April 2007
Christian Ignorance
The grown up child shows a little bit of childish character in their behaviour. It takes some times for the adolescents to shake away the infantile character. The parents disdain the baby character in striplings because it will affect the development of the child.
Similarly, the spiritual child tends to follow the former ways which he resolved not to do when he accepted Christ. The former ways crab the growth and freedom in Christ. One of the students described like this after referring to the verse John 8:32. “The Christians have a lot of freedom when compared to other faiths.” The statement is almost true. Nevertheless many are not able to enjoy it due to their desire to follow the ancestor’s tradition, rituals and customs.
Recently the Hollywood Superstar Amitaabh Bacchan forced her daughter in law to marry a Peepal tree at Benaras and a banana tree at Bangalore to overcome astrologically (mars bearing Manglik as per the horoscope for removing dhosham) differences with her finance Abhishek bachan.
It penetrates even into Christian believer’s life by keeping the dates, seasons, celebrating different type of functions like installing Main door frame in the constructed building, full term pregnancy celebration, teenage girl attaining puberty, installing green bamboo in front of house to commence the wedding ceremony etc. in the name of prayer and thanks giving meeting. Not only that, we use the same type of stuff like banana, cocounut, candle, 14 types of rice, fruits etc. without knowing the symbolic behind this.
The custom has filtered into Christian faith so that the world is not able to identify true Christians.
Paul rebuked the Galatians in Gal 4:8-10, formerly, when you did not know God, you were slaves to those who by nature are not gods. 9 But now that you know God-or rather are known by God-how is it that you are turning back to those weak and miserable principles? Do you wish to be enslaved by them all over again? 10 You are observing special days and months and seasons and years! By observing the dates and times, we are showing the ignorance…no no.. denying…………..
A. God’s Creation:
God created the beautiful world for man to enjoy it. God Himself acknowledged His creation each day by saying Good (Gen.1:4,10,12,18,21,25_. In the sixth day, He saw the whole creation and said very good (Gen.1:31). The word good means moral excellence and superior to the average. God created everything well so there is no need for us to consider one day inferior to another day. If we give importance to the days and times then we are disbelieving God’s creation. All the days and season are equal in God’s sight. In Matt 12:8 Jesus said,” For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.”
B God’s Salvation:
Aiswarya Rai married an idol to pass on her mars bearing manglik dosham(curse) so that the dosham should not pass on to her finance and their family.. This type of rituals is illegal moreover it carries punishment of untouchabilities. As a Christian, we believe Jesus Christ has remove away our dosham in the cross once for all. There is no need to do any rituals or customs to get rid of dosham in our day to day life. If we do it we are crucifying Jesus Christ to the cross once again.
C. God’s coming:
The return of the Lord will take place in any time, any season. God never expresses an auspicious day of His coming. He will come like a thief. It means some countries has night other countries it may be a day.
As a glocal member, try to think globally before give in to any rituals or seeing the date and time. The time is not uniform to all. It will differ from place to place. So it is better to treat each and every day as God’s gift and grace.
J. Peter Daniel M.E., 76, Living Spring Avenue, Sanjeevipuram, Bagayam,
Vellore 632 – 002, Phone. 0416 2260066, 09443800395.
email: peterpearline@yahoo.co.in
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Global News
The minister has the number 666 tattooed on his arm
MIAMI, Florida (CNN). By John Zarrella and Patrick Oppmann
But Jose Luis de Jesus Miranda is not your typical minister. De Jesus, or “Daddy” as his thousands of followers call him, does not merely pray to God: He says he is God.
“The spirit that is in me is the same spirit that was in Jesus of Nazareth,” de Jesus says.
De Jesus’ claims of divinity have angered Christian leaders, who say he is a fake. Religious experts say he may be something much more dangerous, a cult leader who really believes he is God. (Watch followers get 666 tattoos for their leader)
“He’s in their heads, he’s inside the heads of those people,” says Prof. Daniel Alvarez, a religion expert at Florida International University who has debated some of de Jesus’ followers.
“De Jesus speaks with a kind of conviction that makes me consider him more like David Koresh or Jim Jones.”
Is de Jesus really a cult leader like David Koresh, who died with more than 70 of his Branch Davidian followers in a fiery end to a standoff with federal authorities, or Jim Jones, the founder of the Peoples Temple who committed mass suicide with 900 followers in 1978?
De Jesus and his believers say their church — “Creciendo en Gracia,” Spanish for “Growing in grace” — is misunderstood. Followers of the movement say they have proof that their minister is divine and that their church will one day soon be a major faith in the world.
But even de Jesus concedes that he is an unlikely leader of a church that claims thousands of members in more than 30 countries.
De Jesus, 61, grew up poor in Puerto Rico. He says he served stints in prison there for petty theft and says he was a heroin addict.
De Jesus says he learned he was Jesus reincarnate when he was visited in a dream by angels.
“The prophets, they spoke about me. It took me time to learn that, but I am what they were expecting, what they have been expecting for 2,000 years,” de Jesus says.
The church that he began building 20 years ago in Miami resembles no other:
Followers have protested Christian churches in Miami and Latin America, disrupting services and smashing crosses and statues of Jesus.
De Jesus preaches there is no devil and no sin. His followers, he says, literally can do no wrong in God’s eyes.
The church calls itself the “Government of God on Earth” and uses a seal similar to the United States.
Doing God’s work with a Lexus and Rolex
If Creciendo en Gracia is an atypical religious group, de Jesus also does not fit the mold of the average church leader. De Jesus flouts traditional vows of poverty.
He says he has a church-paid salary of $136,000 but lives more lavishly than that. During an interview, he showed off a diamond-encrusted Rolex to a CNN crew and said he has three just like them. He travels in armored Lexuses and BMWs, he says, for his safety. All are gifts from his devoted followers.
And what about the tattoo of 666 on his arm?
Although it’s a number usually associated with Satan, not the son of God, de Jesus says that 666 and the Antichrist are, like him, misunderstood.
The Antichrist is not the devil, de Jesus tells his congregation; he’s the being who replaces Jesus on Earth.
“Antichrist is the best person in the world,” he says. “Antichrist means don’t put your eyes on Jesus because Jesus of Nazareth wasn’t a Christian. Antichrist means do not put your eyes on Jesus Christ of Nazareth. Put it on Jesus after the cross.”
And de Jesus says that means him.
So far, de Jesus says that his flock hasn’t been scared off by his claims of being the Antichrist. In a show of the sway he holds over the group, 30 members of his congregation Tuesday went to a tattoo parlor to have 666 also permanently etched onto their skin.
He may wield influence over them, but his followers say don’t expect them to go the way of people who believed in David Koresh and Jim Jones. Just by finding de Jesus, they say, they have achieved their purpose.
“If somebody tells us drink some Kool-Aid and we’ll go to heaven, that’s not true. We are already in heavenly places,” follower Martita Roca told CNN after having 666 tattooed onto her ankle.
Indian kid amazes all with cognitive ability
Monday, 12 March , 2007, 20:06
Washington: An Indian-origin toddler in the US knows by heart what most adults fail to assimilate in their lifetime – the names of capitals of not only the 50 American states but also those of Asia, Africa and Europe.
Three-year-old Madhava Krishnan is the talk of the town not just at home in Sunnyvale, California, but also elsewhere, thanks to his ability to rattle off nation capitals and spell words difficult for his age.
A clip of Madhava posted on the popular video sharing website Youtube is close to being played a million times – nearly 900,000 as of on Sunday – with some 3400 comments and 49 video responses.
The news of Madhava apparently made the Indian media rounds thanks to an alert mail from the South Asia Journalists Association whose Board Member Kiran Khalid sent around a note saying, “If you do nothing else today, watch this. Really, it’s both endearing and remarkable.”
And remarkable indeed it is to see the various videos of Madhava who shows off his talent in not only reciting the American Pledge of Allegiance, but knows the nicknames of various US States, the capitals of nations literally the world over including India and Zambia and is able to put in order the names of States whose letters have been scrambled.
He is also able to go about with ease on such words as bottle, middle, railroad track, post office, island and washing machine.
In an NBC News feature in Sunnyvale made recently of Madhava, the boy who wants to be doctor when he grew up, speaks of his parents saying that their son’s abilities are not because of pushingbut of “accommodation”.
2-yr-old forced to smoke for video
Watauga, Texas: In a shocking case, Police in Texas found a videotape which shows two teenagers teaching a two-year-old and a five-year-old to smoke Marijuana.
The home video of two boys, aged two and five shows them being forced to smoke a marijuana cigar while the mother still remains in the background. Police says their uncle, 17-year old Demetris Mccoy and 18-year old Vanswan Polty – were teaching the two children—how to get high.
“They’re essentially trying to get them high, the children are stumbling they’re falling down, they’re significantly impaired. This is just horrible video,” said Bruce Ure Director at the department of public safety.
Ure said it appeared that the videotaped scene was not the boys’ first such session. “He’s holding it like he’s done it before, he’s inhaling, and this isn’t the first time,” he said.
The incident began unfolding February 22, when the Fort Worth Police Department executed a search warrant to look for stolen goods in the apartment of 17-year-old Demetris McCoy, the unemployed uncle of the two children, and 18-year-old Vanswan Polty.
“We would like to charge him with a first degree felony. If our children can’t count on adults who can they count on?” said Ure.
At one point in the video the two-year old says “no more.” He runs off to the kitchen. His shorts fall down. Police say the child is clearly wasted. Seconds later he comes back to his uncle.
Police say – there’s faint female laugher in the tape, which could be the boys mother. The boys’ mother has told police she was sleeping in the back bedroom during the incident.
She has not been charged, Ure said. “The only thing I can say regarding the mom is that we’re still investigating that particular aspect of it.”
The person behind the camera is a minor who has not been charged as of now, even though he’s the one who rolled on the whole thing. Polty is free on $22,000 bail – Mccoy remains at the Tarrant county jail.
Children protective services say the children are fine and won’t have any long-term affects because they smoked marijuana. They’ve been placed in foster care.
Jackson charging thousands for 30 seconds
U.S. pop star Michael Jackson flashes a V-sign to Japanese media upon his arrival at Narita international airport, near Tokyo, Sunday, March 4, 2007. Smiling and waving to screaming fans, Michael Jackson arrived in Japan on Sunday for his second visit in recent years for a party where those paying US$3,500 a ticket get to spend 30 seconds with the pop icon.
A relaxed-looking Michael Jackson smiled and waved at screaming fans as he arrived in Japan on Sunday for his second visit in recent years to host an exclusive party and sponsor a fan art competition.
Jackson made his first official foray back into the spotlight after his acquittal on child molestation charges in June 2005 with an appearance in Tokyo to accept an MTV Japan award last year.
Jackson, in trademark sun glasses and black leather jacket, was ushered by guards past hundreds of screaming Japanese fans at Narita Airport on Sunday afternoon, some carrying signs that read “We love Michael” and “Welcome to Japan.”
At the VIP party, guests paying aproximately $4100 Cdn will get to mingle with Jackson and spend 30 seconds to one minute each of exclusive face time with the Gloved One, according to organizers. It was unclear whether the star will perform any songs.
While in Tokyo, the star will also host a fan art contest for Japanese who cannot afford VIP tickets, organizers Davis, Bain and Associates said in an e-mail.
Three winning artists chosen by Jackson will have brunch with the star and their picture taken together. Jackson, 48, one of the best-selling artists of all time, has lived abroad since his acquittal, forsaking his Neverland Ranch in California for residences in Bahrain, France, and a castle in Ireland.
He told The Associated Press in January he was back in the United States, where he was widely reported to be pursuing business deals in Las Vegas. “I love Japan,” he said at the time. “It is one of my favorite places in the entire world.”
Jackson’s VIP meet-and-greet party was scheduled for Thursday, with the fan art contest on Friday. Promoters refused to comment on how much he would be paid.
More IIM-B grads refuse jobs abroad
Tuesday, 13 March , 2007, 09:31
Bangalore: Kunal Mahipal was the only student in IIM Bangalore last year to opt out of the placement process and go the entrepreneurial way.
Mahipal took the road less travelled but now that is not the case anymore as many are following in his footsteps like this year Mahadeo Chitale, who decided to ignore the corporate ladder and join an NGO that deals with microfinance.
“If someone comes to me I would tell him to go through the recruitment process especially if he is a fresher. He should build his contacts before deciding to start independently,” says Chairman, Placement Commission, IIM-B, Sourav Mukherjee.
Chitale is the only student who refused a corporate offer this year. But the trends in IIM Bangalore’s placements this year have been interesting.
For example, The Sun Group, a private equity firm, recruited a student for the post of vice-president.
Firms like McKenzie and Barclay Capital, too, made plum offers but what has stood out is the fact that five students have rejected offers from foreign investment banks to work for private equity and consultancy firms in India.
“A lot of people ask me if I have taken the right decision by staying back in India. I don’t feel I have comprised and I know I have made the right choice,” says a student, Manasi Prasad.
Now, the placement season at IIM-B is not about salaries any more.
Most people consider IIM degrees to be a one-way ticket to multinationals abroad but with the emerging trends it seems more students are opting to start their own businesses and choosing to work with Indian companies.
Beggar pays Rs 36,000 premium
Madhuri Kumar
[ 13 Mar, 2007 0405hrs IST
TIMES NEWS NETWORK ]
PATNA: She is no small-time beggar. For, she not only boasts of two insurance policies for which she pays Rs 36,000 as premium annually, she also has a bank account with a hefty amount to boot.
Meet Sarvatia Devi. In her early forties, Sarvatia has been a beggar ever since she became a widow about 25 years ago.
“They know me well enough at the STD booth on Ashok Rajpath where I go everyday to exchange coins, which I collect begging, for notes,” she says pulling out a pile of notes from the sack which she keeps while begging near the Darbhanga Kalibari here.
Coins are of no use to Sarvatia. For, the insurance agent and the agent of a local finance company, whom she meets in the evening near Patna Market, only accept currency notes to deposit.
One among the city’s burgeoning population of professional beggars, Sarvatia is neither a destitute nor a homeless.
“On Tuesdays and Saturdays when people throng the Kalibari, I earn between Rs 300 and Rs 400. Other beggars of the locality do not generally encroach on my territory,” she says.
On other week days, however, she sells vegetables both in the morning and evening. “Begging is no longer a compulsion for me. But its easier to beg here as the police do not trouble me. Moreover, the people are kind,” she says.
Today she boasts of having a “comfortable home” behind Ashok Cinema besides a well-settled married daughter. After she was provided a home for shelter by the state government, Sarvatia started to make savings for her only daughter.
“About five years ago I met an insurance agent who suggested that I should invest my money by purchasing insurance policies. I fell for it and opted for two policies,” Sarvatia says adding that she also has a bank account against her name.
Even her insurance agent admits: “The woman has purchased two short-term policies worth Rs 3 lakh and Rs 1 lakh for which she pays an annual premium of Rs 31,000 and Rs 5,000 respectively”. Interestingly, she has travelled across the country and even been on pilgrimage to many holy places, all by begging. “It’s a fun travelling on trains free of cost. I board any train and beg till I reach my destination,” says Sarvatia laughing aloud.
Astronomical salaries for IIM-K grads
Tuesday, 06 March , 2007, 08:21
New Delhi: Salaries zoomed across the board for the 2007 batch of graduates at IIM-Kozhikode this year, with the final placements witnessing as much as 57 per cent hike in international salary levels at $110000 (Rs 49.5 lakh) per annum.
The IIM-Kozhikode session marked the beginning of yet another good year as IIMs across the country are getting into placement mood.
The Kozhikode institute came out with an impressive report card, bagging 431 job offers from 88 companies for 155 students of the Class of 2007. As many as 21 of the students have bagged foreign job offers this year, with the highest pay package hitting $1.10 lakh (approx Rs 49.5 lakh) per annum.
The average domestic salary jumped 30.38 per cent to reach Rs 11.76 lakh per annum, up from Rs 9.02 lakh last year, while the median salary was pegged at Rs 10.93 lakh.
The Batch of 2007 bagged jobs offers from firms in the US, Europe and West Asia during campus recruitment and the average salary stood at $85,000. The highest international offer during the previous year was $70,000 (approx Rs 31.5 lakh).
Some of the firms that recruited for international roles this year included Olam International, Infosys Technologies, Wipro Technologies, Patni Computers, Cognizant and RPG Group.
The average domestic salary has also increased to Rs 11.76 lakh from Rs 9.02 lakh in the previous year, marking an increase of over 30 per cent. The highest domestic pay, which was Rs 16.67 lakh per annum last year, has gone up to Rs 22 lakh this year. This marks an increase of almost 32 per cent.
About 75 per cent of the batch has secured jobs with remuneration above Rs 10 lakhs while 33 students bagged offers in the upper range of Rs 15 lakh.
Infosys, Wipro, Patni Computers, Cognizant and the RPG Group are some of the companies that have offered jobs to the students this year.
In all, 34 new companies — including McKinsey, KPMG, Accenture Business Consulting, Bank of America, JP Morgan, HSBC, Goldman Sachs, Yes Bank, Google, Yahoo, Colgate-Palmolive and Cadbury — have come to recruit students from the Institute this year.
Meanwhile, IIM-K strengthened its existing relationship with recruiters from diverse businesses at Final Placements 2007. Some of the premier companies that participated this year included Citigroup, Lehman Brothers, Standard Chartered Bank, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Deloitte, Olam International, Infosys Technologies, Cognizant, Bristlecone Consulting, CHAINalytics, Asian Paints, Marico and ITC.
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