Theology Of Day To Day Life

The following is an abstract from my thesis Abstract Kamang Gangmei, Jaojianlung. Union Theological Seminary, Sampaloc I, PapaPala, Dasmarinas, Cavite. A Special Research Project Master of Divinity, Union Theological Seminary, Dasmarinas, Cavite, Philippines. February 2009. Professor. Revelation Velunta There is a close affinity between one’s religious beliefs and cultures. In most cases, culture is shaped and influenced by religious faith and practice. To embrace new religious faith and practice, one is expected to renounce what he or she believed in earlier. Such is the trend in most of the Asian countries. Asians are basically a religious people. The major world religions are originated from Asia is an indication of Asian religiosity. The life of the community; manners and customs, foods, observing of times such as full moon or half moon, and many more cultural practices are directly related to religious belief and practice. The Zeliangrong people, a small tribal group of just about...

There are many characters in the Bible, whose stories has been a sources of excitement and inspiration to me since very young. One among them is Nehemiah. However, I he was not my hero while I am teenage for various reason. One of the many reasons was he wants to do a heavy work. It was not a fancy idea to work hard the way Nehemiah worked for a teenage like me. Though I was not that lazy! Yet, the idea of working was something like imposing those times. May be I am looking from the workers point of view not from the engineer point of view (thinking more on hard manual labor). But as I grew up to be a man and putting aside my childish part of me, I realized how Nehemiah must have felt when he was leading the people in rebuilding the ruined city. I am very much impressed by his leadership role, his courage to speak to the king what was in his heart. It must be like one from the poor country got job at White House and wanting to go back to his/her homeland, where villages are w...

In the opening remarks, the speaker of the forum tells about the disquiet of the subject to many of us, whether be it clergy or layman. To speak about sexuality and spirituality seems to be taboo to many of the culture not only to the Christianity. However, the literatures and the ancient remain such as statues and temples, somehow seem to tell different story. I am confident that human sexuality was there from the very beginning of the creation. I also believed that it was created for good purpose. I agreed to the notion that “sex” is more than just for procreation. It is for love, intimacy, relationship, and “entertains” our humanness. Or in other word to quince our desire for pleasure. Humankind have been and always will be seeks for all these love, intimacy, relationship, and pleasures. Now the question of sex being bad or sinful came to fore when Hellenistic philosophy intruded into the simple faith Christianity. Ever since this happened, the church has been constantly confronte...

Funny and hilarious! The very first scene of the movie tells something about that will be portraying in the entire length of the movie. At the very outset, I felt it is rebellious movie against Christianity. Yes, one has the freedom to express his or her opinion but not at the expense of others. I observed nothing but a figment of human imagination. Beyond doubt, the movie intended to portray Brian to the life of our Lord Jesus Christ. Well, to the writer of the movie, Jesus was Messiah by accident. The life of our Lord can not be accidental or funny as it appear in the movie. We sit back and laugh at the drama, wickedly created by some comedian. But at the second thought, I felt being ridiculed by the movie. Any elements of truths in the movie are accidental. If I have to relate the movie to my congregation, certainly it would be to warn them of such movie. One can think of any subject critically but if our critical thinking is not guided properly, it would bring only chaotic situ...

When I first saw the advertisement for “Dobol Trobol” on the TV, I thought it is the Tagalog version of the John Paragon’s “Double Trouble”. I don’t know much Tagalog but I love to watch Tagalog movies. There is a saying, “Action speaks louder then words”! Well this is very much true to me when it comes to music and movie. I listened to some of the music which I have no clue at all, even a single meaning of what it is being sung. For instance Ilocano’s Abalayan. I don’t know the meaning of the song but the beating and melody seems nice and it is an ideal song for a dance. Another example is the recent song Hawa Kamay. Well, at first, it sounds like “ How Come I” . So I thought the song is about 'how come I love you' or 'how come I left you'. Well, after asking few friends about the meaning of the song, it turn out to be entirely different from what I thought it to be. Sometmes, I tried to use my analysis skill but manyt times disastrous. But the movie is little differ...

(Matthew 8: 5-13) Words selected Centurion Authority Centurion’s servant Astonished Faith Kingdom of heaven Deserve Truth Words with social significance Centurion Faith Kingdom of heaven SOCIAL ANALYSIS Description Centurion: The captain of the 100 (100 Soldiers in Roman Army). Undoubtedly, he was a high ranking officer. From his own description, he was a man with authority and has servants under him. By any standard, he was not just a mere Roman soldier. Faith: Something we believe in, something we hold together, something we see by our inner eyes, something we are sure of without really seeing it, something we claim we have, something that give us hope and courage to go on. Kingdom of heaven: Some believe it to be a peaceful state of life here on earth; some believe to be an eschatological celestial kingdom. Despite the differences in ones view, yet everyone will agree to the fact that kingdom of heaven is a peaceful an...

"Surprisingly, no one so far identify with Jesus as their favorite Bible character!" This is happening among the seminarian. May be, all of us thought Jesus is purely divine and in no way can we identify with Him! But Jesus was a fully human while He was on this earth. Are we making a distance by ourselves with Jesus? But I am sure Jesus is always close by us! About parable! Parable, in the first century was not suppose to interpret by the one who is telling. It has to be interpret by the audience in their own meaningful way. It is like a joke, when we explain a joke, it is not funny anymore and likely people will laugh out of pitiness for the joker. Having said this, I am not trying to eqaut parable and joke, but it works the same way jokes work. So there can be many interpretation for one parable.