Blog@GraceJunction

 
I was visiting Australia and was at the home of one of my good friends, who since the time I meet him at the metro station, would keep telling me about his daughter and the pain she’s going thru. As the strong man drove his huge 4 x 4 truck, I could feel that he was vulnerable, all the strength and grit that I admire him for had somehow been weakened. (more…)

“We are Orthodox, Catholic, and evangelical Christians who have united at this hour to reaffirm fundamental truths about justice and the common good, and to call upon our fellow citizens, believers and non-believers alike, to join us in defending them”. This statement is part of the Manhattan Declaration*, a manifesto which was drafted on October 20th, 2009 and released on November 20th, 2009 with the support of more than 150 American Christian leaders. The declarations website encourages supporters to sign the declaration affirming their support for the sanctity of human life, the dignity of marriage as the conjugal union of husband and wife and the rights of conscience and religious liberty. (more…)

India, a land where we witness the confluence of almost all the major religions of the world, is a place where we wear our faith on our sleeves. Even a small friction is enough to leave two communities at loggerheads with each other. And probably that is why the country adopts secularism, which is also the concept of separating the state from the religion. The view that religious considerations should be excluded from civil affairs or public education. But the question needs to be asked whether secularism has helped in keeping the state and the religion separate? Especially when we see religious overtones to school text books, exercise of personal faith in government offices and departments, or even to the singing of a patriotic song with debatable lyrics. Why has secularism not been able to stop incidents like Babri Masjid demolition, Godhra Riots, Bombay terror attacks or the Orissa violence on religious conversion? (more…)

Ariane Sherine, now quiet a well known name in Europe and secular circles is a British comedy writer, journalist and creator of the Atheist Bus Campaign. This campaign is at the centre of many discussions among people taking the public transport in Europe. The discussion being whether there is a God or not? (more…)

Neetu Chandra did succeed in churning up a dust storm in the media with her newest pose, which according to many of her applauders was bold. Honestly I feel, she doesn’t realise that she is too naive and is being used as an object to feed the media pages with sizzles. The journalist and the media group that put up her larger than life images, I am sure would not have been filling the pages with tons of support and appreciation nor felt the pride if it was their daughters, sisters, wife or mother. But then who cares when you get a free ride on someone and they allow you to use their story to spice up hungry audiences and heinous ends. The sickening thing is that even she seems to be loving it, and appreciates the raving eyes and desires of debauched minds of people that feed in with a peep in to her - what they call truckloads. (more…)

I was very excited that morning, the sun was still waking up as I hurriedly changed a few trains and rushed thru the crowd, meticulously following the travel plan in order not to miss the bus from Paramatta Sydney to the Hillsong church. It had been my desire for a long time to attend a worship service at this great church which has blessed nations across the world. My visit had more curiosity and excitement and I was all so much geared and focussed ‘to see’.

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The entire nation (and in fact a few more nations) is still ranting and raving because of the despicable carnage that it was forced to watch helplessly (which need not have been relayed live to this extent in the first place) and breathlessly even as a few (no one knows for sure how many) perverse and fanatic young men held a host of our army and other security men on their toes and positions for about 60 hours needlessly killing hundreds of men, women and children of diverse religion and race in the due course and damaging property worth millions and much worse, denting the image and morale of this allegedly glorious nation (glorious perhaps only by its own definition and that definition too perhaps acceptable only to not the whole of itself)! A mask, the nation, at least at the socio-political level, is inwilling to put off! Let me show you the masks associated with the Mumbai event! (more…)