PEACE IN PERPLEXITY
Sometimes, the meaning of a word becomes applicable only when a contrary situation happens in an individual’s life. The importance of the word ‘democracy’ was revealed when the emergency was imposed in Pakistan (last month). Iraqi people realized the value of ‘peace’ when they lost it during the tyrannical reign of Saddam Hussein in their country.
Over the recent days, I have undergone a lot of stress in and out of the workplace and the ministry. During those times, I studied the book of Psalms which enabled me to identify with David’s life which was studded with several stressful events. The verses became more appropriate even though I read the same passage before and had a great impact on my life.
In the same way, the Christmas has to be seen in the light of the first Christmas. The celebration of the birth of the Prince of Peace took place in the heavens, synagogues, deserts, hills and plains when there was a lot of pain and grief each time a baby’s life was lost to the wicked plans of King Herod to destroy the Son of God.
Let us look into the two incidents clearly and then compare them with the birth of Jesus Christ.
A. Peace amidst Hopelessness:
The pregnant woman Mary and Joseph went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem to register themselves as per the decree of Caesar Augustus. In the olden days, traveling was never easy. It was a cumbersome and painful process which was to be endured and not enjoyed. When the couple reached the lodge to settle in for that night, the inn keeper sent them out just as how in India we even refuse to give place for a fellow passenger who is sick.
The hope of settling in that night in the inn had gone (Lk.2:7). They did not know where to go. However, God had arranged a manger for them. The insignificant manger became significant due to the birth of Jesus, the visit of the wise men, the Star which led them, the angels and shepherds who came to worship the Savior.
At times, God allows hopeless situations in our life to fulfill His delightful purposes. The manger proved to be of greater use than the inn.
- The indication for the shepherd was very easy – as the manger was related to his profession.
- The star rested on the manager which was easy for the wise man to identify.
- The place also big enough for them to accommodate Jesus and the many visitors.
Often, we get depressed and sad when things don’t go the way we desire them to. God allows such situations for our own good to make us to understand that God’s peace is unbreakable and unshakeable always!
B. Peace amidst Utter Confusion:
The envious and insecure feelings crippled Herod after the Magi had outwitted him. He ordered the killing of all male babies under the age of two in Bethlehem and its vicinity. The first Christmas had been a bloody event for those who were in Bethlehem . It turned out to be a time of weeping and mourning in Ramah. No one was able to comfort the bereaved families (Matt 2:16-18). In the midst of these horrific happenings, the Prince of Peace was born in the manager. The message of Christ’s birth was proclaimed to the shepherds and to the whole world.
In our life too, we face unacceptable situations such as accidents, natural calamities, terrorism, sudden deaths, disease, illness, poverty, problems at work, unanswered prayers and so on. What will Christmas this year mean to those in such situations? The celebration of Christmas will be very difficult just as it was two thousand years ago. The celebration of first Christmas was for the celebration of the birth of the Prince of Peace and not for mourning for the tragedies. .
Very often we dwell in the scars of the past and incidents which cloud out the real peace which God wants to give to each one of us. Christmas is not just about thinking of our bad past. Instead we need to focus on Jesus Christ who has come to this world to give peace to the world which the world cannot offer.
Let us remember that in this world we will always have trials and tribulations. The good news is that even in the midst of perplexity, God will give us His everlasting peace because He is the Prince of Peace!
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
GYV wishes you a Happy Christmas and Happy New Year 2008
Global News
1. Hollywood takes action hero Jesus to India
Film based on Aquarian Gospel to cover years left out of New Testament
Randeep Ramesh in New Delhi Monday November 19, 2007
Hollywood is to fill in the Bible’s “missing years” with a story about Jesus as a wandering mystic who travelled across India, living in Buddhist monasteries and speaking out against the iniquities of the country’s caste system.
Film producers have delved deep into revisionist scholarship to piece together what they say was Jesus’s life between the ages of 13 and 30, a period untouched by the recognised gospels.
The result is the Aquarian Gospel, a $20m movie, which portrays Jesus as a holy man and teacher inspired by a myriad of eastern religions in India . The Aquarian Gospel takes its name from a century-old book that examined Christianity’s eastern roots and is in its 53rd reprint.
The film’s producers say the movie will be shot using actors and computer animation like 300, the retelling of the Battle of Thermopylae, and will follow the travels of Yeshua, believed to be the name for Jesus in Aramaic, from the Middle East to India . Casting for suitable Bollywood and Hollywood actors has begun.
“The Bible devotes just seven words to the most formative years of Yeshua’s life saying: ‘The boy grew in wisdom and stature’. The [film] will follow Christ’s journey to the east where he encounters other traditions, and discovers the principles that are the bedrock of all the world’s great religions,” said Drew Heriot, the film’s director, whose credits include the cult hit The Secret.
The film, which is due for release in 2009, sets out to be a fantasy action adventure account of Jesus’s life with the three wise men as his mentors. Although the producers say the film will feature a “young and beautiful” princess, it is not clear whether Jesus is to have a love interest.
The producers say they are hoping for commercial and spiritual gains. “We think that Indian religions and Buddhism, especially with the idea of meditation, played a big part in Christ’s thinking. In the film we are looking beyond the canonised gospels to the ‘lost’ gospels,” said William Sees Keenan, the producer, who is currently making Lindsay Lohan’s Poor Things.
“We are looking at new themes. In our story Jesus was loyal to the untouchables [in India ] and he defended them with his life by saying that everyone could read the Vedas [Hindu holy books],” said Mr Keenan, a “lapsed Catholic”.
The theory that Jesus’s teachings had roots in Indian traditions has been around for more than a century. In 1894 a Russian doctor, Nicholas Notovitch, published a book called The Unknown Life of Christ, in which he claimed that while recovering from a broken leg in a Tibetan monastery in the Ladakh region, close to Kashmir , he had been shown evidence of Christ’s Indian wanderings. He said he was shown a scroll recording a visit by Jesus to India and Tibet as a young man. Indian experts claim that documentary proof remains of this Himalayan visit.
“I have seen the scrolls which show Buddhist monks talking about Jesus’s visits. There are also coins from that period which show Yuzu or have the legend Issa on them, referring to Jesus from that period,” said Fida Hassnain, former director of archaeology at the University of Srinagar .
Hassnain, who has written books on the legend of Jesus in India , points out that there was extensive traffic between the Mediterranean and India around the time of Jesus’s life. The academic pointed out that in Srinagar a tomb of Issa is still venerated. “It is the Catholic church which has closed its mind on the subject. Historians have not.”
More dramatic are the claims that Buddhism had prompted the move from the “eye for an eye” ideology of the Old Testament to “love thy neighbour” in the New Testament.
In 1995 a German religious expert, Holger Kersten, claimed that Jesus had been schooled by Buddhist monks to believe in non-violence and to challenge the priesthood. Kersten’s book remains a bestseller in India .
The Catholic church in India dismisses the film as just ” Hollywood filmmakers in search of a new audience rather than the truth”. Aware that religious passions are easily inflamed, after the Da Vinci Code film sparked protests among Indian Christians, its spokesman said that a movie about Jesus in India was plainly “fantasy and fiction”.
“I have personally investigated many of these claims and they remain what they first seem: fiction,” said John Dayal, president of the All India Catholic Union which represents 16 million churchgoers. “I am sure it will make money but I do not think it will displace thousands of years of biblical thought.”
Alternative theories
In 1935 a Shinto priest claimed that instead of being crucified, Jesus had fled to Japan where he lived to be 112. He married a Japanese woman, had three daughters and became a respected teacher and prophet
Dan Brown’s Da Vinci Code, which has sold more than 80m copies, suggests that the church suppressed Jesus’s real story and that he had a family of his own. A central character in modern times discovers she is a direct descendant of Jesus and Mary Magdalene, who fled to what is now France after the crucifixion
The Lost Gospel of Judas is based on a manuscript found in the Egyptian desert in 1970 and claims Jesus enlisted a beloved and heroic Judas to betray him as part of a divine plan
Titanic director James Cameron’s film about the lost tomb of Jesus in Jerusalem suggests that graves containing the remains of Jesus and Mary Magdalene were discovered in 1980
2. No Indian varsity among world’s top 200 universities
No Indian varsities, including the prestigious Indian Institutes of Technology, figure among world’s top 200 universities this year while six Chinese universities were listed, signalling the rapid stride the Communist giant is making in higher education.
Harvard University tops the league table followed by Cambridge and Oxford at second and third positions respectively. The top 10 universities are all either in the US or the Britain , a survey has found.
Besides China , other Asian countries figuring in the list of world-class universities are Japan , Singapore , Hong Kong , Taiwan and South Korea .
The IITs, which figured regularly in all the previous rankings, since The Times Higher – Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) World University Rankings which began three years ago, have fallen off the map this year partly because of a change in evaluation norms.
For this year’s survey, individual IITs were assessed, and not the “IIT system as a whole.” And none of the seven IITs was considered good enough to find a place among the top ranking world universities.
However, IIT Delhi and IIT Mumbai find mention among the world’s top 50 technology institutions, with the former at 37 and latter at 33 – both way behind China ’s Tsinghua University , placed at 16.
The six Chinese universities included among the world’s top 200 are Peking University , Tsinghua University (also listed among the 50 best technology institutions), Fudan University , Nanjing University , the University of Science and Technology of China and Shanghai Jiao Tong University .
The survey covering 28 countries, confirms the English-speaking world’s dominance in higher education with America Britain leading the pack.
3 1.2 Lakh people commit suicide every year: As many as 1.2 lakh people end their lives every year in India by committing suicide. Besides that, more than four lakh people attempt to commit suicide. A majority of them have been found to be suffering from some sort of mental disorder or depression. A special suicide prevention programme is now being planned that would counsel and protect mentally depressed patients from harbouring thoughts of ending their life. According to Union health minister, 60% of the deaths caused by suicide could have been prevented with proper counselling. The main reasons behind such actions have been found to be depression, addiction and alcoholism.
As part of the programme, the ministry will give basic mental health training to doctors at the primary healthcare centres in the villages. MBBS doctors will also be trained on how to identify and counsel patients with mental health problems at the sub-division and district levels. Over 7.5% of the Indian population is facing some sort of mental problem, of which over 1.75% (16 million) needs institutional intervention. The country is also facing an acute shortage of psychiatrists. Of the 3,300 trained psychiatrists, 3,000 are in the four metros. India actually needs 32,000 psychiatrists. According to health ministry figures, over 900,000 women females in India need treatment for mental illness. Of these, nearly 280,000 fall in the age group of 10-29 and nearly 250,000 in the age group of 30-50. Though women attempt to commit suicide more, men usually become successful more often in their attempts. Unfortunately, mental illness in India is considered a taboo — a behavioural disorder rather than a health menace. So the rate of people coming out in public and looking for medical intervention for their condition is low.
(Kounteya Sinha)
4. Superstitious docs kill son in Rohtak: Two days after Haryana police booked a Hisar farmer for allegedly attempting to starve his five-year-old son to death, another horrific incident came to light in which a teenaged boy lost his life because of his parents. The incident also shattered the myth that only illiterate is prone to superstitions. Instructed by a ‘guru’ who appeared in their dream, a doctor couple in Rohtak believed that transfusion of blood from their younger and talented son to their elder son, who was average in studies, could make the latter more bright. The operation, however, went haywire and the younger sibling died of excessive bleeding. What’s shocking is that the mother, Dr Promila Malik, is a professor in Pandit Bhagat Dayal Sharma Post Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences (PGIMS) in Rohtake and the father, Dr Ashok Malik, is employed in a hospital at Amritsar . Apparently, the ‘guru’ used to appear in the mother’s dreams. Police arrested the parents after registering cases under sections 304 and 120 B of IPC. Police had also seized material like mustard and kerosene oil, incense sticks and matchbox, indicating that tantrik rituals had been performed in the house. Superintendent of police Haneef Quraishi said some family member could be involved in the incident. Investigations revealed that while Piyush, a class VI student, excelled in studies, 18-year-old Abhishek, who was preparing for medical entrance examinations, was an average student. The couple was desperate to get him enrolled in an MBBS course. The superstitious mother reportedly saw the ‘guru’ in her dream, who advised her to transfuse the blood of Piyush to Abhishek for his sure admission to a medical college. He also directed her to spill oil and burn something to create smoke in the house during the transfusion. (Deepender Deswal)
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Superstitious_docs_kill_son_in_Rohtak/articleshow/2447597.cms
5. Urban Indian men are not just pumping iron or downing steroids to look better. Now, surgeons say, a rising number are asserting their manliness by taking recourse to new and even controversial, procedures in cosmetic surgery. Some cosmetic surgeries: Abdominal etching in which stomach fat and skin is removed to give flatter, tighter stomach. Body contouring: After a major weight loss, the stretched skin is removed. Fat transplant: Fat from one part of body is used to fill wrinkle in another part, mostly face. Abdominoplasty: Washboard-flat stomach is achieved, by tightening or removing abdominal muscles. Hip therapy: Hip reduction, inch loss, toning and firming is done. Face procedures: Volume is built up in areas of bone loss with filters, lifting, repositioning and finally by reducing inelastic tissues. One doctor says that the male patients have increased three times more in the past five years. Software professionals, engineers, businessmen, sports people, film personalities and media professional have the same, insatiable desire to look god. 84% of male patients are urbanites. 70% are socially and financially independent. 88% are men between 25-45 years who are unmarried. Who seek surgery? 1. Those who wish to enhance looks, show rise in self-esteem and confidence levels. 2. Those who believe surgery will turn their lives and fortunes around. 3. Those who are in unstable relationships and want to save failing relationships, need psychological counseling. 4. Those who are in shobiz, where appearance has a premium. 5. Those who have minimal deformity but disappropriate body anxiety, may be suffering from Body Dysmorphic Disorder. Indian males seem to be on the verge of a seismic shift. And they are willing to spend any amount in pursuit of their personal look. AC Nielson survey in four metros among 1000 men reveals that three in five single men claim they try to look stylish at all times. An ASSOHAM survey on 5000 consumers indicate that men’s spending on grooming is up as much as 20 per cent in more than half of Indian families. The craze is not just in Metros, it is spreading to other cities also. For example Ahmedabad had 8 cosmetic surgeons in mid – 90s now has crossed 50. 17-25 year olds go for surgical procedures – Enlarged breasts, scar removal and nose job; 25-35- Face and body contouring; 35-45 – making the chin more prominent, body contouring, abdominal liposuction, abdominoplasty and abdominal etching; 45 plus – Lines and wrinkles, especially around the eyes and face rejuvenation; all age groups – enlarged breasts, making the chin more prominent, nose job. Today’s buff-ad-ready man stands squarely at the intersection of beauty, vanity and health. But in forging new standards for himself, he has opened up a Pandora’s box: will unrealistic images lead to greater body image dissatisfaction, mental health issues, and threats to healty physical functioning? (Damayanti Datta, India Today, 15 October 2007. p. 46-60)
6 Indians top sex searchers on Google: Internet users in Egypt, India and Turkey are the world’s most frequent searchers for Websites using the keyword “sex” on Google search engines, according to statistics just provided by Google Inc. Germany, Mexico and Austria were world’s top three searchers of the word “Hitler” while “Nazi” scored the most hits in Chile, Australia and the United Kingdom, data from 2004 until now on the “Google Trends” website reflects. Chile also came in first position in searching for the word “gay”, followed by Mexico and Colombia . We are not saying this, but it is the ‘God of Search’ which has revealed so. Interestingly, Morocco , Indonesia and Pakistan were among world’s top three countries to search for the word “Jihad” while Pakistan , Philippines and Australia sought the word “Terrorism” the most. The statistics also revealed that the Internet users in Ireland , United Kingdom and United States searched most for the word “Hangover.” Top searchers for other keywords were as follows (in order from first to third place). Burrito: United States , Argentina , Canada . Iraq : United States , Australia , Canada . Taliban: Pakistan , Australia , Canada . Tom Cruise: Canada , United States , Australia . Britney Spears: Mexico , Venezuela , Canada . Homosexual: Philippines , Chile , Venezuela . Love: Philippines , Australia , United States . Botox: Australia , United States , United Kingdom . Viagra: Italy , United Kingdom , Germany .
David Beckham: Venezuela , United Kingdom , Mexico . Kate Moss: Ireland , United Kingdom , Sweden . Dolly Buster: Czech Republic , Austria , Slovakia . Car bomb: Australia , United States , Canada . Marijuana: Canada , United States , Australia .
IAEA: Austria , Pakistan , Iran .
( http://infotech.indiatimes.com/articleshow/2470687.cms)
7. Cambridge students working as call girls: Report: According to a report published in the institution’s student newspaper Varsity, a large number of “cash-strapped” students are selling their bodies to make quick bucks. “Undergraduate life is expensive these days, especially for those who enjoy the odd luxury. But why are 350 Cantabridgians working as escorts?” the report said. It also said that a “plethora” of undergraduates were also raising money by selling essays. Varsity claimed it spoke to one such student who “admitted” spending her first year as an undergraduate working as a 50-pounds-an-hour call girl. The newspaper also interviewed another undergraduate student, without revealing her name, who said she earned “up to 100 pounds per dance” while working as a stripper. However, university teachers are worried. “I was very concerned to read the report. Senior tutors would want to do everything they could to give support to students well before any found themselves in such a situation,” Dr Rob Wallach, the Secretary of the University’s Senior Tutors’ Committee, told a British daily.
(http://www.expressindia.com/latest-news/Cambridge-students-working-as-call-girls-Report/226801/
8. Living Green: The best livable countries are: 1. Finland , 2. Iceland , 3. Norway , 4. Sweden and 5. Austria . The bottom five countries are: 137. Chad , 138. Burkina Faso , 139. Sierra Leone , 140. Niger and 141. Ethiopia . In air quality, Moldova stands first, Finland eighth, United States at sixty three, Ethiopia at 126 and India at 138. The five top cities which is green and most livable are: Stockholm , Oslo , Munich , Paris , Frankfrut. Five worst cities to live in are: Bangkok (rank 68), Guangzhou (69), Mumbai (70), Shanghai (71) and Beijing (72). Other Asian cities are: Honk Kong (18), Tokyo (20), Seoul (52), Chennai (65), Taipei (67). The ranking for water quality: Norway (1), Finland (2), United States (22), Ethiopia (127) and India (137). Greehouse gases –rates carbon emission per capita and by GDP: Chad (1), Ethiopia (18), Finland (75), India (96), and United States (107). Energy efficiency-rates conservation efforts and use of renewables such as hydrogen: D.R. Congo (1), Ethiopia (17), Finland (66), India (70) and United States (106). Environmental health – rates childhood mortality, diseases, deaths from intestinal infections: Austria (1), Finland (8), United States (16), India (77), and Ethiopia (125). For full country and city rankings and more details, go to <rd.com/greencountries> (Matthew E. Kann and Fran Lostys, Readers Digest, October 2007, p. 106-116)
9. Indian IT professionals among worst paid: While Indian IT managers stood fourth on the ten lowest paying countries with an average of $25000. Vietnam topped the list with a meager average salary of $15470, followed by Bulgaria and Philippines averaging $22240 and $22280 respectively. The others countries on the list were Indonesia at fifth with average wages of $31720, followed by China-Shanghai with earning of $33770, Malaysia ($35880), China-Beijing ($36220) and Argentina ($43180). Also, large pay gaps exist between the junior and senior career streams in India , Indonesia , Chile , Braxil and Vietnam . In terms of the best IT salaries paying countries’ Switzerland topped the list with an average annual remuneration of $140960. The same job if taken in Denmark , second on the list, would pay $123080. Belgium stood third in the best paid list with salary in the IT sector averaging $121170. The UK and Irelandwere ranked fourth and fith on this list with average packages of $118190 and $108230 respectively. (The Statesman, 22 October 2007, p.10)
Item 3- 9 has been taken from Global urban vision. http://www.glocalassociates..org/
