Artistic Intelligentsia Blog (TM)

By Pauline Garmia Smith Religion has played a significant role in shaping human civilization for thousands of years. Across cultures and continents, religious beliefs have influenced laws, traditions, education, art, and social values. While the world continues to evolve through technological advancement and globalization, religion remains an important source of guidance, hope, and identity for billions of people. At its core, religion seeks to answer some of life's most profound questions: Why are we here? What is our purpose? How should we treat one another? Different faith traditions offer unique perspectives, yet many share common values such as compassion, honesty, forgiveness, service, and respect for others. In today's fast-paced society, many individuals turn to religion and spirituality as sources of comfort during times of uncertainty. Faith communities often provide emotional support, encouragement, and a sense of belonging. Whether through worship services, praye...

 By Artistic Intelligentsia Blog Liberia’s political landscape in 2026 reflects a nation balancing hope, accountability, and ongoing democratic challenges. Under the leadership of Joseph Boakai, the country continues to focus on governance reforms, anti-corruption measures, economic recovery, and national reconciliation after decades of political instability and civil conflict. President Boakai’s administration has emphasized transparency and accountability through performance management systems for government institutions. Recent initiatives include requiring ministries and agencies to meet measurable goals and improving public sector performance. One of the most significant political developments in Liberia is the renewed push for a War and Economic Crimes Court alongside a National Anti-Corruption Court. These proposed courts are designed to address corruption and unresolved injustices linked to Liberia’s civil wars. Supporters believe these efforts could strengthen the rule o...

Sundays hold a special meaning for many Christians around the world. It is a day of worship, reflection, renewal, and gratitude. Within the Lutheran tradition, Sunday worship is not simply about attending church services it is about reconnecting with God’s grace, strengthening faith, and finding hope through the teachings of Jesus Christ. At the heart of the Lutheran faith is the belief that salvation comes through grace alone, faith alone, and Scripture alone. These foundational principles continue to guide millions of believers as they navigate life’s challenges, celebrate blessings, and seek spiritual growth. Understanding Grace in the Lutheran Tradition One of the most powerful teachings within Lutheran Christianity is the concept of grace. Lutherans believe that God’s love and salvation are gifts freely given through Jesus Christ, not earned through human perfection or works. This message brings comfort in a world where many people struggle with guilt, fear, anxiety, and uncer...

Good morning. As I type this, I’m sitting in my undecorated kitchen in Los Angeles, blasting Spotify’s “Christmas Favourites” playlist and trying to summon something resembling cheer. Instead, I started tearing up while Don Henley wailed about bells ringing “sad, sad news.” Suffice to say, it’s still rough going for the Golden State. On Tuesday, as Californians met their first Latino Senator and the first Black woman to be named secretary of state, hospital officials made an extraordinary plea for people to stay home, to resist the temptation to gather with loved ones. Intensive care units across the state are at or near capacity, and tens of thousands more people are testing positive for the coronavirus every day. Even if the surge drops off sharply — not likely, given how things went after Thanksgiving, experts say — the state has predicted that patients will continue to flood intensive care units and emergency rooms well into January. Health care workers are exhausted, ove...

SUMMARY: What a wonderful world it would be without racial discrimination bearing such a shameful position in our lives! Most say they'd like to be rid of it but how many of us are working to accomplish the dismantling of this dreaded sickness? Everyone agrees that discrimination against races is wrong and the world would be an ideal place without it. Many cruel acts are done that express deliberate malice towards others. However, there are also subtle habits and actions stemming from learned behavior that contribute to racial discrimination in a more insidious way than that which results from outright malicious provocation. Unfortunately, this learned behavior has been practiced by a large population of people. Consider two typical cases: A cop who is a Caucasian shoot a teenager who is of the Black race in what appears to be a wrongful shooting. This type of scenario is almost immediately described as a shooting by a “white cop” of a “black kid”. This description inst...

Christmas is both a religious holiday and increasingly a secular holiday heavily influenced by local culture. As a result, Christmas traditions are as diverse as the world is diverse culturally. In the United States, for example, Christmas traditions are a literal potpourri of the Christmas traditions brought by immigrants, mostly European. For example, Yule log (English), Christmas tree (German), carols or noels (France), Santa Claus (Dutch). In more recent times, newer Christmas traditions have arrived with the most recent immigrants such as luminaries (Mexico) and "Feliz Navidad!" greeting (Latin America generally). The following is a whirlwind tour of some of the fun and different Christmas traditions around the world. Africa: Christmas traditions in Africa are culturally rich and diverse. In Ghana, Christmas Eve is marked by the children parading through the streets singing Christmas songs and shouting "Christ is coming, Christ is coming! He is near!" ...

On September 18, 1488, St. Thomas was conceived at Fuenllana, Spain, the child of a respectable however devastated family. After an idealistic childhood in Villanova, He graduated with great respects from the College of Alcalá. Around age twenty-eight, he joined the St. Augustine monks at Salamanca (a place popular for its old college) and took his vows on November 25, 1517, that time of Luther's disaffection. He taught Scholastic Theology at Salamanca and soon began to preach in stage throughout Spain. Thomas created a book called the Massive Summa Theologica. Saint Thomas of Villanova committed his life to the confessionary and to the reading stand. St Thomas mixed Greek logic and Christian regulation by recommending that balanced thinking and the investigation of nature, similar to disclosure, were substantial approaches to comprehend truths relating to God. As indicated by Thomas, God uncovers himself through nature, so to study nature is to study God. Definitive objectiv...

Everybody wants good things and peace in this world, but peace cannot be attained without following the teaching of some kind of religion. We all learn and follow someone’s teaching in life, and life would have never existed without communications. We all somehow learn and follow the rules from the Bible, the Quran, or Torah to make us better people. If there were no one to translate these books, we wouldn't be able to learn the true meaning of the words in them. For the Christian religion, Martin Luther was the first person to translate and publish the Bible. When Martin Luther started translating the Bible, he did it for debates not for reformation even though he wanted to see reform in the church. He taught people that they did not need religious leaders to talk to God and he wanted more free will in the churches and to God. When Luther came, he to reject several teachings and practices of the Roman Catholic Church. He strongly debates the claim that freedom from God's ...

John Calvin was an authoritative French pastor and theologian during the Protestant Reformation. Calvin alone with his two friends, brother and sister fled France and went to the Strasbourg which was a free city at that time. Calvin was raised in the church and wrote his book The Institutes of the Christian Religion; when he first converted into his "evangelical" faith. William Farel who was the author of The Institutes was in the city and he had recently created a Protestant church there. He hurries down and begs Calvin, claims that it was God's will for Calvin to remain in the city of Geneva. Calvin wanted to stay only for a night but Farel prays to God so that God would curse all Calvin studies unless he stays in town. Calvin a really smart man did not continue his journey. Many people in the city of Geneva disagree with Calvin's teaching so they decided to kick him out of the city. Later on, they realized that they were not following the bible, so they call ...

The Unification Church is a new religious movement that was founded in Korea in 1954 by Sun Myung Moon. Reverend (Rev) Moon is known as the Messiah and he believes that world peace could be reached through the establishment of true families. “The Unification Church officially named the Holy Spirit Association for the Unification of World Christianity” (ReligionFacts.com). The Unification Church is known for their seeking of new believers and mass weddings. The followers of this religion are called the Moonies and they are very loyal to their Reverend. Moonies are very serious about their history, origins, Belief, and practice, Relevance impact, and Controversial issue. Rev. Sun Myung Moon was born in North Korea in 1920. Rev. Moon grew up in the Presbyterian church, one of the religious groups that were persecuted by the Japanese ruler. Rev. Moon said that when he was sixteen, on Easter morning, he had a vision and Jesus asked him to finish his unfinished work as a messiah. He sai...

During the Old Testament time, women use to be a great leader in the church. Women use to be more than just followers. They were never put into silence. Paul came with his new teachings and practices that bring the silence which was mandatory for women in the church. Women have been held down in society for so long. Women used to be greats leaders in the church then they went to not being allowed to teach or lead men. Nowadays they are allowed to teach in Sunday Schools, which is sometimes seen as a less valuable role in the church. The “Ordination of Women to the Pastoral Office” which is written by Dr.A.L.Barry who is the president of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod. He says; “The Lord teaches us through His Word that women are not given the responsibility of serving the church as pastors” (Barry). He argues that women not being able to work as a pastor is not the church tradition or the matter where women’s rights are being taken away from them. The silence of women was ...