joy chembakasseril, usa. (November 24, 2011)
to david samuel abu dhabi- the accusations allegations and criticism are based on what they see, read, or hear and is an expression of their displeasure in what they came to know and is not a judgement! besides, who is eligible to make a judgement? even the legal courts we have is not always right in their judgements! only the almighty is capable of making precise judgement. but the point i would like to emphasize is that- people in the lime-light should be more careful with what they deal-in so that they are not dragged into a controversy! an allegation or accusation mostly come-up when there is room for suspicion. while saying that i am not excluding the fact that people can always fabricate a story on anybody! but why the accused don"t open mouth and speak so that he/she don"t have to stay on the shadow of doubt too long! let"s leave the whole issue to the almighty just like you said, who can make precise judgements. the right is right and the wrong is wrong !

joy chembakasseril, usa. (November 23, 2011)
to david samuel abu dhabi- the accusations allegations and criticism are based on what they see, read, or hear and is an expression of their displeasure in what they came to know and is not a judgement! besides, who is eligible to make a judgement? even the legal courts we have is not always right in their judgements! only the almighty is capable of making precise judgement. but the point i would like to emphasize is that- people in the lime-light should be more careful with what they deal-in so that they are not dragged into a controversy! an allegation or accusation mostly come-up when there is room for suspicion. while saying that i am not excluding the fact that people can always fabricate a story on anybody! but why the accused don"t open mouth and speak so that he/she don"t have to stay on the shadow of doubt too long! let"s leave the whole issue to the almighty just like you said, who can make precise judgements. the right is right and the wrong is wrong !

joy chembakasseril, usa. (November 22, 2011)
to justin- refer the bible, turn to proverbs. ch 13. v 24.--- 'he who spares the rod hates his son, but he who loves him is careful to discipline him'. justin- here discipline means punishment. a caring father is always worried about the child if he does wrong, at first he advise the child and if that goes unheard then discipline comes in. this happens because the father cares for his child. discipline doesn't always mean physical punishment. i hope i explained it in a better way for you to understand, why is punishment in caring. refer- proverbs ch 13. v 1.-- 'a wise son heeds his father's instruction' ... about fear-- refer proverbs ch 19. v 23. 'the fear of the lord leads to life' ... refer proverbs ch 14. v 27. 'the fear of the lord is a fountain of life, turning a man from the snares of death'. now in certain translations, faith is interpreted as fear, well we can also say fear is a different facet of faith !

justin (November 19, 2011)
The last justin was another justin not me the first one.
Ok then fear God is alright. But will it mean that God will punish all nonfearing ones like the father who has the only option to correct his children by punishing them instead of caring. However, the loving God has enough time to look after every one well. So why should He interested in punishing and creating fear?

a. s. mathew (November 18, 2011)
The "fear" topic is another very interesting subject to discuss.
In the Bible "fear not" is written 366
times. For God's children, the fear+worry about food-clothings-tomorrow-education-jobs etc must not be a terrifying factor. On the other hand, in every book of the Bible, it is repeatedly warned that we must fear God. When we
fear God, we depart from evil even in
the most secret place. God gave a long
list as "sins", especially in the
10 commandments. Every year, new
diseases are named than the old Biblical
times, but nobody has invented any
new sins than the olden times. (some
religious gurus have created new sins
for the followers to fear them). The
fear of the Lord will bless us through many
different avenues like wisdom-long life-
health-happiness-blessed generation
in this world itself, and eternal life.
We try to obey God due to the respect
of God's laws written for u

joy chembakasseril, usa. (November 18, 2011)
to Justin- 'aanaayudeea kaalu thhappei thhadanjha kurudan, eni etthrra thoonum koodiyunduo ennu cchoodhiccha pooleyaayi' English version- a blind-man fumbled on an elephants leg thinking that it was a pillar and was asking somebody nearby, how many more pillars he has to pass.hee hee heeeee

justin (November 18, 2011)
@ david- 'alpha and omega', alpha means the beginning and omega is a watch, right? what do you mean by saying this, do you mean to say God keeps time on everything? 'Full-time lover and Part-time lover' what you mean ? 'Son of man and Son of woman', my understanding is that woman gives birth to children, tell me if you know otherwise ?

thepraize (November 17, 2011)
i am thinking there are different shades to fear and one of them is fear emanating from love,eg:in a defined relationship people involved ensure that nobody is hurt by his or her action and that sensitivity can be termed as fear,what if, situation.Disciplining is another shade,likewise I think the word fear needs to be defined to the situation one is involved in,Jesus is our heavenly father,however he is the Judge too,so there are different shades and that makes this relationship even more dynamic,these are my thoughts.

justin (November 17, 2011)
what fear is that..? tell if you know more?

david (November 17, 2011)
god is love.true; but it means god is full in love.it again means that god is not made of love; he is 'alpha and omega'. even if a person knows no hate,and is a full time lover, he cannot be god. learn to differentiate between man and 'son of man. there is a verse in bible. 'the fear of the lord is the begining of wisdom'.what fear is that? read bible.there are hundreds of verses.'fear lord....'

joy chembakasseril, usa. (November 16, 2011)
to justin- reference- "why should one fear god ? god is love !--- well, when do you fear the police[which is a law enforcement department of the government]or the courts! and why? don't your biological father or step father love you? let me put it this way, have you ever felt your father's love? but don't your father punish you when you do something wrong, and don't you have fear for that? well god is you heavenly father who is much much bigger and greater than your biological father or your step father !

justin (November 16, 2011)
why should one fear God? God is love.

david samuel, abudhabi (November 15, 2011)
Let us conclude this Bishop,s case like this. Satan can programme anyone,s mind at any time. One has to be alert about this. If a person has real fear of the Lord, he/she cannot indulge in these kind of abominable act. A Bishop is not an exemption. But,remember,if the bishop has done this, he will be rewarded accordingly in Heaven. If he is innocent, the curse of the bishop will be on the petitioner and his generations. The verdict of the courts of this world need not necessarily be just all the the time. Let us wait and see.

joy chembakasseril, usa. (November 10, 2011)
@ Vince- contd 1- its stated that the doctor, her last husband wad trying to abbort the baby, and the woman got killed of bleeding, but nobody knows the name or were abouts of this doctor. It's proven to me that this woman was no normal woman and why would a church clergy, who is supposed to be a symbol of purity want to hang around with her under the pretention of helping her ? All of this raise suspicious surroundings, and there are several versions of stories, all of them look fabricated in some way. It appears to me that there was an egarness from some sources to fabricate stories and confuse it to a point were they can wash out this case. The priest was acquited only due to lack of clear evidence, which the courts normally do. The evidence been spoiled by interested parties. There is no proven evidence of the priest's innocence !

joy chembakasseril, usa. (November 9, 2011)
@ Vince- Not very much so, there are some ambiguity surrounding the stories of madattharuvi case. The church had an ernest desire for years to save their face. Look at abbaya case and how they tried to play around it for years, we almost thought that they were innocent, which weren't the case. Back to madattharuvi case, there are some ambiguity surrounding this woman, she already had three husbands and she was still looking for another one, or else why was she fooling around like that with a priest ? If the priest wanted to help her, he could have officially called her into his office in front of everybody and helped her. It's obvious that something was going on in secrecy and they were caught by the public. It took them thirty years to come up with a story after some of them are dead and gone. There are several stories pertaining to this woman's d--th. A doctor was mentioned as her husband and he suspected this woman of having illicit affair with another person - contd 1

vince (November 6, 2011)
Dear joy chembakasseril, usa
Hope the last reply wasn't vague. The case was foisted on the priest as he was only helping the poor widow and her children and was also seen with her by the neighbors

vince (November 2, 2011)
Then after 30 years the family of the real culprit came to the priest and confessed to him how the women was killed while the culprit aborted the pregnancy fathered by an estate owner. The priest was proved innocent second time and on July12, 2010 The Week reported the true story under the title, "The road to sainthood".The priest was exonerated by the High court as it was found that all the evidences against him was fabricated.

joy chembakasseril, usa. (November 2, 2011)
@ Vince- Dear Vince I know this case. There is nothing to Google at on this case. The priest escaped the case because there was a lack of clear evidence. Its either him or somebody else helped him to spoil all evidence and that how the Priest escaped unhurt. The result of the case does not reflect the truth !

vince (November 1, 2011)
Dear Joy, Please google maadathhaaruvi - case and you will know yourself the truth.

joy chembakasseril, usa. (October 24, 2011)
@ Vince - Vince, in some ways you gave a smart reply,trying to confuse ---- ??? and your reply was VAGUE too !!!

vince (October 22, 2011)
Dear Joy Do you also know that the priest was innocent

joy chembakasseril, usa (October 17, 2011)
i still recall " maadathhaaruvi - case" which is about a priest kidnapping a woman walking by the roadside by taking her into confidence and then sexually assaulting her and killing her. we all still recall the "sister abhaya case" which involves these church priesthood. the expectations are high on the church priesthood and when they fall its a giant pit fall, because they represent a religion or a community and the whole religion or community is affected because of that. so lets restrain throwing dirty on each other denomination wise because "if you say something we got something else to say too". better shut-up and keep your respect !!!!!!

davy (October 17, 2011)
will the Bishop tell the truth if he believes bible ?. Let us ask him

jobin (October 14, 2011)
In the light of this, church should discuss and preach how to overcome sexual urges in men and women in bible point of view without creating any fear. Sexual power should not be abused. Celibacy or abstinence if practiced is a is a supreme quality in men that distinguishes them from animals.

pinto (October 9, 2011)
Remember the contest dear Praize. God created Adam and Eve as brother and sister. They became sinners before becoming couple. God never wanted them to be husband and wife. So Bishops like to see all ladies as their sisters and justify their adherence to celibacy.

samt (October 8, 2011)
They insist celibacy because they foolishly think that married people are immoral and impure because they indulge in free ***

the praize (October 5, 2011)
to all the respected readers,thinkers, celibacy was never the design of god otherwise god will not waste time creating eve.in the new testament bible supports family structure very strongly,while i strictly condemn *** outside marriage,i wonder why apostolic leadership,still insist on celibacy. i think that should be the point of debate and discussion than pointing fingers on anybody,general or specific. welcome everybody's thoughts,blessings

pinto (October 5, 2011)
Hi the praize, there was a misunderstanding. Forgive me if you can.I thought that You were praizing anointed Bishops and objecting exposing their sins. I have not commented against you praizing God. If you are a laybeing you are a less sinner than Bishops, who do not follow any of the teaching of Jesus or follow only one thing from bible by scaring people for not contributing 10% or more of their income.

thepraize (October 3, 2011)
@pinto,you are been conclusive unfortunately,please excercise common sense and restraint when you comment. i do not praize god,looking at men, i praize god for what he is and for what he has done,please understand the reason for your following jesus.you correctly said,jesus was teaching the illiterate but what made them so different was the holy spirit,which i am thinking even you have and if you claim so,you will not be commenting and be conclusive.btw, i need not cover myself to express my opinion,meaning i am no bishop or clergy,i am a lay person witnessing developments among most holy people like you.thanks

a. s. mathew (October 1, 2011)
VINODH: You are kindhearted and showing a great tolerance and a forgiving attitude towards the Bishop. But if that Bishop is permitted in his position, that will create greater ruin to the whole Church. The Episcopal Churches and the Catholic Churches have taken a totally different stand other than the Bibilical teachings with regard to marriage of the Bishops. The Anglican Church, the CSI and CNI in India, Lutheran Churches etc allow the Bishops to marry. Those Churches which are prohibiting the marriages of the Bishops expect the Bishop's life is totally dedicated in serving the Church. Is it some sort of selfishness? Those who are called for the ministry must watch very cautiously about their morality and love for money, because the devil is too smart to trap all in those tricky cages. Many well known Ministers totally lost their ministry due to moral failure. Getting a second chance and excuse for such a spiritual blunder is too hard anywhere in the world.

vinodh (September 30, 2011)
Is it true that this Bishop is suspended? However he has served great contributions to church and humanity and many of his members still respect him and are prepared to forget this incident and still accept him as their Beloved bishop as I understand. Things like this can happen if celibacy is forced as a policy. Is any married person use *** only one time just for procreation and then keep away from the immorality? if not, unmarried or celibate can have also such urges.

pinto (September 30, 2011)
Hello the praize

Remove your cover please. You seem to be one of the Bishops or acting in such postion. you definetly got hurt I know. We are not bible scholars to use it as per convenience. We take its simple meaning as Jesus explained to the comprehension of his not so literate disciples. If you wish you beware of them, or enjoy suferring and keep "praiz"ing him. I only wish one day you should not be trapped as a samkutty or the perpterator of samkutty.

the praize (September 27, 2011)
@pinto forgot to add jesus was and had all the authority to condemn since he was the son of god,unless we are,,,,hope you understand what i mean.its so very easy to use the bible to our convenience without realising the content and context,apologies i know i never meant to be rude to answer your question. thanks

thepraize (September 27, 2011)
@pinto,please understand the context in which Jesus was condemning and also the community he was condemning,having said that there is a difference in condemning and been judgemental.My opinion is very clear no one is authorised to condemn or judge anybody else and this is scriptural,instead of focussing our energies on the so called wrong doings of the anointed,lets kneel and pray [which we conveniently avoid]and enhance our quality of christian lifestyle.Blessings !!!

a. s. mathew (September 27, 2011)
brother john: your honest and frank question is greatly appreciated. if my neighbour is trying to encroach my property, i must settle the matter peacefully at first, if that venture had no result, then finally must seek the help of the court. election of the bishop is a totally different issue. it must be done inside the supreme council assinged by the church, because no tangible property and assets are involved with this issue. based on the rumor (i don't know the facts) money played a very big role with relation to this election. if that is true, then we are grieving the holy spirit. those who are called to the leadership of a church, whether they are episcopal or non-episcopal, it must be done with all the humility, love, and prayer; else the spiritual atmosphere of that denomination will be terribly deteriorating in course of time. god is not looking many, but for one person of his perfect will to be used in performing greater things for the kingdom of god.

pinto (September 27, 2011)
hello the prize listen here.do you know even Jesus condemned the then Bishops. Are they different then and now? They are almost same now also? However, As Jesus has adviced us we accept them with the belief that God has accepted them.

thepraize (September 26, 2011)
@peter you condemn bishops,may i ask what happenned to pastor k a abraham, i know he had maids in ranny and malabar,he was not entertained in usa in 2010, sorry to pick names just want to let you know avoid generalised statements,everybody is human,our expectations from these people are different and when they fall its a disgrace to the whole christendom,than just marthomites or pentecostals,please have a more open view towards issues and be sensitive while you make general remarks

john (September 26, 2011)
dear as mathew avarkal
if you are denied justice where do you go

john (September 26, 2011)
Even Jesus Christ was taken to the court of Pilate. But there was no wrong judgement against truth.

a. s. mathew (September 26, 2011)
molly: i am not at all disputing your valuable opinion. many church cases have ended up in the state and federal judicial systems of india. one friend of mine told me about the cash involved with the case related to the bishop's election. i can't put that amount in the comment, since i am not sure about the transactions. if the courts of kerala are going to make the final decision in selecting the bishops and church leaders of various denominations, then it is totally contrary to the teachings of the bible. if the churches are state-owned, then the churches must totally surrender to the decisions taken by the court system. this issue went to the court due to the dirty politics and vested interests in the church leadership; both the religious hierarchy and the laymen. how many in the selection committee have personal relationship with jesus and total humility? the church members are watching this drama, totally helpless and with total confusion!

molly (September 25, 2011)
we should not condemn the court. The court decision has come through God to rectify the human error. This Bishop who was ordained with verdict of court is more likey more accepted by God.Court is not expected to go against justice. The country pays a lot in the maintenace of court to provide justice that was denied by high handed citizens to victim citizen. So let us accept that Bishop more preferabley than others.

a. s. mathew (September 24, 2011)
In the recent election of three Bishops for the Marthoma Church, only two got the required votes to be elected. One was out due to some personal (not moral) reason. He filed a case at the High court of Kerala, and the Kerala High court made the judgment in his favour, and he was ordained along with the other two. According to the news report, the High court Justice was the chief guest at the celebrations after the ordination. It is identical to the olden days in Russia: the communist rulers had their Bishops in the Church! The Bishop candidate who couldn't get enough votes must accept the fact that he was not called to be a Bishop, but he won the game through unscrupulous means at the court of law. The Russian historian Maurice Dobb wrote, during the communist revolution in 1917, while people were starving and fighting for food, the Russian Orthodox Bishops were hotly debating, what must be the color of their robe. We are watching identical religious dramas now in Kerala too.

peter (September 23, 2011)
bishops are worst than the underworld

alex c (September 22, 2011)
The church authorities who insist more on celibacy for Bishops should feel more guilty than the conduct slipped Bishop if that has truly happened. If not also the Bishop is responsible for bringing this ignominy to church and their members through his questionable lapse.
The members are cheated for believing that they are under the leadership of purest spiritual leaders.Other Bishops who may support this Bishop without admitting the mistake and cleansing themselves are also equally fooling the undoubted members.

abc (September 20, 2011)
i am suggesting to the church should allow to marrying the bishops & give a retirement as csi church also the church was ordained bishops recently, one of them getting sufficient vote for selected as bishop, at the church generalbody at the fourth chance.

sherin p (September 19, 2011)
why is this news not available in main stream papers?. Is it a groundless information?. No further news also after this insertion for more than a month. If the news is true it is surely God's act to prompt these erring Bishops to retrospect on their sins, hypocrisies and disobedience to Jesus teachings so that there may be some reformation and purification to churches.

xyz (September 19, 2011)
shouldnot be so. Church should be home of christ where all sinners are accepted, forgiven and cleansed of sins whether it is bishop or samkutty. The bishop should feel that he should become small and samkutty big if teaching of christ is to be adhered on simple terms.

a. s. mathew (September 18, 2011)
Brother Thomas: Now the Churches of Kerala are far worse than secular corporations. Dr. P.P. Job is an internationally known Christian leader of India. He was born in a poor family, very solid Marthoma member. When he was finished with his seminary studies, he didn't get a job as a Marthoma Priest because of one Bishop's objection. When another Bishop visited his congregation in Kerala, the rich host family invited brother Job too, and told him to ride with the Bishop . The Priest wanted to give a ride to brother Job, but the Bishop didn't allow him to ride in his car given by the Church.
The CEO of a corporation won't allow any ordinary person of the company to ride with him in India, it may be different in the U.S. Both of the Bishops are dead and gone to eternity.
I greatly love and respect the now
retired Philipose Mar Christosam
Thirumeni. He is always pleasant with a great sense of humour,
humility and compassion to humanity;
respected by all

thomas (September 18, 2011)
Why this samkutty was terminated from his job?. Is the Church like a corporation?. If a Bishop cant transform a member then how can he demand his priest to do that?

george (September 17, 2011)
Similar sin of weakness can happen when one lives in the modern material world. So many religious leaders have committed similar error of conduct of which we know a few only are caught. Hence those acting celibate leaders should not ridicule married priests that they married because they had burning passion in them. Actually burning passion is with those unmarried critics. Hence, church please, with these ample incidents, stop the adamant attitude of not allowing bishops to marry.

a. s. mathew (September 15, 2011)
Brother RENY: As you have stated, the Christian denominations of Kerala are religious corporations. I was totally disgusted on many occasions by the mutual conversations of the Church leaders, both the episcopal and non-episcopal Churches. How many of them will talk about a Biblical subject when we meet them? How many of them have won a soul for Christ? They constantly talk about big "concrete and iron projects" "pension fund for the ministers" "adding more things to the religious palaces" "automobile quality and standard"; and push the believers for more money. The leaders fly around the world to keep their Church members and children to be caged in their own denominations as economic resources. They all may have a ready-made prayer before leaving the house after getting the money, before that they will not mention the name of God or Jesus.

reny (September 14, 2011)
These bishops put heavy load on people and want to make the church rich fast.So their hypocrisy should also be revealed one by one.

john (September 14, 2011)
P K Samkutty may be telling some truth. Why should he fabricate the entire story? Why people are interested in stoning him when he expresses his grievance? Both Bishop and Samkutty know each other well. Why hasnt the Bishop refuted the allegations against him?. Let his supporters prompt him to speak the fact that is convincing and known to his God.

xyz (September 12, 2011)
Let the Marthoma church not insist that a Bishop should be unmarried. It is not the St Pauls rules that should be followed but the rule of Jesus christ should be followed. Christ wont be unhappy to be served by married bishops.

jomon (August 29, 2011)
fabricated "God Knows" but case aagan karanam or chukkan pedechathu Joseph marthoma...

shaji, new delhi (August 24, 2011)
Pls. read the complaint (can download from ‘The Defender’ web site) and write your comments. I think this is a fabricated case while reading the complaint

sajan ghacko (August 20, 2011)
Marthoma community is one of the biggest in the kerala christian society.This case will wipe out soon. Every one from in this community including all the bishops especially valiya thirumeni will close their eyes and keep silent.Even though it is true and people of marthoma church will cover this case with soft words. None of these people got guts to depromote him.

spiritual body language (August 19, 2011)
Let us not be the judges of the 'chosen ones' of the Almighty God...!

'spiritual body language' ...? Please visit and add your comments.

Glory be to HIS Holy Name.

thomas george (August 17, 2011)
This Bishop is a homosexual guy and here in USA people knows what he is.

james (August 17, 2011)
Dear Raju, Education is not a device to measure a person’s attitudes or behavior. You can download and read the complaint against the Bishop from internet. However, even a nursery student can easily understand that this is a fabricated case (for black mailing) while reading the complaint.

raju c. ninan. (August 14, 2011)
Dear All,
I donot think this is true. This must be a fabricated case. Kurilose Thirumeni is a highly educated human being. I would very much appreciate if you please get the information from this Edathara Chakkittayil P.K. Sam Kutty also. May be he is thief. He must have cheated the church and the public. However it is your duty to publish his version too. Awaiting to here the truth. However, this is too bad for all.

a. s. mathew (August 9, 2011)
one of the most shocking news which has caused greater shame to the marthoma church, also to the whole christian community of india. once i sat next to this bishop in a supper a few years back, and this has greatly shocked us all. even though the bible is teaching very clearly that the ministers must be married, the episcopal churches except the csi and cni in india, have taken the traditions more important than the word of god. the catholic church claims that peter was their first pope, but peters's mother in-law was sick, and jesus healed her! (mark 1:29-31). st. paul had the divine calling to be single, but the rest of the apostles had no such calling. the churches lost the spirit of evangelization and humanitarian ministries but totally changed as "glorious social clubs". we can learn more dirty politics in the church rather than in the political world. as the world economy is being shaken, god is shaking the churches too. it is the high time for a total repentence.