Living with Imperfections Life isn’t perfect. But people aim for perfection. Sometimes, they come close to this reality. Nevertheless, they fall short. It doesn’t matter what they do. They might try their best to be careful, take meticulous steps, and make important decisions. Still, perfection evades them. This is the reason why most live with imperfections. Parents delight when a child is born. They are happy, rejoice, and give thanks for having a healthy baby. This little infant will bond with them. However, from birth this precious gift has come into this world with genes inherited from their family. These manifestations play a role in what a Black or White child will become. He or she could be healthy, handicapped, or afflicted with some awful health problem. But parents would do their best to raise them to have a balanced life in spite of these predispositions. The age of adolescence presents other challenges. This is a time of discovery and experimentation. Some youn...

  Thanksgiving for Creation   A pediatric surgeon Bernie Siegel (b. 1932) said, “God wants us to know that life is a series of beginnings, not endings.  Just as graduations are not terminations, but commencements.  Creation is an ongoing process, and when we create a perfect world where love and compassion are shared by all, suffering will cease.”   Inevitably, Siegel was putting his trust in mankind to create a perfect world.  But our world is broken because of sin.  Christians believe it will only be transformed when Jesus Christ comes again.  This has been alluded to time and time again in the New Testament.   How should people live in this world?  They have to use their imagination and ask God to guide them. George Bernard Shaw (1856–1950), an Irish playwright and critic wrote, “Imagination is the beginning of creation.  You imagine what you desire, you will what you imagine and at last you create what you will.”   Beli...

  The Truth of Life Layers of rocks reveal stories of our past They are like books to be read With pages that show how life evolved Still some well-known people Have doubts about mankind’s beginnings   Christians might hold the story in Genesis to be true About how God created mankind And they like to tell the story of Adam and Eve About how God took a rib from him to create her But does this make sense? Isn’t this an allegory?   Scientists discovered a different story They have explained how over thousands of years life forms evolved And this reality doesn’t seem surprising Since all beings and non-beings are intricately interrelated So some Bible stories are nothing more than myths Still creationists believe in the literal meaning of Scripture   Learning the truth about religious texts is important Scripture was written eons ago When belief systems were in an embryonic stage It’ll therefore take thinkers of all sorts to...

  Concepts of Afterlife In world religions and beliefs concepts of the afterlife are perplexing and shrouded in mystery   Faith traditions have beliefs that range from bodily resurrection, the survival of the soul, judgment,   merging of consciousness, heaven and hell, reincarnation to animals, insects, and plants; Moksha, or salvation in Hinduism, Enlightenment, and nirvana in Buddhism     The Abrahamic religions – Judaism, Christianity, and Islam believe in the resurrection, judgment, heaven, and hell; while Indian religions - Buddhism, Hinduism, Jainism, and Sikhism embrace karma (good or bad actions), some form of rebirth, or transmigration based on the Samara doctrine of the cycle of life and death   But what path must an interfaith believer pursue? Myths and teachings about salvation have to be put into perspective It makes no sense to follow blindly a faith tradition A believer’s approach calls for prayer, study,...

  The Thomas Family Erwin K Thomas was born on June 3 rd , 1943 in Georgetown, Guyana. As the eldest of eleven, my parents were always encouraging us to pray and attend church. As a teenager I went to Cambridge Academy High School and sang in the choir at St. George’s Anglican Cathedral. The hand of God was in my eventual success of passing the General Certificate of Education (GCE) London that opened doors. My life took a turn away from the church when I entered Guyana’s Teachers College (GTC). Around graduation time I became seriously ill with a pulmonary disease and had to be hospitalized. I was able to leave Georgetown Public Hospital (GPH) well enough to teach at St. Cyril’s Anglican School in Hadfield Street. While there, I felt a call to pursue studies in mass communications in America. I lived in hope that my dreams would be realized. I visited the American Consulate Library in Georgetown, browsed through catalogues, and applied to the University of Oregon - Eugene. I was a...

  The Good in Suffering Buddhists wish to escape suffering to achieve Nirvana. But Christians embrace it. And God tested the Israelites for 40 years in the wilderness. Our Father gives his Son as a suffering Christ, to save the world.   Christianity teaches suffering produces endurance. And endurance character and character hope So suffering is a form of learning And believers should hold Christ as their model For his yoke is easy and burden light   Christians should be patient in suffering and persevere in prayer. Some saints prayed for suffering for redemptive purposes Some civil rights leaders saw their goals could only be achieved Through sacrifice, suffering, and struggle So suffering should be embraced for moral development The best of us have known defeat, struggle, loss, and suffering.   Then there are people that are liberators that free others from bondage, poverty, deprivation, and discrimination Nelson Mandela, a ...