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'At the Potter's Wheel Day by Day' acknowledges the continuing work of the Potter on each of his precious creation. The clay just needs to be amenable to the Potter's shaping. This book facilitates that process of helping the clay to be pliable. A reading plan to reflect through the Bible in a year finds a focal point each day in one creative and reflective meditation which is collated in this book.Preethi Alice Jacob - a gifted poet, wife, and mother of two young adults, comes from a corporate background having experience with burdens and struggles of women around her. As a counselor and a homemaker she is able to look afresh at the Potter at work each day and listen closely to his heartthrob. Her ardent faith in Jesus and burning passion for the people to cast their burdens on him found a wonderful meeting point in her creative effort to help the clay encounter the Potter each day at his Wheel.

A Handbook that contains Authentic, Updated Information, and Answers Sensitive Questions about Human Sexuality and Gender DiversityIt gives fresh Biblical and Theological Insights, shows how the Indian Churches and Theological Colleges are responding to Unheard Voices from the Sexual Minorities, and includes Medical, Psychological and Legal Responses to questions and statements like: - Human Sexuality? Why discuss such dirty/sinful issues in a holy place like the Church?- Lesbians and Gays don't exist in India - they come from the Western countries.- Wasn't Sodom destroyed because of homosexuality? Isn't that what the Bible says?- Sexual Minorities are dangerous to our churches and communitiesthey shouldn't be allowed in.- Can a person showing homosexual or transgender tendencies be cured by prayer or medicine or psychiatry?This pathbreaking Handbook jointly published by the National Council of Churches in India [NCCI], takes a candid look at the issues of human sexuality and gender diversity from a Christian point of view. It boldly takes up issues which many Christians feel are taboo, and which the Church all too easily sweeps under the carpet or keeps hidden in the guise of purity and holiness. It is a 'readyreckoner' for Church leaders, pastors, laypeople, women's groups and the youth of the Church, for students of theology, for personnel working in Christian organizations, and also for other faith communities seeking to understand and come to grips with these sensitive topics. It offers what could possibly be a Christian response, and reminds readers of the tolerance, acceptance and love that Jesus Christ showed to the marginalized and those considered 'sinners' in his own time.The Editor, Philip Kuruvilla, is an ordained minister in the Indian Orthodox Church. He has been working with the National Council of Churches in India and the Christian Conference of Asia in the field of Human Rights, HIV & AIDS, and Sexual Minority issues.

The post-modern turn in the first place began with and contributed to the rich and complex exercise of literary criticism. Narratology being one of the important interest fields. Narrativity or story-telling, one can dare say, is as ancient as Homo Sapiens. Narrativity is a more subtle and complex mode of human expression and communication that reflects the deep-most layers of human subconscious. No wonder then, that narratology has captured the attention of scholarship particularly in recent times. This book is a concise yet rich introduction to the theories of narrativity to beginners. The book not only introduces different themes and trends on the subject, but also shows concrete examples of applying those theories in delineating some of the key biblical stories, from out of the author's long experience in teaching and researching. And thus the reader is equipped with confidence to engage in similar exercises even with non-biblical stories. It is a must-read for all those who have a desire for literary studies in general and biblical scholarship in particular.

Interpreting Biblical Texts deals with the reception history of the Gospel of John in the Tamil context. By employing the Tamil context as a distinctive hermeneutical perspective for the first time, this well researched volume engages in a historical analysis of Tamil religiosity represented by Saiva Siddhanta, Advaita Vedanta (Neo-Hinduism) and Dalit traditions and questions how these realities shaped the reception of the Bible. Specific texts from each of these perspectives have been examined to show how and to what extent intercultural interpretations of John have taken place among the Tamils. Being interdisciplinary in nature, the book traverses between the areas of intercultural theology and New Testament. It endorses the heterogeneous hermeneutical context of the Tamils, and demonstrates why and how different interpretations of John should be analyzed in terms of this diversity. Additionally, the book deals with the question of how mainstream biblical scholarship, represented by European and North American contributions, has influenced Tamil intercultural understandings of John. The volume focuses on some of the pre-understandings of western biblical scholars, and brings to light the individual contextual stand of Tamil interpreters, who have creatively engaged with these authors. Finally, As a way of answering how contemporary Tamils interpret the Gospel of John, the book represents, through interviews, some aspects of the oral tradition of John in the Tamil context.

What may we say with confidence to our children about the state of the world this Advent?What true message of hope can see us through to Christmas, in a way that does justice to the reality of human experience?What can inspire us to live fully and love meaningfully in the face of terrorism and war?These are some of the questions that two friends explore through these daily meditations for Advent: a Christian writing with responses from a Muslim.The meditations take the form of letters addressed by a father to his youngest son, nine year old Jonathan, and they emerge from visits to Tanzania, South Africa, the United Arab Emirates, India, Pakistan, Kenya and Sri Lanka.Weaving narratives from the visits around an exploration of the first few chapters of Matthew and Luke's Gospels, the letters set out to 'discover how to be human now', in the words of WH Auden written in the midst of the Second World War. Across faiths and world views, the letters chart a journey that faces tough realities yet finds humans also at their most resilient even when they are often at their most vulnerable. Responding to this, a Muslim perspective seeks to enhance the fabric of a journey that embraces such a rich diversity of human experience.

The writer of this book has selected thirty-four texts from the Bible and wrote these textual sermons in order to explain how the universal Church, which is the body of believers in Jesus Christ, should be served by Christian leaders and how they can serve the world with justice and righteousness. The Bible is the word of God, which is all sufficient source of knowledge and wisdom. The God of the Bible had implanted the idea of social justice and righteousness through His general revelation for the world and He has given the special revelation of His teaching through His Son Jesus Christ for the universal Church. The Bible teaches ethical monotheism. Its monotheism also includes democratic way that the people are given a right to select virtuous persons from among them. Those virtuous people are appointed by the leaders to serve the people and God. God chooses leaders, such as kings, judges, priests, and heads of the church that they serve Him and the people. Every leader, whether small or great, is accountable to God. An individual, a family, a society, and a nation is established by keeping His righteousness and justice.The author argues that God is more interested in social justice than ceremonial religious life. He demands of His servants to render justice to the helpless persons, such as orphans and widows, and sojourners; and He asks His people to meet every need, like giving food and water, shelter, and medical care and to give words of comfort and hope to the needy. This book would help evangelists and social activists to teach social justice and righteousness from a biblical point of view and reform the society in general.The writer has published other books for propagating the biblical teaching; please refer to his other publications, which are mentioned in this book.This book has helpful suggestions at the end of each chapter for planning devotional service around these themes.

background. The Green Clergy Fellowship of CSI has been trying to bring out a Christian response to ecological issues, in the back drop of the current ecological crises in India. The Department of Ecological Concerns is proud to present this book and innovative work by the Green Clergy of CSI.

This book argues that the response for the church is to rediscover a vocation to be "a workshop of salvation", rather than a settled repository of fixed beliefs or behaviours. The call of the church is a path of formation and re-formation, a journey that can only be made in faith, in fellowship and through the mystery of fraction. Owning the paradox that the search for true freedom will be through the path of sacrifice and slavery. The church is called to challenge the limitations of democracy by offering a very different model - that of doulocracy. A vitally different basis for participation, for fulfilment and for witnessing to the coming of the kingdom of Heaven.

As Divine Word missionaries, we have a golden task to spread broader understanding of mission in India. Numerous individual initiatives and common reflections characterise the SVD involvement for newer avenues of mission work. The seminar was an attempt to bring together ongoing reflections on mission among the SVDs both at the individual and community levels. Mission Education and Research is the forum that the SVDs have created in the ASPAC Zone for furthering reflections, researches, debates and publications on matters regarding mission. This volume is based on a national conference organised at Pune, which brought together the current thinking, contemporary researches, practices, stories and narratives on mission from among the Indian SVD researchers.

Popular perception still persists that science and mysticism do not and cannot mix; they belong to two very different worlds. In light of recent developments, particularly in the sciences, the fourteen original papers by international scholars from the East and the West argue that this perception can no longer be sustained. It is becoming more and more evident that the reach of the human mind extends far beyond what can be captured either by the senses or narrow, rigid logic and rationality. Below and beyond the world of science there exists a serene, real world of intuition and insight which is a rich mine of knowledge and wisdom. Recent studies and research show that mystics of all times and all places have had a special access to this world. Today the consensus is gradually emerging that both scientists and mystics share the common mission of being seekers of truth, and their findings are complementary rather than contradictory. This volume also points out that this constructive blending of science and mysticism can serve as an effective catalyst for a meaningful and enriching East-West dialogue.