Kids and Me

Tisha’s 5th Birthday

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Sketch

Leaning against you

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Life, Spiritual

Face Of Jesus

Image December 17, 2015 jcisnowjs 1 Comment

Science, most specifically the Forensic Anthropology branch of it, has done what can only be termed as miracle. It has given a humane face to the Son of God.

Forensic Anthropology is the application of science to aid in identification of deceased individuals. Anthropologist uses physical markers present on a skeleton to identify sex, age, race and cause of death too. It is widely used technique in identifying remains, solving crimes and assisting in exploration of history.

A British scientist along with an Israeli archeologist has used forensic anthropology to draw the scientifically most accurate face of Jesus of Nazareth. Most astonishing thing is that this face is so real and humane that it is nowhere near that white, westernized, pale, thin face, blue eyes, and, flowing golden hair of Jesus, which we are accustomed to see in every church glass window. It is the biggest breaking of stereotype of Jesus’ image.

Surprisingly the holy face of Jesus that we see everywhere is nowhere mentioned in Bible. Infact there is no physical description of Jesus in Bible. If one has to find any proof of physical existence of Jesus, he has to search really hard, because till now there is no scientific proof has been found to support Jesus’ existence. There is however no denying of the fact that no matter how he may have looked; stories of this Son of God, have changed the course of world’s religious history.

If there was no description of his physical appearance of Jesus in Bible then how did we came to know of his holy face?.

Here comes Shroud Of Turin. This shroud could be termed as the most debated, yet most believed religious artifact of all time. Shroud of Turin is supposedly the linen cloth that was used to wrap Jesus’ body after his Crucifixion. The shroud is mentioned in every gospel of Bible but it was never found until much later in 15^th century (as per records). This shroud has imprints of a man having wounds similar to a Crucifixion victim, most specifically of Jesus’, with blood stains on head, arms, and parts of body consistent with Jesus’ injuries and death. This shroud also has an image of a face with a mustache, long beard and hair, a thin and old-looking man, with about 6 ft height.

This is the face of Jesus, we all know. Face we all are very familiar to. A face which was further transformed by the contemporary artists of western imagination.

With shroud of Turin itself failing to scientific tests of authenticity, the image on it can be hardly considered an accurate depiction of what Jesus must have looked like. There are other contradictions too, like holy image of Jesus is nowhere similar to a person who has lived in his time and region. Fact is when Jesus got arrested, Judas had to specifically point him to authorities, as they were not able to differentiate him from his disciples. It was mentioned in the bible that he looked like his disciples. So, in no way he would have looked like how he is depicted in churches across the world.

This new scientifically correct image that has come up now, seems to be more accurate and near to what he must have looked than the holy one. As per this new image of Jesus, he has typical features of a dark-skinned Galilean Semites era man, with short curly black hairs. Height about 5ft. 1in., and average weight of 110 pounds. It may not be the real image of Jesus, but by far it is the most near image of what he may have looked like.

Question remains, does it matter how he looked?

The way current political and religious scenario and events are unfolding, I would answer, yes, it matters. Will your faith in Jesus change, if instead of white he would be of dark skin?

No.

We need to see this new image and think in our heart, does it matter what race, sex, age, nationality or color of a person is, when we love him?

If we can love our God, despite the color of his skin, why can’t we love our fellow humans. Why do we need to judge others, based on their race or their sexual orientation?

Isn’t Love greater than all of this?

Kids and Me, Random

Crochet Checker Box Shawl

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Life

Keep Your Critics Close

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We all hate critics, specially the ones who have seen our struggles and yet…

Irony is, no matter how much we hate criticism; we all do need an honest critic in our life. Problem is everyone that we meet in life wants to be a critic, just not the honest type.

When it comes to others we are the first one to judge and give our verdict. Right or wrong, sometimes we just don’t know when to stop.

I too have faced this problem, but the other way around.

My problem is that I don’t have enough critics in my life. At least not those daring enough to speak directly to me.

Here I want to make this point pretty clear, that any one who think he/she is a good critic but speak only to your back, is just a jerk; not an inch of a critic.

A critic is the one who has the capability to stand in front of you and tell you what is right and wrong with the subject matter.

Moreover, what is the benefit of talking behind someone’s back, other than feel happy doing gossiping. Criticism is to suggest areas of improvement while gossiping is done just for the sake of pleasure.

As I have said earlier I don’t have the privilege of having enough critics in my life. It’s only one so far, and that person is my best friend for this sole reason.

I am pretty sure when you will go through the points ahead; you are also going to cross almost all the names from your long list of critics; and whoever is still left on this list, you would love to have them in your life. Are you ready with your list of critics?

First and foremost, cross all those who you think criticize you but they have never done so on your face. If there is even a single time that they have confronted you or told you what you are doing wrong, then keep them in the list.

Secondly, do this person criticize only you, or just everyone around him/her. If this person criticize everyone and everything in his life, than pardon this person and cross him out too. This person just need love and maybe some ‘Get well soon‘ cards. It’s in his nature to criticize. He is not doing it to bring something to your attention, he is just seeking attention from you. Best advice – Ignore.

Whoever is listed on your list now just take a note of what kind of critic they are. Does they ever praise you? Take a count of how many times they have found out something good in you and then check this count against the times they have found you worthless. If good point lists is less than even half of bad points; dump this person too. Just cross him out of your critics list. A critic is one who gives you an overall criticism, which involves sharing what you are doing good with your life along with what is going wrong in a fair manner.

So how many still left on the list?

Next, just see if this person is offering advice along with all the criticism or not. Advice or suggestions like this could have been done that way to make it better. For example – if someone says that you are not getting selected in interviews because of your communication issues, maybe you should try on this course, or read this book; or I will find out what we can do to help you with that. That kind of person is wroth keeping. Others just dump.

Lastly, check the tone of criticism. If they are rude to you, they are not a good critic. Anyone who speaks to you in a manner like – your life is a failure, is not worth listening to, even when he has tons of ideas to help you. It is just not worth it. Because no matter what you do with your life or where you will reach ultimately, these kind of negative words are enough to destroy you emotionally. Just stay away from them. No matter how close this person is to you, your family member, your friend or teacher, if whatever he says comes to you like poison to your ear; you need to keep up a distance far enough from hearing range. Cross this one out too.

Now, look at your list.

Whoever is now on your list, you consider them someone who speak truth to you, diluted or undiluted, but the truth. They are caring. They are kind. They are emphatic. They support you and want good for you. They are always the first to praise you when you do good in your life and also the first one to steer you away when you are headed in wrong direction. Most probably they will be last to leave your side, maybe never.

If you have even a single such person in your life, you are lucky. Most of us don’t have these kind of people and friends in their lives. If you find these qualities in a distant acquaintance too, try to keep this person nearby.

Just keep them close. Because they are the ones who will always guide you to do better in your life.