SPIRITUAL SHAM(E)
Children pretend that they are at par with the cartoon characters like Wincy, Barbie and superman. Sometimes it becomes their habit. It is revealed in their behavior. This continues for a while then their originality disappears slowly. At last, they forget their own individuality. It makes them lead a pseudo life.
The make believe attitude in Christian believer’s life is very dangerous. It is just like window of a shop showing off its things. But the real man is hidden behind the mask. The end of such Christians is a pathetic one. As the time goes by, they think that whatever they are doing is correct. It leads them to justify their way of life. Moreover, they are not conscious of drifting away from the Lord.
A. Self Satisfied life:
This spiritual sham leads to the popping up of the selfish spiritual nature. The mind is fully occupied with the applause and appreciation of past and it devises strategic plans to do things to get more appreciation in future. This leads to a self satisfied spiritual life.
Israelites completed the building of temple in 516 B.C. It made them think that one duty or achievement to God was over. But God’s plan for Israelites was not only to build the temple but to go beyond the border to magnify His name (Mal. 1:5, 11,14). Their achievements clouded and crippled their spiritual life. In this situation, God had to raise His messenger Malachi to warn them.
Many times, we as a believers are satisfied with conducting programs, retreats, conference, seminars etc. This achievement should not overshadow God’s will for future course of action. Every day, we have to sharpen our lives to move forward. For that, Malachi stresses two things
1. Burden for the Word of God (Mal. 1:1)(KJV)
2. Fellowship with believers (Mal 3: 16)
B. Senseless Life:
The spiritual sham leads to spiritual leprosy. The make believe attitude leads to a senseless life. In Malachi, Israelites asked eight important questions to God. The questions reveal their dead spiritual life. Each question starts with ‘In what way’ (6times) and ‘yet you say’ (2times). See the references below:
‘In what way have You loved us?’ Mal 1:2.
“In what way have we despised Your name?’ Mal 1:6.
Yet you say, “For what reason?” Mal 2:14.
“In what way have we wearied Him?” Mal 2:17.
“’In what way shall we return?’ Mal 3:7.
“In what way have we robbed You?’ Mal 3:8.
Yet you say, ‘What have we spoken against You?’ Mal 3:13.
‘In what way have we defiled You?’ Mal 1:7.
We, as believers have to live a sensitive life so that we will be able to listen and do God’s works according to His will.
C. ‘Service for profit’ life:
The spiritual sham comes up when we start doing God’s work for expecting returns. The investments for God have no returns in this earth. The God’s work is based on the God’s love only. Israelites have done God’s work in the expectation of reward in the earth.
In Malachi 1:10 we see, that the people do the God’s work with the intention of getting his blessings. This is revealed in Mal 3:14.. (“You have said, ‘It is futile to serve God. What did we gain by carrying out his requirements…)
Let us live a Christ centered life, sensitive to God’s voice so that we can serve others with God’s love.
J. Peter Daniel M.E., 76, Living Spring Avenue , Sanjeevipuram, Bagayam,
Vellore 632 – 002, Phone. 0416 2260066, 09443800395.
email: peterpearline@yahoo.co.in
http://glocalyouthvision.wordpress.com
Global News
Christian activists disrupt Hindu prayer in US Senate
13 Jul, 2007 l 0312 hrs IST l CHIDANAND RAJGHATTA/TNN
WASHINGTON: Christian activists briefly disrupted a Hindu invocation in the US Senate on Thursday, marring a historic first for the chamber and showing that fundamentalism is present and shouting in the US too.
Invited by the Senate to offer Hindu prayers in place of the usual Christian invocation, Rajan Zed, a Hindu priest from Reno, Nevada, had just stepped up to the podium for the landmark occasion when three protesters, said to belong to the Christian Right anti-abortion group Operation Save America, interrupted by loudly asking for God’s forgiveness for allowing the ”false prayer” of a Hindu in the Senate chamber.
“Lord Jesus, forgive us father for allowing a prayer of the wicked, which is an abomination in your sight,” the first protester shouted. “This is an abomination. We shall have no other gods before you.”
Democratic Senator Bob Casey, who was serving as the presiding officer for the morning, immediately asked the sergeant-at-arms to restore order. But they continued to protest as they were headed out the door by the marshals, shouting, “No Lord but Jesus Christ!” and “There’s only one true God!”
Zed, clad in saffron with a prominent tilak on his forehead, then nervously went through the invocation. “Let us pray,” he began, “We meditate on the transcendental glory of the deity supreme, who is inside the heart of the earth, inside the life of the sky and inside the soul of heaven. May he stimulate and illuminate our minds.
“Lead us from the unreal to real, from darkness to light, and from death to immortality. May we be protected together. May we be nourished together. May we work together with great vigour. May our study be enlightening.”The sentiments were evidently lost on the fundamentalists.
The organisation Operation Save America later issued a press release confirming that Ante Pavkovic, Kathy Pavkovic, and Kristen Sugar were all arrested in the chambers of the United States Senate “as that chamber was violated by a false Hindu god.”
“The Senate was opened with a Hindu prayer placing the false god of Hinduism on a level playing field with the One True God, Jesus Christ,” the statement said, adding, “This would never have been allowed by our Founding Fathers.”
Typically, the Senate Chaplain delivers the opening invocation, but sometimes guest chaplains are invited from all over the country to read the prayer.
According to a Senate Chaplain Office communiqué, the purpose of the opening prayer is to seek God on behalf of, and for the Senators and the prayer should affirm our rich heritage as a Nation “under God.”
According to US Senate website, “…Throughout the years, the United States Senate has honoured the historic separation of Church and State, but not the separation of God and State…During the past two hundred and seven years, all sessions of the Senate have been opened with prayer, strongly affirming the Senate’s faith in God as Sovereign Lord of our Nation…”
Mission divine: UK Hindus out to save ’sacred’ bovine
Akanksha Banerji / CNN-IBN
Published on Wednesday, July 25, 2007 at 08:53 in World section
London: It’s the latest clash of beliefs in the United Kingdom . After much debate over veils and turbans, a ‘sacred’ bull is now at the centre of a raging controversy. Six-year-old Shambo recently tested positive for Bovine Tuberculosis and UK ’s Health and Safety laws say animals suffering from the disease must be slaughtered.
However, the decision has enraged the Hindu Forum of Britain that argues slaughtering Shambo is against religious beliefs. “The community and the people at the temple are shocked. We’ve got e-mails saying how shocked people were, there’s a sense of disappointment,” says Sanjay Mistry of the Hindu Forum.
The battle to save Shambo was dragged to the court of law, where a local judge even granted a reprieve to the bull, only to be turned down by another court in no time. Finally, the campaign to save him shifted to the Internet, with several websites posting pictures and videos of the bull (live streaming images of Shambo can be watched at www.Skandavale.org/shambo) and e-mail petitions and mailers being sent out.
But UK ’s health authorities are unimpressed, maintaining Shambo is a threat and should be slaughtered – a view Hindu groups obviously don’t agree with. “We are saying there isn’t that much of a risk. Shambho is never going to enter the human chain. He is in a protected environment,” argues Mistry.
While it seems to be the end of the road for Shambho, the Hindu Forum, in a last ditch attempt, has written to UK’s Environment Minister asking them to conduct a final test on the bull, hoping it might turn out to be negative.
A Record Settlement in Priest Scandal
Priests’ child molestation victims receive major monetary settlement.
7/20/2007
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles this week agreed to pay $660 million to 508 people who were sexually abused by local clergymen as children. It was the largest settlement yet in the nationwide sex scandal that has gripped the church for five years. “This terrible sin and crime should not have happened and should not ever happen again,” said Cardinal Roger Mahony. “I apologize to anyone who has been offended, who has been abused.” The Catholic Church in the U.S. has now paid out more than $2 billion to victims of sexual abuse.
Many victims in the Los Angeles case, which was set to go to trial this week, said they felt vindicated, but not at peace. “No matter how much money you give me,” said abuse victim Steven Sanchez, 47, “I can’t cash that check and take it somewhere where I’m 10 years old again.”
Let’s not give the church too much credit, said The New York Times in an editorial. Apologizing and paying up was the right thing to do, but it wasn’t done for any noble reason. By settling, the archdiocese avoided a trial that would have forced Mahony to testify under oath about his role in transferring pedophile priests from one parish to another, and covering up their crimes. Facing “the exhumation and examination of evil acts, the archdiocese bought an expensive blanket of silence.”
Maybe now the Catholic Church will learn its lesson, said the San Francisco Chronicle. Every time an archdiocese has been hit with an abuse scandal, its reaction has been denial and stonewalling. This “monumental monetary loss” may be just the wake-up call the church needs.
Like many Catholics, said Carl Marziali in the Los Angeles Times, I woke up last Sunday wondering whether to go to Mass or “stay away in anger.” I went, only to hear a homily about the “serious issues” facing Catholics, including global warming and Iraq —but not the abuse scandals. It makes one wonder if the church is still in denial. “When the collection basket came around, my wife set her jaw and passed it on. Maybe if that happens 660 million times, someone will notice.”
Med student claims examiners failed him for being Dalit
Aasim Khan / CNN-IBN
Published on Friday , July 06, 2007 at 08:21 in Nation section
New Delhi: Calling up the Dean to find out about his re-examination is daily routine for Ajay Kumar Singh. “I want to find out when will my re-examination happen. I want to know” are the words that he finds himself repeating daily. Ajay is a final year student of India ’s most prestigious medical college, AIIMS and now he is at the centre of a raging controversy. Ajay is a Dalit and he believes that’s why he has been failed in his final exam.
“They asked me what was my involvement in the Thorat Committee, they asked me about my involvement in Dalit politics during the viva. How can I expect them to pass me?” says he. Allegations of caste bias in the institute are not new, but the authorites claim that Ajay has a very poor track record.
“This is not the first time he has failed. He has a very bad track record at AIIMS. Somebody is inciting him to do this,” says the AIIMS Faculty Spokesperson, Shakti Gupta. However, Ajay says he will not take the re-examination unless it is conducted by a completely new set of examiners.
Backing him are members of the governing body, considered close to Health Minister Anbumani Ramadoss. “The examination process at AIIMS is susceptible to subjective view points of the faculty. Ajay Kumar Singh should be re-examined by outsiders,” says a member of the governing body of AIIMS, K M Shyamprasad.
The AIIMS administration and the governing body have taken two contradictory stands on the re-examination of Ajay Kumar Singh, but as this political standoff continues, the fate of Ajay Kumar Singh hangs precariously in the middle.
Divorces on the rise in India
Monday, July 16, 2007
New Delhi: Divorce rates are increasing in India , show court figures. And this societal trend is visible not only among the rich in big cities but also among the not so affluent in small towns.
The Indian capital leads with the highest number of divorces in the country, with more than 8,000-9,000 cases every year, followed by Mumbai and Bangalore where the figures have doubled in the past decade, hovering between 4,000 and 5,000.
Kolkata and Chennai, the bastions of tradition, are also not far behind with a significant rise of 200 percent in such cases, according to data compiled from various state courts and the Crime Records Bureau.
Punjab and Haryana, both agricultural states, have seen an increase of 150 percent. Kerala, with the most literate people and the land of Gulf money, recorded an increase of 350 percent in the last 10 years.
Earlier divorces were limited to the affluent upper class in cities. But in the last decade, more and more middle and lower-middle class couples have been coming out of their shells to escape the pains of a discordant family.
“A study of recent trends showed that such cases are significantly rising in small towns and semi-urban areas. Many young couples, particularly women, have been filing petitions for separation, which was unheard of in the 1970s,” said Supreme Court Advocate K.K. Patel.
With the courts in cities and metropolises flooded with squabbling couples, the government has created the Crime Against Women cells and Matrimonial Courts to look into such complaints.
The reasons
Sunil Mittal, a psychologist, believes that “the nuclear family structure, modern lifestyle and professional tensions may be behind the phenomenal increase in marital discord”.
Indian youth biggest tech-lovers
24 Jul, 2007 l 0012 hrs IST l RASHMEE ROSHAN LALL/TNN
LONDON: The average Indian youth, more than anyone anywhere else in the world, sees the mobile phone as a status symbol, youngsters in China have roughly 37 online friends they have never met and one in three British and American teenagers say they can’t live without their games console, says the largest global study of tweenage and teenage interaction with digital technology.
The survey of 18,000 young people in 16 countries including India found that today’s young can count on an average of 94 phone numbers in their mobile, 78 people on a messenger buddy list and 86 people in their social networking community.
Somewhat surprisingly though, the study by MTV and Nickelodeon found that despite their 21st century technological immersion, today’s digi-kids are not geeks. Nearly 60 per cent of eight to 14-year-olds across the planet still prefer their television to their personal computer, a sure sign they find the internet’s virtual reality only mildly and sporadically absorbing.
Interestingly, Indian youth may be more geek-like than their counterparts elsewhere, with the study finding that only 20 per cent of 14 to 24-year-olds actually admitted they ‘‘loved’’ technology, all of whom were in India, Brazil and China.
In a remarkable north-south digital divide, youth in the developed world, particularly Denmark and Holland said they were barely interested in technology for its own sake. However, the developed and developing worlds intersected at the point where youth universally admitted they could not live without technology.
Poor infrastructure forces “torchlight surgeries” in Tamil Nadu
19 Jul 2007, 1815 hrs IST , PTI
MADURAI: In a shocking instance of poor infrastructure in government hospitals, surgeons of the Tirunelveli Government Hospital in Tamil Nadu are often forced to use battery-powered torchlights during surgeries due to frequent power problems.
At least 50 per cent of the operations were done using torchlights in between as lights provided at the operation theatre goes off due to power fluctuation, a senior surgeon of the hospital in Tirunelveli, about 150 km from Madurai, said.
“The generator takes a long time to start. We cannot wait once we have started the operation, so we prefer to use torchlight,” the surgeon said on condition of anonymity.
The hospital, the second largest government hospital next to the Rajaji Hospital here, catered to the needs of people in four districts of Tirunelveli, Kanayakumari, Tuticorin and Virudhunagar. It has 11 operation theatres where 25 to 30 operations were performed on an average every day.
Though the hospital had the latest gadgets for performing dialysis, heart surgery etc, power supply was a major problem, the surgeon said. Dean of the Hospital Dr Hemalatha admitted that there was power problem, but denied operations being performed using torch light.
But most of the surgeons at the hospital said “torch light operations are being done.” Doctors regretted that no serious action was taken to repair the generator. The situation was bad in almost all operation theatres including the one in maternity wing.
The refrigerators at the operation theatres of neuro ward and ENT also were not functioning for the past eight months, they charged.
Stem cell cure offers new hope
Friday, July 20, 2007 (Chennai)
The curative powers of stem cell treatment in blood related disorders has been well-known for some time. But for the first time in Chennai, the procedure has been carried out between a donor and patient who were unrelated to each other. This brings hope to people suffering from hematological problems.
Sarah Asiimwe lost her seven-year-old son to a rare blood disease many years ago; she wasn’t going to let that happen again to her youngest son Howard. Howard was also diagnosed with Fanconi anemia last year; a condition characterized by bone marrow failure.
Today the playful eight-year-old is being presented as India’s first successful case of unrelated umbilical cord blood transplantation. Till a few years ago only Howard’s brother or sister would have been able to save him, that too only if their HLA, a component of the human immune system, matched.
With medical advances a totally unrelated donor can save him, in this case two African mothers in the US . ”We were willing to proceed with the unrelated transplants because the risks were similar to a related transplant. We were already doing related transplants since 1995,” said Jose M Easow, Blood and Marrow Unit incharge, Apollo Specialty Hospital.
Howard accepted being scared, on hearing about the procedure.” When I heard about that transplant I got very scared but when they did it I didn’t feel anything,” he said.
A silver lining
Stem cell transplants have proved most effective with blood related disorders. But in other areas also it offers hope. This was evident in the case of some paraplegics, who regained sensation and motor ability after treatment.
”We’ve not only been doing stem cells for neurological diseases, we are wildly excited by what stem cells can do in liver diseases,” said Dr J S Rajkumar, Chairman, Lifeline Hospitals. For Howard’s family India was the best option. The procedure was done for Rs 45 lakh, while in the US it would coast as much as Rs 4.5 crore.
Young Howard’s body though can yet reject the outside cells, so he is not completely out of the woods. But doctors are satisfied with the results so far and are ready to send him back home to Uganda
