Welcome to the Mondithokas' website
Welcome to our website. We hope that you would be challenged and blessed by reading the content from this website. Visit our blog Quest for Truth and let us know your comments.
(new)
Nephilim:Sons of God and Daughters of Men
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(new)"The Wounded Healer (In Telugu) -- written by Santhi Mondithoka"
"The Wounded Healer (In English) -- written by Santhi Mondithoka"
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Prepare to be persecuted - Interview with Sudhakar Mondithoka -- published on Christian week news
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(New) Answering the Dawah/Islamic Critics of Christianity
Organized by Sakshi Apologetics Network and HITHA (31 July 2010) : Rev. Sudhakar Mondithoka (Telugu) & Bro. Jerry Thomas (English)
(New) Lent season - Apologetics Related Questions
Asalaina Prashna, Sisalaina Jawabu (Telugu) : Live Q&A Session on Rakshana TV : Rev. Sudhakar Mondithoka & Bro. Benhur Jakkula
(New) Creation Related Questions
Asalaina Prashna, Sisalaina Jawabu (Telugu) : Live Q&A Session on Rakshana TV : Rev. Sudhakar Mondithoka & Bro. Benhur Jakkula
(New) Is Jesus Christ just a Prophet?
Asalaina Prashna, Sisalaina Jawabu (Telugu) : Live Q&A Session on Rakshana TV : Rev. Sudhakar Mondithoka & Bro. Benhur Jakkula
Asalaina Prashna, Sisalaina Jawabu (Telugu) : Live Q&A Session on Rakshana TV : Answer to a Question about Cloning : Rev. Sudhakar Mondithoka & Bro. Benhur Jakkula
Asalaina Prashna, Sisalaina Jawabu (Telugu) : Live Q&A Session on Rakshana TV : Rev. Sudhakar Mondithoka & Bro. Benhur Jakkula
Search For Truth Series : Audio Sermons (in Telugu language)
Did HE rise from the dead?
Complete Copies can be ordered from sudhakar@mondithokas.com Or sudhakarm@yahoo.com
Ministry Update from the Mondithokas, Dec. 2011
50th Birth Day – 50 years of God’s goodness – Some Reflections
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Trinity-A Biblical and Theological Analysis
Photos of Ministry in Kuwait, September and October 2010
The Spiritual Discipline of Systematic Bible Intake
Life After Death: Reincarnation or Resurrection?
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The DVDs of the 5 Tremendous Messages of Rev. Sunder Krishnan on Living as Called People in a Driven World are available. Please contact for your set.
Faith Beyond Reason: A Balanced Biblical View of Faith -- Expanded Version
Written for and Published in The Greater Hyderabad United Christmas Celebrations' Souvineir.
The Characters Around the First Christmas
Families and the Purposes of God - Ministry through Families -- Expanded version
Do I have the Right Kind of Faith?
Characteristics of a Christian Leader The Telugu translation of this article is now published in VJ, April issue.
A shorter version of the following article was written for Vidyarthi Jwala was published in the December Issue (in Telugu).
The What and Why of Apologetics: A Very Short Introduction of Christian Apologetics
Theology and Practice of Christian Giving
Renewed Mind and Transformed Life
Here are the first three of four messages delivered at regional graduates conference. The first article is now published in Harvest Times for Your Family, the GLS magazine.
Check back for the rest of the messages.
Message1-Being Holy Because God is Holy
Message2-What it means for us to be holy
Message3-Holiness in Thought Life
David and his Three Military Chiefs: Learning Some Spiritual Lessons from a Battle Scene
Articles
"Being Good Christian Citizens and Facing the Contemporary Social Challenges" Comments
Life After Death: Reincarnation or Resurrection?
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Jesus Christ and the Two Natures - Compatible or Incompatible?
The Divine Human Interface in Jesus Christ
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Yoga and Meditation : Relaxation Or Religion?
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Priority Christian Living in the Present Perplexing World Comments
The Lost Tomb of Jesus: Searching the Living among the Dead -- An article by Jerry Thomas Comments
The New Testament Gospels: Testimony or Spin? A Response to Da Vince Code
Unpublished Letters to Editor
Reason, Open Discussion, the Da Vinci Code, and Truth
View the comments on this article here!
Applied Apologetics: Conversations/Dialogues that Count
Should we see God in order to believe that He exists?
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What is the sex of God? Is God a He or She or an It?
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Does the Christian idea of God as Trinity make sense?
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The Qur'an or the Bible? Which one is the Word of God for All Humanity?
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Itinerary for the months of December 2011 & January 2012:
2nd December, Hyderabad: Santhi will speak in a Women’s Christmas meeting in Malaysian Township
14 – 15 and 21 - 22 January 2011, Chennai: I will be a part of the team (along with Jerry Thomas, Gordon Nickel, Azgar Ali, etc) that will represent Christianity in a series of Panel Debates with the leading Mulim Dawah Group in Tamil Nadu on "Is the Bible God’s Word?" and Is the Qur’an the Word of God?" respectively. I will be preaching in our Church also during these months.
26th January, Kakinada: Santhi will be ministering in the Women’s Sunday Service in a Baptist Church
Ministry Update from the Mondithokas, Dec. 2011
Thanks very much dear friends in the Lord for your prayers. We would appreciate your continued prayers for us and for all that the Lord has entrusted us with in His Kingdom at this time. We deeply appreciate your prayer support. Here is the latest update from us:
The Lord had blessed the ministry there among the people of Indian origin/Telugu (our mother tongue) people. Our ministry fits into two categories mainly (we did some evangelism as well): Teaching & Training and Preaching (for the purpose of encouraging and equipping the saints).
I left home on the 22nd of September and I will be returning from Oxford on the 11th of December. It has been a busy time with some ministry in Canada (two trips) and a lot of learning in the areas of research methodology, research skills, writing skills, and tools needed for research like some internet based resources, software, getting to know the Oxford University library system with 100 libraries, etc
It has been challenging to return to an academic mode - serious study and research after 10 years of being deeply involved in the ministry (since we left Talbot School of Theology, Biola University in 2001). But the Lord has been graciously helping and I am trying to work as hard as I am able.
Santhi had been in Bangalore (in October) during the week days on her Ph. D work (SAIACS-Mysore University) and had been returning to Hyderabad for the weekends. Shamuel was with my brother in law’s family. He had his quarterly exams during that time. He was missing us very badly and it was very challenging to deal with that situation as we three were in three different places. The Lord helped and Santhi has now been back in Hyderabad. Thanks a lot for your prayers for us and please do keep praying.
An Update for the Months of September, October, and November:
I was in Ottawa, the capital city of Canada from the 22nd to the 30th of September. I had some key meetings - 1) the VOM-Canada 40th Anniversary Conference Saturday, the 24th – it went well and all the participants appreciated the ministry and many of them shared that they never looked at discipleship in the way I presented it 2) a 2-day teaching Seminar on ‘a biblical theology of persecution and discipleship’ for pastors and leaders on 27th & 28th - we had 22 people and the four sessions each day went well by God's grace. One Professor took me out for dinner on the 2nd day and asked a number of questions and sought clarifications/answers and was highly appreciative of what I taught 3) two different meetings with the MPs, on Monday, the 26th - this went well as well (I spoke just for 10 mts and then interacted with them for some time) and Thursday, the 29th - 20 of them had confirmed their participation, but only 15 turned up for this breakfast meeting in the House of Commons on Parliament Hill and I spoke just for 20 minutes on "Persecution, Human Rights, and Religious Liberty in India" and then interacted with them for some time as they asked some questions and 4) I did an interview with the editor of a News Paper (Mags Storey of the Christian Week) also – it has already been published. I also did a talk followed by a Q&A session at the Laurentian Leadership Center of the Trinity Western University on the 30th.
I came to OCMS from Ottawa to attend my Research Induction School from the 3rd of October (part of my part-time Ph. D program). The Research Induction School that I finished (end of October) had 10 scholars from different countries. It was wonderful to study, learn, research, and grow in knowledge and understanding. I am thankful to God for this provision.
I was back in Canada (Toronto) for a week (17-22 October) to speak at the Annual General Assembly of the ICA (International Christian Association), the association of all the ministries in different parts of the world that work for and with the Persecuted Church. I did two devotions and a plenary session. The Lord really blessed the ministry there and many of them (all leaders from the different nations) thanked and appreciated the ministry.
I return to Oxford on the 23rd of October and had gone through the rest of the Research Induction School and also just finished 4 weeks of searching for resources and surveying and reviewing of literature related to the field that I am interested in (Islam and Science: An Evaluation of The Way Some Muslims Are Using Modern Science in Defending their Belief that the Qur’an is Supernatural). I will continue this work and hopefully I will be able to zero in on some specific research problem/question and move forward.
Santhi, has had some speaking also to do during the weekends. 6-8 October she spoke at the EMFI (Evangelical Medical Fellowship of India) conference with OVER 250 medical students and doctors in attendance. She covered some Christian Doctrines like God, Man, Sin, and Salvation. On the 10th she spoke in the Women’s Sunday Service at Emmaus Lutheran Church with over 350 people in attendance. On the 16th she taught Integrative Theology at the Equippers’ Program of UESI-AP. On the 21-23 October, she spoke at the ENFI (Evangelical Nurses Fellowship of India) discipleship training program in Hyderabad (about 75 nursing students and nurses attended). The Lord blessed her ministry in these two conferences greatly and also at a Church (Emmaus Lutheran Church) on the last Sunday of October (30th).
On the 4th of November, Santhi spoke in a Women's Retreat in Ongole and on the 20th she spoke to about 200 students and graduates/professionals of the twin-cities EU-EGF (Evangelical Union-Evangelical Graduates’ Fellowship) in their quarterly combined gathering on “Celebration”. The message was much appreciated by the participants.
27th November, Hyderabad: Santhi spoke in the Sunday Service of Emmaus Lutheran Church in Nanal Nagar.
26th & 27th of November, Cambridge: I spoke in an Anglican (Church of England) church on the 27th in their Advent Service – the message was based on Isaiah 64: 1-8 and almost all the 75 participants met me personally and thanked for the ministry of God’s word sharing how the message touched them.
Please pray that we might have more students taking courses or doing full study programs at HITHA (Hyderabad Institute of Theology and Apologetics), so that the financial burden of running the collage might be reduced and with the same investment of time and resources more blessing might result.
- Please pray that Santhi might be able to finish her work on the Commentary om the Book of Ruth for the South Asia Bible Commentary project (by the end of this month).
- Please pray for God’s blessing on all our speaking, writing, and other ministry engagements and also for Santhi’s Ph. D studies at/through SAIACS-Mysore University.
- Please pray for Shamuel as he is going to begin his new school year soon (from the 13th) and he is now going into class 6
- Please pray that I might get selected for the Ph. D program through OCMS (Oxford Center for Mission Studies) that I have applied for and for the financial support for me to pursue doctoral studies. If I do get selected I will have to be in Oxford for 10 weeks from October beginning and then six weeks every following year (may be three to four years in all).
Reason Vs. Faith -- Sudhakar's comment Published in Hyderbad Times, Times of India, October 7, 2007, p. 1.
God has given humans the ability to think rationally and the right to express themselves freely. The right to expression is also constitutionally guaranteed in a democracy. I am for that freedom. However, freedom comes with responsibility. I cannot do whatever I want to, particularly if it infringes upon others' freedom.
When Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code was published, I argued for his freedom of speech, and so did many churches. It was not banned in Christian communities in Europe and America. However, highly qualified clergy and even secular scholars responded to his views in a scholarly way.
So, it is about understanding each other in reasonable, logical ways. There can be a healthy debate. Reason has a valid role to play in understanding and communicating faith in a friendly and respectful manner. But Fundamentalism expresses itself in emotional outbursts and if we are emotional then our reason goes down. Loudness of an argument and low levels of logic generally go hand in hand and this is not good.
The Lord is good and faithful and all glory and praise be to Him alone. Here are the comments from some who sent 'thank you notes' after different conferences & meetings over the past two months:
- For the first time in my life I realized that I should reason out my faith and grow stronger- deeper in and more confident about my faith
- I realized how important apologetics is for me as a Christian both in my life and in my ministry
- I realized that in the present world being a Christian without the knowledge of apologetics is very difficult
- It was liberating to know that it is alright for me to have doubts and that I could share them with others and receive help from them
- My approach to Christian life and ministry has been changed for better as I have been exposed to the scriptural teaching on the place of mind in Christian discipleship
SAIACS News, Dec. 2005 carried this News Item about the Modular Course that Rev. Mondithoka taught in the month of Sept. 2005 to the M. A 2nd year students:
In Defense of ApologeticsChristian Apologetics, since its appearance in the realm of theological education, has continued to be one of the much sought after subjects by students world over. Guess what! SAIACS offered a full module on 'Contemporary World Religions and Christian Apologetics' to the MA second year students in September. The course instructor, Rev. Sudhakar Mondithoka of Ravi Zacharias International Ministries (RZIM) from Chennai was brilliant. He taught us from his wide experience and knowledge. Through his dynamic, befitting, and at times even forceful lectures, Mondithoka made the students realize the importance of knowing other religious faiths and the uses of Apologetics for effective communication of the Gospel. As a part of the course requirement, the students were sent in small groups of three or four to meet and share the Gospel with people other faiths outside SAIACS Campus. This turned out to be an outstanding module.
-(Sam K. John, MA II)
One of the students in the class wrote . . .
Dear.Sir,
. . . I take this privilege to thank you for your commitment for us. We have learnt so much from you. Before sitting in your class, there seemed to be so many gray areas in life. But now, everything seems to be more black and white. You have made ethical issues so much simpler. We will always remain indebted to you for your efforts. I am always impressed by your energy!
I hope we will have the opportunity to sit in your class again soon. God bless.
Milton Terang
Response to the talk on the Da Vinci Code:
Once student wrote the following (many others had similar things to say in their thank you notes)
I am raju, came to JESUS as my personal Saviour in 2003.i am doing my engineering in bhimavaram. i am a member of iceu bvrm. i attended a seminar on dvc (Da Vinci Code) at our city center. i was in hyd last Sunday. It was very useful for me as i got good information about dvc and i thank GOD for dvc bcoz now i can answer my friends questions.
Anna, I really thank GOD for ur family. i want to know some more information regarding dvc and other contemporary issues. Please send me the names of the sites, which i hope will help me to worship my Lord with my whole mind.
thanking u,
ur thammudu (= younger brother)
raju b.
Respected Sir,
Greetings to you in His Holy Name!
I am glad that I could attend the Sunday service on last Sunday i.e. 11.01.2009 and could hear the message on Families and God’s purposes. It was wonderful. After my completion of M.Th, now I am involved in teaching ministry at COTR Theological Seminary in Visakhapatnam. I was there in Secunderabad for 5 days to attend the personal Contact Programme of MSW through Annamalai University. It was Prabhu who told me that there is English service at Centenary Baptist Church. As soon as I heard that you are going to preach there, I rushed to the Church.
Now, I am tempted to attend the service just to hear the series of message that you started last Sunday. But practically I am not able to make it possible. Anyhow, I have received the written message from your website but I am really missing the opportunity of hearing from you directly.
Sir, the recent persecution made me to change my ministry place and now we are preparing prayerfully to move to Orissa. Therefore, may be by next April or May we will move from here. Please pray for us. Along with one Oriya brother who is a business man living in Hyderabad have discussed to conduct a meeting and to take you as main speaker to our hometown (Utkal Baptist Church – Prabhu Kumar has visited our Church) Church in Orissa. Pray that God may grant us His grace to fulfill our plan for His glory. Please continuously pray for us. We are praying for you. Now, if you are in SABC, please convey our regard to Jyithikanth Sadhu and Sanjukta. Thanking you. Please convey our regard to Santhi madam.
In His Grace,
Lalit Kumar Bardhan
COTR Theological Seminary,
Dorathota, Box- 3
Bheemunipatnam Post
Visakhapatnam – 531 163.
*** It is all the Lord's doing and we are privileged to be His servants – we are His servants and we have just done what we are called to do, that is, our duty. So all glory to Him alone.
