PTA-ML/2012/02 PROPOSALS invited from the parents of girls preferably teacher for a Keralite Protestant boy, 27 years, MBA, working in Delhi settled in Ghaziabad (UP) with family. Contact: Roji Christopher. Cell : 8800767155.

PTA-ML/2012/03 Proposals are invited for Believer girl from U.P. 23 yrs 5’5’’ Graduate, fair, good looking, from lower middle class family, seek marriage alliance from employed/ministry. Contact: Pr. Jomon- 9818860559

PTA-ML/2012/04 Pentecostal parents invite proposals for their daughter, born-again, 27 yrs, 5;3”, M.Sc. in Bio-technology, pursuing B.Ed. Pentecostal north Indian born-again, God fearing spiritual boy preferred. Contact : 9812221389, 9541512909

PTA-ML/2012/05 North Indian Pentecostal Mother Invite Proposals for Her son 33 yrs, 5’6’ inch, Evangelists (also involved in Real-Estate Business) Settled in Faridabad (NCR) Prefer a Girl who love’s Jesus and have burden for Ministry. Contact:08595465225

PTA-ML/2012/06 Wanted groom born again baptized, Spirit filled pentecostal girl born and brought up in Delhi. Age 26, tgt (English) Teacher. M.A. (English) B.ed. Contact:8447726264

PTA-ML/2012/07 North Indian Pentecostal parents invite proposals for their son, 24 yrs, pastoring a church in Delhi. Girl involved ministry and have great commitment is preferred. Contact : 9818916878

PTA-ML/2012/08 Marriage proposal invited for a Born again North Indian girl settled in Ghaziabad, 31 years, 5’4”, working in media company ( Both parents no more). Contact-9818675048 Email: singh.suman1999@gmail.com

PTA-ML/2012/09 Protestant Christian parents invite proposals for their daughter, 30 yrs, 5’5”, fair, pursuing BA studies. Also working in pharma company as an Office Administrator in Delhi drawing Rs.15000/- p.m. Staying in government accommodation in west Delhi. Only Delhiites preferred. Contact : Mr.Ivan Ismail (father) 91-9350875556

PTA-ML/2012/10 Marriage proposal invited for a Born again North Indian girl settled in Ghaziabad, 31 years, 5’4”, working in media company ( Both parents no more). Contact # 9818675048 . Email: singh.suman1999@gmail.com

PTA-ML/2012/11 Marraige proposal invited for a Punjabi pentecostal girl, 29 yrs, 154 cm, Fair complexion, Bsc, Bsc Nurse. Seeking suitable alliance from born again, God fearing, educated and settled in aboard. Contact: 09872647263 Email:saji4christ@rediffmail.com

PTA-ML/2012/12 Marriage proposals invited for Suitable match for North Indian Protestant Christian girl, 28 yrs. B.A. ; B.Ed working as Teacher in a school at Delhi. Convent educated, Fair, 5ft 2 inches. Looking for a well settled, God fearing Christian boy E-mail – glad_george001@yahoo.co.in Tel – 0120-3994055 / 08057905002 / 09311447557

PTA-ML/2012/13 Marriage Proposals invited for a north Indian Methodist Girt, Fair good looking 30 years, 5’5” Nursery Trained Teacher, Working, Settelled in Delhi prefered north Indian boys. Contact:9899000788 E-mail: m.mayadas@gmail.com

PTA-ML/2012/14 Marriage proposal Seeking alliance for Pastor’s daughter, Kerala born settled in Gujarat. B.Th, 23, 5’4’, worship leader. From parents of field missionaries or pastors working in North India. Contact: 09979979005 Email: J.solomon50@gmail.com

PTA-ML/2012/15 Marriage proposal for a 31 year old (6’3), (MA) Keralite boy living in New Delhi from parents of professionally qualified girls with a heart for the ministry. He is a Senior Trainer at an American institute. Involved in teaching & preaching ministry. Prefer those brought up outside Kerala. Contact: apromise2011@gmail.com , Ph: 09560179784, 0472-2896281

PTA-ML/2012/16 Seeking Alliance for God fearing CSl Girl, 27 years, 5.3”, MSW (HR), working for leading IT company, Chennai. Preference for malayalee Boy, Settele in South India Contact:Phone: 9840999915 E-mail: alexdaisy83@gmail.com

PTA-ML/2012/17Proposals are invited for our Daughter, Syrian Christian Pentecostal, (27, 5ft 2 inches) fair, B.Com HONS, MBA from IIM Indore. Presently working as Finance Director of an Engineering College and a group of Schools from well educated young men preferably from Delhi, or willing to relocate to Delhi. Contact: 011-29552952, 09810184281

PTA-ML/2012/18 Invited Marriage proposal for 27 old Keralite girl 27 yrs, 156 cm tall ,fair, slim, working in AIIMS as staff nurse. Delhi working Kerala boy preferred. Contact:betcyliz74@gmail.com

PTA-ML/2012/19 Born Again South Indian Delhi settled invites proposal for the missionary boy (33/174, Handsome, M.A.; M.Sc.; B.D.; M.Th; PhD*), from the parents of South Indian educated girl, desiring to work in themission along with profession. Send the details to E-Mail:administrator@elcsociety.org Mobile: 09717435775

PTA-ML/2012/20 Haryanvi Pentecostal parents invite proposals fo their son, 24 yrs, 5’8’’ pastoring a fast growing church in Panipat Haryana. Girl to be committed for the ministy. Contact:09467519320

PTA-ML/2012/21 Proposals are invited by the Pentecostal Christian Missionary family in Panchkula , for their daughter,26 years, M.A., B.Ed., working with DPS Panchkula. Defence personnel in officer rank is only preferred. Contact : +91 981-473-3514

PTA-ML/2012/22 Proposals are invited for the Pentecostal Christian Missionary Boy (Christian Nadar) Settled in Delhi, (33, 5ft 8 inches, Handsome, M.Th; PhD from AAHE Bangalore). Currently working as the Managing Director of ECS Ministries & Theological Professor from missionary oriented, suitable educated young beautiful spinsters, intense to involve in the ministry along with profession, preferably from Delhi or willing to relocate Delhi. Email: eccf@elcsociety.org our ministry website: www.elcsociety.org or call 09717435775, 09868494897

PTA-ML/2012/23 Marriage proposals invited for suitable match for North Indian Protestant girl 46,years,High school armed force,not working,Height 5”0” (152 cm) very fair Looking for a well settled,God fearing Christian man. Email id pinkyrikhey@gmail.com mobile no. 09910449180

PTA-ML/2012/24 Proposals Invited for Born Again Christian girl -26 yrs BA Working as DBC (Domestic Breeding Checker) in health dept. M.C.D. Complexion wheatish 5’’2’’ looking for a well settled, God fearing, Loving, and Caring Christian Boy Delhiites preferred. Please Contact: 09718496850

PTA-ML/2012/25 Keralite parents invite Proposals for their daughter. Born and brought up in New Delhi, Born again. DOB 11/07/1984 (28 yrs), Ornaments wearing. Height 5.1 MBA, working in Multi National Company, Preferred professionally qualified match from North India. Contact no.07508680342 / 09990282335

PTA-ML/2012/25 Christian Pentecost working girl, BA, 24 years, 152cm, working invites proposals from Christian pentecost/protestant working boys of UP parents settled in Delhi. Please contact: 9210489214 E-mail: arti6560@gmail.com

PTA-ML/2012/26 Father Seeking alliance for 33 years old punjabi Arora born again Christian Girl Msc. BEd working as a govt. teacher in Punjab. contacts: 9417812811,9988550684

PTA-ML/2012/27 Keralite parents invite Proposals for their daughter. Born and brought up in New Delhi, Baptized. DOB 11/07/1984, Ornaments wearing. Height 5.1 P.G.D.B.M. working in MNC. Contact no.-7508680342, 9990282335

PTA-ML/2012/28 Malayalee Pentecostal parents invite proposals for their daughter, 31 years, 165 cm, GNM/Staff Nurse at Batra Hospital, New Delhi. Contact Mother: Susammma Delhi 9911496411

New Delhi:

He was a lawyer of great accomplishments when he ended up in the White House as advisor to President Nixon and got embroiled in the Watergate scandal. That took him to prison where he spent seven months. It was a book by C S Lewis, lent to him at that crisis period in his life which led to his transformation. ‘Mere Christianity’ goaded him into a long introspection and he committed his life to Christ. He went on to found the internationally known prison fellowship. He won many honours including the Templeton prize.

The Media

The Times of India printed an AFP report on Dr Colson’s death in its edition dated April 23.The report referred to him as the Watergate scandal conspirator. While the details relating to the break- in at the Democratic Headquarters and the indictment of Colson and others in 1974 , it is silent on his later years—from 1974 to 2012! Reading the report, those unacquainted with the life of the great reformer would think the world had got rid of another villain! It was just another instance of the media dishing out half truths.

The news media in the West as also here in the East loves to print all about the ‘notoriety’ in a person’s life story and pretends selectively not to have seen or been aware of all the reasons for which the person is remembered by society.

In fact, Dr Colson’s life of ‘significance’ began with his internment. The turning point in his life was when torn to pieces by the Press and accused of even crimes which he did not commit. The White House VIP underwent deep humiliation. Through a friend he happened to be introduced to the Christian faith. That was the beginning of a transformation. He repented in Prison, turned to God resulting in a turnaround from his old ways.

Man of God

He was a man of God, made an impact on the human race. He stood in a long line of celebrated converts, beginning with the Apostle Paul on the Damascus road, and including figures such as John Newton, G.K. Chesterton and Malcolm Muggeridge. They were often received with skepticism, even contempt. Conversion is a form of confession — a public admission of sin, failure and weakness. It brings out the scoffers. This means little to the converted, who have experienced something more powerful than derision.

Chuck was a powerful preacher, an influential cultural critic and a pioneer of the dialogue between evangelicals and Catholics. His Prison Fellowship is the largest compassionate outreach to prisoners and their families in the world, with activities in more than 100 countries. It also plays a morally clarifying role. It is easier to serve the sympathetic. Prisoners call the bluff of our belief in human dignity. If everyone matters and counts, then criminals do as well. Chuck led a movement of volunteers attempting to love some of their least lovable neighbors. This inversion of social priorities — putting the last first — is the best evidence of a faith that is more than crutch, opiate or self-help program. It is the hallmark of authentic religion — and it is the vast, humane contribution of Chuck Colson.

Colson saw early on that reconciliation among offenders, victims, their families, and communities should be a ministry of the Church. He set Prison Fellowship in place to exhort, equip, and assist the church in this ministry. That decision marshaled the involvement of the Church in prison outreach.

Colson has visited prisons throughout the U.S. and the world and has built a movement of more than 50,000 prison ministry volunteers, with ministries in 88 countries. In the course of touring prisons worldwide, he became deeply concerned with prison conditions and the need for better access to religious programs.
Concerns:

Colson’s personal prison experience and his frequent visits to prisons also prompted new concerns about the efficacy of the American criminal justice system and made him one of the nation’s influential voices for criminal justice reform. Colson’s recommendations have brought together legislators from both political parties and divergent philosophical viewpoints. In 1983, Colson established Justice Fellowship, now the nation’s largest faith-based criminal justice reform group.

To help stem the cycle of crime and poverty, Prison Fellowship, under Colson’s leadership, introduced Angel Tree, a program that provides Christmas presents to more than 500,000 children of inmates annually on behalf of their incarcerated parents. These simple acts of kindness have revitalized hope and reconciliation among millions of children and their families, many of whom subsist below the poverty level. Angel Tree has also launched a summer camping program, partnering with churches in eight selected areas around the country to send the children of prisoners to a Christian summer camp.

Because Colson understood that the work of changing prisoners’ lives should be a global endeavor, Prison Fellowship International was formed in 1979 under his direction. It has since expanded to include national chapters in 88 countries. He had visited India a couple of times.

Increasingly, Colson sensed God’s calling to comment on the culture through the written and spoken word. He has written 20 books, which have collectively sold more than five million copies. His autobiographical book Born Again was one of the nation’s best-selling books of all genres in 1976 and was made into a feature-length film.

In 1991 Colson launched a daily radio feature called “BreakPoint,” a unique and well-received attempt to provide a distinct Christian worldview on everyday issues and conflicts. The program is aired daily on over 1,000 radio outlets nationwide.

Colson’s commitment to the unity of the Church led to his co-authorship of a cutting-edge document “Evangelicals and Catholics Together” that significantly helped to build an important bridge between Protestants and Catholics.
Books:

His 1987 book Kingdoms in Conflict was a best-selling directive to the Christian community on the proper relationships of church and state, and it positioned Colson as a centrist evangelical voice for balanced Christian political activism.

In recognition of his work, Colson received the prestigious Templeton Prize for Progress in Religion in 1993, donating the $1 million prize to Prison Fellowship. Colson’s other awards have included the Humanitarian Award, Dominos Pizza Corporation (1991); The Others Award, The Salvation Army (1990); several honorary doctorates from various colleges and universities (1982-2000); and the Outstanding Young Man of Boston, Chamber of Commerce (1960).

Colson’s most recent book, How Now Shall We Live? is a challenge to all Christians to understand biblical faith as an entire worldview, a perspective on all of life. In his book, Colson argues that the great battle of the twenty-first century is a struggle between the spiritual and the secular worldviews.

While Colson is one of the Christian community’s most sought-after speakers, he has resolutely refused to establish a speaking fee. Perhaps anticipating criticism of any appearance of self-enrichment by a former Watergate figure, Colson donates all speaking honoraria and book royalties to Prison Fellowship, and accepts the salary of a mid-range ministry executive.

The latest incident is the kidnapping of 32-year old Sukna district collector Alex Paul Menon. This young civil servant might be released soon. News reports suggest that the BJP-led government of Chattisgarh and Maoists have signed an agreement. The terms of these “agreements” between government agencies and Maoists are often kept confidential. These agreements usually involve the release of deadly criminals. In this instance, Maoists have demanded the release of 17 incarcerated cadres. Law enforcement agencies are often upset that such dangerous men are released so easily even though many security personnel paid with their lives to capture them. Maoists have set May 2 as deadline for the release of their comrades. If their demands are not met, they might hold a people’s court to decide the fate of the IAS officer.

Maoism is the greatest internal security threat to India. The Prime Minister himself admitted this some time ago. Large tracts of land in West Bengal, Bihar, Odisha, Chattisgarh and Andhra Pradesh are controlled by Maoists. Yet, the country is often found wanting in its struggle against this menace. If today’s situation is allowed to continue, Maoists will achieve their objective of overthrowing India’s secular democratic government to establish an anachronistic, militant Communist state. Their success in Nepal should have been an eye-opener to India.

The Indian Maoists are not leaving any stone unturned to achieve their goal. They want their comrades released from various prisons. They set up funds to help their friends in prison. The Ninth Congress of Maoists in 2007 decided to transform prisons into “political universities” where imprisoned comrades would try to recruit and train new members.

It is high time that the Indian government deploy the armed forces to tackle this menace. It is a shame that we have Maoists sympathizers in high places who speak against the deployment of the Army against this red scourge. Writers, intellectuals and film makers too step to speak for Maoists and to  highlight the socio-economic conditions that drive tribal populations to Maoism. No one says that poor people should be mowed down. But when the poor take up arms against the state, they are as guilty of treason as rich traitors. Why should anyone go soft on poor criminals? If the Indian Army is deployed in Jammu & Kashmir and in certain north eastern states to contain extremism and separatism, the Army can and should be deployed to recapture Maoist-controlled territory.

Those who claim that an economic approach alone can solve the Maoist problem have missed the point. Tribal regions of this country surely needs development. The state should be the agency of development. For that to happen, the Maoist controlled regions have to be recaptured. Maoists are not the friends of the poor and their outdated ideology is not a solution to India’s rural poverty. Maoists exploit the poverty and marginalization of tribal populations to achieve their political ends. Maoism cannot impart economic or social development to these poor people.

The failure to ask caste of those declaring Christianity as their religion is a major procedural lapse that introduces an avoidable error in the data and will skew the statistical computations, Dr John Dayal, Secretary General of AICC, stated in a letter to the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

The Registrar General of India will not be able to determine the caste diversity in the Christian community with any exactitude, he expressed.

Dr Dayal, who is also a member of the National Integration Council, Govt of India, noted that Article 341 (iii) of the Constitution or its predecessor the Presidential Order of 1950, which the community has challenged through Public Interest Litigation in the Supreme Court of India, cannot be used as an excuse, as this is a mere enumeration exercise and does not pre-suppose any consequential benefits at this stage.

“The Dalit Christians have, of course, for more than half a century repeatedly urged the government to grant them Schedule Caste status, a demand supported by various national Commissions, a large number of State governments and national and regional political parties,” the Christian leader recalled.

Dayal in his letter urged the Prime Minister to immediately direct the Census Commissioner and Registrar General of India to ensure that in the on-going exercise, Christians should be enumerated for their caste origins.

“For many, this is an assertion of their Identity. Individuals can, should they so want, will continue to have the right to say they do not want their caste to be recorded. The enumeration staff should be appropriately instructed and trained in this matter,” he said.

New Delhi:

A week after his niece Dana M Sangma (21) was found dead in her hostel room in University’s Gurgaon campus, Sangma alleged that there was discrimination against students from the northeast region and stressed on the need to sensitise on this issue. Sangma also demanded a proper investigation into the case and sought a central legislation setting up guidelines for addressing the issue of safety and security of students.

Addressing a Press conference in the Capital, Sangma said “I have sent a letter to the Union HRD Ministry for granting a special privilege for North-East students for their security. There should be a strong law and policy for their protection. There have been a lot of cases of atrocities against people from the northeastern States. It goes against the spirit of the country. Stringent steps are needed to prevent recurrence of such incidents. These kinds of cases should be disposed expeditiously.”

Around 50,000 fans attended the concert at the Olympic Stadium in Seoul, all of whom were over 18 years of age, after Seoul banned children from attending. The ban came after a state ratings board judged that the content of the concert would likely be unsuitable for those under 18. As a result all ticket holders were forced to show ID cards upon entry to the concert.

The controversial solo artist entered the stage riding on a horse, wearing a black glittering bodysuit, as well as an oversize metal headpiece. In a rebuke at the banning of under 18s she shouted, “I was told that your government decided that my shows should be 18 or over… So, I’ll make sure it will be!”

The concert certainly proved to be aimed at a more mature audience, as Gaga’s routine included being thrown into a giant fake meat grinder, as well as other scenes involving machine gun fire.

Gaga also looked to provoke the Christian groups in the country that had been protesting against her, by including simulated group sex scenes, and also at another stage, a lesbian sex scene.

Her tour, “Born This Way Ball,” will continue through several Asian countries over the coming days before going on to Australasia and Europe later this year.

Gaga has often been accused of copying Madonna’s style, and some may also notice her resemblance to Madonna in attempting to rile the Church, as she included a large illuminated cross during her highly controversial show that included high levels of sexualized and violent content. The concert lasted just under two hours and contained more than 20 of the singer’s most popular hits.

The Korean Association of Church Communication said it would take “concerted action to stop young people from being infected with homosexuality and pornography,” which they said was being promoted by Gaga’s tour.

Outside the stadium more than 20 Korean Christians prayed for the nation’s society not to be affected by the explicit nature of the show, while other Christian groups held placards saying “Lady Gaga Go Home!”

According to Channel News Asia about 100 other Christians gathered for a rally in Seoul  handing out leaflets stating: “Lady Gaga… is a wounded soul that is in desperate need of restoration. Therefore Christians should love and bless her. We should hate the evil spirit behind her, not Lady Gaga herself.”

Varanasi:  An unusual sight was noticed on the river Ganga or Ganges last week, a priest with a spade in tow assisted by scores of fellow priests, nuns and laity cleaning the sacred river.

Fr. Anand Mathew of the Indian Missionary Society was on a unique clean-Ganga mission, one for which many Hindu brethren are fighting and scores have sacrificed their lives.

Declared as the national river of India, the Ganges sustains one of the world`s highest densities of population and drains an area of approximately 1000000 square kilometres.

Fr. Mathew said his campaign at Kedar ghat [stairway to the river] at the holy city of Varanasi in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh got unprecedented support from priests, sisters, seminarians other Christian denominations and different faiths.

Sr. Mary Ghislain, a septuagenarian from France (little Sisters of Jesus who have a convent on the banks of Ganges) came along with Sr. Mariananda, the superior, to sweep the ghats.

Many Hindu groups campaigning for de-polluting the river were pleasantly surprised, says the priest.

The four-hour campaign spearheaded by IMS Frs Mathew and Dilraj relieved a 700-meter stretch of the river of stinking clothes, flowers, plastics and other ritual materials.

The 2,525 km long river rises in the western Himalayas and flows through the Gangetic plain of north India into Bangladesh, where it empties into the Bay of Bengal.

Fr Mathew said a save Ganga group had called for a mass dip and shutdown April 17 in Varanasi to press the authorities to clean the river.

He said in solidarity he too took a dip in the filthy water and prayed to restore the sanctity of the river and for forgiveness of industrialists, sages and others who pollute it.

“We too are part of this city and share the same sentiments. We all want an Aviral Ganga, Nirmal Ganga (uninterrupted and clean Ganges).

We, a group of 50 Christian volunteers, have decided to take a different path to express our solidarity with this national movement of the day,” said Fr Mathew.

The extreme level of pollution is caused by sewage from cities, industrial waste, including lethal chemicals, illegal mining and religious offerings wrapped in non-degradable plastics, say environmentalists.

Most of the people are steeped in age-old rituals and superstitions contribute heavily in polluting the river, the priest said.

Hindus consider the Ganges water to be both pure and purifying that wipes away their sins. Many Hindu families keep a vial of Ganges water in their homes.

The river was ranked among the five most polluted rivers of the world in 2007.

Pollution threatens not only humans, but also more than 140 fish species, 90 amphibian species and the endangered Ganges river dolphin, says river expert Dinesh Mishra.

The Ganga Action Plan, an environmental initiative to clean up the river instituted in 1985, has been a failure due to corruption and lack of technical expertise, bad planning and lack of support from religious authorities, he says.

Professor G.D. Agrawal, a well known scientist who has taken worldly sanyasa and rechristened himself as Swami Gyan Swarup Sanand is on an indefinite fast for the cause of the Ganga.

Another sanyasi, Ganga Premi Bhikhsu, who has been on fast for the past two months, has been reportedly admitted to a Varanasi hospital.

In June last year, a 34-year-old ascetic, Swami Nigamananda, died after fasting for two and a half months to save the river from pollution.

According to 2010 Planning Commission estimates, an investment of almost Rs. 7,000 crore (approximately US$ 1.5 billion) is needed to clean up the river.

Fr Mathew said besides pollution there are also other controversial issues like construction of five dams, which scientists claim will harm the river.

However, he concluded “we want to prove that Ganga can be cleaned only with the cooperation of the local people and that there is a need of mass awareness”.

MPK Kutty

To be the champion, the Gold Medallist, the Number One—this to the modern man is what makes life worth living.

The man of the world has one aim in life– to join the power elite. To arrive at that plateau he may stoop to guile, cheating and grasping in the Machiavellian tradition. Even within the church, there is a tendency to gravitate towards positions of power.Jesus warned however that the power game would destroy man. ‘Unless you repent, you will all perish.’

The trait that commands man essentially is his pride. Pride requires power. Pride feeds on power; therefore prides sets out to take power. Noted theologian  Reinhold Niebuhr wrote:

“There is a pride of power in which the human ego assumers its self sufficiency and self mastery and imagines itself to be secure against all vicissitudes. It believes itself to be the author of its own existence, the judge of its own values and the master of its own destiny…’’

Number One

“Work hard, study hard, nothing comes easy in this life…There are no  short cuts. No   matter how menial the job you have , the important thing is to do it well”  Dr Colson recalls his father’s familiar advice and this additional caution: ‘Tell the truth always, lies destroy you.’

His was a struggling middle class family. When bills mounted too high his mother would hold sales of furniture and other household items. One day as Colson returned from school he was shocked to witness perfect strangers carrying away chairs from the living room. Such insecurity combined with father’s advice fuelled his later drive to achieve.

Success in academics, stint with the Marine Corps and later daring exploits in his campaign for President Nixon, the status and power associated with his position emboldened him to blink at even ethical standards in getting things done.

He admits he was guilty of political “dirty tricks” and willing to do almost anything for the cause of his president and his party.

Guilty
In 1974, Colson entered a plea of guilty to Watergate-related charges; although not implicated in the Watergate burglary, he voluntarily pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice in the Daniel Ellsberg Case.

And it is in prison he underwent a change of heart .  ‘I shudder to think what I would have been if I had not gone to prison,’ he was to remark later. ‘Lying on the rotten floor of a cell , you know  it is not prosperity or pleasure that’s important but maturing of the soul.’

The torrent of accusations that continued to be levelled against him as the hatchet man of Nixon and the humiliation had made him  ‘broken inside’ though he managed to put on a tough exterior. He was weeping inside and wondering over the wrong turns. It was then a friend handed  him a book by C S Lewis that spoke of man’s spiritual issues.

Therein he read: ‘…it is pride which has been the chief cause of misery in every nation and every family since the world began. Other vices may sometimes bring people together; you may find good fellowship, jokes and friendliness among drunken people or unchaste people.  But pride always means enmity –it is enmity. And not only enmity between man and man, but enmity to God.

Mere Christianity:                                                                

The book, ‘Mere Christianity’ gripped his attention by the clear manner in which it portrayed the evil impact of pride. ‘It is pride which has been the chief cause of misery in every nation and every family since the world began…Pride always meant enmity—it is enmity. And not only enmity between man and man , but enmity to God.’

‘In God you come up against something which is in every respect superior to yourself. Unless you know God as that—and as therefore know yourself nothing in comparison –you do not know God at all. As long as you are proud you can not know God. A proud man is always looking down on things and people; and of course, as long as you are looking down , you cannot see something that is above you.’

As he read on he couldn’t help feeling that he stood exposed. Lewis was just describing his condition.

As he peeped into his past, he found it was pride that had propelled him through life. And he recognised too that ‘pride is spiritual cancer. It eats up the very possibility of love or contentment or even common sense.’

Made sensitive by the spirit of repentance over his thoughtless conduct, he could also empathise with the lot of hundreds of prisoners trapped by circumstances and marked by tragedies and injustice. Haunted by the desperation and hopelessness he saw behind the bars Colson knew he must do something to help the men he left behind. To this end, he set up the International Prison Fellowship ministries in 1976 which is now operating in more than hundred countries of the world.

The PFI,  in collaboration with churches of all confessions and denominations, has become the world’s largest outreach to prisoners, ex-prisoners, crime victims, and their families.

Templeton  Prize

Colson received 15 honorary doctorates, and in 1993 was awarded the Templeton Prize for Progress in Religion, the world’s largest annual award (over US$1 million) in the field of religion, given to a person who “has made an exceptional contribution to affirming life’s spiritual dimension”. He donated this prize to further the work of Prison Fellowship, as he did all his speaking fees and royalties. In 2008, he was awarded the Presidential Citizens Medal by the then President, George W. Bush.

What is Dr Colson’s legacy to the spiritual heritage of mankind? Dr Charles Colson had every  legitimate reason to be proud: a moving orator, a best selling author, brilliant social activist and crusader of good causes.

His life and example have been a reminder to those, in and out of office, of the seductions of power and the rewards of service. His famous redemption story written down in Born Again, a best seller, and tireless advocacy on behalf of the marginalised and outcastes will remain an inspiration to all those holding top offices in the nations of the world. Power often corrupts the one who wields it; but then God gives a second chance to those who are willing to repent and reorder one’s life on the basis of those moral standards which had governed the illustrious benefactors of mankind.

Power could be productive of much good if wielded for the good of the people at large in the conviction that leaders are here ‘to serve; not to be served.’

But politicians and leaders of organisations do not act in that spirit. Saddled with power, they are tempted to serve their own interests and throw ethics to the winds. Only when they come to confront the consequences of their actions, they would be compelled to re-examine their conduct. Born Again is an excellent guide to all those who come to recognise that they had badly erred and misused power and are looking for repentance.  God gives a second chance. He “resists the proud but gives grace to the humble.”

Brazil:  A Brazilian actor died 16 days after accidentally hanging himself on stage, while playing the part of Judas Iscariot.

An autopsy on Tiago Klimeck was underway Monday to pinpoint the exact cause of the 27-year-old’s death, Brazilian broadcaster Globo reported. Klimeck took part in an Easter Passion play on Good Friday in the southern city of Itarare. The script required the young actor to appear to commit suicide after his character was overcome with guilt about betraying Jesus Christ.

However the special harness he was wearing failed, and strangled him. He was left hanging for around four minutes, with fellow actors at first unaware of his condition.

The Daily Mail describes the scene: Mr Klimeck was left dangling for four minutes until horrified performers and spectators realised it wasn’t part of his performance and rushed to his aid. Pictures show the actor taking part in the play before the incident in which he was suffocated.

He can then be seen on set hanging from the rope moments before the cast and audience realise a real life tragedy is unfolding. Klimeck, who remained in a coma following the accident on April 6, died Sunday afternoon. Investigators are examining the harness and other safety equipment from the theater.