Personal Responsibility and corruption

Starting Aug-16th in what has been characterized as the second freedom struggle for India,Unprecedented Media coverage has been given to Anna Hazare.While the nation has very rightly stood behind Anna and voiced its anger over corruption.I still feel that a lot more has to be done with respect to corruption.We have conveniently left behind our personal responsibility in the matter

How many of you would

1.Stop downloading movies/songs from the internet because they are pirated ?

2.Stop bribing the traffic cop and instead go to a court and pay the fine ?

3.Stop indiscriminately take xerox copies of the foreign author book/study material because it violates copyright?

4.Stop posting something on your Facebook wall and start doing something concrete instead?


Everything starts at the lowest level with self.Instead of blaming the government over and over again why do we not try to improve our country by correcting something we can.Of course it is basic human tendency to take the shortest and easiest way possible and it will be hard to break out of this , but at the end of the day nothing significant got done without hard work.

Also many innovative ideas are being proposed and some have been implemented to eliminate corruption.One innovative example was the number-plate registration procedure in the RTO.To get a fancy number earlier you might have had to shell out a bribe.However now the government collects money and even issues a receipt if you want fancy number.How cool it would be if bribes were legalized.What an idea Sirji???

I am pretty sure that we can all come up with innovative ideas such as these to lessen corruption.With this combination of innovation and personal discipline I am sure that corruption will come down far more effectively instead of the blame-game going on

"Be the change you want to see."

Christianity in a Nutshell

What does it mean to be a Christian? .The word Christian means many things to many people .Hence it is essential that we have a clear understanding of what it means to be a ‘Christian’

If we ask a random set of people what it means to be Christian the most popular responses you would get are ‘Someone who follows the ten commandments’ or ‘Someone who does good things’ and so on. I would like to define Christianity in very simple terms below

‘A Christian is someone who believes and affirms the life, person and work of Jesus Christ.’

That is the Christian acknowledges the life of Jesus Christ , his ministry here on earth and his death on the cross for our redemption and that belief in the above is the only way to salvation.

Though there are many many more things which are necessary for Orthodox Christianity , the above encompasses the very core of what it means to be Christian. That is if you do not agree with the above you can call yourself something else but not ‘Christian’

Often we tend to ignore this very central fact and disagree about things which are far less important/trivial to the faith. We should not disagree with people on things such as whether drinking is sinful, what sort of music/worship we should have in Church, views on creation/evolution etc where the topic might be much more subjective and there is no one ‘Right Answer’ to the question .Though we can debate on these things( and such debate is helpful) it is far more important to remember what the essentials of Christianity are

Therefore choose to fight your battles very carefully .Make sure that you are rejected for the ‘Right reasons’

What is theology?

What is Theology?

The word theology usually conjures up images of people in white robes who sit in a dim room and pore over big books , or of big professors in well dressed suits discussing it in some university campus.

Wikipedia simply defines theology thus "Theology is the systematic and rational study of religion and its influences and of the nature of religious truths, or the learned profession acquired by completing specialized training in religious studies, usually at a university or school of divinity or seminary." .Boring people poring over boring stuff :)

Though this is the formal definition of theology ,I would say that everyone who has thought about or asked the Ultimate questions in life is a theologian in some sense

Why is there something rather than nothing ?

What happens after death ?

Is there someone called God?

Is there only one way to God? etc..

Why should we study theology?
As in my previous discussion.Religion is the Primary Lens through which we tend to see the world.Therefore whatever views we may tend to have on issues such as abortion and the way we live will be governed by our belief systems

Also it is important for all of us to understand Why we believe what we believe.The first greatest critic of our religion will usually be ourselves.Therefore it is essential that we test our belief systems both rationally and intellectually before we commit to it. Or if we are already committed to a position we should just back up a little way and understand why we do it.This will help us get confidence in what we believe and we will be able to present a reasoned and mature defense of the gospel whenever we are called to do so


How should theology be done ?
Theology is best done as a community.This is where a strong fellowship will help us out a lot.For example if you had noticed that when most of the girls speak there is more of an emotional angle to it whereas men tend to think and speak more rationally and logically.Both sides are important and will help us get a more well rounded perspective of the issue at hand.Of course this does not in any way undermine the importance of good personal study

I hope I have given a fair understanding of the Why's and What's of theology.Please do give me your thoughts and suggestions