Loving Rascal

Jesus felt the pain of the one who could not feel his own pain, and He touched him to heal. The leper had death and decay reigning in him, but still could not feel a thing. [1] Likewise, many people of our present world cannot feel the pain, though sin, death, and decay are reigning among them. They have lost all consciousness of pain, the pain that would lead them to repentance and acceptance in the Lord. Like Jesus felt the pain of the leper in his innermost parts, the creator feels the pain of his out-of-joint creation filled with injustice, immortality, and idolatry in his innermost being. [2] When the leper confronted or pleaded (depending upon the version of Mark’s story), Jesus healed him. Jesus said angrily or empathetically (depending upon the manuscript of Mark’s story we prefer), “I’m willing.” [3]   Similarly, God is willing and perhaps passionate to heal the painless sinner, who cannot feel the pain of separation from God. And, he lives in luxury, pleasure, and o...

Into the Heart of Romans by Prof. N.T Wright is a remarkable work of a saint of God to lead us deeper into the heart of God. The groaning of God's spirit within a faithful child of God reflects and parallels the groaning of the whole creation for its final redemption (8:22-27). Yahweh's covenantal Love, personified in Jesus’ self-giving love reflected in his cross and resurrection, poured out into our hearts by his spirit (5:5), prepares us to participate in the sufferings of God's son and his out-of-joint world as we face the seven foes and their ten weapons as sheep counted for slaughter (8:18-39). Even so, nothing can separate us from His enduring love (8:39). Paul's assurance comes from the resurrection event. As Prof. Wright's driver notes, "If God raised Jesus from the dead, everything else is rock and roll, ain't it?" The same Torah that hitherto condemned a loyal Jew is now a believer’s justifier because of Jesus' cross and the giving of th...

I don't preach Christianity. I believe in Knowing Jesus because knowing Jesus is knowing God. Jesus is God's love in human form. Vivekananda said, "If I lived in Jesus' era, I would have washed his feet with my blood, and not with water." The word gospel means "the announcement of the good news of an emperor born" in Israel, as God had promised the Hebrew people. The gospels –Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John– answer the question, "Who is Jesus?" and "Why did he come?" The first question has two parts: Who does Jesus claim to be (Messianic King, Israel's Savior, and God in human form)? And, what do people consider him (Prophet, Teacher, Activist, False Messiah, Liberator)? The second question has many parts, such as, "Did he come to save Israel from Roman oppression or the power of Sin and the Devil?" "Does he save only Israel or other people groups also?" Further, "Is the salvation physical and tangible or is...

The Buddha’s teachings on morality and the universality of suffering are admirable. I agree with him that suffering is universal. I also agree that our desires and expectations cause our individual sufferings. Buddha has a way to help people accept and cope with their individual pain. However, our desires are not the cause of all of the world's sufferings. Evil and injustices of the world –diseases, terrorism, crimes, rapes, murders, and accidents– also inflict much suffering. We might say we have the choice to reject the pain of suffering. Do we really agree that if we learn to ignore the effects of the suffering, the suffering will cease? It may become bearable, but it will still not cease. Individually, we would be left with the haunting, unanswered questions, “Why does suffering exist, and why did I, not some other person, have to endure it?”   My first point of disagreement is that, though Buddha admits the universality of suffering, he doesn't really explain or addres...

The UP police arrested a sexagenarian pastor and his son on Sunday “under the Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Religious Conversion Act.” [1] The pastors no allegedly luring Hindu women, promising them employment, money, and free education for their children. [2] They also offered household items. The pastors spoke offensively against Hindu deities and offered the complainer ₹ 1,100 to remain silent. [3]   The Pastors visited the village often and gave the villagers images of Jesus Christ to keep in their homes. They forced the villagers to attend Sunday services and rewarded financially those who brought people into the church. If they refused, the pastors threatened them with consequences, mentally tortured them, and as a result, some people even tried to die by suicide. [4] The police seized a publicity vehicle and recovered religious literature from it. [5] What do you think?   Honestly, it looks like the fabricated domestic abuse case my Christian wife’s adv...

Today, I wore a BJP cap normally. My local area councillor is a BJP, and we support him. I just boarded an auto rickshaw. The rickshaw driver, a good Muslim man, asked me out of curiosity, “What is this on your head?” I replied, smiling: “It is a cap.” I was not welding a gun or a sword. I carry a Bible in my heart and in my bag. However, I have never asked any good Muslims about the caps that they wear. And never asked it in a demeaning way, “What is on your head?” I write this to give you a perspective on how things look and how certain factions make them appear. We, Christians, should write to create communal harmony, not panic or disharmony.   The Catholic Connect did a piece on violence against Christians, alleging that the Bajrang Dal organised a rally with over 500 participants. It passed through a “Christian area” surrounding a Catholic church in Thandla, Jhabua district, on Christmas Day. No violence happened, but the catholic reporter states: They c...