible perception/abyss/incommensurate/infinity/sublime/unnameable

Aesthetic & religious experience

Avant gardรฉ/abstract art

The desire for the unknown – Enjoyment Vs. Dread

The after-event

The instant

Pre-cognitive

Negative presentation

Passibility

Invention Vs. Prescription

The sensible/corporeal transcendental

Non-conceptual communication

Virtual direct access

Differend

Textual mysticism

Libidinal economy

A new incarnation

The semiotic body

Texture/tissue

– Can there be prostitution without (human) trafficking?

– Compare & contrast:

Saving

&

Investment

– The keyboard auto-correct function doesn’t work if the first letter of the word is wrong! Why??

18.9.16

– ‘Ars moriendi’

Die-ing

Traditional believers & heterodox practitioners

Joyous despair

surd

A stone’s throw

Panoply

propaedeutic

Techno-economic web

Integral vision of the cosmos as a kaleidoscopic constellation of signs

The temptation of meaninglessness

koine

lodestar

pronoia & paideusis

The Cappadocian Fathers

expatiate

– Distinguish:

Cosmology

&

Cosmogony

– The spiritual value of the emotions

Moral feelings

Control through repression & domination

Vs.

Mastery through understanding & acceptance

– Compare & contrast:

Monalisa

&

Anomalisa

19.9.16

– Distinguish:

Freedom

&

Selfishness

Responsibility

&

Duty

– “For the law possesses a shadow of the good things to come but not the reality itself, and is therefore completely unable, by the same sacrifices offered continually, year after year, to perfect those who come to worship.”

Hebrews 10:1 NET

http://bible.com/107/heb.10.1.NET

Hmmm… This could very well apply to the Sunday church services here. What a waste!

– “The Metaphysics of Morals”

20.9.16

– God’s miracle – baby without sex

Man’s miracle – sex without baby!  ๐Ÿ˜‰

– Waking & bedtime ritual – essential!

– Fidayeen

Mujahideen

Distinguish:

Arab

&

Muslim

– Turkey – can a country with an overwhelming Muslim majority population have a secular government?

– If there is an animal element in man, and man is made in the image of GOD, then there is an animal element in GOD too……!?

– “Don’t Breathe” & “It Follows”

I have no clue why these two movies got such rave reviews!

– I think Pneumatology (not Christology) is the most important of all the doctrines in Christian theology!

21.9.16

– Tanakh

Torah – Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy

Prophets – Joshua, Judges, Samuel, Kings, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi

Writings – Chronicles, Psalms, Job, Proverbs, Ruth, Song of Songs, Ecclesiastes, Lamentations, Esther, Daniel, Ezra-Nehemiah

I can understand why the historical books are part of the Prophets, but I don’t see how Ruth, Esther, Daniel & Ezra-Nehemiah fit into the Writings…

(Historical books – Joshua, Judges, Ruth, Samuel, Kings, Ezra-Nehemiah, Esther)

– Sustaining hope in the land of exile

Daniel, Torah and vegetarianism!

– Prophetic ~ poetic ~ symbolic

– First Covenant/Old Testament ~ Closed marriage –> Second Covenant/New Testament ~ Open marriage!

– Neo-orthodox ~ Post-liberal

– In spiritual matters (unlike Physics), it is very easy to confuse causes and effects!

– Pseudo-theology ~ idolatry

– Aren’t today’s church worship services (Monday-Saturday slave-consumers and Sunday morning devotees) similar to the hypocritical worship of Israel (social injustice and temple sacrifices)?

– Distinguish:

Beliefs,

Values &

Desires

– Distinguish:

Rending one’s heart

&

Shedding tears

– Bible Project – the overall structure of the book –> how the sections fit together –> let’s dive in!

– Salvation – human heart –> social institutions –> all creation!

– Rebellion against GOD –> arrogant selfishness –> violence against others

– Producing value > creating wealth

– Can capitalism ever be ethical?

How can businesses and government be delivered from their bondage to the drive for money and power?

– Past writings with deep relevance for today and pointers to the future

– Vision –> sermons

– Employees of all companies (large and small) must form their own unions, which are in turn fully connected with other unions.

Then they should fight for the rights of all employees to gradually become stakeholders and partners in the business, along with the founder/investor!

Authority-delegation and profit(&-loss)-sharing model – collective ownership. 

The board (highest decision-making body) of the company (private or public) must have equal representation from every level of labor (along with a specialist administrator & the founders), & must include at least one woman. 

The entrepreneur cannot, & should not, be the sole owner forever!

He/she can be paid around double of what the highest paid employee makes. 

– I think GOD’s word & human tradition CANNOT be separated!
Jesus replaces the Law with himself, NOT a new/better/different law.
What is the divine worldview or frame of reference? And how do we access it?

There is no such thing! And the only way forward for us is to acknowledge that, & continue to work together with the resources available, to keep learning & growing through critical inquiry, passionate commitment & open dialogue.

– Loving kindness

Friendly affection 

Warm regard

Unconditional positivity

– GOD-man-nature

Vs. 

Machines-institutions-rules

22.9.16

– Sinai –> Zion –> Calvary 

– Ideology – that is why left to ourselves alone, we will become a victim of our cultural programming! The only way out is through a community of critical & creative commitment…

– The trinity of GOD-Man-world – inseparable yet distinct!

This is true whether we talk of Scripture, Jesus or Church…

– Eat-rave repeat to exercise-socialize repeat

Can sleep be a (healthy) form of entertainment? 

A contemplative in this age would appear like a sloth……! 

23.9.16

– Instead of seeing GOD as someone who gives protection, nurture & guidance for individuals/group, we need to see him as providing all these for the vision-mission of the future Kingdom/Utopia (a just, peaceful & prosperous world for all).  

– The faster you go, the smaller your zone of attention. 

E.g. When driving on the road, you must be aware of a 10 m radius only. 

– Ethics:

Universal, liberation, ecclesial 

We need all 3. No one can choose just one. But the question is one of order/hierarchy. 

My arrangement-

1. Ecclesial/narrative 

2. Liberation/marginal

3. Universal/liberal 

– I need to study the basics of all the important fields. I must be a reflective learner. And I can prepare specific materials for SFG meeting, seminar & retreat. 

Rhythm:

3-day cycle – specific study (depth) & busy, random learning (breadth) & contemplative, relaxation & entertainment. 

– Lesson from playing TT:

Don’t try to perform at a level higher than your current capacity. Be aware of your limitations, & make the most of what you (already) have by working smart. But all the while, keep stretching & pushing yourself, to improve your capabilities! 

– Material, financial & digital consumerism

Distinguish:

Customer

&

Consumer

– hendyadis

– Ah! A call to reclaim the Gospel by the redemption of education. Glorious…
A NEW definition of prosperity, in a world that is NOT ready for the future!
To me, the New Creation looks more & more like a Utopia where a democratic politics & a socialist economics come together!

I always like to say, GOD is a spiritual capitalist (for individual freedom & creativity) and a material socialist (for equality in the meeting of basic needs)…

– I must read the Tamil Bible at least on alternate days. 

Everyone should try to maintain a good working knowledge of at least 2 languages (including their mother tongue) 

– Daily Manna – 1John 5:1-5:

Worshipping/obeying (the only true living) GOD –> overcoming the world & caring/serving people.

Without both these outward signs, how will we know our real spiritual state? 

True faith ~ radical monotheism! 

So, will I definitely/naturally develop love for the child (future), if I love my wife (present)? 

Loving others, by cultivating my inner life. 

So, can we also say that everyone who overcomes the world & loves people, is also a Christian?! (E.g. Karl Marx) 

– Anthropocene – 1950 onwards!

Geological time

– Occupational expertise 

Productive services

Price system/market mechanism 

Investment, production & employment 

Public policy & economic development 

The Marshall Plan

Tariffs/customs/duty

Protectionism

Economic nationalism or mercantilism 

Mother country & colonies

Political economy 

“An Inquiry into the Nature & Causes of the Wealth of Nations” – Adam Smith

Classical economics

Free trade

The invisible hand of competition 

Theory of value 

Malthusian Principle – law of diminishing returns

Strategic variables

Capital goods

Flow of labor & capital 

David Ricardo – principle of comparative advantage 

Domestic market & international trade

Marxian (not Martian! ๐Ÿ˜‰)

Business cycles/fluctuations 

Private enterprise system

– britannica.com is free!  ๐Ÿ˜ƒ

– How private virtues become public vices (in a world of simulacra)…!?

– tome

– When using the dictionary, always check pronunciation, etymology, usage, related words, etc. along with the semantics.

– “Marx had relatively little effect on the development of economics as a social science” – Encyclopedia Britannica

WOW!

24.9.16

– “A real reader is (also) a writer.”

Instant/event/miracle/surprise 

De-selfing

Reading/writing – reading as writing & writing as reading

Gift – the economy of love

Transcending all constructed identities & creating a new subject.

Material/carnal/sexual truth

The false theatre of phallocentric representationalism  

“We need to lose the world, to lose a world, and to discover that there is more than one world and that the world isnโ€™t what we think it is. Without that, we know nothing about the mortality and immortality we carry”

GOD as the other, that is both within, & beyond us!

ineluctable

Mimesis

Distinguish:

Art

&

The Arts

Arrest/police the irruption of speech

“the continuous network of sentences and ideas which masks the plurality of operations or โ€˜irreducible differences.”

Analyzing the cultural order to move towards a utopic site.

Interminable re-citations

Simulacra & objectless credibility – culture of deferral & credit

The aesthetic of absence

25.9.16

– “Diversity/variety of persons, & therefore theologies is a wonderful & complex fact! ๐Ÿ˜‡โœจ
Let us just enjoy being exposed to the Great Other, through encounters & communication with all these others ๐Ÿท
Have a super Sabbath, folks! ๐Ÿ˜Œ
I would request everyone to just relax & speak their minds without any fear!

It can be difficult, frightening & painful to interact with radically different persons/views, but that is what helps us grow! We are forced to stretch. Otherwise what’s the point in any conversation?? We are NOT here to just rub each other’s backs……”

– Life + loss = joy! 

What if I chose to choose neither life nor death, but love (or lust)?? 

– Distinguish:

Nurture, 

Pamper & 

Indulge

26.9.16
– Distinguish:

Embezzlement, 

Tax evasion

&

Money laundering 
– Transparency International 

‘Perceived corruption’
– Can one make a decent living & also be ‘non-profit’? 

Life –> living 

Or

Living –> life? 
– Arun Gadre & Abhay Shukla 
– untrammelled
– Reintegrating industry & service
– SATHI 
– Whistleblowers as traitors
– recoup

compensation
– Irrational ~ unethical 
– Parliamentary Committee Report

Planning Commission Recommendations 

Anybody listening??